Gender, affiliation, assertion, and the interactive context of parent-child play

Ninety-eight young U.S. children (mean age = 48 months) with either Europea n, Latin American, or multiple ethnic backgrounds were videotaped with thei r motheis and their fathers on separate occasions in their families' homes. Parent-child pairs played for 8 min each with a feminine-stereotyped toy s et (foods and plates) and a masculine-stereotyped toy set (track and cars). Levels of affiliation (engaging vs, distancing) and assertion (direct vs. nondirect) were rated on 7-point scales every 5 s from the videotapes for b oth parent and child. Overall, the play activity accounted for a large prop ortion of the variance in parents' and children's mean affiliation and asse rtion ratings. Some hypothesized gender-related differences in behavior wer e also observed. In addition, exploratory analyses revealed some difference s between the different ethnic groups. The results highlight the importance of role modeling and activity settings in the socialization and social con struction of gender.