This article advances a self-socialization perspective demonstrating that children's understanding of "both" gender categories represents an intergroup cognition that is foundational to the development of gender-stereotyped play. Children's (N = 212) gender category knowledge was assessed at 24 months and play was observed at…

Previous research addressing the dynamics of stigma and academics has focused on African American adolescents and adults. The present study examined stigma awareness, academic anxiety, and intrinsic motivation among 451 young (ages 6-11) and diverse (African American, Chinese, Dominican, Russian, and European American) students. Results indicated…

Kohlberg's (1966) hypothesis that the attainment of gender constancy motivates children to attend to gender norms was reevaluated by examining these links in relation to age. Ninety-four 3- to 7-year-old children were interviewed to assess whether and how constancy mediates age-related changes in gender-related beliefs. As expected, results…

Tested the hypothesis that in predicting future behavior of an actor, older children rely on trait inferences, whereas younger children rely on global, evaluative inferences. Found that 9- and 10-year-olds' behavioral predictions were mediated solely by trait ratings, whereas 5- and 6-year-olds' predictions were mediated by evaluative ratings. The…

The relationship among gender identity, sex typing, and adjustment has attracted the attention of social and developmental psychologists for many years. However, they have explored this issue with different assumptions and different approaches. Generally the approaches differ regarding whether sex typing is considered adaptive versus maladaptive,…

Two studies examined the positivity bias in children of different ages. Findings indicated that children from grade two and up selected the correct cause(s) when the effect covaried with only one cause, but only at a later age when covariation with two causes was presented. Ability estimations and expectation of success were more positive in…

Examined relationship of maternal control and sex differences in children taking responsibility for failure and possessing strong standards. Found that, in using control, mothers were more likely to grant autonomy to boys than to girls. This socialization pattern partially mediated girls' tendency to take greater responsibility for failure than…

Identifies contributions of Liben and Bigler's studies to gender development related to measuring self and other sex typing, developing a theoretical account of the self-other relation, and incorporating individual differences. Raises questions about measures used and interpretations of the findings. Suggests issues for future research:…

Examined convergences and divergences among dimensions of ability concepts (uncontrollable, constant, capacity) in second through fifth graders. Found that the near-zero correlations, three-factor solution yielded by confirmatory factor analysis, variability in age-related differences, differential links to cognitive competence, and diverse forms…

In 2 studies, age differences in children's self-evaluative responses as a function of success/failure outcome and task ease information were explored. (SB)

This study examined variables related to problem-solving approaches of young children, using the theoretical framework provided by Zigler and collaborators in their work on outerdirectedness. Four aspects of outerdirectedness were examined: developmental trends, different types of reinforcement, task difficulty, and pride in accomplishment. (ST)

A sample of 54 young adolescent girls (both pre- and postmenarcheal) and boys responded to a questionnaire assessing evaluative attitudes toward menstruation, expected symptomatology, perceived effects on moods and activities, and sources of information for these beliefs. (Author/JMB)

The relation between past history of outcomes and achievement expectancies was examined for 72 elementary school students. (JMB)

Subjects in kindergarten through 5th grade were classified as task oriented, information seeking or cue dependent. Then an experiment was performed to investigate relationships between these predispositions and the children's performance and self-perceptions as they worked on an external-cue-relevant or cue-irrelevant concept identification task.…

Examines personal relevance in relation to the ability of 48 5- to 10-year-old children to describe others in terms of psychological characteristics. Results suggest that verbal inferencing skills of young children have been underestimated and that they may be more oriented toward affective goals than older children when anticipating interaction…