Browsing by Subject "Sex role in children"
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Item Gender segregation in early childhood: a test of the play style compatibility hypothesis(Texas Tech University, 1998-05) Tietz, Julie AnnMaccoby and Jacklin (1987) have suggested that gender segregation occurs for reasons other than a simple socialization explanation; rather, differences in interactional styles may cause children to prefer playmates of the same sex, leading to segregated play. Boys have often been found to display rough and tumble and verbally dominant behaviors during social interactions, whereas girls are more likely to engage in more socially skilled activities. According to the play style compatibility hypothesis, girls find boys' play style to be aversive and thus segregate according to gender during play. Cognitive factors, such as awareness of gender categories, are also thought to play a role. Research up to this point has been largely observational. The current study used an experimental manipulation to test the play style compatibility hypothesis. Preschool boys and girls were shown videotaped clips of other preschoolers playing in one of three play styles: (1) rough and tumble, (2) verbally dominating, or (3) friendly (neither rough and tumble nor verbally dominating). Participants were asked which of the videotaped models they preferred. Younger children were expected to base preferences on play styles; that is, females were expected to prefer models demonstrating friendly play, whereas males were expected to prefer models demonstrating rough and tumble or verbally dominating play. Older children were expected to base preferences on gender; that is, females were expected to prefer female models, and males were expected to prefer male models because they have learned to associate preferred play styles with a particular gender. When comparing rough and tumble play versus friendly play, younger participants preferred rough and tumble play in females but friendly play in males; when comparing verbally dominant play versus friendly play, there was limited support for the hypothesis that younger females would prefer friendly play whereas younger males would prefer verbally dominant play. Older participants did display the predicted same-sex bias; furthermore, friendly play was liked more than the other two styles, suggesting socialization effects in this age group.Item Parent-toddler play interactions with feminine sex-typed toys(Texas Tech University, 1996-12) Sciaraffa, Mary AileenParents and toddlers have been observed in a variety of situations. In this study, forty-two parent-toddler dyads were observed interacting with feminine sex-typed toys. The toys included in the study were two baby dolls and a soft, stuffed clown. It was proposed that the type of toy used during the play session was to be the determining factor in how the parent and toddler played. The baby dolls were expected to elicit more nurturing and caretaking responses from both parents and toddlers; while the soft, stuffed clown was expected to evoke more object type play. Parents and toddlers were observed for their suggestions and/or initiations to their partner for play behaviors. Responses of the parents and toddlers to their partner's suggestions and/or initiations were also observed. In general, parents were found to encourage more feminine sex-typed play behaviors with the baby dolls than with the clown. It was also found that toddlers as young as 18 months of age were able to discriminate between different play behaviors with the baby dolls and clown. In terms of the responses, boys and girls accepted more responses from the same sex parent and rejected more responses from the other sex parent. This study lends evidence that all "dolls" are not alike, with baby dolls being different from a soft, stuffed clown. Children learn about their environment and how to interact with their environment through play. Therefore, parents who provide their child with baby dolls are scaffolding different experiences for their child than those parents who provide their child with a soft, stuffed toy.Item Sex-typing, contingent self-esteem, and peer relations among adolescents [sic] males(2009-05) Lamb, Lindsay Marie, 1981-; Bigler, Rebecca S.; Neff, KristinCurrent theoretical accounts of gender role development argue that children are active participants in their own and their peers' gender role development (Liben & Bigler, 2002; Ruble, Martin, & Szkrybalo, 2002). Specifically, children have been reported to bully peers whose behaviors do not conform to gender norms (Ruble & Martin, 2002). Gender-related bullying is especially problematic among adolescent boys who use gay-baiting (calling a boy gay when he does something atypical of his gender) to publicly harm male peers whose behaviors are incongruent with society's definition of masculinity (Pollack, 1998; Kimmel, 2003a; Kimmel, 2003b). Relationships among endorsing traditional masculine gender roles for the self-and others, contingent self-esteem, gender-based bullying, and academic performance have been hinted at in the literature, although there has not been a study connecting these themes. The purpose of this dissertation, therefore, is to determine the relations among (a) endorsing traditional masculine gender roles via sex-typing of the self and others, (b) contingent self-esteem, (c) gender-related bullying, and (d) academic success. In addition, I propose and test the notion that contingent self-esteem mediates the relationship between sex-typing of the self and others and gender-related bullying (perpetrators and victims). Participants included 103 7th grade boys (31 European Americans, 72 Latinos) who reported on (a) their personal sex-typed attitudes (OAT-PM) and sex-typed attitudes towards others (OAT-AM), (b) levels of contingent self-esteem, and (c) gender-related bullying (perpetrators and victims) in the spring of 2008. Students' final GPAs were also obtained. Results indicated that Latino boys were more likely than European American boys to be perpetrators of gender-related bullying. European American boys, in contrast, were more likely than Latino boys to become victims of gender-related bullying. In addition, boys were more likely to engage in gender-related bullying if they were highly sex-typed and if their self-esteem was contingent upon proving their masculinity. Such findings suggest the need for researchers to develop intervention programs designed to teach students to have more flexible conceptions of gender in order to minimize the amount of gender-related bullying in the schools.