Evaluated the effects of stimulus complexity and rule usage on a visual perspective-taking task administered to preschoolers, first, third, and fifth graders, and adults. Errors decreased with age, and more errors occurred with the more complex visual arrays. Very young children could not reliably match a photograph to a physical array. (Author/RH)

Examines the extent to which qualities three and five year-old children attribute to an infant depend on whether the infant is identified as a girl or a boy. Major findings indicate that both three- and five-year-old children responded in a significantly stereotypic manner based on the gender labels provided, regardless of the infant's actual…

Reports an experiment in which 80 male and female six and eight year olds were presented with pictures consistent or inconsistent with sex stereotypes and pictures of neutral activities. Later, subjects performed a picture-recognition task. Among the variables investigated were subjects' labeling of pictures and sex-stereotype consistency. (CB)

Studied effects of presence of novel social category on intergroup attitude formation in 6- to 9-year olds. Found that after four weeks of the functional use of color groups, children's attitudes showed consistent biases favoring their own group. Children with higher self-esteem showed higher intergroup stereotyping than did children with lower…

Two studies examined sixth graders' personality theories on stereotype formation. Compared to those with malleable views, children with fixed views of personality made more extreme trait ratings of schools characterized positively or negatively, generalized judgments to an unknown student, perceived greater within-school similarity and…

The onset and development of preschoolers' awareness of sex role stereotypes, gender labeling, gender identity, and sex-typed toy preference were explored in 26-, 31-, and 36-month-old children. Family characteristics that affect early sex role development also were investigated. (Author/RH)

Uses a videotape of two preschool children to investigate the influence of gender labeling adults' perception of aggression in children. The degree of aggression displayed by the target child was judged by 175 college students (139 females, 36 males). Four conditions were created by varying the gender label of both the target and the nonrated…

Investigates the effect of being labeled "patient" among kindergarten, first- and second-grade girls in a self-imposed delay of gratification task making rewards contingent upon stopping further accumulation. Results are interpreted in terms of modifications in the child's self perceptions as a consequence of being labeled by an adult. (RH)

Examines the implications of temporal separation for children's developmental differences in inferences drawn about an individual's characteristics after observing multiple instances of that individual's behavior. Also tests two competing hypotheses about how young children process information separated in time. (HOD)