Sex Differences in Behavior of Nursery School Children

Abstract

The old age problem Which comes first, the chicken or the egg? appears to be no more interesting nor baffling than the question of sex differences. Are there observable and significant differences in the behavior of boys and girls? If so, can these differences be attributed to variations in social training and attitudes or do they represent fundamental, innate differences in function or structure? These are questions which are almost as puzzling today as they were thirty years ago when research investigations on sex differences were in their beginnings. On the latter of these two questions information is especially vague. No verifiable data on innate differences in behavior exist. We have only the belief that such differences are possible. To quote Murphy and Murphy, Even on the endocrine evidence alone some qualitative sex differences seem beyond all doubt. (26, p. 122) On the first of the two questions we do have a smattering of knowledge, assembled from countless studies. The majority of these studies have, in themselves, yielded negative or negligible results. It is largely because so many studies have shown the same consistent tendencies that we are justified in thinking that some sex differences in behavior do exist. Most of the information which is available on sex differences is based upon studies of school age children or adults, upon whom social forces may have exerted a strong influence. The available data on preschool children -in whom social factors have had considerable, but obviously less opportunity to operate -is limited to studies which in themselves have dealt primarly with very restricted or isolated aspects of behavior. The present investigation is based upon ratings for a wide variety of behavior tendencies in children of preschool age. A description of the data is given in the following section. The analysis of the data involved not only generalized comparison of the behavior of boys and girls, but also an analysis in terms of age level. The latter comparisons were made in the hopes that age differences in sex comparisons might throw some light on the problem of innate versus socially conditioned factors.