Sex Bias in Educational Software: The Effect of Designers' Stereotypes on the Software They Design1

Why is the computer more alluring to boys than it is to girls? One answer to this question is drawn from a social psychological model of human interaction. Social psychological research indicates that the expectations an individual has about another person can shape his or her interaction with that person. We hypothesized that, in a similar manner, the expectations software designers hold about the users of the software they design are central in determining the way the software they design interacts with the user. In order to test this notion, we had 43 educators with programming experience design software for either boys, girls, or students, and found that programs for girls were classifiable as “learning tools,” whereas programs for both boys and students were most like “games.” These differences occur as a function of the designers' expectations of the characteristics of potential users of the program and result in sex stereotyped software. We conclude that it is not the computer, or even the software, that is at the root of the sex bias in software, but the expectations and stereotypes of the designers of the software.     

Gender biases in children's appraisals of injury risk and other children's risk-taking behaviors

Children ages 6, 8, and 10 years were given tasks designed to assess their beliefs about risk of injury from activities. Children were asked to appraise the risk of injury for boys and girls engaging in various play behaviors and to judge the sex of the character in stories about children engaging in activities that result in injuries. Results revealed gender biases in children's appraisals of injury risk: Both boys and girls rated boys as having a lower likelihood of injury than girls even though the boys and girls were engaging in the exact same activities. Children also showed higher accuracy in identifying the sex of the character in stories of boys' injuries than girls' injuries, and accuracy improved with the participant's age. Overall, the results indicate that by the age of 6 years children already have differential beliefs about injury vulnerability for boys and girls. Although boys routinely experience more injuries than girls, children rate girls as having a greater risk of injury than boys. With increasing age, school-age children develop a greater awareness of the ways in which boys and girls differ in risk-taking activities that lead to injury outcomes.     

SEX ROLE SATISFACTION AMONG AUSTRALIAN CHILDREN: SOME SEX, AGE, AND CULTURAL GROUP COMPARISONS

Children's satisfaction with being a member of their own sex was explored within two Australian samples. In a national sample of 2,268 children, grades 1–6, trends were similar to those reported in the United States. Girls were less satisfied with their sex role than boys, and older girls were more dissatisfied than younger girls. The most frequent reason girls offered for dissatisfaction with their sex was restriction of sports opportunities. In a smaller sample of 9–11-year-olds (133 boys, 146 girls), chosen to include adequate representation of children of non-Anglo immigrants, it was found that while Anglo-Australian girls were less satisfied with their sex role than boys, non-Anglo girls were just as satisfied as the boys. The non-Anglo girls were no higher in global satisfaction with themselves or with their lives in general than other children. They were, however, less likely to offer self-definitions that included sports abilities and interests. While non-Anglo parents observed a stronger public/private division of labor in certain childcare activities, this difference was not associated with children's satisfaction with their sex role. However, across the entire sample, children's sex-role satisfaction was associated with parents' division of labor on two tasks on which cultural groups did not differ—disciplining and comforting.     

Mothers,fathers, sons,and daughters: Are there sex differences in the organization of secure base behavior during early childhood

Recent empirical studies reporting sex differences in attachment relationships have prompted investigators to consider why and under what conditions such results might be observed. This study was designed to explore possibilities of identifying sex differences in the organization of attachment-relevant behavior during early childhood. Observations of 119 children (59 boys) with their mothers and (separately) with their fathers were completed and children were described using the AQS. Results indicated that girls and boys did not differ with respect to global attachment security but at more specific level analyses revealed differences between parents that reflected differences in the behaviors of girls vs. boys with mothers and fathers. Our findings contradict arguments from evolutionary psychologists claiming that sex differences in attachment organization arise during middle childhood. By adopting an attachment measure sensitive to the possibility of behavioral sex differences our data suggest that such differences may be detectable earlier in development. Moreover, these differences are subtle and nuanced and do not suggest large sex differences in attachment security per se.     

The influence of gender on occupational aspirations of kindergarten children

By updating and extending previous research on the effect of gender role socialization on occupational choices of children, this research found very sexstereotypical occupational preferences in a sample of 540 kindergarten children. The girls in the study selected occupations that averaged 87% female and the boys selected occupations averaging 84% male. The boys perceived a significantly wider range of vocational options than the girls. In a reversal condition, children were asked to pretend to be of the opposite sex. Most of the children selected occupations with sex ratios favoring their pretended sex; girls were slightly more stereotypic than boys. An unanticipated finding was the extremeness of reactions of the boys to the suggestion that they pretend to be girls. It is argued that current sex-role socialization fails to recognize the realities of the expanding participation of women in the paid labor force.     

Children's sex-role preferences: Stronger among girls than boys

Criticisms were raised about methods used in previous studies which have led to the conclusion that, compared to boys, girls have weaker preferences for their own versus the opposite sex role. In addition, it was argued that if children's own conceptions of sex roles — rather than an a priori adult definition — were investigated, girls would prefer their conception of femininity more than boys would prefer their conception of masculinity. This argument rested on evidence that for children, masculine traits often meet with social disapproval. Results indicated that both boys and girls judged their own sex role as more desirable than the opposite sex role. Results were stronger for the girls; and girls judged traits they assigned to the feminine sex role to be, on the average, more desirable than boys judged traits they assigned to masculinity. The difference between present findings and previous findings in regard to children and adults was discussed.Dennis Quintana assisted with the initial selection of items for the questionnaires described below. Elizabeth Bates, Ph.D., offered helpful suggestions for rewriting an earlier draft of this paper.     

Social Interaction During Computer-based Activities: Comparisons by Number of Sessions, Gender, School-level, Gender Composition of the Group, and Computer-child Ratio

This study assessed the quality of social interactions that occur in group-based computer learning contexts. Gender comparisons of interactions were examined across 3 sessions with 116 preschoolers (M age?=?4.9 years) and 108 fifth and sixth-grade (M age?=?11.7 years) Canadian children from southwestern Ontario, when children had access to one computer per child (parallel computer) or one computer per group (integrated computer), and when they worked with same-gender or mixed-gender peers. Preschoolers engaged in more collaborative behaviors in mixed-gender than same-gender groups, while elementary children engaged in collaborative behaviors more often in integrated than parallel computer conditions. In mixed-gender groups, boys were more likely than girls to dominate the computer in elementary school while girls were more likely than boys to dominate the computer in preschool.     

Boys withdraw more in one-on-one interactions, whereas girls withdraw more in groups

Past research predicts that males will be more likely to withdraw in one-on-one interactions versus groups, whereas females will be more likely to withdraw in groups than in one-on-one interactions. Ninety-eight 10-year-old children engaged in a word generation task either in same-sex dyads or in groups. Boys completed significantly more words in groups than in dyads, whereas girls' performance was similar in the 2 social structures. Confirming the hypothesis, analyses of the dynamics of dyads and groups using time spent writing as a measure of effort demonstrated that boys withdrew more than girls in dyads, whereas girls withdrew more than boys in groups. Furthermore, in groups, girls were more likely than boys to focus on one individual. Causal explanations for sex differences in preferences for differing social structures are proposed.     

Sex-role messages vis-à-vis microcomputer use: A look at the pictures

This study explored the pictoral representation of men, women, boys, and girls in popular computer magazines through content analysis. Issues of three mass market computer magazines (total pages =2,637) were analyzed to determine numbers of men, women, boys, and girls illustrated; roles in which they were portrayed; and whether they were shown using the computer actively, standing by while others used the computer, or rejecting the computer. Many stereotypic portrayals were found: Men appeared in illustrations almost twice as often as women; women were overrepresented as clerical workers and sex objects, while men were overrepresented as managers, experts, and repair technicians. Women were shown significantly more often in a passive role vis-à-vis computers. In mixed-sex illustrations, men were most often shown in the position of authority. Only women were shown rejecting the computer or portrayed as sex objects. Also included are observations regarding the effects of stereotypic portrayals on women/girls and suggestions for further research.     

Independence training,need achievement and need affiliation

American white and American Indian grade school boys and girls from the North Central Plains are studied. The previously shown significant and positive relationship between high need achievement and low need affiliation is hypothesized to be a culturally based and sex related phenomenon. The early training of Plains Indian children especially that of boys emphasizes early independence rather than either affiliation or achievement. As hypothesized, it was found in this study both that white children had significantly higher need affiliation scores than Indian children and that boys indicated higher need achievement than girls, indicating cultural and sexual differences. It appeared also that success is a more potent condition for Indian boys in intensifying need achievement scores, whereas failure intensifies the need achievement scores of white children. This suggests that perceived success and failure operate differentially between these cultural groups. Other results also corroborate earlier findings of the culture bias of « standard » intelligence tests.     

Children's vulnerability to stressful life events in mothers' eyes: Effects of gender and parental experiences

Although the professional literature indicates greater vulnerability to stress among boys than girls, research on stereotypes and gender typing in socialization offers indirect evidence of a contrary belief among parents. In order to assess sex differences in vulnerability directly, 80 Israeli middle-class mothers of elementary school children were asked to predict the difficulty that low- and high-stress life events would pose for child protagonists in eight vignettes. Sex of child was manipulated by gender label denotation. Results indicated that mothers of boys predicted greater child difficulties with stress than mothers of girls. They also predicted that boys would have more difficulty than girls, a sex difference that did not appear among mothers of girls. The results suggest that maternal perceptions of sex differences in vulnerability are influenced by observation of their own children under stress. Further, professional opinion and lay wisdom as to actual male vulnerability are not necessarily at loggerheads.     

Children''s self-initiated approach to spiders

Seventeen school children were invited to stay in the presence of a harmless spider for 4 minutes under instructions which were designed mildly to encourage touching the spider but which left open a clear alternative of not touching. Subjects confronted the spider in dyads which differed in composition in terms of fear-level and sex of subjects. The main finding was that boys did not show any more approach when paired with girls, thus confirming previous negative findings in this regard. Other findings were that boys showed more approach than girls, level of fear interacted with sex of subject, and ‘fearless’ but not ‘fearful’ subjects showed more approach with repeated experience.     

Sex differences in children's trust in peers

Children in kindergarten, second, and fourth grades were required to judge how much they trusted each of their peers (classmates). A same sex pattern of peer trust was found; boys trusted boys more than they trusted girls, and girls trusted girls more than they trusted boys. This pattern of peer trust was evident in fourth- and second-grade children but not in kindergarten children. It was proposed that the same sex pattern of trust serves to reinforce and maintain the same sex pattern of peer relationships in children.     

Sex-role imitation in children: Effects of sex of child,sex of model,and sex-role appropriateness of modeled behavior

The qualifying influence of the sex-role appropriateness of observed behavior on children's same-sex imitation was investigated. In each of two studies employing a 2×2×2 design, girls and boys observed a live male or female model display appropriate (to the child's sex) or inappropriate behavior. Results that were consistent in both studies indicated an interaction between sex of child and appropriateness. Boys imitated less when exposed to the inappropriate than to the appropriate sequence. An interaction between sex of child and sex of observer was obtained on only one measure in Experiment I (girls responded more quickly to a female than to a male model). In this study, girls also displayed greater opposite-sex imitation than boys; in Experiment II, there were no differences between boys and girls in either same- or opposite-sex imitation. The results are discussed with regard to the same-sex hypothesis and the differential impact of sex-role factors on boys and girls.The authors wish to thank the children, parents, and staff of Forest Park Elementary School for their participation and cooperation in the conduct of this study. Special thanks are extended to Mr. Paul H. Daby, Principal. The contribution of the undergraduate models and experimenters is also acknowledged.     

Sex Differences in Referral Rates of Children with Gender Identity Disorder: Some Hypotheses

From 1978 through 1995, a sex ratio of 6.6:1 of boys to girls (N = 275) was observed for children referred to a specialty clinic for gender identity disorder. This article attempts to evaluate several hypotheses regarding the marked sex disparity in referral rates. The sexes did not differ on four demographic variables (age at referral, IQ, and parent's social class and marital status) and on five indices of general behavior problems on the Child Behavior Checklist; in addition, there was only equivocal evidence that boys with gender identity disorder had significantly poorer peer relations than girls with gender identity disorder. Although the percentage of boys and girls who met the complete DSM-III-R criteria for gender identity disorder was comparable, other measures of sex-typed behavior showed that the girls had more extreme cross-gender behavior than the boys. Coupled with external evidence that cross-gender behavior is less tolerated in boys than in girls by both peers and adults, it is concluded that social factors partly account for the sex difference in referral rates. Girls appear to require a higher threshold than boys for cross-gender behavior before they are referred for clinical assessment.     

Gender-linked Differences in the Toys, Television Shows, Computer Games, and Outdoor Activities of 5- to 13-year-old Children

This study was designed to compare how 5- to 13-year-old children's leisure activity preferences differ with age and gender. Responses from 60 boys and 60 girls about their favorite toys, television shows, computer games, and outdoor activities were compared across leisure categories. The results showed that gender was a significant factor. Overall, boys spent more time in these leisure activities than girls did. They spent the most time engaged in sports, watching television, and playing computer games, whereas girls spent the most time watching television. Results from a gender index for all activities indicated that boys' leisure preferences became slightly more masculine with age. For girls, preferences for television shows became more feminine with age, but preferences for toys, computer games, and sports became less feminine. These self-chosen preferences may provide differential opportunities for the development of visual-spatial skills, achievement, initiative, self-regulation, and social skills.     

Sex differences in children's discrepant perceptions of peer acceptance

Sex differences in children's play patterns during middle childhood are thought to promote greater awareness of social acceptance among girls compared with boys. The present study posited that girls are more discerning of peer acceptance than are boys; however, these sex differences were predicted to vary depending on how discrepant perceptions were assessed (i.e., inaccuracy versus bias). Additional differences were expected if children perceived acceptance by same- versus opposite-sex peers. Participants were 912 third through fifth graders (420 girls and 492 boys). Consistent with predictions, boys were more inaccurate than girls, but only for perceived acceptance by same-sex peers. As expected, girls were more negatively biased than boys, but only for perceived acceptance by opposite-sex peers. Results did not support the hypothesis that boys have more positively biased perceptions of peer acceptance than girls. Overall, these findings raise important issues regarding the evaluation of children's discrepant self-perceptions of peer acceptance.     

Gender Differences in the Choice of Computer Courses: Applying an Expectancy-Value Model

The choice of computer courses has a direct influence on the development of computer literacy. It is alarming, therefore, that girls seem to choose computer courses less frequently than boys. The present paper examines (a) whether these often-reported gender differences also occur at the early high school level (Study 1) and (b) how these differences can be predicted by applying an expectancy-value model to the domain of computing (Study 2). Both studies clearly show gender differences in the choice of computer courses in children between 10 and 16 years in the real-life situation of choosing courses at school. In Study 2, the suggested expectancy-value model is tested using data from 159 students and 137 parents. The model shows a good fit to the data, and the observed gender differences in the choice of computer course could be predicted by differences in the value placed on computers and the expectations of success. However, these differences could only be partly explained by differences in perceived parental attitudes, and there were only weak relationships between parental attitudes and the corresponding perceptions of the students. Educational implications of the findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

The roles of sex, gender, and coping in adolescent depression

This study investigated the roles of coping and masculinity in higher rates of depressive symptoms among adolescent girls, as compared to boys. A model was designed and tested through path analysis, which involved the variables of sex, gender, problem-focused coping, rumination, and distraction. The Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale and the Bem Sex Role Inventory, as well as a measure of coping with general stressors was completed by 246 adolescents. Results showed that adolescent girls were more depressed than boys, and that girls used more emotion-focused and ruminative coping than did boys. Greater degrees of ruminative coping were related to high levels of depressive symptoms. Problem-focused and distractive coping were positively correlated with masculinity and negatively associated with depression. Surprisingly, girls were more likely to use problem-focused coping. Problem-focused and distractive coping were found to mediate the negative relationship between masculinity and depression.