| As a Chinese proverb goes,"A man is as his name is,and his name is as his man." The name,as a unique identity,contains rich information and cultural history,which can have a profound and lasting impact on an individual’s self-identity and personality development.Among them,gendered names are labels of an individual’s social gender,which may affect the development of gender socialization.Therefore,this study aims to explore the phenomenon of individuals embodying their names and its formation mechanism from a gender perspective.Study Ⅰ comprises two sub-studies.In sub-study 1,351 adult participants participated.Through a questionnaire survey,we obtained information about individual gendered names,gender roles,and gender traits.We analyzed the differences in gender roles and gender traits among individuals with different gendered names.The results showed that:(1)There were differences in the distribution of gendered names among different gender groups.Masculine names dominated in male groups,and female groups had a higher proportion of neutral and feminine names,and the lowest proportion of masculine names.Specifically,the proportion of masculine names in the male group was higher than that of feminine names,while the proportion of feminine and neutral names in the female group was higher than that in the male group;(2)Individuals with different gendered names had no difference in masculine traits,but there were significant differences in feminine traits,and the gender traits of individuals with feminine names were significantly higher than those of neutral and masculine individuals.In sub-study 2,we invited 130 participants to participate in an IAT experiment on gender identity,and finally obtained 110 effective subjects to explore the differences in gender identity among individuals with different gendered names and genders.The results showed that there was no interaction between gendered names and gender,and the main effect of gender was significant,with the gender identity of the male group higher than that of the female group.Study Ⅱ aims to conduct semi-structured interviews with 14 individuals of different gendered names and conduct a qualitative analysis of the interview data.The purpose is to understand individuals’ gendered tendencies towards names,their views on gender traits and their influencing factors,and to explore the formation mechanism of the phenomenon of gender traits being true to their names through comparisons between individuals who embody their name and those who do not.The research indicated that:the phenomenon of individuals conforming to gendered names can be explained from two perspectives.Firstly,parents may have different gender role expectations for their children based on their gender,which they reflect through gendered names.When individuals internalize the expectations associated with their name,it might affect their gender traits.Secondly,other groups,such as peers or teachers,might have expectations based on individual’s gendered names and make gender role evaluations,which can also influence the individual’s gender identity.Study Ⅲ aims to compare and analyze the gender role expectations and gender traits of individuals with gendered names that with/without parental expectations through the quantitative research.The study explored the correlation between gendered names with/without parental expectations,individual gender role expectations,and gender traits,as well as the mediating role of gender role expectations.Individual gender role expectation played an intermediary role in the influence of gendered names containing parents’expectations on gender traits,masculine expectations played an intermediary role in the influence of masculine names and masculine traits,and feminine expectation played an intermediary role in the influence of feminine names and feminine traits.In conclusion,the study concluded that gendered names could have an impact on an individual’s gender traits,and the expectations associated with a name can mediate the relationship between gendered names and gender traits.The study provided insight into the formation mechanism of the phenomenon of gender-specific individuals living up to their names. |
