Eleanor Maccoby is a renowned psychologist, with publications dating from 1957 to today. She specializes on the socialization of children, developmental change in personality and behavior, relationships of couples after divorce, and parent-child interactions. In this review I focus on her work examining the socialization of children, and parent-child interactions. I link her work between the socialization of children, from their interactions with their parents and with other children, to the interactions of adults. There is a clear parallel between the sex-typed skills learned in child-interactions and those conveyed in adult interactions.
Parent–Child Interactions
Maccoby looks at the development of gender through interaction: “social behavior is never a function of the individual alone. It is the function of the interaction between two or more persons” (Maccoby 1990). Maccoby’s earlier work dealt with parental effects on children’s gender identity, focusing on the sex stereotypes that parents instill in their children through interaction.
Rothbart and Maccoby (1966) studied parents’ reactions to specific child behaviors, especially those regarded as sex-typed, like dependency and aggression, in hopes of understanding what accounts for sex differences in behavior. Social-learning theory addresses the finding, that girls display more dependent behaviors than boys, and boys display more aggressive behaviors than girls. And that dependent behaviors are less rewarded for males, just as aggressive behaviors are less rewarded for females (Rothbart and Maccoby 1966). Using social-learning theory, and assuming that the family constitutes the “culture” into which a young child is exposed, Rothbart and Maccoby (1966) predicted that both parents would reinforce dependency more strongly in girls, and aggression more strongly in boys.
Rothbart Maccoby (1966) tested their prediction by placing parents in a hypothetical situation with a child, asking them to record their reactions and responses to statements made by the child, such as: “Daddy (or Mommy), come look at my puzzle…Daddy, help me…Baby, you can’t play with me. You’re too little…Leave my puzzle alone or I’ll hit you in the head!” (Maccoby and Rothbart 1966). The “child” in this situation was a recording of a 4 year old’s voice. Parents were told eith...
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... Maccoby (2002) argues that since the same patterns that exist in children’s mixed and same-sex interactions are prevalent in adult interactions, it is not sufficient to only look at the interaction styles of adults, but that researchers must start with examining those of young children. This review traces those steeps that Maccoby has taken in her research. She began her research with parent-child interactions, studying the affect parents have on the sex-typing behavior of their children, in hopes of establishing where children learn about gender identity. Maccoby then took that information and combined it with research on children’s interactions in play groups, which led her to believe that parental sex-typing is inconsequential in children’s decisions to play in sex-segregated groups. Maccoby (1987) argues that it is the combination of dominance and control with gender labeling that drives children to interact in same-sex groups. Maccoby then ascertains the importance of the interaction skills learned in these same-sex-segregated groups in affecting adult behavior, and illustrates the many parallels that exist between the interactions of the two different age groups.
Sexuality and Gender in Children’s Daily Worlds article by Thorne and Luria focuses on the relationships between sexuality and gender in the experience of 9 to 11 year old children. The purpose of the authors’ analysis is to illuminate age-based variations and transitions in the organization of sexuality and gender. Throughout this paper we discover how gender and sexuality has become a social and cultural construction that is expressed through young children. At a young age we tend to define and separate ourselves by gender, boys vs. girl. These divisions are enforced around us daily. For example, teachers often tend to separate team by gender whether it’s in the classroom or the playground.
The actual timeframe in which kids discover their genders is open for debate, as not all scientists agree on the ages. Blum states, “some scientists argue for some evidence of gender awareness in infancy, perhaps by the age of 12 months. The consensus seems to be that full-blown “I’m a girl” or “I’m a boy” instincts arrive between the ages of 2 and 3” (Blum 208). Furthermore, the family environment plays a massive role in helping children discover their sex. Children living in a long-established family setting that has a father and a mother might develop their gender identities more closely. In contrast, children in a contemporary family environment might grasp a more diverse view of gender roles, such as everyone participating in cleaning the house and not just mom. As children grow older, they naturally develop behavior patterns of close relations with the kids of the same sex, and prefer to spend their time with them. Blum explains “interviews with children find that 3-year-olds say that about half their friendships are with the opposite sex” (Blum 208). In this stage of life, the boys want to hang out with other boys. Similarly, girls wanted to spend more time with the other girls. As a result, each gender has little or no contact with each other until they approach their teenage years. Overall, the question here is whether our gender roles occur naturally or affected by family and friends. I believe it is a case for both, because I remember growing up in a “traditional” household where I saw the distinctions between my mother and father. My father went to work every day and my mother took care of me and my brother. Furthermore, my understanding of gender carried on into my school years, as I preferred hanging out with other boys and did boy stuff until I started dating. I also understand that gender behaviors and roles do not stop at this point, and we continue to develop other behaviors
How do children learn to be men or women? Penelope Eckert is a professor of linguistics and anthropology at Stanford University and Sally McConnell-Ginet is a professor of linguistics at Cornell University. They wrote an article “Learning to Be Gendered,” published in 2013 in the book “Language and Gender.” The authors argue that society has many ways to shape children's gender by children’s behaviors since their birth. Eckert and Ginet show to the readers that the parent teaches their child’s behavior. The author is using ethos, logos, and pathos to support the thesis statement.
Langlois, J. and Downs, A. (1980) Mothers, fathers, and peers as socialization agents of sex-typed play behaviours in young children. Child Development, 51, (pp 1271-1247).
...ype of chain reaction. The pressure wave consists of what is known as compressions and rarefactions. The compression parts are areas of high pressure, where the air molecules are compressed into a small space. On the other hand, the rarefactions are areas of low pressure, where the air molecules are spread out. The result of the compressions and rarefactions is a longitudinal sound wave (Henderson).
Therefore, the constrictive American ideals of male and female gender identities inhibits growth and acceptance of gender expression. Each gender is separated by rules and guidelines that they must abide by. This, in turn, creates inner tensions that inhibit personal growth. For males, this may be, or is, an extraordinarily arduous task. More often than not, it is other male figures, such as the father, that administer and enforce these certain rules.
Gender socialization between boys and girls have been a topic of controversy for years. With views varying from supportive to disproving, one general consensus can be drawn from either side: gender socialization is the foundation of how children are brought up and is the primary reason for how boys and girls view the world in different ways. In Michael Lewis’s “Buy That Little Girl an Ice Cream Cone”, the reader is given personal anecdotes about Lewis’s family vacation trip to Bermuda, followed by an event that shaped the way he viewed both his two young daughters and the socialization of parents towards their children. Society’s differentiation between how boys and girls should act and behave is the main indication that children are socialized
Although social media have not become popular yet, the numbers of users are increasing. Humana is promoting the internal social media use, which is called Humana Point of Care (HPOC), which functions like other social media such as Facebook and Twitter. However, the HPOC is more private than other social media. The purpose of using the HPOC is to promote members’ health and care management. The members can invite anyone to their HPOCs. The person who is invited to the HPOC can share information with the member. For example, if the member invites his or her registered nurse to the HPOC to facilitate care management, the nurse can share articles that will benefit the
Rigidity and flexibility of gender stereotypes in childhood: Developmental or differential?. Infant And Child Development, 14(4), 365-381. doi:10.1002/icd.399 Zosuls, K. M., Ruble, D. N., Tamis-LeMonda, C. S., Shrout, P. E., Bornstein, M. H., & Greulich, F. K. (2009). The acquisition of gender labels in infancy: Implications for gender-typed play. Developmental Psychology, 45(3), 688-701.
From the time their children are babies, parents treat sons and daughters differently, dressing infants in gender-specific colors, giving gender-differentiated toys, and expecting differe...
Preferred Provider Organizations plans allows you the insure to use providers out of network at your discretion and you’re not required to have a referral from a primary care physician, as HMO does. However, using an out of network means you may pay a greater share of the costs. Point-of-Service plans combine features of HMOs and PPOs to offer more choices for providers. This way if you have a doctor you prefer, but was not a member of the HMO rather her/she are members of PPO now you’re able to continue care with that provider at the in-network cost. Basically it’s similar to HMO where you will have to designate a PCP, and like a PPO you have free range of providers to select from both in and out of network. High Deductible Health Plans (HDH) offers low premiums, but has high deductible and it also comes with money saving account options such as Health Savings Account (HAS). HSA allows you to save money while it grows tax-free, you can contribute to and withdraw from to pay for out-of-pocket medical care expenses such as co-pays or
These days’ health care systems are using social media to improve quality and safety of overall health care delivery, through access to information. Nurses as well as patients can get deta...
“Gender schema theory proposes that children develop a gender schema as a means of organizing their perceptions of the world. Once children acquire a gender schema, they begin to judge themselves according to traits considered appropriate to their sex.” (Rathus, Jeffrey, & Fichner-Rathus, 2014) The children who are successful in developing self-concepts that in line with the assigned gender will generally have higher self-esteem and are happier and healthier, mentally and emotionally speaking, when they are living in accordance with their assigned gender norms. Reversely, when children are raised in households that do not recognize gender norms, then children are at a deficit for learning how to be masculine men and feminine women and are at great risk of being mentally and emotionally unhappy and
Over the decades, a significant mark of the evolution of gender is the increasing social phenomenon in how society conceptualizes gender. Gender is a system of social practices for characterizing people as two different categories, femininity and masculinity and arranging social relations of inequality on the basis of that difference (Ridgeway & Correll 2004). Gender-neutral parenting (GNP) refers to raising children outside of the traditional stereotypes of girls and boys. It involves allowing children to explore their innate personalities and abilities rather than confining them into rigid gender roles that society has shaped. It can be argued that it is through socialization children discover how to operate in gendered structures, learn
Witt, S. D. (n.d.). Parental influence on children’s socialization to gender roles. Retrieved from http://cla.calpoly.edu/~bmori/syll/311syll/Witt.html