The Development of Gender Stereotype Components

Abstract

Developmental research has been limited by a narrow concept of stereotypes. A more complex model is presented, and developmental changes in gender stereotypes were investigated using the new model. In 2 studies, children were told about several sex-unspecified children, each described as having 1 masculine or 1 feminine characteristic. The children then predicted the likelihood of each story child having other masculine and feminine characteristics. In Study 1, 56 children (4-6 years) were told about target children who liked either a masculine or feminine toy, and then children predicted the targets' interests in other toys. In Study 2, 76 older children (6, 8, 10 years) were told about target children with a masculine or feminine characteristic from 1 of 4 categories (appearance, personality, occupations, toys), and then they predicted the likelihood of targets having other masculine and feminine characteristics from the same and from different categories as the cue. 2 developmental trends emerged: (a) children appear first to learn associations among characteristics relevant to their own sex and, later, to learn them for the other sex, and (b) older children's stereotypic judgments are more extreme than those of younger children. The implications of these results for the development of stereotypes, assessing gender knowledge, and understanding social judgments are discussed.

Gender differences in kindergarteners’ robotics and programming achievement

“…It would be useful to compare gender differences in robotics and programming abilities in kindergarteners with older children. Because stereotypes become more extreme in later childhood (Martin et al 1990), it is possible that older children will exhibit many more gender differences than the kindergarteners in this study. If this is the case, then re-thinking STEM curriculum for older children so that it is equally accessible to boys and girls will be necessary.…”

Am I the Right Candidate? Self-Ascribed Fit of Women and Men to a Leadership Position

“…This image of leadership appears to be more congruent with men's than women's self-perception: Women see themselves as less agentic (e.g., assertive, individualistic) and more communal (e.g., gentle, affectionate) than men (e.g., Bem 1974;Spence and Buckner 2000). These beliefs that are part of women's and men's self-concept are learned very early through social training, expectations, observation of gender-related social roles (e.g., men in leadership roles, women in subordinate roles), and role modeling (e.g., Eagly and Steffen 1984;Santrock 1994); they are also maintained and reinforced by schools, work settings, and the media (e.g., Durkin 1995;Martin et al 1990). …”

Stereotype Threat in the Marketplace: Consumer Anxiety and Purchase Intentions

“…Women, compared to men, often are believed to be less competent in mathematics (Bradach and Eccles 1989;DarNimrod and Heine 2006;Spencer et al 1999) as well as science, technology, and engineering (Martin, Wood, and Little 1990;Nass, Moon, and Green 1997). There is widespread agreement that the stereotype exists and, actuarially, Friday Feb 04 2011 11:00 AM/JCR380212/2011/38/2/szh/lfw/jj/ms editing started/use-graphics/narrow/default/ that women are not nearly as active in STEM-related studies or careers as are men (Halpern et al 2007).…”