Serbin L A, Powlishta K K, Gulko J
Monogr Soc Res Child Dev. 1993;58(2):1-99.
The present study examined the development of sex typing during middle childhood, using a sample of 558 children aged 5-12 years. The purpose of the study was to provide information about the developmental course and stability of various aspects of sex typing during this period and to examine the relative contributions of cognitive and environmental factors to sex-role development. Multiple measures of sex typing were obtained, including indices of personal preference, knowledge of stereotypes, and flexibility in the domains of activities, occupations, and traits. We also collected information about the child's cognitive maturity, exposure to sex-typed models at home, and socioeconomic status. Results supported the need for an integrative theory of sex-role development, incorporating factors emphasized by cognitive-developmental, schematic-processing, and social learning theories. Knowledge of stereotypes, flexibility, and sex-typed personal preferences all increased with age during middle childhood. There were also individual differences in sex typing that were stable over a 1-year period. Distinct "cognitive" and "affective" aspects of sex typing were identified using a principal components analysis. Cognitive elements (flexibility and knowledge of stereotypes) were largely a function of the child's cognitive maturity level, although social-environmental factors such as father's presence in the home also had some effect. Affective elements (sex-typed preferences for activities, occupations, and peers), on the other hand, were related more consistently to sex typing of the home environment. Children whose mothers frequently modeled "reversed" sex-role behaviors (i.e., traditionally "masculine" household and child-care tasks) were less sex typed in their own preferences. However, cognitive factors were also important, in that children who believed gender stereotypes to be flexible were less sex typed in their choices of activities, occupations, and peers. In sum, both cognitive maturation and socialization experiences contribute to the development of sex typing during middle childhood. Potential practical implications of these findings, as well as implications for stereotyping in other social domains such as race and ethnicity, are discussed.
本研究以558名5至12岁儿童为样本，考察了童年中期性别角色形成的发展情况。该研究的目的是提供有关这一时期性别角色形成各方面的发展过程和稳定性的信息，并考察认知因素和环境因素对性别角色发展的相对贡献。研究获得了多种性别角色形成的测量指标，包括个人偏好指数、刻板印象知识以及在活动、职业和特质领域的灵活性。我们还收集了有关儿童认知成熟度、在家接触性别角色榜样以及社会经济地位的信息。研究结果支持了一种综合的性别角色发展理论的必要性，该理论纳入了认知发展理论、图式加工理论和社会学习理论所强调的因素。在童年中期，刻板印象知识、灵活性和性别角色个人偏好均随年龄增长而增加。在性别角色形成方面也存在个体差异，且这些差异在一年时间内保持稳定。通过主成分分析确定了性别角色形成的不同“认知”和“情感”方面。认知因素（灵活性和刻板印象知识）在很大程度上是儿童认知成熟水平的函数，不过诸如父亲是否在家等社会环境因素也有一定影响。另一方面，情感因素（对活动、职业和同伴的性别角色偏好）则更一致地与家庭环境的性别角色形成相关。母亲经常表现出“颠倒”的性别角色行为（即传统上“男性化”的家务和育儿任务）的孩子，其自身偏好的性别角色特征较弱。然而，认知因素也很重要，因为那些认为性别刻板印象具有灵活性的孩子在活动、职业和同伴选择上的性别角色特征较弱。总之，认知成熟和社会化经历都有助于童年中期性别角色形成的发展。文中讨论了这些研究结果的潜在实际意义，以及对种族和民族等其他社会领域刻板印象的影响。
