Date of Award

2014

Publisher

North Dakota State University

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Awarded

Master of Science (MS)

Program

Human Development and Family Science

Department

Human Development and Family Science

College

Human Sciences and Education

Faculty Advisor

Woods, Rebecca

Description

Societal messages of what it means to be a boy or a girl influence children at an early age, shaping their developing identities into adulthood. Parents, for example, offer children toys and other objects that are gender-specific; trucks for boys and dolls for girls. Researchers have recognized the need to focus on gender development in infancy and toddlerhood. Although this research has been mixed, studies have revealed some gender-typed toy preferences. These preferences have been primarily attributed to biological factors. In the current study, parents’ encouragement and previous exposure to certain toys and infants’ and toddlers’ baseline and posttest toy preferences were assessed. Results indicated that parents’ encouragement and previous exposure were ineffective in shaping infants’ and toddlers’ toy preferences. Four-month-olds did not show a preference, while twelve-month-old male toddlers preferred the trucks. These results are consistent with previous research. Implications of the current study and future research are discussed.

Rights

NDSU Policy 190.6.2

Rights Link

https://www.ndsu.edu/fileadmin/policy/190.pdf

Handle Identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/10365/27325

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