This article advances a self-socialization perspective demonstrating that children's understanding of "both" gender categories represents an intergroup cognition that is foundational to the development of gender-stereotyped play. Children's (N = 212) gender category knowledge was assessed at 24 months and play was observed at…

Many young children pass through a stage of gender appearance rigidity; girls insist on wearing dresses, often pink and frilly, whereas boys refuse to wear anything with a hint of femininity. In 2 studies, we investigated the prevalence of this apparent hallmark of early gender development and its relation to children's growing identification with…