The Role of Gender in Children's Drawing Preferences
Location
FA-202
Department
Psychology
Abstract
Children’s preferences related to color and art content are influenced by gender norms. These preferences hold true for the toys children play with, the clothing they wear, and the content and color palettes of the drawings they create. A question that has not been explored is whether these gender-typed preferences influence children's judgments of each other’s art. The present study asks whether children judge others’ drawings based on gendered color preferences and how that changes over time. Children (ages 3-12) will choose their preferred drawings in pairs of masculine and feminine palettes (e.g., a pink tree vs. a blue tree). We additionally manipulate whether the drawn objects are strongly gendered (e.g., a doll vs. a truck) and the gender of artists (e.g., a boy drawing a blue dog vs. a boy drawing a pink dog). Analyses will examine whether childrens’ gendered color preferences for drawings change over time, and whether children’s judgments take into account the contexts of drawings (e.g., gender of the object or gender of the artist). Data from this study will reveal, for the first time, whether or not childrens’ gendered color preferences are present in their preferences for other childrens’ artwork. Results from the study will yield new insights into children’s thinking about drawings and gender. Finally, we will discuss potential opportunities to counter gender stereotypes in children’s art instruction and media.
Faculty Sponsor
Andrew Young, Northeastern Illinois University
The Role of Gender in Children's Drawing Preferences
FA-202
Children’s preferences related to color and art content are influenced by gender norms. These preferences hold true for the toys children play with, the clothing they wear, and the content and color palettes of the drawings they create. A question that has not been explored is whether these gender-typed preferences influence children's judgments of each other’s art. The present study asks whether children judge others’ drawings based on gendered color preferences and how that changes over time. Children (ages 3-12) will choose their preferred drawings in pairs of masculine and feminine palettes (e.g., a pink tree vs. a blue tree). We additionally manipulate whether the drawn objects are strongly gendered (e.g., a doll vs. a truck) and the gender of artists (e.g., a boy drawing a blue dog vs. a boy drawing a pink dog). Analyses will examine whether childrens’ gendered color preferences for drawings change over time, and whether children’s judgments take into account the contexts of drawings (e.g., gender of the object or gender of the artist). Data from this study will reveal, for the first time, whether or not childrens’ gendered color preferences are present in their preferences for other childrens’ artwork. Results from the study will yield new insights into children’s thinking about drawings and gender. Finally, we will discuss potential opportunities to counter gender stereotypes in children’s art instruction and media.