Abstract
Boys and girls were exposed to a same- or opposite-sex live older or younger model who made verbal statements about the appropriateness of selecting a sex-inappropriate toy for the children. 55 boys and 55 girls with a mean age of 6.1 yr. were randomly assigned to one of five conditions. A 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design, with sex of S (male or female), sex of model (male or female), and status of model (older or younger) was used. In addition, boys and girls were assigned to a control group. Play with the sex-inappropriate toys was promoted more following exposure to an older model. The results were explained in terms of the possible cross-situational generality of instructions from an adult.