The Development Of Gender Stereotypes In Preschoolers And Its Influence On Peer Choice

In the past few decades,there has been a large increase in studies related to gender,among which gender stereotypes have become the focus of various researchers.Because gender stereotype is not only the key factor that easily causes gender problems,but also the universal social phenomenon caused by gender problems.Numerous studies have shown that gender stereotypes are deeply ingrained in an individual’s beliefs,and once formed,are hard to undo.The pre-school period between 3-6 years old is a critical period for the development of children’s gender stereotype,which is mainly reflected in the choice of toys,clothing,occupation and traits.Gender stereotype will affect preschool children’s psychological and social behavior,good peer relationship is conducive to children’s cognitive,personality and social development,and gender stereotype will affect children’s social judgment and society,and also affect children’s choice of peers to some extent.Existing studies on stereotypes mainly focus on retrospective studies of college students and adults,and less on gender stereotypes of preschool children.In addition,previous studies on children’s gender stereotypes did not focus on the impact of stereotypes on peer selection.Therefore,this paper focuses on the development trend of gender stereotypes in children aged 3-6,pays attention to the important period of the development of children’s stereotypes,and explores the influence of the development of gender stereotypes on children’s peer selection.In this study,145 pre-school children in a kindergarten in Suzhou,Jiangsu Province were selected to complete the task of selecting toys,appearance,occupation and traits,as well as peer selection in a quiet room.Experiment 1 explored the development characteristics of pre-school children’s knowledge of gender stereotypes through the study of self-choice and other-choice.Explore whether there are significant differences in gender stereotype scores of different classes and genders.Experiment 2 explores whether preschoolers with stereotypes have gender differences in peer choice through the study of preschoolers’ stereotypes and peer choice,so as to obtain the influence of stereotypes on children’s peer choice.Draw the following conclusions:（1）The development of gender stereotypes in children can affect the choice of peers for 3-6 years old children.The more rigid the gender is,the more likely they are to choose the same sex in peer selection.（2）Development trend of children’s gender stereotypes: Children are rigid in the field of toys and appearance,and the gender stereotypes of children are constantly improving.Middle class is the critical period for the development of stereotyping,and tends to be stable in the first class.（3）In peer selection,children tend to choose the same sex,and middle class and big class children tend to stereotype the same sex choice more significantly.Based on the experimental results,this study provides educational suggestions on avoiding gender stereotyping and promoting peer communication among young children.Firstly,the health education of infant gender role should be strengthened: parents should establish scientific gender education concept,teachers should carry out gender equality education and training,and society should pay attention to the guidance of gender values.Secondly,to promote children’s peer communication and social development: to create a good atmosphere of peer communication,reasonable guidance of children’s peer communication,to promote children’s social development;Finally,to reduce the negative impact of stereotypes on peer selection,we should create an environment that attaches importance to gender equality,develop gender-equal kindergarten curriculum,and increase the proportion of male teachers in kindergartens.