42 rural aboriginal children and 96 suburban white children aged between 32 and 74 mo. were individually tested for stereotyping of sex role using a toy-preference technique. Significant effects of age and racial group upon level of stereotyping were obtained. These indicated that older children in both groups were more rigidly stereotyped and that the aboriginal group was less stereotyped than the white group. This was conceptualised as indicating a developmental lag of approximately 15 mo. Possible reasons for this lag, and the additional restriction of sex-role stereotyping upon aboriginal development, were discussed.
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