Children's Sex-Related Stereotyping of Colors

• Published in: Child development Vol. 61; no. 5; pp. 1453 - 1460
• Main Authors: Picariello, Martha L., Greenberg, Danna N., Pillemer, David B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Malden, MA University of Chicago Press 01-10-1990; Blackwell; University of Chicago Press for the Society for Research in Child Development, etc; Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subjects: Age groups; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Child development; Child, Preschool; Childhood Attitudes; Children; Children & youth; Color; Color Perception; Developmental psychology; Dolls; Early Childhood Education; Elementary School Students; Female; Femininity; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gender Identity; Gender roles; Humans; Identification; Kindergarten Children; Male; Masculinity; Peer Group; Play and Playthings; Preschool Children; Preschool education; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Sex Differences; Sex Stereotypes; Sexes; Social research; Socialization; Stereotypes; Stereotyping; Toys; Human; Preschool age; Social preference; Social attitude; Clothing; Color; Sex; Stereotype; Identification; Gender role; School age; Development; Child
• ISSN: 0009-3920; 1467-8624
• DOI: 10.2307/1130755

4 studies addressed children's sex-related stereotyping of colors. Study 1 examined preschoolers' awareness of color stereotypes. Children were presented with 6 toy animals, identical except for color, and were asked to identify the sex of each animal and to select a favorite. Both sex identifications and toy preferences were highly consistent with adult color stereotypes. Study 2 demonstrated that clothing color influences preschool, kindergarten, and first-grade children's impressions of other children whose sex is known. Studies 3 and 4 indicated that the effects of stereotyping based on color are modest in comparison to the effects of stereotyping based directly on sex. In addition, color stereotyping did not show the regular age-related increase that is characteristic of sex-role stereotyping.