Gender Typing Any association of objects, activities, roles, or traits with one sex or the other in ways that conform to cultural stereotypes Even before children consistently know their own gender, they have developed common associations with gender—men as rough & sharp, women as soft and round. Around age 2, children use the words boy, girl, lady, and man appropriately.

Gender beliefs and behavior in preschool years Associate toys, clothes, tools, household items, games, occupations, and colors (pink or blue) with one sex or the other They’re very rigid with their categories; think they can’t be changed Boys are more active, assertive, and directly aggressive. Girls are more dependent, fearful, emotionally sensitive, and skilled at understanding self-conscious emotions. Good at inflicting indirect (relational) aggression (e.g., saying hurtful things)

Role of biology in gender roles Prenatal hormones affect play styles—androgens lead to aggressive play in boys; feminine hormones lead to calm, gentle actions among girls As kids interact with peers, they choose partners whose interests and behaviors are consistent with their own At age 4, children spend 3 times as much time with same-sex as with other-sex playmates. By age 6, this ratio is 11:1.

Bem’s theory of homosexualtiy Daryl Bem argues that preschool children who identify with the opposite gender (boys who like to play with girls & vice-versa) may become homosexual. He believes people are attracted to their opposites; boys who identify with girls are then attracted to ones they view as different—other boys. Same with girls.

Environmental influences on gender typing Parents have different expectations of their sons than they have of daughters. These expectations begin at birth. Parents want their children to play with gender-appropriate toys. Parents give sons toys that stress action—cars, balls, guns, tools) and give daughters toys that emphasize nurturance, cooperation, physical attractiveness (dolls, tea sets, jewelry).

More parental influences Parents actively reinforce independence in boys and dependency in girls Parents provide children with indirect cues about gender categories (“Boys usually don’t like dolls. Girls don’t like to play with cars.”) Parents who avoid doing this have children who are less gender-stereotyped. In general, boys are the more gender-typed of the two sexes. Fathers are especially insistent that boys conform to gender roles.

Teachers’ influence Preschool teachers give girls more encouragement to participate in adult-structured activities; girls frequently hover around the teacher. Boys like to be in areas of the room where teachers aren’t involved. Teachers use more disapproval and controlling discipline; they expect boys to misbehave more. Use more negotiation, “talking it out” tactics with girls who misbehave.

Peers’ influence By age 3, same-sex peers positively reinforce each other for gender-appropriate behavior by praising, imitating, or joining in. Cross-gender play isn’t tolerated well by peers. Boys are especially intolerant. Girls start to notice that their cooperative tactics don’t work well with boys; gives them another reason not to interact with them. As boys and girls separate, in-group favoritism creates two distinct subcultures of knowledge, interests, behaviors.

Gender identity An image of yourself as relatively masculine or feminine; evident in middle childhood Substantial minority (especially girls) are androgynous in middle childhood. Gender identity is a good predictor of psychological adjustment. Masculine and androgynous children & adults have higher self-esteem than feminine people. Androgynous people are more adaptable (have the best of both worlds); helps them realize their potential

Emergence of gender identity Social learning theory: Behavior comes before self-perception. Preschoolers acquire gender-typed responses through modeling & reinforcement; later they organize them into ideas about themselves. Cognitive-developmental theory: Self-perceptions come before behavior; preschoolers develop gender constancy (knowledge that gender is permanent) and use that idea to guide their behavior.

Gender Constancy Before age 6, children believe gender can be changed (doll who changes clothes changes genders) Mastery of gender constancy is associated with mastery of conservation tasks. Giving preschoolers information about genital differences does not result in gender constancy. This suggests that cognitive immaturity, not social experience, is responsible for lack of gender constancy.

Is gender constancy responsible for gender-typed behavior? Evidence is weak. Gender-appropriate behavior appears so earl in preschool years that its appearance must be related to modeling & reinforcement, as social learning theory predicts. Once children reflect on gender roles, their gender-typed self-images and behavior strengthen.

Gender schema theory A theory that combines cognitive-developmental and social learning theories of how gender roles are developed. Children pick up gender-typed preferences/behaviors from others at an early age Organize their experiences into gender schemas to interpret the world. As soon as preschoolers can label their own sex, they select gender schemas consistent with it and apply them to themselves.

The power of gender schemas When children see others behaving in gender-inconsistent ways (e.g., male nurse), they often distort it in their minds to make it gender-consistent (remember the male nurse as a doctor). Preschoolers usually assume that whatever they like, others of their own sex will also like, so they use their own preferences to strengthen gender biases.