Abstract
Contemporary preschool-aged children have pronounced sex-role stereotypes about emotionality. They feel that anger is a male characteristic, while fear, sadness, and happiness are female characteristics. Four studies investigated several possible sources of these stereotypes, including parental stereotypes, parental reinforcement practices, television programming, and actual sex-differences in emotionality. The results suggest that each of these sources may potentially contribute to children's stereotypes about emotionality.
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Birnbaum, D.W., Croll, W.L. The etiology of children's stereotypes about sex differences in emotionality. Sex Roles 10, 677–691 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00287379
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00287379