Abstract
Gender differences in children’s toy interests and play behaviors are large and may lead to gender differentiation of physical, cognitive, and social development among children. In this Special Issue, we gather together cutting-edge research on the factors that affect gender differences in children’s toy interests, how subtle gender-related messages affect children’s performance and behaviors, and how adults create these gender-related messages and affect children’s interests. We illustrate themes found in the current literature, but also comment on issues that need to be addressed by future research. We also identify points of intervention in which stereotypes about toys and gender differentiated play behaviors and toy interests can be reduced in an effort to promote greater diversity of children’s play.
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Lisa M. Dinella and Erica S. Weisgram have equal authorship of this introduction.
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This manuscript was prepared under the ethical guidelines of the American Psychological Association and the Society for Research in Child Development.
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Dinella, L.M., Weisgram, E.S. Gender-Typing of Children’s Toys: Causes, Consequences, and Correlates. Sex Roles 79, 253–259 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-018-0943-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-018-0943-3