Differences in college students' perceptions and attitudes due to the sex of the student and gender information about the infant.

Abstract

This investigation attempted to measure differences in students' perceptions of a child and their attitudes towards play behavior of children due to the sex of the student and gender information given about the child. The subjects were shown a videotape of a child playing by himself then with another child and then asked to complete questionnaires. An adjective scale measure was used to evaluate the students' perceptions and an activity checklist was used to measure the students attitudes towards play behavior. The results of this study indicated that the students' perceptions of some of the infants' characteristics were affected by the sex of the student. Students selected some activities more often than others depending on their own sex and the gender information about the child or the interaction of both these factors. In general, students felt few activities were inappropriate for children regardless of a child's sex. Male subjects selected a wider range of activities as inappropriate than female subjects. The students' attitudes towards childrens' play behavior were affected to some extent by the distinction of sex.