Testing the Animal=Male Bias Among School Aged Children

Testing the Animal=Male Bias Among School Aged Children

Psychology

Kamenish, Katie

Hamilton, Mykol (Mentor)

English

In a study titled "The Animal = Male Hypothesis: Children’s and Adults’ Beliefs About the Sex of Non–Sex-Specific Stuffed Animals" , researchers found that children are more likely to gender an animal as male if no specifying information is given. This bias reveals a preference for male mental imagery over female even in children as young as three years old, and modeling interventions by adults have yet to prove successful. The current study aims to see if this bias persists when the animals are presented as stuffed animals rather than as photographs. Participants, children aged 6-10 years, will be shown various stuffed animals and asked a series of questions, including what the animal's name is and if the child can tell a story about the animal. Data will be coded by marking which pronouns the children use to describe the animal. By determining the extent to which this bias persist across modalities, researchers will have more information with which to develop a successful modeling.