Children's classifications of nature and artifact pictures into female and male categories

Associations of the concepts of nature and artifact with the concepts of female and male were examined using a category inference picture-grouping game with 22 second-grade subjects. In a first session, subjects grouped pictures of objects, such as a tree and a cup, on the basis of a nature/artifact distinction. The purpose of this session was to teach the categorization procedure on an easy task and to highlight the nature/artifact distinction. In a second session, pictures of people, clothing, and accessories were grouped on the basis of a female/male distinction. A new set of pictures containing nature and artifact items was then categorized into the female and male groups. Natural items were assigned more often to the female category while artifact items were assigned more often to the male category. The role of such associations in the development of gender concepts is discussed.