Gender And Relationship Of Children :: essays research papers

Gender and Relationship of ChildrenIntroductionThe topic of sex differences in the play preschoolers has been exploredby many researchers in the past. Studies have been conducted on elementary sexdifferences such as what toys and gender of playmates do young boys and female childsprefer. The size of childrens play networks, as well as if these networkschange in the size during the preschool years have been explored. Also,differences in styles of play and the drawrence of autocratic and negativeinteractions have been examined. The effect that parents have on their sons anddaughters, as well as preschool classrooms and teachers have been examined aspossible causes of sex differences during play.The aim of this paper is to critically review the recent literature inthis field and determine whether or not sex differences occur in play. If sexdifferences occur, the possible reasons for this occurrence will also beexamined.Review of the Research SectionMaccoby (1990) summarized a numb er of studies to support her hypothesisthat suggests disparate social situations may either heighten or suppress sexdifferences in behaviour.One study was that of social interaction between pairs of young children(Jacklin & Maccoby, 1978). Pairs of 33-month aged children were brought togetherin the same-sex or mixed-sex in a laboratory playroom, and the amount and kindof social behaviour directed more social behaviour, both positive and negative,to same sex playmates that opposite sex ones. Girls paired with boys were morelikely to stand watching their partners, or withdraw towards an adult, than boysin any pairing or girls playing with girls. The point brought up in this studyis that interactive behaviour is not just situationly specific, it also dependson the gender of participants.Some of the reasons given by Maccoby (1990) for attraction to same sexpartners and avoidance of other sex partners in childhood are the rough playstyle of boys and their orientation towards competitio n and dominance. otherreason is that girls find it difficult to influence boys. An example of suchreasoning is supported by a study done by Poulishta (1987). Preschool aged boy-girl pairs were observed competing for an object. The children were given achance to use a movie-viewer that could only be used by one child at a time. Itseemed spell pairs were alone in the playroom the boys dominated the movie-viewer. When an adult was present, however, this did not occur, The adultspresence seemed to inhibit the boys more power assertive techniques resultingin equal access. This supports the reason why the attraction to same sex