The current study was designed to examine sex differences in group interaction in early childhood. Seven classes of four-year old children and six classes of five-year-old participated as subjects. Thirteen playgroups of 6 girls and 6 boys each were formed. Analyses of the girls' and boys' interactions showed that there was a marginally significant trend for girls to engage in more Simultaneous Group Interaction than boys. Analyses of a second measure, Coordinated Group Activity, demonstrated that boys, after five years of age, were found to engage in significantly more group interaction than girls. Findings revealed that in early childhood, males and females differ in their modes of interaction with peers (ie, their social structure), with age five as a transition period for males.

Perceptual defense has been described as a process in which the perceptual recognition of threatening or unacceptable stimuli is inhibited as a function of the emotionality of the stimulus input. In the present study 15 male and 15 female undergraduate students were exposed tachistoscopically to neutral stimulus words and critical stimulus words related to, or associated with, aggression. A 2 x 2 analysis of variance revealed that all subjects required a significantly greater number of trials to correctly identify critical stimulus words as compared to neutral stimulus words. In addition, male subjects demonstrated significantly higher perceptual recognition thresholds than did female subjects. The results support the perceptual defense hypothesis that delayed perceptual recognition will occur as a function of exposure to threatening stimuli. The results do not support, and are antithetical to, the hypothesis that female subjects will demonstrate higher recognition thresholds, upon exposure to stimuli associated with aggression, than will male subjects. In interpreting this result, the effects of sex differences in visual-perceptual abilities, a decrease in socialization pressures towards females, and a convergence of sex based differences in child rearing patterns are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the combined effects of level of success and sex-typing on the attributional behavior of women. While several studies had previously investigated the effect of success level on attributional behavior, none had considered sex-type as a possible determinant. Subjects, whose sex typing was measured through use of the Bem Sex Role Inventory (Bem, 1974), were assigned to a success or failure condition manipulated through utilization of anagrams of various difficulty. In a second analysis, the possible effects of locus of control on attributional behavior was also investigated. Canonical and multiple regression analyses demonstrated that women in the success condition made stronger attributions to ability than did women who failed. This finding was partially supportive of the hypotheses being tested, and was contrary to generally held models of female attributional behavior.

The purpose of this study was to determine if sex role stereotyping occurs in elementary school readers, and, if it does, to what extent. To achieve this purpose, the study examined and classified the roles, relationships, activities, attitudes, treatments, generalizations, future directions for life and work, and the relative importance assigned to male and female characters in elementary school readers. Data were generated from the application of a 48 item classification instrument which was developed by the researcher.The sampling for the study consisted of 280 stories in 56 elementary school readers, grades 1-6. Those stories were contained in the textbook series of the 7 publishing firms adopted by the state of Indiana for use during the 1973-78 school years.Data collected from the stories were viewed collectively for all series of elementary school readers. Findings and conclusions were based upon the total data compiled during the investigation of the problem.The data strongly indicated that sex role stereotyping consistently occurs in elementary school readers. Those data are presented in the following table:TABLE OF FINDINGSReported below are data collected from the 280 stories examined in 56 elementary school readers which present numerical comparisons between male and female roles.ItemNumber of timespresentedMaleFemaleMajor character21862In illustration (foreground)24581In front cover illustration12531Sex of names in story titles7117Biographies263In the business world (labor force)18943Active character29185Passive character36165Positive character statement25540Negative character statement3561Physical tasks accomplished24454Mental tasks accomplished18533One sex portrayed alone in groups16129Recreational activity107/111Working in the kitchen344Other domestic work1143Making an important decision21635Acquisition of skill or knowledge16324In a ridiculous or degrading situation2292Subservient to other sex074Dependent upon other sex280Based upon the findings of the study, it was concluded that females in elementary school readers were (1) less frequently represented than males in terms of numbers; (2) less frequently represented than males in titles, central roles, and stories; (3) represented in stereotyped roles such as wives, mothers, housekeepers, elementary teachers, and other service-oriented jobs; (4) represented in subordinate, home-related roles; (5) represented as being best fit to be helpmates to males and to depend on males for protection and support; (6) represented less frequently than males as intelligent, capable people with the ability to solve problems and get out of difficult situations; (7) frequently the recipients of derogatory comments; and (8) frequently represented in situations which reinforce culturally conditioned sexual characteristics illustrating as female such traits as dependency, passivity, emotionalism, and a non-competitive spirit.

It was hypothesized that girls would feel more negatively than boys about inequality of achievement within friendships. Using a questionnaire, 123 boys and 138 girls, aged 13 to 17, imagined that two close friends had performed better or worse than them in five domains. They then rated how much they would care, feel and think about the unequal outcomes, that were of equal value to both genders. They were also asked to rate how they felt the friends would feel towards them. Overall, girls' reactions to the inequality were more negative than boys'. The difficulty females face in integrating friendship and personal achievement is explored.

The presence of a sex difference in mutual eye-to-eye contact in dyadic interaction is well documented from late infancy through adulthood with females making more mutual eye contact than males. Only one study (Hittelman & Dickes, 1979) found evidence for this behavior pattern in newborns, but no research has been done to follow-up these findings. Systematic examination of the development of sex differences in mutual gaze behavior can aid in unraveling the differential effects of biological and social influences on the development of gendered social behavior. / This project was a longitudinal, within participants replication and extension of Hittelman and Dickes study: Seventy neonates (32 female, 38 male) age 13--112 hours postpartum and their parents participated in the Time 1 data collection, and 23 (9 female, 14 male) infants and their parents were seen a second time at 13--18 weeks postpartum (Time 2). Mutual gaze between the infant and two interacters (1 female, 1 male) was measured, and parents completed the Parental Sex-Typing of Newborns (Paston) Rating Scale to measure their sex-typed perceptions of newborns and young infants. / Results indicated: (a) No empirical evidence for sex differences at Time 1; (b) Strong evidence for sex differences in mutual gaze behavior at Time 2 indicating development of this sex-typed pattern in early infancy; (c) The emergence of sex differences in mutual gaze behavior from Time 1 to Time 2 is entirely accounted for by a radical change in female infants' gaze behavior; and (d) Empirical evidence linking mothers' sex-typed beliefs about their infants and infants' sex-typed gaze behavior. / Results are discussed within the theoretical contexts of the social learning and biological perspectives. This study demonstrates that infants' sex-typed behavior and mothers' gender-typed perceptions begin early in life. It is concluded that sex differences in mutual gaze behavior are a complex interplay of biological or social forces acting in concert. Subsequent research in this area should focus on the specific forces involved in bringing sex differences in mutual gaze behavior to fruition.

The current study was designed to examine characteristics associated with interaction in group versus dyads in middle childhood. Two classes of children in grades one through five participated in the study. Children were identified by their peers as participating in groups or dyads. Teachers then rated the characteristics of these children. Analyses of children interacting in groups versus dyads showed that both boys and girls in groups were perceived to be more competitive, to value their friends more, to receive more attention from peers and to be more emotionally expressive than children interacting in dyads. It was also found that boys in both groups and dyads were perceived to lack more self-control and to be more active and loud than girls. The measures of self-confidence, lack of self-control, emotional difficulties, activity level, and thoughtfulness did not differ for children who interacted in groups versus dyads. Findings are discussed in terms of the functions of group versus dyadic interaction.

The current study was designed to examine sex differences in the importance of peer relations. Interviews were conducted with 85 elementary school children from grades one, four, and six. As documented in earlier studies, boys and girls showed a clear preference for same-age, same-sex peers. There were no sex differences in children's desire to marry or how often they thought about marriage. Sex differences were found in how much children desired to play with the popular girl and boy in their class. Females desired to play with the popular girl significantly more than with the popular boy in grade one. Males desired to play with the popular boy more than the popular girl in grades one and six. Finally, females did not differ in number of girls versus boys with whom they played in their favorite activities at any grade level. In contrast, in both grades four and six, males named significantly more boys than girls in their favorite activities. Results are discussed in terms of the importance of same-sex peer relationships for males and females.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1991. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 73-77) / Microfiche. / v, 77 leaves, bound 29 cm

Thesis (M.A.)--Bowling Green State University, 2007. / Document formatted into pages; contains v, 57 p. Includes bibliographical references.