Children's Written Responses to Stereotypical and Non-stereotypical Story Starters

Abstract

This research examined the written responses of third- and sixth-grade boys and girls to story starters with characters in either stereotypical (male mechanic and female nurse) or non-stereotypical (female mechanic and male nurse) occupational roles. The 560 stories written by 140 children were examined for frequencies of new characters added to stories, actions, aggressive/destructive events, emotional statements and options used in assigning the problem-solver role. Results suggested significant gender differences and gender stereotyping in children. Across stories, more male characters were added to stories than female characters and, often, the added male characters were the problem-solvers. Male characters were also assigned more high-intensity actions and were more often the agents for aggressive/destructive events. Boys and girls differed in the number of aggressive events and in the type of emotional statements included in their stories. These findings support previous research on gender differences and stereotypical thinking in children.