Young children think gender-related behavior is inborn

Young children think about gender in the same way they think about species of animals. They believe, for example, that a boy's preference for football is innate, as is a girl's preference for dolls, just as cats' behavior is innately different from dogs'.

That's the finding of a new study from researchers at Pacific Lutheran University and the University of Michigan. The study appears in the March/April 2009 issue of the journal Child Development.

"These results have important implications for how children think about activities that are culturally associated with the other gender, for example, how girls think about science or math," explains Marianne Taylor, assistant professor of psychology at Pacific Lutheran University, who led the study. "By confronting this belief directly, parents and teachers can help encourage girls and boys to explore a wider range of school activities."

The researchers surveyed more than 450 Americans from diverse racial-ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds who were 5 years old to college age. The study's findings confirm prior research, which has shown that adults and children alike think different species have deep biological differences, for example, that innate differences cause dogs to behave differently from cats. This study also found that it's not until children are at least 10 that they treat gender and species concepts as distinct from one another, as adults do. At that age, they also understand that environment plays a role in gender-related behaviors.

Source: Society for Research in Child Development (news : web)

   

• jsovine - Apr 29, 2009
  • Rank: 3 / 5 (2)
  The entire time I was thinking that their environment was much more influential on their behavior and activities, but it only gets a little one liner at the end.
  • report abuse
  • • Current rank
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
• Mauricio - Apr 29, 2009
  • Rank: 1 / 5 (1)
  Young primates tend to select toys based on sex. The males tend to play with cars and machines and the females tend to play with dolls.
  
  In a social system like ours, if a man says that the differences between sexes are biologically based, he would loose his job and starve. That what he needs to understand after he is 10.
  
  The similarities in performance observed in some females in men domains and some men in women domains, are due to variability among the same sex, few women have male-like physiology and they can perform well in men tasks...
  • report abuse
  • • Current rank
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5