Few systematic studies of play in foragers exist despite their significance for understanding the breadth of contexts for human development and the ontogeny of cultural learning. Forager societies lack complex social hierarchies, avenues for prestige or wealth accumulation, and formal educational institutions, and thereby represent a contrast to…

The present study compared 5-and 10-year-old North American and Israeli children's beliefs about the objectivity of different categories (n = 109). Children saw picture triads composed of two exemplars of the same category (e.g., two women) and an exemplar of a contrasting category (e.g., a man). Children were asked whether it would be acceptable…

When maternal communication with two-and-one-half- to three-and-one-half-year-old children was analyzed, significant differences between mothers' speech to daughters and sons were found. Males consistently received more verbal stimulation of the type thought to facilitate cognitive development. Differential treatment of girls and boys was lessened…

Examined sex-typing in child personality, interests, and activities as function of traditionality of parents' gender role attitudes and sex composition of sibling dyads. Found that sex-typing was most evident in children's interests and activities. Differences in children's sex-typing as a function of fathers' attitudes and sibling sex…

Using extensive, multifaceted observational and interview data from the Family Socialization and Developmental Competence Project (FSP), this paper examines the claims that androgynes, by comparison with sex-typed individuals, are more effective persons and parents. (Author/RH)

Examined the implications of sex-typed housework of children from dual- and single-earner families for children's adjustment as a function of congruencies between children's work and parents' sex-role behaviors and attitudes. Analyses revealed differences in sex and earner status in children's and parents' involvement in traditionally feminine and…

Preference for novelty, as measured with an exploratory behavior paradigm, was compared in 8-month-old full-term and preterm infants of matched conceptional age. Subjects were 64 infants, 32 full term and 32 preterm, with 16 males and 16 females in each group. (Author/JH)

Eating rates (bites per interval) and other meal behaviors (number of chews, sips, talks with a neighbor, and chews per bite) were observed for 30 normal and 30 overweight white preschool children in their school cafeterias. The children ranged in age from 1 1/2 to 6 years. (JMB)

Two studies investigated two groups of young children at the ages of four and eight years, respectively. Subjects were required to solve a simple problem task by performing a response opposite to that demonstrated by an adult. Girls' performance was significantly worse than boys', regardless of the sex of the model. (Author/CI)

Examined connections between having a sister versus a brother and coming from a same-sex versus an opposite-sex sibling dyad, and sex-typing in adolescents' friendships. Findings suggested that sisters may learn control tactics from brothers that they apply in friendships. Boys were less likely to model emotional intimacy. Coming from opposite-sex…

When equated on level of maturity, preterm infants were indistinguishable from full-term infants in their rates of response decrement to stimulus repetition and their subsequent response to a novel stimulus. Responsiveness to auditory novelty at four months was a strong predictor of 18-month mental performance for females but not for males. (RH)

Play behaviors of 17 children enrolled in a discovery-based preschool program and 18 children in a formal program within a university center were observed over 11 weeks for 20 one-minute observations. (Author)

In this study, 4-, 7-, and 8-year-old children and parents rated the sex-appropriateness of 52 toys. Results are discussed in terms of social learning factors (acquisition) and cognitive processes (retrieval) governing judgments of stereotype. (BRT)

This study investigated the relative conformity of American and Brazilian students across ages from 9 to 21 years old. (Authors)