Psychprpposal
Running head: INFANT’S PERCEIVED GENDER AND ADOLESCENTS’ RATINGS
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Effect of Infant’s Perceived Gender on Adolescents’ Ratings of the Infant Douglas Degelman, Veronika Dvorak, and Julie Ann Homutoff Vanguard University of Southern California
Author Note Douglas Degelman, Department of Psychology, Vanguard University of Southern California; Veronika Dvorak, Department of Psychology, Vanguard University of Southern California; Julie Ann Homutoff, Department of Psychology, Vanguard University of Southern California. An original research proposal by Julie Ann Homutoff has been edited and adapted by Douglas Degelman to illustrate basic elements of a research proposal. Correspondence concerning this proposal should be addressed to Douglas Degelman, Department of Psychology, Vanguard University of Southern California, Costa Mesa, CA 92626. E-mail: ddegelman@vanguard.edu
INFANT’S PERCEIVED GENDER AND ADOLESCENTS’ RATINGS
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Abstract The role of the perceived gender of an infant and the gender of adolescents on ratings of the infant will be explored. Thirty-six junior high students (18 boys and 18 girls) will view a photo of a 3-month-old infant. Students will be told the infant’s name is either “Larry,” “Laurie,” or they will not be told the infant’s name. Each student will rate the infant on 6 bipolar adjective scales (firm/soft, big/little, strong/weak, hardy/delicate, well coordinated/awkward, and beautiful/plain). It is predicted that both the name assigned to the infant and the students’ gender will affect ratings. Implications of the results for parenting and for future research will be discussed.
INFANT’S PERCEIVED GENDER AND ADOLESCENTS’ RATINGS Effect of Infant’s Perceived Gender on Adolescents’ Ratings of the Infant
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Many researchers agree that gender role socialization begins at the time of an infant’s birth (Haugh, Hoffman, & Cowan, 1980; Honig, 1983). Most parents are extremely interested in learning whether their newborn infant is
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Effect of Infant’s Perceived Gender on Adolescents’ Ratings of the Infant Douglas Degelman, Veronika Dvorak, and Julie Ann Homutoff Vanguard University of Southern California
Author Note Douglas Degelman, Department of Psychology, Vanguard University of Southern California; Veronika Dvorak, Department of Psychology, Vanguard University of Southern California; Julie Ann Homutoff, Department of Psychology, Vanguard University of Southern California. An original research proposal by Julie Ann Homutoff has been edited and adapted by Douglas Degelman to illustrate basic elements of a research proposal. Correspondence concerning this proposal should be addressed to Douglas Degelman, Department of Psychology, Vanguard University of Southern California, Costa Mesa, CA 92626. E-mail: ddegelman@vanguard.edu
INFANT’S PERCEIVED GENDER AND ADOLESCENTS’ RATINGS
2
Abstract The role of the perceived gender of an infant and the gender of adolescents on ratings of the infant will be explored. Thirty-six junior high students (18 boys and 18 girls) will view a photo of a 3-month-old infant. Students will be told the infant’s name is either “Larry,” “Laurie,” or they will not be told the infant’s name. Each student will rate the infant on 6 bipolar adjective scales (firm/soft, big/little, strong/weak, hardy/delicate, well coordinated/awkward, and beautiful/plain). It is predicted that both the name assigned to the infant and the students’ gender will affect ratings. Implications of the results for parenting and for future research will be discussed.
INFANT’S PERCEIVED GENDER AND ADOLESCENTS’ RATINGS Effect of Infant’s Perceived Gender on Adolescents’ Ratings of the Infant
3
Many researchers agree that gender role socialization begins at the time of an infant’s birth (Haugh, Hoffman, & Cowan, 1980; Honig, 1983). Most parents are extremely interested in learning whether their newborn infant is
References: Bell, N. J., & Carver, W. (1980). A reevaluation of gender label effects: Expectant mothers’ responses to infants. Child Development, 51, 925-927. doi:10.2307/1129489 Berndt, T. J., & Heller, K. A. (1986). Gender stereotypes and social inferences: A developmental study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 889-898. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.50.5.889 Condry, J., & Condry, S. (1976). Sex differences: A study of the eye of the beholder. Child Development, 47, 812-819. Culp, R. E., Cook, A. S., & Housley, P. C. (1983). A comparison of observed and reported adultinfant interactions: Effects of perceived sex. Sex Roles, 9, 475-479. doi:10.1007/BF00289787 Darley, J. M., & Fazio, R. H. (1980). Expectancy confirmation processes arising in the social interaction sequence. American Psychologist, 35, 867-881. doi:10.1037/0003066X.35.10.867 Delk, J. L., Madden, R. B., Livingston, M., & Ryan, T. T. (1986). Adult perceptions of the infant as a function of gender labeling and observer gender. Sex Roles, 15, 527-534. doi:10.1007/BF00288229 Fagot, B. I. (1978). The influences of sex of child on parental reactions to toddler children. Child Development, 49, 459-465. doi:10.2307/1128711 Haugh, S. S., Hoffman, C. D., & Cowan, G. (1980). The eye of the very young beholder: Sex typing of infants by young children. Child Development, 51, 598-600. doi:10.2307/1129302 Honig, A. S. (1983). Sex role socialization in early childhood. Young Children, 38, 57-70. Leone, C., & Robertson, K. (1989). Some effects of sex-linked clothing and gender schema on INFANT’S PERCEIVED GENDER AND ADOLESCENTS’ RATINGS 10 the stereotyping of infants. The Journal of Social Psychology, 129, 609-619. Lewis, M. (1972). State as an infant-environment interaction: An analysis of mother-infant interaction as a function of sex. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 18, 95-121. Martin, C. L. (1987). A ratio measure of sex stereotyping. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 489-499. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.52.3.489 Rubin, J. Z., Provenzano, F. J., & Luria, Z. (1974). The eye of the beholder: Parents’ views on sex of newborns. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 44, 512-519. Scanzoni, J., & Fox, G. L. (1980). Sex roles, family and society: The seventies and beyond. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 42, 743-756. doi:10.2307/351822 Skrypnek, B. J., & Snyder, M. (1982). On the self-perpetuating nature of stereotypes about women and men. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 18, 277-291. doi:10.1016/0022-1031(82)90054-3 Stern, M., & Karraker, K. H. (1989). Sex stereotyping of infants: A review of gender labeling studies. Sex Roles, 20, 501-522. doi:10.1007/BF00288198 Vogel, D. A., Lake, M. A., Evans, S., & Karraker, K. H. (1991). Children’s and adults’ sexstereotyped perception of infants. Sex Roles, 24, 605-616. doi:10.1007/BF00288417 INFANT’S PERCEIVED GENDER AND ADOLESCENTS’ RATINGS 11 Figure 1. JPEG image of infant and bipolar adjectives rating scale. Please rate the infant [Laurie, Larry, no name] on each of the following items, placing a mark in the space nearest the adjective you feel best describes the infant. firm:__:__:__:__:__:soft big:__:__:__:__:__:little strong:__:__:__:__:__:weak hardy:__:__:__:__:__:delicate well-coordinated:__:__:__:__:__:awkward beautiful:__:__:__:__:__:plain