Abstract
Effects of models' toy preferences on subjects' sex-typed toy selections were examined. In Part I. kindergarten children rated nine toys according to their own preferences. From these, three toys (female-traditional, male-traditional, and nonsex-typed) were selected. In Part II, kindergarten children viewed either a same-sex or an opposite-sex model playing with one of the toys, in symbolic modeling format. Following this the subject was given 6 min. to play with the three toys. Hidden observers continuously recorded subject's play using discrete category event recording equipment. Duration and latency measures were taken. As predicted, two of the toys were sex-typed while the third was neutral. Across all toys, same-sex modeling was more effective than opposite-sex modeling. No differences in susceptibility to modeling cues were found between the sexes. The results imply that despite strong sex-typed preferences, children's play can be modified. The results are discussed in terms of sex-typed toy activities, sex-role development and methodological issues raised by earlier studies in this field.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.