INTRODUCTION

1. Sugar or Spice…. The Acquisition of Stereotyped Gender Identity in Preschool Karen Singer-Freeman & Claudia Perez Karen.singer-freeman@purchase.edu INTRODUCTION The current work explored the extent to which 2- to 4-year-olds were influenced by gender stereotypes. We specifically examined how stereotypes influenced play preferences, peer choices, and identity in children of these ages. Although other work has examined the effects of stereotypes on play and peer preferences in young children, this is the first work to examine the effects of stereotype knowledge on children’s developing identity. This work explicitly addresses two questions: 1)Are different measures of stereotyped behavior related in individual children? 2) How does knowledge of stereotypes influence young children’s sense of identity. • Identity Task • Children were asked “Do you think you are mostly ____ or ____” for each of the 8 bipolar adjective pairs. • Children received a point for each stereotypical response. • Schema Task • Children were asked to choose up to 4 toys from a selection of 3 stereotypically male and 3 stereotypically female toys. • Each group of toys included 1 broken and 2 new items. • Children were assigned scores that reflected the extent to which gender stereotypes guided their response to the task. 4 = only stereotyped items 3 = 3 stereotyped items 1st • 2 = 1 stereotyped item 1st • 1 = 1 counter-stereotyped item 1st • 0 = only counter-stereotyped items • RESULTS • Activities • Similar patterns of activity were seen in the direct observations and the PSAI. • 2-year-old girls spent less time engaged in stereotypic activities than any other group of children. • Boys of all ages spent equivalent amounts of time engaged in stereotypic activities. • Individual children who spent more time engaged in stereotypic activities also spent more time with same-sexed peers, dressed more stereotypically and were more likely to respond stereotypically to the schema task. • Activity, dress and peer preferences were not related to stereotype knowledge or identity. • Gender Schema Task • Individual children’s scores ranged from 0-4. • Across all age groups boys were more schematized than girls. • Activity • 3- and 4-year-olds had more knowledge of activity stereotypes and 4-year-olds were more likely to apply this knowledge to themselves than younger children. • Individual children who showed knowledge of activity stereotypes were more likely to apply these stereotypes to themselves. • Potency • Children showed equivalent knowledge of potency stereotypes. • Boys rated themselves as marginally more potent than girls. • Knowledge of potency stereotypes was not related to the application of these stereotypes to the self. • DISCUSSION • 2-year-old girls (but not boys) appear to be less influenced by gender stereotypes than are older children. • Gender stereotypes have begun to influence the identities of some children. General ratings of behavior including activity preferences, peer preferences and dress are not related to this development. Children who have learned that boys are expected to be more active than girls are more likely to apply this stereotype to themselves. However, knowledge of potency stereotypes is not related to self-application. Regardless of explicit knowledge, boys are more likely to describe themselves as potent than girls. • METHODS • Participants • 11 2-year-olds (3 girls, 8 boys) • 10 3-year-olds (4 girls, 6 boys) • 8 4-year-olds (5 girls, 3 boys) • Activity Measures • Direct Observation: • Children were observed for 90 seconds/hour for 5 weeks. • Sex of playmates were recorded. • Activities and dress were described and rated as feminine, masculine, or neutral by 3 coders. • Preschool Activity Inventory (PSAI): • After the 5 weeks of observation 1 observer and the child’s head teacher completed the PSAI on each child. • Knowledge Measure • Children were shown pictures of 2 infants one labeled as a boy and the other as a girl. • They were asked, “Who is ____ and who is _____?” for pairs of adjectives associated with potency and activity. • Potency Activity • Big or LittleFast or Slow • Mad or AfraidAwake or Sleepy • Strong or WeakLoud or Quiet • Hard or Soft • Angry or Sad