Infants’ visual preferences for gender-stereotyped toys and their knowledge of stereotyped toys were examined in two experiments using an adaptation of the preferential looking paradigm. Girls and boys aged 12, 18, and 24 months were tested for their preference for photos of vehicles or dolls, and for whether they associated (“matched”) these two stereotyped sets of toys with the faces and voices of male and female children. Results of Experiment 1 (N = 77) demonstrated significant preferences for gender stereotyped toys appearing by 18 months of age. In Experiment 2 (N = 58), girls were able to associate the gender-stereotyped toys with girls’ and boys’ faces by 18 months of age, but boys were not. Implications for theories of early gender development are discussed.

Contextual and developmentalfacton that may result in same-sex pen preferetles may be observed among two-year-olds prior to the emergence ofgender segregation as a dominant pattern in their PlaYgroups. The Emergence of Gender Segregation in Toddler PlaygroupsLisa A. Serbin, Lora C. MollqJudith Gulko, Kimberly K. Powlishta, Karen A. ColburneGender segregation, the predominance of same-sex groupings, is a pervasive, readily observable characteristic of children's playgroups. Children show nonrandom pattern of gender association by age three or four, and the phenomenon seems to intensify gradually during early and middle childhood (Hartup. 1983;Lockheed and Klein. 1985; Maccoby and Jacklin, 1987). Over time, the consequences of gender segregation may be extensive. Boys and girls appear to learn and practice different social and cognitive skills within their respective playgroups, with resulting gender differences in patterns of social relations and in academic, recreational, and occupational interests and achievements.In this chapter, we present the findings from a naturalistic study of five groups of toddlers who had begun attending preschool a few months before the study started. Our purpose was to examine factors that might encourage gender segregation in groups where preferences for same-sex peers were not yet observable or only beginning to appear.

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