Cognitive and Social Development Lab

Gender / Social Groups

The majority of my work in this arena has been directed to groups defined by gender. One component of my gender research concerns age-related emergence and shifts in children’s adoption of gender roles and interests (self gender identity) and their developing knowledge (and perhaps endorsement) of cultural beliefs about what males and females should do (gender stereotypes about others). Another component has been identifying and explaining differences in the strength of gender identities and stereotypes as well as studying the consequences of those differences (e.g., for information processing or for occupational interests). I have also been interested in many of the same issues in relation to groups defined by race, and (in collaboration with Rebecca Bigler) have been studying the developmental processes and environmental contexts that encourage or discourage social-group stereotypes and prejudices.