Young children acquire a knowledge of, and beliefs about, gender-roles at a rapid rate. A total of four studies were conducted to examine some of the factors thought to mediate the impact of examiner's sex on children's gender-typed activities and cognitions. The first two studies looked at children's ratings of videotaped male and female adults shown interacting with a child. The next two studies assessed the roles of other examiner and child variables on children's gender-typing. Each study involved equal numbers of boys and girls ranging in age from about 8 to 11 years. The results indicated that children's gender-typing is influenced by a number of variables, including the sex of the person interviewing them. These studies indicated that factors influencing the behaviors and memories of boys and girls included whether children: (1) had a male or female examiner; (2) expressed high or low amounts of gender-role flexibility; (3) perceived their parents as gender-role permissive or not; and (4) were familiar, or perhaps at ease, with an examiner of a particular sex. The results call into question findings from studies where examiners were of only one sex (typically female) or examiner's and children's sexes were not adequately counterbalanced. The results provide some promising empirical directions for future experimental attempts aimed at modifying children's gender-typing activities. (ABL)