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self, in particular gender development. Here, we examine some influences on early gender development in home settings and across cultural communities. Gender Socialization: Home Context LEARNING OBJECTIVE 7.24  List the ways that parents socialize gender in infants and toddlers. Children experience many messages about gender in the home setting. But, what is perhaps most striking about gender socialization is how early in development it occurs. Studies from decades ago revealed that parents of day-old infants described newborn girls as softer, finer featured, less strong, more delicate, and quieter than newborn boys (Karraker, Vogel, & Lake, 1995; Rubin, Provenzano, & Luria, 1974). And, boys received more physical touch, more proximal behaviors such as rocking, and were handled more roughly in the first 6 months of life than girls; girls were talked to more than boys, looked at more, and treated as more fragile (Block, 1983; Stern & Karraker, 1989). You might speculate that parents treat their infants in gendered ways because of biological differences in the behaviors of boys versus girls. However, parents’ differential treatment of boy and girl infants cannot be attributed to infants’ behaviors alone, as shown in experimental manipulation of infant gen- der in what are referred to as Baby “X” studies . In the Baby “X” studies, exper- imenters labeled the same infant as a “boy” or “girl” and observed how people talked about and interacted with the baby. Infants labeled as “boys” were rated as bigger, stronger, and louder compared to infants labeled as “girls.” Infants labeled as girls receivedmore talk and nurturance from adults than did infants labeled as boys. In a review of 23 Baby “X” studies, adults were more likely to encourage activity and whole-body stimulation with infants labeled as boys. The actual sex of the infant in the studies had no effect on how people viewed or treated them (Stern & Karraker, 1989). Of course, Baby “X” studies and other highly cited studies on parents’ socialization of gender date back many years. Clearly, a growing number of parents aim to be gender-neutral in their parenting today. Nonetheless, observations of children’s rooms and toys reveal gender differences that mir- ror findings reported decades ago (MacPhee & Prendergast, 2019). Although blatant differences in parents’ behaviors toward girls and boys may be rare, parents implicitly socialize gender in subtle but impactful ways, including through the products they buy and how they respond to their children’s behaviors (Mesman & Groeneveld, 2018). A compelling example of parents’ socialization of gender was illustrated in a study of infant motor skill. In a laboratory study, mothers of 11-month- olds were asked to estimate the steepest slope their infants could safely crawl down without falling, by setting the angle on a mechanical sloping walkway. Infants were subsequently tested on their ability to crawl down slopes of different angles on the same walkway ( FIGURE 7.26A ) (Mondschein, Adolph, & Tamis-LeMonda, 2000). Mothers of girls underestimated their infants’ crawling ability whereas mothers of boys more accurately esti- mated their infants’ ability. Additionally, mothers of girls underestimated the angle of slope that their infants would attempt to crawl down (whether or not infants were successful), whereas mothers of boys overestimated the angle of slope. That is, mothers of boys seemed to expect their infants to be “risk-takers” who would attempt slopes beyond the bounds of their ability. When tested on their actual crawling abilities, boys and girls did not differ on the slopes they could safely crawl down or attempt to crawl down ( FIGURE 7.26B ). Thus, gender differences in crawling skill and risk taking only existed in the eyes of the beholder.

Baby “X” studies  Experiments in which researchers label the same infant as a “boy” or a “girl” and then observe how caregivers or adults talk and interact with the infant based on the labeled gender

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