Gary D. Levy

Aspects of Young Children's Perceptions of Gender-Typed Occupations.

Perceived competencies of men and women in gender-typed occupations, perceptions about how much money men and women earn in gender-typed occupations, and affective reactions regarding growing up to have gender-typed occupations were examined in 55 primarily White middle-class preschoolers and primary school children. Children (particularly boys) viewed men as more competent than women in masculine occupations, and rated women as more competent than men in feminine occupations. Children believed men earned more than women across occupations, but that men earned more money than women in masculine occupations, and women earned more money than men in feminine occupations. Childrens affective reactions to growing up to have gender-role-consistent occupations were more positive than their reactions to having gender-role-inconsistent occupations. Results suggest children perceive differential competencies of men and women regarding gender-typed occupations, and differences in pay for men and women within gender-typed occupations, at ages younger than previously determined.

Differences in Ethnic Identity in Native American Adolescents as a Function of School Context

Examined were differences in ethnic identity in 101 Native American male andfemale 9th and 12th graders. Native American adolescents attending a high school with a predominantly Native American student body demonstrated significantly greater ethnic identity exploration and commitment than Native American adolescents from high schools with a predominantly White student body. The 12th grade Native American adolescentsfrom a high school with a predominantly Native American student body had greater ethnic identity commitment than 9th grade Native American adolescents from the same school. Also, 12th grade Native American adolescents from a high school with a predominantly Native American student body had greater ethnic identity commitment than 9th and 12th grade Native American adolescents from a high school with a predominantly White student body. Exploration and commitnent appear to be important aspects of ethnic identity to Native American adolescents. Results highlight the importance of school and community-based contexts on ethnic identity development in Native American adolescents.

Individual differences in race schematicity as predictors of African American and White children's race-relevant memories and peer preferences

Abstract Race schematicity, memories for racially stereotyped portrayals, and race-based peer preferences of 70 young children (32 African American, 38 White) were assessed. Consistent with schema-based models of stereotyping, race schematicity was positively and significantly associated with memory distortions of racial stereotype-inconsistent drawings into stereotype-consistent ones. Conversely, race schematicity was negatively and significantly associated with accurate memories for racial stereotype-inconsistent content, and with memory distortions of racial stereotype-consistent portrayals into stereotype-inconsistent ones. As predicted, race schematicity was positively and significantly associated with same-race peer preference bias, as was childrens age in months. Results support application of the schematicity construct and relevant social psychological research with adults to the study of young African American and White childrens racial stereotyping and processing of race-relevant information.

Changes and differences in preschoolers' understanding of gender scripts☆

Abstract Accuracy in sequencing gender scripts, use of the gender-role and temporal components of gender scripts, and taxonomic gender-role knowledge were assessed in 3- to 6-year-old children. Older children exhibited significantly more accurate sequencing of masculine and feminine gender-scripts than younger children. Boys demonstrated significantly more accurate sequencing of own-sex than other-sex gender scripts. With the effect of gender-script understanding controlled for statistically, younger children based significantly more script follow-up judgments on the gender-role component of gender scripts than older children. Taxonomic gender-role knowledge by children was not significantly associated with their accuracy at sequencing gender scripts. Results substantiate and expand our understanding of early social cognitive development.

Gender schemas and the salience of gender: Individual differences in nonreversal discrimination learning

Sixty-seven 3–6-year-old children, identified as gender schematic and aschematic, completed a nonreversal discrimination learning task. This task permits examination of childrens abilities to attend selectively to particular dimensions of a multidimensional stimulus. Gender typing and size of stimulus were the relevant target dimensions. Gender schematic children required significantly more trials to criterion when the shift was from sex type to size of stimulus, and significantly fewer trials to criterion when the shift was from size to sex type of stimulus, than did aschematic children. Gender aschematic childrens performance was relatively unaffected by type of stimulus dimension. Results support predictions of the differential salience of the gender dimension to gender schematic and aschematic children.

Developmental and individual differences in preschoolers' recognition memories: The influences of gender schematization and verbal labeling of information

Eighty-three 37-92-month-old childrens gender schematization and recognition memories for gender-typed content were assessed. Verbal labeling of stimuli and age were positively associated with childrens memories. Highly gender schematic children displayed better memories for gender-role consistent information and committed more gender transformation errors than less gender schematic children. Interactions between childrens gender schematization, age, and labeling condition were observed. Labeling of stimuli facilitated less schematic childrens memories for gender-role consistent information. Gender schematization was positively associated with younger childrens memories, suggesting younger childrens memories are more strongly mediated by gender schematization than older childrens. Results support the position that studies of gender schema development require an integrated approach recognizing individual and developmental differences in gender schematic processing.

High and low gender schematic children's release from proactive interference

Thirty-seven 4–5 year-old predominantly white children from moderate SES households, identified as high and low gender schematic, completed a Release from Proactive Interference task (RPI) comprised of drawings of same-sex gender-typed toys and animals. The RPI task assesses spontaneous comprehension, encoding, and short-term recall of items from two categories of information. As predicted, high gender schematic children demonstrated significantly greater patterns of release from proactive interference than low schematic children. Specifically, high and low schematic childrens patterns of recall following a shift from same-sex gender-typed toys to animals differed significantly, suggesting that gender roles are a more salient and influential information processing dimension to high than low gender schematic children. Results add to data validating the present measure of gender schematicity and its ability to differentiate individual differences in the salience of gender roles to young children. Results also corroborate and expand on theory and research describing the impact and consequences of individual differences in the salience of the gender role dimension on the information processing of high and low gender schematic children.

Recall of Related and Unrelated Gender-Typed Item Pairs by Young Children.

Aspects of 40 young childrens (22 boys, 18 girls; mean age = 51.00 months) recall of related and unrelated item pairs were assessed. Children were primarily white and middle SES. Consistent with previous recall research, boys recalled significantly more pairs, and individual items from pairs, of related gender-typed items than pairs containing unrelated items. Girls recalled significantly more pairs, and individual items from pairs, of related animal items than any other types of related or unrelated pairings. Congruent with the component model of gender role knowledge development, girls showed significantly greater recall of pairs, and individual items from pairs, of same-sex feminine item pairs than other-sex masculine ones. Consistent with previous memory research examining young childrens pair recall, boys demonstrated significantly better recall of pairs, and individual items from pairs, containing related same-sex masculine items than pairs with two unrelated items. These data suggest young children conceptualize gender roles as social categories to organize processing of social information.

Aspects of Preschoolers' Comprehension of Indoor and Outdoor Gender-Typed Toys.

Forty-nine 44- to 81-month-old predominantly white childrens classification of and clustering in recall of gender-typed indoor and outdoor toys, and their gender schematicity, were assessed. Consistent with predictions, children high in gender schematicity demonstrated significantly greater clustering in their recall by gender type than children low in schematicity. As expected, all children demonstrated more accurate classification of same-sex than other-sex gender-typed toys in general. However, boys and girls showed distinctively different patterns in their abilities to accurately classify same-sex and other-sex indoor and outdoor gender-typed toys. Results are discussed in terms of the different social and play contexts inhabited by preschool boys and girls.

Effects of Gender Constancy and Figure's Height and Sex on Young Children's Gender-Typed Attributions

Young childrens attributions of gender-typed activities to figures/models differing in height and/or sex were examined over three experiments. The influence of gender constancy understanding on childrens gender-typed attributions was also examined. In Experiment 1, young children attributed significantly more masculine activities to male than female figures and significantly more feminine activities to female than male figures. Experiment 2 confirmed the results demonstrated in Experiment 1. In Experiment 2, additional line-drawn stimuli and figure comparisons were incorporated; participants attributed significantly more masculine activities to taller than shorter male figures and taller than shorter female figures. In addition, children attributed significantly more feminine activities to taller than shorter female figures. In Experiment 3, participants viewed pictures of taller and shorter male and female models. Results confirmed those of Experiment 1, as well as most of those of Experiment 2. No consistent patterns of childrens gender-typed attributions as a function of gender constancy understanding emerged in the three experiments. Results are discussed as they apply to unexplored tenets from Kohlbergs cognitive-developmental model, as well as those of gender schema models, of early gender role development.