Gender biases for toys in adults of two age groups evaluated through the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP)

Abstract

Toys are believed to influence children’s development. Gender-related toy preferences are generally recognized, although the origin and development of that preference is still a controversial topic. Assuming that the adults’ view about what is appropriate for each gender can differentially influence children’s preference for toys, this exploratory study investigated whether there would be differences in the directions and magnitudes of gender bias for toys in adults of two different age groups through of the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP). A group of young people between 18 and 25 years old and a group of adults between 40 and 60 years old underwent an IRAP programmed to investigate possible different biases about the appropriateness, for boys and girls, of toys normally typified as “masculine” or “feminine”. The performance of the older people group seemed to reveal that toys typified as masculine are suitable for boys and unsuitable for girls. In addition, the performance of this group also suggests that toys typified as feminine are suitable for girls and unsuitable for boys. In contrast, the performance of the younger people group suggests only that toys typified as masculine are suitable for boys and toys typified as feminine are suitable for girls; no inadequacy of any of these toys for boys or girls can be inferred from the data produced by this group. It is argued that messages from social movements to which younger people are most frequently exposed may have contributed to the difference in gender bias for toys found between participants in the two recruited groups.