ERIC Number: ED332781
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1989-Apr
Pages: 15
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Beginning Awareness-Rigidity-Flexibility: A Longitudinal Analysis of Sex-Role Stereotyping in 4- to 10-Year-Old Children (Langsschnittliche Analyse von Entwicklungsmerkmalen der Geschlechtstypisierung im Kindersalter. Arbeiten aud dem Forschungsprojekt Nr. 5. 1989/1).
Trautner, Hanns Martin; And Others
A three-phase developmental model of sex-role stereotyping that viewed the acquisition of sex-role stereotypes as part of the broader process of the development of social understanding was proposed. Phases in the model included: (1) beginning awareness of sex-role differentiation; (2) rigid sex-role stereotyping; and (3) flexible sex-role stereotyping. The validity of the hypothesized developmental sequence was tested in a longitudinal study with 82 children in 6 kindergartens in the area of Frankfurt, West Germany, who were investigated in 1-year intervals from 4-10 years of age. Subjects assigned 38 sex-typed traits and activities of children's and adults' roles to 1 of 5 categories ranging from extremely feminine to extremely masculine. Group data and intraindividual patterns of answers supported the postulated developmental model. Rigid stereotyping reached its maximum at 6 years of age, while flexible stereotyping became dominant at about 9 years. Rigidity and flexibility of answers varied with item content. Items related to adults' role, masculine characteristics, and activities were seen as more rigid and less flexible than those concerning children's role, feminine characteristics, and personality traits. Boys and girls did not differ in rigidity-flexibility scores. Findings substantiate the joint impact of the perceiver's developmental status and perceived characteristics of the social environment on children's development of sex-role stereotypes. (RH)
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Volkswagen Foundation, Hanover (West Germany).
Authoring Institution: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Bonn - Bad Godesberg (West Germany).
Identifiers - Location: West Germany
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A