Gender Constancy and Same-Sex Imitation: A Developmental Study

Abstract

Summary Recent research has indicated that cognitive-developmental processes (i.e., awareness of gender constancy) may have an important impact on children's sex-role development. The present study, based on the work of Slaby and Frey, interviewed 51 preschool children individually to assess their awareness of gender constancy and their choice of same-sex models. The findings suggest that the relationship may be more complex than originally assumed. Imitation of same-sex models performing relatively neutral activities was not more likely among high gender-constant children (aware that their gender cannot change) than among low gender-constant children (not certain whether their gender is fixed and unchanging). However, when given a choice between imitating a same-sex model performing a relatively unpleasant task and an opposite-sex model enacting a more pleasant behavior, high gender-constant children were more likely to indicate an imitative preference for the same-sex model than low gender-constant chil...