ERIC Number: EJ1140515
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0009-3920
EISSN: N/A
Gender Attitudes in Early Childhood: Behavioral Consequences and Cognitive Antecedents
Halim, May Ling D.; Ruble, Diane N.; Tamis-LeMonda, Catherine S.; Shrout, Patrick E.; Amodio, David M.
Child Development, v88 n3 p882-899 May-Jun 2017
This study examined factors that predicted children's gender intergroup attitudes at age 5 and the implications of these attitudes for intergroup behavior. Ethnically diverse children from low-income backgrounds (N = 246; Mexican-, Chinese-, Dominican-, and African American) were assessed at ages 4 and 5. On average, children reported positive same-gender and negative other-gender attitudes. Positive same-gender attitudes were associated with knowledge of gender stereotypes. In contrast, positive other-gender attitudes were associated with flexibility in gender cognitions (stereotype flexibility, gender consistency). Other-gender attitudes predicted gender-biased behavior. These patterns were observed in all ethnic groups. These findings suggest that early learning about gender categories shape young children's gender attitudes and that these gender attitudes already have consequences for children's intergroup behavior at age 5.
Descriptors: Child Development, Gender Differences, Group Activities, Young Children, Group Dynamics, Child Behavior, Sex Stereotypes, Predictor Variables, Childhood Attitudes, Ethnic Groups, Racial Differences, Low Income Groups
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF); Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (NIH)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: BCS021859; IRADS0721383; R01HD04994