Parent’s Toy Preferences Children’s Toy Preferences Pink Cars and Blue Tea-sets: What drives children’s toy preferences and gender stereotypes? Lauren Spinner Ls531@kent.ac.uk We need to know this because… Gender stereotypes are restrictive The toys children choose to play with shapes their development Toy companies are increasingly using colour to market toys We need to know how to weaken gender stereotypes in children Potential drivers of gender knowledge & behaviour: Children as drivers: (Cognitive Developmental Approach, Kohlberg) At 4-5 years children actively seek out information about gender, USE gender to organise their world, have very rigid views, and adhere to gender stereotypes. Parents as teachers: directly communicate stereotypes, create gendered (or non-gendered) world (toys, clothes, etc.), play behaviour, expectations. Societal influence-Colour: pink and blue heavily gendered Gendered toys: clear distinction between ‘boys’ and ‘girls’ toys; active, action toys for boys, passive and nurturing toys for girls. Method: Participants: British children aged 3-5 years (n = 44) and their parents (n = 34) Children’s tasks: Toy Preferences, Gender Stereotypes, Perceived Parental Attitudes, Gender Constancy Parent’s tasks: Toy Preferences, Gender Stereotypes, Pre-School Activities Inventory (PSAI) Do children and parents use toy colour and gender stereotypes to determine toy preference, and how do they compare? Parent’s Toy Preferences Children’s Toy Preferences How accurately do children predict parent’s toy preferences? What is the relationship between gender constancy & gender stereotyping? Do children assign toys to categories in line with gender stereotypes, and does their everyday play have a relationship with toy preferences? Feminine colours Masculine colours Toy Only boys Only girls Both x2 Feminine toys Wand 2 31 11 30.05*** - Pony 6 27 16.41*** Baby 25 8 11.23*** Tea set 16 22 8.91* Masculine toys Car 19 7.68* Plane 15 21 5.77** Tools 17 4.68 Army 18 9 3.32 MM FF FM MF Boy’s PSAI score -. 382 - .573* -. 499* .018 Girl’s PSAI score - .151 -.056 -. 090 -. 383 Social referencing and implicit cues Future directions… Conclusions: Children are drivers of their own gendered behaviour; girls show more interest in pink, feminine toys than other toy types despite parents rejecting pink toys. Parents appear to hold egalitarian views regarding gender stereotypes of toys Children’s perceptions of parent’s toy interest is in line with their own toy interest As children cognitively begin to understand more about gender, they become less flexible with gender norms Media influence