The Psychology of Gender 4th Edition

226 Chapter 7

styles? Regardless, to the extent that there are

differences in play styles between girls and

boys, more time spent with same-sex peers

will reinforce and perpetuate those differ-

ences. Little research has tried to distinguish

girls and boys who have stronger versus

weaker same-sex peer preferences. This may

shed some light on the origin of same-sex

play preferences. Conduct your own research

on the issue with Do Gender 7.1.

TAKE HOME POINTS

■ Both boys and girls develop a strong preference to play

with members of the same sex.

■ The same-sex preference appears first among girls but

becomes stronger among boys.

■ Same-sex play is more gender stereotyped than mixed-

sex play, and mixed-sex play has the potential to re-

duce stereotyped play.

■ Reasons for the same-sex play preference include differ-

ent play styles, girls’ difficulty in influencing boys, and

institutional support.

Interaction Styles in Adulthood

There are parallels between the sex differences

in interaction styles observed among children

and those observed among adults. Much of the

research on adult interaction styles comes from

studies of how people behave in small groups.

This research shows that men’s behavior is

more directive, dominant, hierarchical, and

task focused; by contrast, women’s behavior is

more supportive, cooperative, and egalitarian.

Studies of group interactions show that females

engage in morepositive social behavior, such

as agreeing with others, showing group soli-

darity, encouraging others to talk, and making

positive comments (Smith-Lovin & Robinson,

1992; Wood & Rhodes, 1992). Women are

also likely to reciprocate positive social acts.

In other words, women help escalate positive

social behavior. Men talk more in groups com-

pared to women (Smith-Lovin & Robinson,

1992), and men engage in moretask behavior,

such as asking for and offering opinions and

suggestions (Wood & Rhodes, 1992). Men also

engage in morenegative social behavior, such

as disagreement and antagonism, and help

escalate negative social behavior (i.e., respond

DO GENDER 7.1

Which Girls Play with Boys

and Which Boys Play with Girls?

Visit a local day care or preschool. Choose

ten children to observe, five girls and five

boys. It would be preferable if you could

choose these children randomly from a

list of the children in the class. Each day

observe a different child, recording how

much time he or she spends in same-sex

play and mixed-sex play.

Now, see if you can distinguish the

children who engage in more or less mixed-

sex play. Does the type of play differ? How

do they speak to one another? If you can

find out information about their families,

you could determine if they come from dif-

ferent backgrounds, the nature of—parent

gender roles, and whether there are siblings

in the household. You might also interview

the children to measure variables that could

distinguish those who play more or less fre-

quently with the same sex, such as the child’s

gender-role attitudes. Ask Johnny why he

plays with Joan, but not Marcus. Ask Tisha

why she plays with Hannah, but not Paul.

Unless you follow the children over

time, this cross-sectional study will not be

able to distinguish cause and effect. That is,

you will not know if individual difference

variables led the children to become involved

in more same-sex play or whether same-sex

play shaped the children in some ways.

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