What Have You Learned From Others

The social cognitive theory explains how individuals learn and acquire behavior by observation of models. For instance, I used to watch my father do most of the household repairs without necessarily engaging a repairs expert. He would often fix our broken fence and sinks and also do minor electrical repairs in the house. If my elder sister and my mother had an issue with any electrical appliance, my father would be the one to solve their problem. This made me admire him more, which prompted me to attempt doing repairs to my broken toys at an early age. Years later, as an adult, I still do most of the repairs myself. Also, my father had a specific way of placing his wallet in the pocket. Unlike most of the male adults I knew, he used to put his wallet in his back left pocket of his trousers. Although it is a minor observation to most people, it was not trivial to me, which made me imitate him when he bought me my first wallet when I was six years old. Today, I still put my wallet in my back left pocket of my trousers. 

The social cognitive theory helps to explain how I acquired the above behaviors from my father. First, children tend to recognize gender constancy at the age of six years (Stangor, & Ruble, 1987). Once this threshold is acquired, children tend to seek behavior that is appropriate for their gender. For instance, in my case, I felt that repairing and fixing broken appliances and fences was a behavior appropriate for males. This prompted me to attempt repairs at an early age to emulate my father, who was the closest male model that I could emulate. This is what social learning theorist, Bandura, referred to as sex-role modeling, where a child tends to emulate same-sex models (Bussey, & Bandura, 1984). I felt that my father was capable of doing what was difficult for my mother and sister, and as a man, I had to emulate him. I, therefore, emulated most of the behavior that made him appear more masculine, and some of the practices continued to my adulthood. 

References  

Bussey, K., & Bandura, A. (1984). Influence of gender constancy and social power on sex-linked modeling. Journal of personality and social psychology, 47(6), 1292. 

Stangor, C., & Ruble, D. N. (1987). Development of gender role knowledge and gender constancy. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 1987(38), 5-22.