De La Salle University

College of Liberal Arts

Department of Psychology

BOY OR GIRL?:
A STUDY ABOUT THE DEVELOPMENT OF GENDER ROLES
IN CHILDHOOD

by

Blando, Mark Kristian

Pineda, Jackeline Louise
Villanueva, Sharyn Vettina

April 16, 2019

 Abstract

This study was made to confirm Kohlberg's theory to determine whether children already

have a gender identity, gender stability, and gender constancy at certain ages. Another goal of the

researchers is to raise awareness on how parents could promote a gender-neutral environment

towards children. Overall, the study was able to confirm the theory of Kohlberg, at the age of

3-5, Children can already identify whether she is a boy or a girl. However, it was also noted

during that stage that they can only differentiate males and females through physical

characteristics (girls have longer hair compared to boys). At the age of 6 to 7, children can

already identify the difference in behavioral and the personality patterns of males and females

(boys go to work, while girls stay at home). There were also different factors identified on how

children develop their schema; factors like media and parent modeling.

Keywords: gender identity-gender stability-gender constancy

 I. Introduction

“Gender is the first, most obvious, significant attribute each of us shows the world. Even

infants understand much more about gender than we expect. It is not long before this implicit

understanding starts shaping their own behavior, actions, and emotional style. Boys and girls

begin growing into the gender roles that they see modeled all around them.” - (Eliot, 2011).

Gender roles are parts are how society anticipates a person to act based on either he is a

male or a female. It can also vary across different cultures because gender roles are specific

culture thinks one ought to do with one’s life, including personality traits, mannerisms, duties,

and cultural expectations, given one’s gender (Bornstein, 1998). Different theories and studies

also suggest that at a very young age, children can already construct their understanding of

gender roles and how a particular gender should behave. Gender has been a way for us to

construct our children’s reality.

In our society, girls are expected to do more of the household chores and to take care of

the kids. Whereas boys are expected to work and to provide for their family. In terms of

personality, boys are expected to show fewer emotions compared to girls. For children, toys for

girls highlight aesthetics, nurturance while toys for boys highlight intellect and physical prowess.

There are different traits and roles that society has set for both genders, there constitute or

conceptualized masculinity and femininity.

Some theories claimed that when a child reached the age of 5, they begin to develop

different roles about gender and also learn to apply these stereotypes to themselves and others

(Martin and Ruble, 2004). Although some of these roles are widely accepted by society, gender

roles can also be discriminating and harmful. When we value gender roles too much, we limit

ourselves to explore our skills and knowledge. Especially to the children, we all know that at that
stage of life they a wide variety and diversity of interests. By sticking too much to our gender

roles, we are also limiting their exploration of their own unique identities. Their identity, after

all, is a continuum and possibilities are just limitless.

Several studies also suggest that childhood experiences with gender roles play a vital role

in shaping an individual's self-concept and influence the way he/she The gender roles

encountered in childhood play a large part in shaping an individual's self-concept and has a great

effect in an individual’s interpersonal relationships in adulthood (Beal, 1994). Thus, the aim of

this study is to know and to explore the developmental perspective of gender roles for

pre-schoolers and grade-schoolers. The researchers would like to confirm Kohlberg's theory to

determine whether children already have a gender identity, gender stability, and gender

constancy at certain ages. The researchers would also like to raise awareness on how parents

could promote a gender-neutral environment towards children

III. Theoretical Concept

There are different theories that explain how children develop their understanding of

gender roles. One of the major theories is Kohlberg’s Theory of Gender Development (1966). It

is often referred to as a further continuation of Piaget's theory of cognitive development

(Kavathatzopoulos, 2006). Piaget (1963) suggests that children do not possess the internal logic

that is needed to differentiate appearance and reality. Kohlberg applied many of Piaget’s ideas
like this to his theory of gender development. According to Kohlberg’s theory (1966), children’s

understanding of gender roles develops in stages. There are three stages in Kohlberg’s theory:

Gender Labeling, Gender Stability, and Gender Constancy.

The first stage of Kohlberg’s Cognitive Development Theory (1966) is called “Gender

Labelling.” This stage occurs between the age of two to three. At this stage, children are able to

properly label or identify sexes - male and female. They greatly rely on physical characteristics

or external appearances to determine their own and other people’s gender. For instance, they

would typically identify people with long hair as girls and people with short hair are boys.

Children at this stage still do not understand that gender is stable through time and situation.

When a boy plays with a doll, he is seen as a girl at the time because girls play with dolls but

once the boy changes his toy and starts playing with toy cars, he is no longer seen as a girl but

instead, he is seen as a boy because boys play with toy cars.

Thompson (1975) conducted a study that supports Kohlberg’s first stage of gender

development, Gender Labelling. He found that 2-year-olds and 3-year-olds are 76% and 90%

correct in identifying their own gender, respectably. This study shows children’s increased

ability to correctly label their own gender as they age and that children have a more sophisticated

understanding of gender as they grow older. This was incongruent with Kohlberg’s theory.

The next in gender development according to Kohlberg (1966) is called “Gender

Stability.” This stage happens during the age of four to five. Children at this stage recognize that

their own gender is stable across time. For example, a young girl understands that someday she

will become a woman, then become a mother. The concept of gender stability is already present
for themselves. However, they do not comprehend that other people’s gender is also stable across

time and situation. They still rely heavily on physical characteristics or external appearances.

Slaby and Frey study (1975) assessed whether children’s understanding of gender is

stable and fixed using a structured Gender Concept Interview. Fifty-five 2 to 5-year-olds were

asked a series of fourteen questions and counter-questions that tackled gender labeling. One of

the questions was “When you grow up, will you be a mommy or a daddy?” Children were

classified as low on gender constancy if they answered incorrectly on the gender questions.

Likewise, they were classified as high on gender constancy when they were able to answer

correctly. Children’s responses to the questions seemed to support Kohlberg’s sequence of

gender identity development. Younger children gave answers that do not correspond with their

gender. Stan and Frey found that children did not recognize that their genders are stable until

they were 3 to 4 years old as predicted by Kohlberg.

The final stage of Kohlberg’s theory (1966) is called is Gender Constancy. This stage

occurs between the age of six to seven. Children at this stage understand that their own gender

and others’ gender are stable across time and situation despite changes in physical characteristics

or external appearances. In this stage, children that see a male with long hair and does a

“feminine job” like being a nurse is still seen as a male. They now have a deeper and

sophisticated understanding of gender.

Kohlberg (1966) added that children at the Gender Constancy stage prefer playing with

same-sex friends and doing gender-stereotyped activities. An example could be boys wanting to

hang out with male playmates and play basketball instead of playing house because that is what

they think boys do. They also look for role models of the same gender to identify with and
imitate them. An example could be a girl copying her mother by putting makeup on her face

because she sees her mother as a woman, and she identifies herself with her mother. Therefore,

she copies and imitates her mom. Children at this stage are also curious to search for evidence

that confirms their idea of what their own gender is supposed to do. Hence, at this stage children

are biased in processing memory and information relevant to their own sex (Martin & Ruble,

2004).

Slaby and Frey (1975) also explored on children’s gender constancy by making their

fifty-five 2- to 5-year-old participants come back a few weeks after their gender labeling

experiment. They presented children with a split-screen film of males and females performing

parallel activities on different sides of the screen. The length of time that the children’s looked

on each side of the screen was measured. They found that younger children spent around the

same amount of time watching both males and females while older children in the gender

constancy stage spent more time watching the model with the same sex as them. This supports

Kohlberg’s theory (1996) that children develop a more complex and sophisticated concept of

gender as they age. Furthermore, this also supports that children who have reached gender

constancy actively seek for role models that are gender-appropriate for them, just as Kohlberg

predicted.

In summary, Kohlberg (1966) stated that children progress through a sequence of stages:

a. Gender Identity: ability to correctly identify one’s own gender; b. Gender Stability: the ability

to recognize that one’s own gender is stable but still heavily relies on external and physical

characteristics to determine others’ gender; c. Gender Consistency: the ability to understand that

one’s own and other people’s gender is stable despite external and physical characteristics.
 The primary purpose of this study was to reevaluate Kohlberg's theory by determining the

relationship between children’s age and their concept of gender. Children’s concept of gender

was assessed by looking for the presence of gender identity, gender stability, and gender

constancy. It was predicted that children’s answers to questions about gender identity, gender

stability, and gender constancy would show a sequential characteristic as predicted by Kohlberg

(1966). The secondary purpose of this study is to raise awareness on how parents could promote

a gender-neutral environment towards children.

III. Methodology

Research design

The researchers of this study used a quantitative research design. The researchers will use

two sets of interview questions; the first set of questions are open-ended questions, while the

second set of questions are answerable by a “boy” or a “girl” or “both”. The researchers assigned

scores to the responses of the participants of this study.

Participants

The participants of this study were 3 Filipino children ages that range from 3-7 in relation

to the theory of Kohlberg. A 3.75-year-old boy, a 5.5-year-old boy, and a 7-year-old girl were

tested to determine their level of gender development. Due to time constraints, the researchers

used convenient sampling in selecting participants. Informed consent were given to the parents

of the children before starting the experiment.

Materials
 The researchers used a set of survey questions that were designed to measure the gender

identity, gender stability, and gender constancy of the participants. A video camera was used to

record the whole interview session with the children, written permission was signed by the

guardians or the parents allowing the videotaping of the whole interview. The researchers also

asked for verbal consent from the children to record their interviews.

Participants were asked to answer the following two sets of questions:

Set A

1. Are you a boy or a girl?

2. Are you ever going to be a boy/ girl?

3. Are boys and girls different? How?

4. How are boys like?

5. How are girls like?

6. Do girls have long or short hair?

7. Can boys wear dresses?

8. What do you think will happen if a boy decides to wear a dress to school?

9. How do you think he will feel about that?

10. Do you think girls and boys should be treated differently? Why not?

Set B

1. Which doll likes to clean the house?

2. Who takes care of the babies?

3. Who goes to work?

4. Who cooks dinner?

5. Who is stronger?

6. Who likes to go shopping?

 7. Who likes to play sports?

8. Who does the laundry?

Procedures

Before starting the interview, the researchers first explained the informed consent to the

parent or guardian. After signing the informed consent, the researchers asked first about the basic

information about the child (name, age, and grade level in school). The researchers started the

interview by asking the first 10 questions (Set A) to the child, the researchers recorded the

responses of the child participants. After the first 10 questions, the researchers brought out the

placards with a picture of a boy or a girl, the researchers asked the child to raise the placard to

respond to the questions (Set B).

Questions were grouped into three sets representing different stages of gender

development: Gender Identity (Set A: Item 1); Gender Stability (Set A: Item 2); and Gender

Consistency (Set A: Items 3-5). The researchers scored the responses of the participants, in the

first part (Set A), they gave 1 point in gender identity to the child that correctly knows his/her

gender. They also gave 1 point in gender stability to the child answered “no” to the question “are

you ever going to be a boy or a girl (the opposite gender)?” In gender constancy, the researchers

gave 1 point to the child who can differentiate what a boy and a girl are more than just the

physical appearance. In the second set of questions (Set B), the researchers asked about gender

roles, whenever the child gives a stereotypical answer, he/she will be given a score of 1, and

whenever the child gave a non-stereotypical answer, he/she will be given a score of 0.
IV. Findings

Table 1.0 shows that at the age of 2-3 years old, children can already identify which

gender they belong to. They can correctly label whether they are a boy or a girl. Furthermore,

they are also aware of gender irreversibility and gender stability. They are aware that their own

gender is fixed across time and situation but still heavily rely on physical characteristics to

determine other people’s gender. It was noted that there were no differences between ages 2-3

and 4-5, gender identity and stability were present at both stages. Similar to the ages 6-7, gender

identity and gender stability were also already established. However, compared to the other

groups, children at the age of 6-7 are aware also aware of gender constancy. Their understanding

of gender is more sophisticated and complex thus goes beyond physical characteristics. As

shown in table 2.0, ages 2 to 5 focuses more on the physical differences of girls and boys,

whereas, ages 6 to 7 understand that there are also differences in behavior and personality of

boys and girls.

 The presence of the concept of gender-appropriate in children was tested on the 2nd set

of questions (Set B). Seeking for a gender-appropriate role model to imitate and get information

on gender-appropriate tasks are behaviors under the gender development stage Gender

Constancy. The results in table 3.0 show that age group 2-3 showed the least total score,

followed by age group 6-7, then age group 4-5.

Overall, the results of the study show that Gender Stability, the 2nd stage of gender

development, is acquired by both children at the age of 2-3 and 4-5. The child that belongs to the

6-7-year-old bracket was the only one that acquired Gender Stability, the third stage of gender

development. Children in the 6-7 age bracket also show that they have a more sophisticated and
complex understanding of gender by giving gender descriptions that are beyond physical

appearances and more internal in nature.

V. Discussion

Kohlberg’s three stages of gender development (1966) were assessed on the basis of

children’s answers to questions pertaining to gender identity, gender stability, and gender

consistency. These three stages showed the characteristics of gender developmental stages in that

they were sequentially ordered and age-related. Gender Identity and Gender Stability were the

first ones to develop since younger children that were in the ages 2-3 and 4-5 already possessed

the characteristics of these stages. They were also the stages that had the most number of correct

answers thus, they are easier for children to understand. Of the three stages, Gender Consistency

was found to develop the latest. Only the child that was in the 6-7 age group possessed the

characteristics of this stage. It was also the stage that had the most incorrect answers hence, it is

harder for children to understand.

According to Kohlberg (1966), as children age, they develop a more sophisticated and

complex understanding of gender. Therefore, it is expected that children at the age group of 6-7

would have less gender-stereotypical answers as compared to answers of children at the age

group of 2-3. However, based on our findings in the second part (Set B) of our experiment, the

age group of 2-3 had the least number of gender stereotypical answers, followed by the age

group of 6-7, then the age group of 4-5. This is quite contradicting to Kohlberg’s assumption that

children develop a more complex understanding of gender. However, Kohlberg also stated that

children actively seek a gender-appropriate role model to imitate. This suggests that the answers
to our participants could have been influenced by what they see in their environment. Their

answers could be heavily based on what they see their parents or guardians do.

Consistent with the theory of Kohlberg about gender roles development, it was highly

noted in this study that as the child grows, he/she becomes more aware of the gender roles that

society dictates. During the younger childhood, children only noticed differences in physical

appearances like the boys having the shorter than girls, or the girls wear dresses while boys wear

pants. As they grow old, their schema about gender also expands, at the age of 4, they could

already create patterns on how a girl or a boy should behave in our society (Rafferty, 2013). As

the knowledge of boys should work and provide for their family, while girls should just stay at

home and take of the family. Hence, children ages 5 and above are more likely to conform to the

gender roles that were set by the society.

The depth and quality of children’s understanding and conceptualization of gender roles

still heavily rely on society’s influence on them. Social learning theorist, Albert Bandura, agrees

with this assumption. All behavior, including gender, is learned from observing others (Bandura,

1977). Children would pay attention to their role model, encode their gender-specific behavior

that confirms their belief of what their genders are supposed to behave, and imitate what they

observed. This means that nurture shapes one’s gender development. The media and parents or

guardians play a big role in this area.

Media has played a big impact in shaping children’s perception of gender roles,

especially television and videos on youtube. Their videos often contain on how a male or female

should be like or should behave. Usually, the lead male character on cartoon shows was

portrayed to be independent, assertive, and like to play sports. Whereas, female lead characters
are often associated with emotionality, being warm, affectionate, sensitive, mature, and caring

(Thompson and Zerbinos, 1995). According to Durkin and Nugent (1998), it was found out that

4 to 5-year-old children’s interests, occupations, and other activities are strongly influenced by

television shows. It was noted that females would be more likely to reject doing male activities.

pre-schoolers and grade-schoolers will, in fact, see cliché sex-role models of the female and

manly within the media that's equipped towards them, but they will moreover see social skills

being asserted for both genders.

Parents were also seen as a significant factor that influences a child’s perception of

gender roles. According to some studies, the interaction between family, especially the

parent-child interaction is the strongest influence of gender role development. The beliefs and

attitudes of parents about gender would pass on covertly and overtly to their child (Witt, 1997).

The parent’s behavior strongly influenced the gender-role attitudes of young children. A child

would often reproduce his/her parents’ behavior, so in a home where a boy always sees his father

doing heavy jobs like fixing the car or the sink, or in a home where a girl sees her mother doing

most of the household chores. These scenarios would give the children an idea of what a boy or a

girl should be doing (Halpern, 2016).

VI. Conclusion

Implications

The results of our study heavily coincide with Kohlberg’s theory and accord with Dr.

Eliot’s study that highlights the biological underpinnings of children’s conceptualization of

gender roles. Children’s conceptualization of gender roles exists early on and it develops from a

physical and tangible definition to a more complex and abstracted delineation as they grow older.
However, the richness of their definition and conceptualization is heavily reliant on a lot of

familial and societal factors that are channeled through various forms: media, language,

marketing, and even the educational system. Children who are innately designed to absorb as

much information and stimuli presented to them may be developing an erroneous

conceptualization of gender roles; for this reason, parenting is immensely crucial in the

childhood gender and gender-role development.

James Carey, a communications theorist defines communication as a symbolic process

whereby reality is produced, maintained, repaired, and transformed. It is important for parents to

use a more gender-inclusive and neutral language to children to avoid communicating erroneous

notions and prevent the reinforcement of restrictive gender roles. Interpersonally, gender-roles

concurrently breed ​inequalities, sexism, misogyny, patriarchy which develops into prejudice, bullying.

The earlier parents expose these issues to children, the easier it will be to address prejudice before it is

inculcated in their personhood.

Intrapersonal problems may also likely since gender roles also plant seeds of self-doubt to

children which grow within them and are soon manifested through identifying problems and

low-self-esteem. Gender-roles are restrictive and limiting of children’s exploration of their own diverse

interests and unique identities; Their identity, after all, is a continuum which possibilities vast and

limitless. Children face bigger problems of having to abandon and deny a part of themselves to fit into the

gender-role dichotomy.

This study does not only highlight individual juvenile implications beneficial for parents to raise

healthy and well-developed children. Beyond the individual, familial and peer implications, this study

most importantly highlights societal implications. The end of discriminatory behaviors, patriarchy,

misogyny, and inequalities begins by ending erroneous notions of gender-roles which may be prevented
through better ways of communication and a more gender-inclusive and neutral language. A more

gender-inclusive and neutral home unrestricted by the gender-role dichotomy enables one not just to

flourish as a good child but also to develop as a good citizen creating and empowering a better society.

Limitations

This study also has theoretical and methodological limitations. The researchers, due to

limited time constraints only gathered three participants which way too little and insignificant for

quantitative analysis. The researchers also used a cross-sectional design to identify the

development of gender roles in childhood failing to take into account the different cultural family

background, and gender of the participants. To add, the researchers think that the children who

participated in this study may lack the vocabulary to express their understanding. They may have

complex ideas about gender but do not possess the ability to articulate these. Their answers may

not represent their understanding

Recommendations:

With the limitations mentioned above, the researchers would like to recommend to the

future researchers to use more questions to fully explore the stages of gender development in

children, gather more participants, a balance number male and female participants per stage to

the study. The researchers would also recommend to the future researchers to further look or

consider other theorists like Bem’s Gender Schema Theory and not limit to Kohlberg Theory of

Gender Roles Development. Now, that we know how children acquire the concept of gender

roles cognitively. Future researchers could also explore the environmental influences on a child’s

gender development. The study could also be better if it would be able to explore Bandura’s

Social Learning Theory’s effect on a Child’s gender development.

 References:

Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory.

Beal, C. (1994). Boys and girls: The development of gender roles. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Bem, S. L. (1981). Gender schema theory: A cognitive account of sex typing.Psychological

review, 88(4), 354.

Bornstein K (1998). My Gender Workbook: How to Become a Real Man, a Real Woman, the
Real You, or Something Else Entirely. New York: Routledge.

Durkin, K.; Nugent, B. (1998).Kindergarten children's gender-role expectations for television

actors. Sex Roles. 38 (5–6): 387–402. doi:10.1023/A:1018705805012.

Eliot, L. P. (2011). ​Pink brain, blue brain - how small differences grow into troublesome gaps​.
Oneworld Publications.

Halpern, H. P., & Perry-Jenkins, M. (2016). Parents’ gender ideology and gendered behavior as
predictors of children’s gender-role attitudes: A longitudinal exploration. Sex roles,
74(11-12), 527-542.

Kavathatzopoulos, I. (2006). Kohlberg and Piaget: Differences and similarities. ​Journal of Moral
Education,​ ​20​(1), 47-54.

Kohlberg, L. (1966). A Cognitive-Developmental Analysis of Children\'s Sex-role Concepts and

Attitudes.

Martin, C. L., & Ruble, D. (2004). Children's search for gender cues: Cognitive perspectives on
gender development. Current directions in psychological science, 13(2), 67-70.

Piaget, J. (1936). ​Origins of intelligence in the child.​ London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

Rafferty J. (2013). Gender Identity and Gender Confusion in Children. Retrieved 11 November
2013 from http://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/gradeschool/pages/
Gender-Identity-and-Gender-Confusion-In-Children.aspx

Thompson, T. L., & Zerbinos, E. (1995). Gender roles in animated cartoons: Has the picture
changed in 20 years?. Sex roles, 32(9-10), 651-673.

Witt, S. D. (1997). Parental influence on children's socialization to gender roles. Adolescence,

32(126), 253-260.
 Appendix A: Informed Consent

Parent/Guardian Informed Consent

Identification of Investigators & Purpose of the Study

Your child is being asked to participate in a research study conducted by Mark Blando, Jackline

Pineda, and Sharyn Villanueva from De La Salle University-Manila. The purpose of this study

is to confirm Kohlberg's theory to determine whether children already have a gender identity,

gender labeling, gender stability, and gender constancy at certain ages.

Research Procedures

Should you decide to allow your child to participate in this research study, you will be asked to

sign this consent form once all your questions have been answered to your satisfaction. This

study consists of two series of interviews that will be administered to individual participants at

your home. Your child will be asked to provide answers to a series of questions related gender

roles. The whole interview will be videotaped and will be shown in a conference.

Time Required

Participation in this study will require 10-20 minutes of your child’s time.

Risks

The researchers do not perceive more than minimal risks from your child’s involvement in this

study; there are no risks beyond the risks associated with everyday life.

Benefits

After your child’s participation is complete, you will be given an opportunity to learn about this

research, which may be useful to you as a parent. You will also have an opportunity to contribute

to psychological science by letting your child participate in this research.

Confidentiality

The results of this research will be presented at the conference. Your child will be identified in

the research records by a code name or number. The researchers retain the right to use and

publish non-identifiable data. When the results of this research are published or discussed in

conferences, no information will be included that would reveal your child’s identity. All data

will be stored in a secure location accessible only to the researchers

There is one exception to confidentiality we need to make you aware of. In certain research

studies, it is our ethical responsibility to report situations of child abuse, child neglect, or any

life-threatening situation to appropriate authorities. However, we are not seeking this type of

information in our study nor will you be asked questions about these issues.

Participation & Withdrawal

Your child’s participation is entirely voluntary. He/she is free to choose not to participate.

Should you and your child choose to participate, he/she can withdraw at any time without

consequences of any kind.

Questions about the Study

If you have questions or concerns during the time of your child’s participation in this study, or

after its completion or you would like to receive a copy of the final aggregate results of this

study, please contact:

Mark Kristian V. Blando

MS Clinical Psychology student
09260527782
[email protected]
Giving of Consent

I have read this consent form and I understand what is being requested of my child as a

participant in this study. I freely consent for my child to participate. I have been given

satisfactory answers to my questions. The investigator provided me with a copy of this form.

I give consent for my child to be video and recorded during their interview:

_____________________________________________

Name of Child (Printed)

_____________________________________________

Name of Parent/Guardian (Printed name and signature)

_____________________________________________

Name of Researcher (Printed name and signature)

Appendix B: Pictures during the Interview
 Appendix C: Interview Questions

Set 1 Questions

1. Are you a boy or a girl?

2. Are you ever going to be a girl?

3. Are boys and girls different?

4. How are boys like?

5. How are girls?

6. Do girls have long or short hair?

7. Do boys have long hair or short hair?

7. Can boys wear dresses?

8. What do you think will happen if a boy decides to wear a dress to school

9. How do you think he will feel about that?

10. Do you think girls and boys should be treated differently?

Set 2 Questions

1. Which doll likes to clean the house?

2. Who takes care of the babies?

3. Who goes to work?

4. Who cooks dinner?

5. Who is stronger?

6. Who likes to go shopping?

7. Who likes to play sports?

8. Who does the laundry