Gender stereotyping Discussion 3

Gender stereotyping Discussion 3

Investigate popular toys on the market today. You can use the internet or visit a toy store to do this research. See if you can find toys that fall into the four categories above; that is, those that may promote aggression, those that may promote pro-social behavior; those that seem to encourage or discourage gender stereotyping; and those that seem to encourage or discourage cultural differences and/or stereotyping. Identify and investigate a minimum of four toys, one from each category. Discuss your observations about these four categories. You may want to use the following questions as guidance for your team’s analysis of the toys

How do toys influence behavior, self-concept, and identity?

What did you observe concerning positive and negative gender stereotyping?

How has your research on toys and gender influenced your views on the relative influences of environment and heredity on gender and identity development in children?

From your review of the literature and your examination of actual toys on the market, do you believe that some toys may increase the likelihood of aggressive behavior in children? Under what circumstances might this occur? Explain.

How has your research on toys and aggression influenced your views on the relative influences of environment and heredity on aggressive behavior in children?

Do any of the toys that you have examined promote stereotypes? Do any discourage stereotypes? Explain.

Do any of the toys reflect or indicate cultural and ethnic stereotypes? What effect can you see this having on the development of self-concept and identity?

How do toys that promote pro-social behavior benefit development during childhood?

You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper – in silence and then aloud – before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes.

Use a standard 10 to 12 point (10 to 12 characters per inch) typeface. Smaller or compressed type and papers with small margins or single-spacing are hard to read. It is better to let your essay run over the recommended number of pages than to try to compress it into fewer pages.

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The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument.