The Development Of Gender Stereotype In Young Children And Its Influence On Distribution Behavior

In the past few decades,there has been a great increase in gender related research,in which gender stereotype has become the focus of researchers,because gender stereotype is not only a key factor that easily causes gender problems,but also a common social phenomenon caused by gender problems.In the process of individual growth,through the accumulation of experience,the influence of family and society,as well as their own imitation learning,gradually build and form a set of gender stereotype knowledge system,which has a subtle impact on individual behavior and decision-making.A large number of studies have shown that gender stereotypes are deeply rooted in individual beliefs,and once formed,it is difficult to eliminate them.In recent years,researchers have shifted their perspective from adulthood to early childhood to explore the generation and development of gender stereotypes,as well as the ability basis of individuals to question bias and refuse discrimination caused by gender stereotypes.The development of 3-6-year-old children’s gender stereotype is most directly reflected in the choice of toys and clothing,while the impact of gender stereotype on distribution behavior is mainly reflected in the distribution of toys.Because the dominant activity in early childhood is games,and toys are the main carrier of activities,we can understand the impact of gender stereotypes on children’s distribution behavior by observing children’s choice and distribution of toys.Throughout the existing research,gender stereotype can indeed affect children’s choice and distribution of toys,and hold a more tolerant attitude towards the unfair distribution caused by it.However,this phenomenon is only found in older children,and the existing research has not made a full explanation for this phenomenon,especially when children face personalized anti-gender stereotype information,Whether children will change the allocation strategy,how they will allocate resources at this time,and why the differences are caused.When exploring the reasons,researchers found that Theory of Mind played a crucial role.Previous studies have shown that Theory of Mind is not only closely related to distribution behavior,but also can help children find and reject prejudice,as well as unfair distribution caused by prejudice.Under the condition of conflict between personalized information and group information,it can reduce the impact of group information on their decision-making.At the same time,the findings also suggest that there are many similarities between the development of Theory of Mind and gender stereotype.Both gender stereotype and Theory of Mind appear in infancy and develop rapidly around the age of 4.Therefore,in order to solve the problem of how gender stereotypes affect children’s distribution behavior,we should focus on the important role of theory of mind.In order to explore the development track of children’s gender stereotype,find out the rapid development period of gender stereotype,and whether Theory of Mind can help children to use gender stereotype information for distribution under the condition of gender stereotype,and use anti gender stereotype information for distribution under the condition of anti gender stereotype,In this study,343 children aged 3-6 were recruited from kindergartens in Baishan City to complete the task of choosing toys and clothing and the task of assigning toys in a quiet room.Study 1a created a mixd 2(gender: male,female)× 4(age: 3,4,5,6)× 2(field: toys,clothing)design,study 1b created a mixed 2(gender: male,female)× 4(age: 3,4,5,6)× 2(the gender of the selected objects: male,female)design,study 2 created a mixed 2(gender: male,female)× 2(Theory of Mind level: low Theory of Mind,high Theory of Mind)× 2(allocation condition: stereotype information condition,anti gender stereotype information condition).The results showed that:(1)Gender stereotype can affect 3-6-year-old children’s toy selection and allocation.(2)The development trend of gender stereotype: Children’s gender stereotype level continues to improve,3-4-year-old rapid development,5-year-old after the peak tends to be stable,4-year-old is the key period of gender stereotype development.(3)Theory of mind can moderate children’s toy distribution behavior under the condition of gender stereotype and anti-gender stereotype.