Doctor or Nurse: Children's Perception of Sex Typed Occupations

Abstract

128 children between ages of 5 and 6 years were shown 4 films depicting all possible combinations of female and male physicians and nurses. Results showed that when confronted with counter-stereotypical occupational portrayals, children were likely to relabel them into the typical instance of the male physician and the female nurse. There was a stronger tendency for the subjects to relabel the male nurse than to relabel the female physician. The children's relabeling of the roles presented was not due to inattention to the stimulus materials (videotapes). Neither sex, nor age, nor the number of physician visits in the last year were related to the frequency of relabeling. Maternal employment and exposure to real male nurses were related to correct identification of the male nurse and the female physician. The results suggest that the relabeling and its asymmetric character may be due to the differential exposure of children to female physicians and male nurses.

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