Stereotype or grammar? The representation of gender when two-year-old and three-year-old French-speaking toddlers listen to role nouns

Bibliographic Data

ID20366265
AuthorsArik Lévy (University of Fribourg, corresponding author), Pascal M Gygax (0000-0003-4151-8255, University of Fribourg), Pascal Gygax, Ute Gabriel (0000-0001-6360-4969, Norwegian University of Science and Technology), Pascal Zesiger (0000-0002-7450-4899, University of Geneva)
Year2016
Volume43
Issue6
Pages1292-1309
Publication date2016-11-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Child Language (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0305-0009 • E-ISSN: 1469-7602
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s030500091500063x
PMID26607035
OpenAlexW2259393143
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited34

Using a preferential looking paradigm, the current study examined the role that grammatical gender plays when preschool French-speaking toddlers process role nouns in the masculine form (e.g., chanteurs masculine ‘singers’). While being auditorily prompted with “Look at the ‘a role noun’!”, two- and three-year-olds were presented with two pictures of two characters (‘boy–boy’ versus ‘girl–boy’) with attributes of the given role noun (e.g., singers with microphone and music notes). All role nouns were presented in the masculine plural form, which, despite its use to refer to mixed-gender groups, can be interpreted as referring to men. We expected toddlers to be biased by stereotypes, yet when non-stereotypical role nouns were presented, toddlers were not influenced by grammatical gender, but by their own sex (even more so for three-year-old toddlers). The absence of sensitivity to grammatical cues for either age group is discussed in terms of the developmental awareness of grammatical gender

Developmental psychology · Grammar · Linguistics · Noun · Gender Roles and Identity Studies · Gender Studies in Language · Media, Gender, and Advertising · Psychology · Social Psychology

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