The Relation of Gender Understanding to Children's Sex-typed Preferences and Gender Stereotypes

Abstract

Our goal was to explore how children's understanding of gender as a social category relates to their acquisition of sex-typed knowledge and preferences. Children's gender concepts, sex-typed preferences, and stereotyped knowledge were measured in 61 boys and girls (3-5 years). Gender concept measures included ability to identify and to discriminate the sexes, understanding gender group membership, temporal stability of gender, and gender consistency over situational changes. Children improved with age on most of the measures except gender consistency. With the exception of consistency, measures of gender concept understanding were found to be related to children's stereotyped toy and clothing knowledge and/or to their sex-typed toy preferences (with age controlled). It was shown that only rudimentary gender understanding is needed prior to children learning about sex stereotypes and prior to showing strong sex-typed preferences for peers or toys. The roles of gender identity, stability, consistency, and group membership in the sex-typing process are discussed.

The Role of Masculinity in Children’s Bullying

“…Moreover, the newest gender schema theories argue that many of our behavioral choices are influenced by cultural expectations for our gender (Bem, 1995). This is true not only for adults but also for children, at least from 3 years of age, when peer interactions begin to be segregated by gender and knowledge about gender roles and stereotypes increases significantly (Martin & Little, 1990, Serbin, Powlishta, & Gulko, 1993.…”

Associations Among Gender-Linked Toy Preferences, Spatial Ability, and Digit Ratio: Evidence from Eye-Tracking Analysis

“…From an early age, adults provide children with such gender-congruent toys (Pomerleau, Bolduc, Malcuit, & Cossette, 1990) and reinforce gender-typical toy play (Bussey & Bandura, 1999). The emergence of gender identity in early childhood (i.e., around 3 years of age) and the subsequent development of gender schemas arguably further gender-typical toy preferences as children learn to categorize and value characteristics associated with a particular gender label (Maccoby, 1988;Martin & Halverson, 1987;Martin & Little, 1990). Thus, the large, reliable sex differences in toy preferences that emerge in early childhood (Fagot, Leinbach, & O'Boyle, 1992;O'Brien & Huston, 1985b) appear directed and maintained by gender socialization and cognitive development.…”

Differential Effects of an Adult Observer’s Presence on Sex-Typed Play Behavior: A Comparison Between Gender-Schematic and Gender-Aschematic Preschool Children

“…Gender stereotypic knowledge increases between 3 and 5 years and is at a high in kindergarten children (Martin & Little, 1990;Picariello, Greenberg, & Pillemer, 1990;Serbin, Powlishta, & Gulko, 1993). By 3 years of age, most children know gender stereotypes, exhibit gender typical behavior, and avoid gender atypical behavior, including gender aschematic children (for a review, see Ruble & Martin, 1998).…”

“…A greater difference between gender schematic and aschematic boys, as compared to gender schematic and aschematic girls, was expected since boys consistently hold more stereotyped views (e.g., Etaugh & Liss, 1992), avoid gender atypical behaviors (e.g., Fagot, Leinbach, & Hagan, 1986;Powlishta, Serbin, & Moller, 1993;Shell & Eisenberg, 1990), receive more reinforcement for gender typical behavior (e.g., Fagot & Hagan, 1991;Fisher-Thompson, 1993), and possess more stereotyped gender-typed toy preferences than girls (e.g., Carter & Levy, 1988;Martin & Little, 1990;Turner & Gervai, 1995).…”