Abstract
Pictures of 24 different animals were sorted into categories of male and female by 40 preschool and 40 fourth grade children, equally divided by sex. Equal numbers of pictures had previously been designated male, female, or ambiguous by adult judges. Objectively aggressive animals were often agreed to be male but only one animal was classified as female by one group, fourth grade boys. Adult-specified male animals received significantly more male designations than adult-specified females. Fourth graders made significantly more female designations among adult-specified females than did preschoolers. Characteristics such as aggressiveness may be associated with males, by young children, but notions about female characteristics do not develop until later in childhood.
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