GENDER-TYPING IN YOUNG-CHILDREN - PREFERENCES, BEHAVIOR AND CULTURAL-DIFFERENCES

One hundred and sixty-one 4-4 1/2-year-old children (82 girls and 79 b oys) from Cambridge (UK) and Budapest (Hungary) participated in a cros s-cultural study of the processes of gender differentiation. Children were individually interviewed to assess tov preference, awareness of s tereotypes and sex-role preference. Focal child observations were carr ied out during free play in preschool (120 observation periods over ei ght separate 30-minute sessions per child). Behavioural categories inc luded activities, use of specified toys, sex of playmates, and social interactions with peers and teachers. Variables which differentiated g irls and boys were summed within each category to give sex-typical mea sures. Girls and boys scored in the expected direction on the several measures, but girls in both locations were less stereotyped than boys in their toy and sex-role preference. Intercorrelations among the gend er-typing measures were stronger for 'masculine' variables than for 'f eminine' ones. Further, play activities and toys were more clearly dif ferentiated than social interactions. Consistent with previous studies , relations between measures of gender-typing were at most moderate, s upporting a multidimensional approach. In contrast to previous reports , we found short-term individual stability of same-sex preference and contrary to expectations, sex-segregation was not related to sex-diffe rentiated behavioural styles. Comparing the samples, there were no dif ferences in toy, sex-role, or playmate preference, but Budapest childr en were significantly more 'masculine' and less 'feminine' on the beha vioural measures.