Generational Role Choices Among Children in Four Cultures

A Reanalysis and Reinterpretation

Bibliographic Data

ID7738548
AuthorsRobert L Munroe (Pitzer College, Claremont, CA, USA, corresponding author)
Year2012
Volume46
Issue3
Pages280-291
Publication date2012-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCross-Cultural Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1069-3971 • E-ISSN: 1552-3578
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1069397112445019
OpenAlexW2320017197
LanguageEN
References cited6

In a previous publication, we reported that on the whole, young children in four cultures predictably made same-sex role choices (e.g., girls preferring daughter to son). But contrary to prediction, we found that children in two patricentric societies (patrilineal descent, etc.) made fewer same-sex role choices than did those from two societies without gender-biased social principles (bilateral descent, etc.) This surprising finding, which constituted an acknowledged puzzle for interpretation, prompted the current reanalysis of the dataset. Our new analysis has led to two conclusions: (a) children from the two patricentric societies, besides scoring lower on same-sex role choices, also scored a good deal lower on cognitive-performance tests, so they were generally poor test-takers; and (b) children in one of the patricentric societies—though not in any of the other samples—expressed a strong preference for higher-generation roles (i.e., mother and father). Discussion centers on plausible interpretations of these new-found results

Biology · Cognition · Daughter · Developmental psychology · Interpretation (philosophy · Political science · Preference · Test (biology · Cognitive Abilities and Testing · Cultural Differences and Values · Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior · Law · Psychology · Social Psychology

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