gender stereotypes preferences
- by 3 years gender preferences
- by 4-5 children avoid other sex toys
- boys masculine preferences increase with age
- girls feminine preferences increase until 5/6 then masculine activities interest increase
reasons for gender preferences
- boys with feminine preferences are viewed more negatively than girls with negative preferences
- gender boundary maintenance: process by which gender group boundaries are maintained, boys initiate and maintain these more than girls
gender boundary maintenance
process by which gender group boundaries are maintained
development of gender stereotype knowledge
- age 3 know stereotypes about objects and activities
- stereotypes for activities and occupations increase between 3-5 ceilings at 7
- stereotypes about personality traits emerge later 5 year olds think boys are more aggressive, assertive and independent and girls emotional, submissive and dependent
role of parents on gender stereotypes
- parents are key socialization agents in their children’s gender environment
- but they are not the only influence e.g. peers
mixed evidence on the impact of parents because of conceptual vagueness, researchers do not distinguish between details in research e.g. what causes the changes shared by boy and girls?
do parents treat sons and daughters differently?
Wills
- expectations of girls is different to boys
- rooted in stereotypes
dad = described their child stereotypically
encouraged to play with stereotypical toys
meta-analysis : no evidence of sex differences for parental influence
no reliable difference according to sex apart from the activities they were encouraged to do
how parents influence their child’s activities Eccles’
- parents own beliefs and stereotypes play an important part on their child’s gender-role socialisation because they influence:
- the goals and expectations that they have for their children
- how they perceive their children’s interests
- how they interact w their children
Eccles’ made a model based on a longitudinal study - highlights complexity of parental beliefs and child expectations/beliefs/achievements
Eccles’ expectancy value theory
- accounts for how gender is linked to parent’s beliefs
parents gender-role beliefs affect judgements made about how well their child will perform in stereotyped activity domains
these judgments affect expectations about their child’s future performance
these expectation affect the types of opportunities parents give their children
boys good at maths > daughter will be bad a logic puzzle > give her doll instead
gender and achievement
longitudinal study on parenting expectations and beyond
- 600 children
- differences in parent rating of sons’ and daughters’ competence and interest in types of activities
- daughters more competent and interested in English than sports and vice versa
- girls more talented in instrumental music - even though few played any instruments
what effects parents perception of child competence
true differences?
true differences in aptitude?
no - been given different opportunities to develop skill e.g. girls worse at maths because beliefs about competences are influenced by child’s gender rather than actual performance
what effects parents perception of child competence
gendered attributional patterns
- parents of boys rated natural talent as important reason for their maths success
whereas those of girls rate their effort as important reason
lone mother families
father role
meta analysis
- father’s have unique influence of children’s gender-role development
- but father absence actually makes little difference
meta analysis:
- absent fathered preschoolers = less stereotyped but older boys = more stereotyped
effect size varied with SES, age, reason for father absence
meta analysis lone mother families
- absent fathered preschoolers = less stereotyped but older boys = more stereotyped
effect size varied with SES, age, reason for father absence
but this is a very diverse group so we don’t know the specific cause of this
longitudinal study of families and gender stereotypes Stevens et al
- compared two parent families to lone mother families
- sub-divided into father contact and no contact since 12 months old
- no differences in gender role behaviour found between any groups
- may be because of the role of others
the role of siblings
- both social learning and cognitive theories agree that siblings can influence their siblings
e.g. provide examples of gender related behaviour allowing for the development of gender-related schemas
and can reinforce gender-related behaviour
role of siblings study
boys with older sister
boys with older brother
girls with older sister
girls with older brother
- sex of older sibling was associated with gender-role behaviour of younger sibling
- children with same-sex sibling = more gender typed
- brother = masculine, sister = feminine in both boys and girls
–> but didn’t make them any less of the opposite characteristic
role of siblings longitudinal study
- tells us when in time effects happen
- second born siblings - gender of sibling had greater influence on child then their parent did
- first born sibling - more evidence of parental influence, they show:
sibling dentification: become less like siblings
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prenatal development27
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motor development23
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intentional communication25
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Language acquisition43
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nature and nurture of language development16
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processing affect 13
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the family: beyond attachment19
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nature and nurture interplay29
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fears42
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anxiety27
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gender23
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perceptual development16
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gender stereotypes17
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bullying25
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cyber bullying and deviant peer relas21
