When Maya Children do not see Power as More Masculine

Evidence From Self-Perception and Gender-Power Association Tasks

Bibliographic Data

ID7276572
AuthorsRawan Charafeddine (0000-0002-6138-4322, University of Lorraine, Nancy, France), Thomas Castelain (0000-0001-9415-1771, Universitat de Girona, corresponding author), Jean-Baptiste Van Der Henst (0000-0002-2489-2328, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, INSERM, Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon CRNL, Lyon, France)
Year2023
Volume58
Issue2-3
Pages157-179
Publication date2023-09-25
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCross-Cultural Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1069-3971 • E-ISSN: 1552-3578
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/10693971231202885
OpenAlexW4387025559
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited68

Recent research has shown that by the age of 4, preschool children tend to associate social power with the male gender. The present study examined this association with a group of children from a Maya community in Guatemala, where gender inequalities are high, and tested the prediction that a strong gender hierarchy reduces girls’ perception of themselves as being dominant in dyadic power situations. However, contrary to our predictions, we did not find that children associated power with the male gender. In Experiment 1, we asked 4 to 7 years-old children ( N = 70) to identify themselves with a dominant or subordinate character in same-gender and mixed-gender relationships. In contrast, to what was previously observed with French children, the results showed no significant difference between male and female participants, both of whom strongly identified with the dominant character. In Experiment 2, we asked 4 to 6 years-old participants ( N = 70) to assign a gender to a dominant and subordinate character and found a strong own-gender effect, with all participants, males and females, assigning their own gender to the powerful character. Again, this contrasts with previous findings indicating that children from France, Norway and Lebanon did consistently associate power with the male gender. The absence of a male-power association in Maya children is discussed in terms of cultural differences regarding exposure to gender stereotypes, power values and representations of female-male comparisons

Association (psychology · Character (mathematics · Developmental psychology · Gender role · Geography · Hierarchy · Maya · Perception · Political science · Power (physics · Social hierarchy · Sociology · Child and Animal Learning Development · Cultural Differences and Values · Demography · Gender Studies · Psychology · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Psychology

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