Development Of Gender Stereotypes In Children Aged 4-12

Stereotype,since its inception,has garnered significant attention and remains a persistent focus of research in the field of psychology.Stereotype represents a generalized and rigid perception that individuals form about a given group.Gender stereotype,in particular,serves as a notable manifestation of this phenomenon and refers to a prevailing bias regarding an individual’s personality traits,behavior,appearance,and societal roles.This social phenomenon can be either positive or negative in nature,and regardless of valence,has the potential to impede opportunities for skill acquisition and personal growth.As children develop,gender stereotypes continue to evolve across distinct developmental stages,beginning as early as infancy.For children,early recognition and understanding of gender stereotypes can contribute positively to physical and mental well-being and facilitate the development of a balanced personality.Educators may also benefit from research on children’s gender stereotypes,which can foster awareness and sensitivity in promoting healthy gender attitudes.Building on prior research,the current study focuses on children between the ages of 4-12 in China,utilizing both implicit and explicit measures to investigate the development and manifestation of gender stereotypes in five distinct domains: color,clothing,toys,subject matter,and gender roles.In study 1,experiment 1 was conducted to examine gender stereotypes in the domains of color,clothing,and toys in 4-to 6-year-old children(N = 407,Mage = 5.37).Experiment 2 focused specifically on gender stereotypes in the domain of toys among 4-to 12-year-olds(7-to 9-year-olds: N = 119,Mage = 8.60;10-to 12-year-olds: N = 125,Mage = 11.76);In Study 2,the development of gender stereotypes in the subject domain was examined across the same age groups(4-to 6-year-olds: N = 104,Mage = 5.17;7-to9-year-olds: N = 118,Mage = 8.57;10-to 12-year-olds: N = 125,Mage = 11.73);Finally,Study 3 utilized data from Studies 1 and 2 to investigate gender stereotypes in the domain of gender roles,with participants aged 4-12(4-to 6-year-olds: N = 146,Mage = 5.71;7-to 9-year-olds: N = 119,Mage = 8.57;10-to 12-year-olds: N = 126,Mage = 11.76).Combined the data from Study 1,2 and 3,Study 4 examined differences in gender stereotypes among children aged 4-12 in the domains of toys,subject matter and gender roles.By comprehensively examining the development of gender stereotypes in these five domains with the Implicit Association Test and five-point Likert scale,we were able to uncover significant findings that contribute to our understanding of this important issue.We found that:(1)Children aged 4-6 had strong implicit and explicit gender stereotypes in some specific domains such as color,clothing and toy.In addition,both implicit and explicit gender stereotypes about clothing and toy were stronger than color for 4-to6-year-olds.Represented by toy domain,children aged 7-9 and 10-12 showed no significant change in their strong implicit gender-toy stereotypes,which kept in a relatively stable state.Children aged 4-6 had significantly higher explicit gender-toy stereotypes than children aged 7-9 and 10-12.(2)There were no significant implicit and explicit gender-subject stereotypes in children aged 4-6.With age,both implicit and explicit gender stereotypes were found in children aged 7-9 and 10-12.(3)Children aged 4-12 had implicit gender-role stereotypes.With age,explicit gender-role stereotypes were found only in children aged 10-12.(4)The implicit gender-toy stereotypes of children aged 4-12 were significantly stronger than subject and gender role.The explicit gender-toy stereotypes of children aged 4-6 were also significantly stronger than subject and gender role.The implicit gender-role stereotypes of children aged 10-12 were significantly stronger than subject.