The Influence of Gender Roles on Political Socialization

Abstract

This paper reports on an experimental study investigating the relationship between gender role stereotyping and political learning among Mexican-American children. In addition to the pre-test and post-test administered to the entire sample, 15 of the children were exposed to a treatment emphasizing a flexible definition of the female role. The children did stereotype behavior assigning some activities to men and others to women. Further, this stereotyping affected their attitudes toward female political participation. Comparison of pre-test and post-test suggests that the treatment had some effect on gender role attitudes, particularly concerning the female role. In addition, on several questions there appeared to be an interaction between gender and the experimental treatment, sugguesting possible differences between the political socialization of boys and girls.