UC Santa Cruz

Prior studies have found children’s observation of gender-stereotyped mediapredicted their gender-typed attitudes. However, the average effects across studies have been small, which suggests the potential influence of moderators on stereotyped media effects. In a sample of 123 three- to six-year-old children (51% female, 70% White), the current study investigated several individual factors (perspective-taking, gender centrality, gender typicality, identification with gender counter-stereotypical characters) as potential moderators of media effects. An animated video was created that included equal numbers of characters depicting gender-stereotypical and counterstereotypical activity preferences (regarding toys, peers, and appearance). Before and after watching the video, children completed measures of gender-typed attitudes about activities and acceptance of gender-nonconforming ingroup or outgroup peers. The results indicated that watching the video led to increases in children’s egalitarian attitudes (but not acceptance of nonconforming peers). Furthermore, several of the individual variables moderated the impact of the video on children’s egalitarian attitudes and acceptance of nonconforming peers. Exploratory analyses additionally revealed that the child’s gender may further moderate the impact of some individual factors. In the discussion, I propose implications of the study’s methodology for future research on media effects.