Are Baby Boys Really From Mars? Adults Apply Stereotyped Attributes to Infants

Are Baby Boys Really From Mars? Adults Apply Stereotyped Attributes to Infants

IntroductionIntroduction

Previous research has found that adults and children apply adjectives to infants in a stereotypic manner based on the believed sex of the infant (e.g., Haugh, Hoffman, & Cowan, 1980). In general, when an infant is displaying no affect, children and adults frequently say that boys are more potent or active than girls.

Much of the previous research has relied on film clips or photographs that do not include any display of emotion. Results of these experiments may not apply to more realistic interactions with infants that frequently involve dynamic displays of negative emotions. Additionally, in much of the previous research participants have been told the sex of the infant. This labeling (in the absence of any other information) may predispose adults to apply stereotypes.

QuestionsWill adults apply adjectives to infants in a stereotypic fashion when presented with movie clips displaying a range of neutral and negative emotions?

Will adults apply adjectives in a stereotypic fashion when there is no clear labeling of the infant’s sex?

Experiment 1: Method

Participants

46 college students (10 males)

Study Procedure

Students viewed 4 10-second movie clips of a female 12-month-old dressed in gender neutral clothing:

3 clips displayed mixed negative affect (sadness/anger). 1 clip displayed neutral affect

Half of the participants were told that the infant was a boy and half were told that she was a girl. Participants were asked to select which of 12 bipolar adjectives from 3 categories best described the infant.

Potency Activity Evaluation big / little fast / slow happy / sadmad / scared loud / quiet nice / meanstrong / weak awake / sleepy smart / dumb

hard / soft fun to play with / not…

good / bad

Karen Singer-Freeman & Nayeli Calle

Purchase College

Experiment 1: ResultsExperiment 1: Results

Participants who believed the infant was a boy were more likely to pick adjectives associated with potency (big, mad, strong, hard) to describe the infant (52%) than were the participants who believed the infant was a girl (37%).

There were no effects of believed sex on the selection of adjectives

associated with activity or positive evaluation.

Experiment 2: ResultsExperiment 2: Results Participants were equally likely to label infants as male (47%) or female (53%).

Participants did not assign any of the 24 adjectives more frequently to any specific picture.

Participants were more likely to select infants they had labeled as male as examples of positive potency adjectives (63%) than as examples of negative potency (impotency) adjectives (50%).

No difference in assignment of activity or evaluative adjectives to babies believed to be male or female.

DiscussionDiscussion Adults did not apply adjectives relating to activity or evaluation in a stereotypic manner.

Gender stereotypes do influence adults’ perceptions of infants’ potency even in instances where the infant is displaying a naturalistic and dynamic range of neutral and negative affect.

Adults are more likely to select infants they believe to be boys as good examples of potency adjectives even in instances where the true sex of the child is left unspecified. These results might reflect the fact that adults “see” potency in infants they believe to be male. Alternatively, it might reflect a tendency to label infants that are thought to display potent characteristics as male.

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Potency Activity Evaluative

Male Condition Female Condition

Participants 47 college students (15 males)

Study Procedure

Presented with 9 pictures of infants (one at a time) on large screen.

Asked to guess whether each infant was male or female.

While viewing all infants together, asked to select the infant that best matched each of the 24 adjectives used in Experiment 1.

Experiment 2: Method

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Potency Activity Evaluation

Positve Negative