Sex Role Stereotypes: Developmental Aspects and Early Intervention

Abstract
A total of 122 children participated in 2 experiments that examined the utility of symbolic modeling stimuli in modifying sex role stereotypes. While some aspects of sex role stereotypes are present at age 3, other aspects are acquired between the 3rd and 4th yr of life. Males exhibited more stereotyped responses than females. As predicted, brief presentations of illustrated stories involving egalitarian sex role models reduced stereotypic thinking. Interaction effects revealed that an egalitarian literature presentation was more effective at age 5 than age 4 and more effective for females than males. Finally, egalitarian symbolic models in films produced more enduring attitude change on several measures than similar models in picture books.