The Relationship With The Development Of Children's Gender Stereotypes And Gender Constancy: The Moderation Of Mother's Gender Roles Rearing Attitudes

Gender stereotypes refer to people's fixed views or beliefs that male and female"should"have specific behaviors and chiaracteristics. As an important part of stereotypes, it was a more active focus in the field of social cognition over the last few decades. However, previous studies about gender stereotypes largely focused children's gender stereotypes knowledge or flexibility. Then Ruble (1994) proposed that the development of children's gender stereotypes not only concluded the knowledge, but also the flexibility. Moreover, previous studies about the influence of gender stereotypes seldom take into account both of children's cognitive factors and parents'factors.As the first step in the present dissertation, a comprehensive literature review was made with regard to gender stereotypes, and then limitations about this field were analyzed. On the basis of those, three related studies were conducted with a sample of 379 children aged from 3 to 9 years old to explore the development of children's gender stereotypes (including gender stereotype knowledge and flexibility) and its relationship with gender constancy and mother's gender roles rearing attitudes.The findings are as follows:1 Children aged 3-year-old had owned the gender stereotype knowledge about appearance, toys, occupations and personality. The gender stereotype knowledge about appearance and toys reached relatively stable level at 6-year-old, and that of occupations and personality were at 7-year-old. The development of children's gender stereotype knowledge was different due to different fields of gender stereotypes: the knowledge about appearance and toys were significantly more than that of occupation, and that of occupation were siginificantly more than that of personality, however, there was no siginificantly different between that of appearance and toys.2 The development of 3- to 8-year-old children's gender stereotype flexibility were nonlinear trend. Specifically, during 3- to 5-year-old, children's gender stereotype became more rigidity with age, and it was most rigidity at 5-year-old, then it became more and more flexible from 6-year-old. The development of children's gender stereotype flexibility was different due to different fields of gender stereotypes: the field of appearance was least flexible, followed by the fields of toys and personality and toys, and then that of the most flexibility was occupation. 3 Children aged 3-year-old had acquired the ability about gender identity and gender stability, with gender identity reaching the ceiling about 4-year-old, and gender stability about 6-year-old. Gender consistency was acquired at 6-year-old, and it was reached the ceiling about 7 or 8-year-old.4 Controlling for the influence of children's age and gender, children's gender stability can positively predict their gender stereotype knowledge of appearance and toys significantly, and it can negatively predict their gender stereotype flexibility of appearance, toys, and occupation. However, children's gender consistency aged 3 to 5-year-old can't siginificantly predict their gender stereotype knowledge or flexibility; Children's gender consistency aged 6 to 8-year-old can positively predict their gender stereotype knowledge about occupation and personality siginificantly, but it can't siginificantly predict their gender stereotype flexibility.5 Controlling for the influence of children's age, mother's gender roles rearing attitudes, moderate the relationship between 3- to 5-year-old children's gender stability and gender stereotype flexibility about appearance and toys.