Erik Erikson concluded that differences in the play constructions of young children are largely determined by psychosexual differences in the subjects and not by cultural influence. He suggested that additional observation of younger and older subjects could determine whether the differences were true for all ages or whether they were restricted…

Consists of 10 articles dealing with such topics as why children play, which particular variables instigate play, does play make a difference, and do games and sports make a difference. (NQ)

Research supported by grant MH-08667 from the National Institute of Mental Health, and Public Health Service General Research Support grant 1-S01-FR-05632-02 from the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.

Investigated fathers' influence on the socialization of children and how it may differ from that of mothers. Parents (N=128) responded to seven scales concerning parental role responsibilities. Fathers and mothers reported high agreement as to major parental role responsibilities for a male child, less agreement occurred for female children.…

Research findings in child development are reviewed to shed light on female achievement motives, with the suggestion that females have high needs for affiliation which influence their achievement motives and behavior, sometimes enhancing and sometimes blocking them. (Author/JM)

Several aspects of gender concept development were investigated in 60 children of mixed socioeconomic background ranging in age from three to six years. Tasks were designed to assess gender constancy, knowledge of sex-stereotypes, differential memory and preference for sex-typed material, and gender categorization. Cognitive maturity was assessed…

Gender differences among street children in Nairobi suggest familial function, and development and mental-health outcomes. Male children are taught coping skills by their mothers early on to take up street life to support their family. Female children, expected to remain at home and learn to become women, turn to street life as the result of…

This study explores how mothers socialize their daughters in ways that are systematically different from how the socialize their sons, and whether these differences are related, in turn, to systematically different ways in which fathers socialize their sons and daughters. (Author/EB)

Psychoanalytic, social learning and cognitive-developmental theories are evaluated in terms of their usefulness in explaining sex role acquisition. A model that attempts to integrate the most significant features from each theoretical position is proposed. (Author/EB)

Summarizes three studies that have revolutionized child psychology by teaching us that children are biologically programmed to learn language; children's language development is orderly and pragmatic, but grammatically mysterious; and children's linguistic self-expression reveals some disturbing ways in which they have been socialized. Presents…

Studied the transactional relationship between parental support and the development of competence in children. Results indicated a strong effect of parental support on a child's competence in infancy, a gender-differentiated stability of competence from infancy to the end of elementary school, and a relationship between the competence of a child…

A study, as yet unfinished, sought to replicate, expand, and provide preliminary answers to questions raised in previous research on the development of fantasy play by black children as functions of age, sex, income level, and other environmental factors. Fantasy play involves the attribution to persons, objects, materials, or situations of…

Attractiveness ratings of 50 children (26 males and 24 females) aged 12-38 months are studied in relation to adults' socializing behavior and attitude toward them. Correlations between attractiveness scores and child behavior reflect sex differences. A greater impact of attractiveness on girls' development than boys is noted. (SLD)

This article explores some of the major influences affecting the development of female sex-role identity and the psychological and social consequences of this deveopment during childhood and adolescence. (Author/EB)