Type of play Essay Example for Free

Type of play Essay The importance of play is reflected by the role it plays in development. Children are encouraged to play with gender appropriate toys but I have to ask myself why parents would rather have their son play with a gun rather than a doll.  Some studies have linked gunplay with aggressive behaviour and it is interesting to see (the table below) that boys are more aggressive than girls at a young age  Some child health professionals encourage parents to limit this type of play. Concern about guns also include potential confusion with real ones, which could lead to someone getting seriously injured. The media is also seen to be a major influence on behaviour. The way television affects a child depends on the childs age and what stage of cognitive development they are at. As a child watches television they absorb the program and then they interpret it to how they saw it. Some cartoons that are violent such as itchy scratchy, which is shown on The Simpsons shows a cat and mouse attack each other and put each others body parts in food blenders etc. Its a bit disturbing to some people but children find it hilarious. I think this is because it is unlikely in real life and depending on the age of the child, they will know that this sort of behaviour is not rewarded. Boys need to be parented in a different way from girls. Home, society and education have failed boys badly- these failures lead to unhappy men who cannot fully become happy, responsible emotionally confident adults.  There is a lot of research comparing the abilities and behaviours of males and females. As we consider the behaviour of boys and girls we have to consider how they differ in their behaviour. Albert Bandura believed aggression reinforced by family members was the most prominent source of behaviour modelling. He reports that children use the same aggressive tactics that their parents illustrate when dealing with others. Children learn to act aggressive when they model their behaviour after witnessing violent acts of adults, especially family members. Bandura is most famous for his Bobo doll experiment, in this experiment; he had children witness a model aggressively attacking a plastic clown called the Bobo doll. Bandura found that the children imitated the aggressive behaviour. There are many sex differences between boys and girls and one of the most comprehensive studies was conducted by, Maccoby and Jacklin (1974). They discover there were only four significant differences between the sexes. Although the differences were small they showed there is an overlap in the behaviour of boys and girls.  Although the study by Maccoby and Jacklin was in depth Shaffer (1993) pointed out, First, girls show more emotional sensitivity. Second, girls are less venerable developmentally than boys, and are less likely to suffer from learning disabilities, various language disorder, or hyperactivity. Third, boys tend to be more physically active than girls. Fourth, girls tend to be more timid than boys (PSYCHOLOGY FOR A2 LEVEL, M.W. ESYWICK, page 698)  In conclusion I would like to say, that I believe that behaviour is learned from society through the process of reinforcement and modelling. Behaviours such as, Sex-role behaviour can be learned by vicarious reinforcement. When you think about it makes sense for a person to keep doing things they are rewarded for and to stop doing things we are not. I found these quotes below and I agree with both of them on this subject.  In the theory of gender I began from zero. There is no masculine power or privilege I did not covet. But slowly, step-by-step, decade-by-decade, I was forced to acknowledge that even a woman of abnormal would cannot escape her hormonal identity.  (Paglia, Camille, 1947 American Author Critic Educator)  (Taken from: www.borntomotivate.com)  Except for their genitals, I dont know what immutable differences exist between men and women. Perhaps there are some other unchangeable differences; probably there are a number of irrelevant differences. But it is clear that until social expectations for men and women are equal, until we provide equal respect for both sexes, answers to this question will simply reflect our prejudices.