Beverly I. Fagot’s research while affiliated with Oregon Social Learning Center and other places

Thirty-six families with one toddler child were observed for 7 hr in their own homes with both parents and the child present. The parents interacted less in the first two sessions than in the last five and were more negative and less positive when they did interact in the early sessions. There was also a sex of child by time interaction, with boys receiving many more negative interactions early in the observations. It was suggested that observation data should be checked for stability prior to interpretation and that care should be taken to collect enough data to ensure stability.

How do we learn to recognize ourselves and to live as beings endowed with gender? This paper discusses changes in our answer to this question over the last 15 years. As our methods of study have changed, we have been forced to see the development of sex role as an increasingly complicated process. This paper documents two studies that were attempts to bring together two methodologies: cognitive development and social learning. In the first study, 180 children were tested using the R. G. Slaby and K. S. Frey (1975, Child Development, 46, 849–856) gender identification interview. The findings documented that children's gender understanding followed the sequence predicted by L. Kohlberg (1966, in E. Maccoby (Ed.), The development of sex differences. Stanford, CA: Stanford Univ. Press): identity, stability, and constancy. However, the child's level of gender understanding was unrelated to the adoption of sex-typed behaviors. In the second study, a second group of 64 children, 20 to 30 months of age, were tested for understanding of gender labels, gender identity, and sex-typed behaviors. Sex of playmates and boys' play with feminine toys were related to understanding of verbal gender labels. Reasons for continuing problems of interpretation in the sex role area are discussed.

Forty-eight toddler boys and girls, 18 to 36 months of age, were observed in play groups. The assertive acts of each child and the responses of peers and teachers were recorded. The most common type of assertion for both groups was grab or take objects, then hit, and then verbal assault. Boys produced more assertive acts than did girls. Girls' assertive acts were ignored significantly more than boys. Boys responded more to the acts of other boys than to the acts of girls, while girls responded more equally to the assertive acts of boys and girls. Hitting and taking objects received similar responses from peers. Responses to assertive acts are seen as information sources for the assertive child. The higher response rate to boys' acts informs the child that this kind of behavior will produce an effect in his world, while the lack of response to girls' acts suggest the opposite to girls.

Covert checks of observational methodology reveal declines in reliability of observations. This appears to be particularly true when complex codes are used to track social interaction. The present study was undertaken to see whether reliability could be maintained through a combination of technological advancements and the development of improved observer training and maintenance procedures. Eight people were enrolled in a highly refined, 150-hour training program developed at the University of Oregon's Child Research Laboratory. Using automated data collectors, the trainees learned to code the interactions of young children. Following completion of the training program, observers remained in close contact with the project director through weekly meetings, allowing for discussion of unusual circumstances, performance feedback, and refinement of procedures. Subsequent covert checks failed to indicate any decline in agreement when scores were compared with data from overt checks. While agreement was high under all circumstances, this does not mean that complex coding systems should be applied in all observational studies. However, findings do suggest that when an appreciation of the subtleties inherent in social process are sought, complex systems are essential. (Author/RH)

Three hundred children (ages 18-27 months) were observed as they entered peer play groups consisting of 12-15 children and 2-3 caregivers. One hundred and sixty-eight of the children were boys and 142 were girls. A schedule was used that allowed the observer to code the child's behavior and the reaction of peers and caregivers to that behavior. Four different categories of child problems were selected for study: conduct problems with aggression, withdrawn undersocialized behaviors, separation anxiety, and dependent personality. Three different questions were asked concerning the persistence and consequences of problem behaviors in toddler children: Do the behaviors persist over a period of 1 year to 2 years; what kinds of reactions does a child who is engaged in the behaviors defined in these categories receive from peers and teachers; and how do the reactions received from peers and teachers of problem children compare to those of the average of their own class? The stability of problem behaviors and the reactions received by the child were related to gender of the child and sex-appropriateness of the behavior.

Children of two different age groups, 2-year-olds and 4-year-olds, were placed with male and female adults in a laboratory play situation where the children were forced to control the choice of toys and mode of interaction. The 4-year-old children elicited different types of play behaviors from male and female adults, while the younger children did not.

Seventy children (35 boys and 35 girls) aged 24 to 30 months were observed in play groups consisting of 12–15 2- and 3-year-old children and two teachers. The social interaction was coded using an observation schedule which allowed for coding the children's behaviors and reactions to that behavior by others in the environment. The behavior scores were factor analyzed, using the complete sample of 180 children with six factors (play styles) resulting. Children who were high and low on each factor were examined to see if play style influenced the type of social reaction received. Children who preferred to work at tasks quietly received positive teacher feedback, but there was no change in peer interaction; children who engaged in active motor play received positive peer feedback, but negative teacher reactions. Children who were passive received less peer reaction and played alone significantly more than other children. Sex differences in reactions did not appear except when the child was engaged in male- and female-typical behaviors when examining scores on one factor only. When combinations of factors are examined (e.g., activity level and task performance), then different patterns of responses start to appear for boys and girls. The implications for differing patterns of social reactions to different play styles are discussed.

Parents and child care workers were asked to rate 30 preschool child behaviors according to the cultural stereotypes concerning sex-typed behavior and actual behavioral differences between boys and girls. Both agreed on cultural stereotypes, with males rating more behaviors stereotyped than females. The behavioral ratings and cultural stereotypes of parents showed more agreement than those of child care workers. Parents overestimated sex differences in behavior, while child care workers underestimated them.

To look at continuity and change in play, children were observed in a natural setting using an observation schedule which allowed for coding the children's behavior and reactions to that behavior by others in the environment. The behavior scores were factor analyzed with six factors (play styles) resulting. The present paper discusses a group of sixty-seven boys and girls who entered the play groups between eighteen and twenty-four months of age and who remained with the groups for the period of at least one year. Children who were high and low on each factor upon entry to the groups are examined in detail. Changes in play styles over the period of a year were predictable from peer and teacher reactions. In particular, the male peer group was extremely effective in shaping male sex-typical behavior even when the boys entered the play group with other styles of play.

Forty experienced and inexperienced teachers, 20 male and 20 female, were observed during free play periods in preschool classes. Male teachers gave more favorable comment than female teachers, and also more physical affection. Male teachers also joined the play of the children more than female teachers. Female teachers interacted less than male teachers. Experienced teachers initiated behaviors, directed, gave information, asked and answered questions, and helped the child more than inexperienced teachers. Experienced teachers interacted more with boys and girls when they engaged in feminine-preferred activities, with no difference between male and female teachers in this regard. Inexperienced teachers of both sexes interacted more with boys engaging in masculine-preferred activities and girls engaging in feminine-preferred activities. It was suggested that the male stereotype and the school environment are less congruent than the female stereotype and school, and that experienced teachers encourage children to engage in school-type activities.