Mirror Recognition
Gender Development
Gender Dev. Gender Identity –3 rd birthday –sense of being boy or girl –Categorize others –Superficial changes with appearance and behavior –Gender Segregation (cross cultural) begins to emerge (girls first at age 2)—full blown by elementary school!
Gender Dev. Gender Stability –3-4 years –Gender is stable over time –Still superficial, changes with appearance and behavior
Gender Dev. Gender Constancy –5-7 years –Gender is stable over time AND across all situations –Closely related to Conservation understanding
Gender Differences Across Dev. Toy preferences as early as 1 year –Not only preference for gender typical toys but neutral toys if believed gender appropriate Play Style –Rough and tumble play –Large vs small groups –Shared emotion vs. shared activities/interests –Competition (50% males, 1% females) –Communication –Problem solving: Compromises vs. physical force –Pretend play (heroes vs. families) –Aggression (physical vs. verbal/relational)
Biological vs. Psychological Explanations Biological Explanations Animal models Genetic disorders Pregnant women who needed hormone therapy
Biological Explanations Female rats and rhesus macaques treated with testosterone = increased male-typical sexual behavior, rough and tumble play, activity level, aggression Critical periods (different for different “sex-typed” behavior) – ~8 weeks gestation – 6 months of age “Gender” is a continuous variable (biologically)