GRACE COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

PADANTHALMOODU
Subject:Childhood and Growing Up
Topic:Gender Stereotyping in Middle Childhood

Submitted By:
Name : M.Ancy’
Class : 1st B.Ed,
Department :
Computer Science.
WELCOME
Gender Stereotyping in Middle
Childhood
Gender Stereotyping in Middle
Childhood
Middle childhood follows the early childhood and extends
from the age 6 to 8.

By age 5, gender stereotyping of activities and occupations is

well established.

 During middle childhood knowledge of stereotype increases in

the less obvious areas of personality traits and achievement.
 At the same time, because older children realize that gender
stereotypic attributes are associated but not defining
characteristics of being male or female.

The beliefs of older children, about possible male and female

characteristics and capacities become more flexible
Personality Traits
To assess stereotyping of personality traits, researchers ask
children to assign “masculine” adjectives (tough, rational,
cruel)

 and feminine adjectives (gentle, affectionate, dependent) to

either a male or a female stimulus figure.

 Middle childhoods are children good at judging u Personality

of dispositions.
To assess stereotyping of personality traits, researchers ask
children to assign “masculine “adjective (“tough, rational,
cruel”) and “feminine” adjectives (“gentle, “affectionate”
childhood are “dependent”) to either a male or a female
stimulus figure.

 Children in middle childhoods are good at judging personality

dispositions of people.
Stereotyping of personality traits increases steadily in middle
childhood, becoming adult like around age 11.

The pattern of children’s trait learning and found that the

stereotypes acquired first reflected in – group favoritism.

 portraying one’s own gender in a positive light.

 Once trait stereotyping is well established children

characterize the in – group and the out- group as having both
positive and negative qualities.
Though both boys and girls view each gender as having more
positive than negative traits, this effect is stronger for the in –
group favoritism and out- group negativity than boys.

This may be due to girls more readily pick up the widely held
general impression of girls as “sugar and spice and everything
nice”.
Achievement Areas
Children in the lower primary classes identify which academic
subjects and skill areas are “masculine” and which are
“feminine”.

They often regard reading, art, and music as more for girls and
mathematics, athletics, and mechanical skills as more for boys.
These stereotypes influence children’s preferences for and
sense of competence at certain school subjects.

 Boys tend to feel more competent than girls at math, science,

and athletics whereas girls feel more competent than boys at
language arts and music, even when children of equal skill
level are compared.
Dramatically, flexibility starts appearing in children’s gender
stereotyping, at age 7 and goes on steadily increasing.

As Children develop the capacity to integrate conflicting

social cues, children realize that a person’s sex is not a certain
predictor of his or her personality traits, activates, and
behavior.

Similarly, by the end of the school years, most children no

longer view gender – typed behavior (especially that of girls)
as inborn and fixed.
Rather, they see it as socially influenced – affected by home
rearing environments.

Between ages 7 and 13, children of both genders became more

open minded about girls being offered the same opportunities
as boys.

 This change is less pronounced for boy’s school level as thay

think males often favour their own in group and limit girls’
access to high status opportunities.
 When 5 to 10 year olds were asked why only men had been
elected to the U.S. presidency, their most frequent explanation
was that men would not vote for a woman candidate.
THANK YOU