Sex trait stereotypes in Malaysian children

Sex Roles, Vol. 12, Nos. 1/2, 1985

Sex Trait Stereotypes in Malaysian Children 1

C o l l e e n W a r d 2

National University of Singapore

To examine the development o f sex trait stereotypes in Malaysia, 40 5-year- oM and 40 8-year-oM children were tested with the Sex Stereotype Measurement II. Data were subjected to an item-level analysis, a 2 X 2 X 2 mixed design analysis o f variance, and cross-cultural comparisons. Results revealed that (1) stereotyping increases with age (p <_ . 005), (2) male traits are identified more correctly than female traits (p < . 005), and (3) boys are more familiar with the male stereotype than are girls (p <_ .025). Cross-cultural comparisons indicate that, relative to 23 other countries, Malaysian 5 year olds produce high stereotype scores but that data f r o m 8 year olds fal l more within the median range. The results are interpreted in terms o f cognitive development and socialization patterns in Malaysia's multiracial developing society.

From the earliest investigations, sex stereotype research has confirmed that consensual beliefs about differing characteristics of males and females are widespread, internalized, and resistant to change. While a variety of measuremental techniques and investigative approaches has been used, the majority of research indicates that the male stereotype may be condensed into a competency cluster of traits with emphasis on instrumental activity, while the female stereotype is perceived in terms of a warmth- expressivity grouping with special reference to social skills and graces (Parsons & Bales, 1955; Rosenkrantz et al., 1968; Sheriffs & McKee, 1957; Williams & Bennett, 1975). Unfortunately, this type of stereotype research has been pursued predominantly in Western countries characterized by industrial and

~This research is adapted from a paper presented at the Asian Regional Workshop on Child and Adolescent Development, Bangkok, February 1982.

2To whom correspondence should be addressed at Department of Social Work, Kent Ridge, Singapore 0511.

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0360-0025/85/0100-0035504.50/0 © 1985 PPenurn Publishing Corporation

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technological advancements, a relatively high standard of living, and a system of Christian-based ethics, although there is some evidence that sex-role development and stereotyping follow different patterns in preindustrial societies and folk cultures (Mead, 1974; Whiting & Edwards, 1973). To examine this more closely, Williams (1982) and his colleagues undertook a cross-cultural comparison of sex trait stereotypes in 25 countries differing in religious, social, political, and economic back- grounds. Their findings indicated that despite the large degree of similarity or panuniversalism in stereotypes, there are also several patterns of distinction based on culture-specific influences.

Within the Williams study sex trait stereotypes held by Malaysian adults emerged as somewhat atypical, being both extreme and highly differentiated (Ward, 1982). Males were perceived as dominant (bossy, strong, tough), extraverted (jolly, outgoing), intelligent (clever, resourceful, sharp-witted), socially and psychologically competent (capable, realistic, efficient), and unemotional (cruel, stern, unkind), in contrast to females' description as submissive (dependent, immature), introverted (shy, meek, withdrawn), unintelligent (foolish, slow, confused), psychologically debilitated (nervous, unrealistic, unstable), and warm and loving (affectionate, kind, considerate). The affective meaning analysis indicated that the male stereotype was seen as more socially desirable and as having greater strength and activity components. These results have been interpreted in terms of Malaysia's multiracial cultural traditions, particularly familial interactions and division of labor, where the husband is seen as provider and household head and the wife as submissive partner in a domestic role, extrafamilial roles which are more readily available to males, marriage practices including premarital sexual segregation, arranged matches, and polygyny, negative attitudes toward advanced education for women, orthodox ideologies such as pollution traditions, cultural and religious influences of Islam, Buddism, and Hinduism, and social pressures of modernization.

While these data represented the first attempt at understanding adult perceptions of sex trait stereotypes in the Malaysian context, interpretation of the emergence of stereotypes in children from a developmental perspective remained to be tackled. Barry et al. (1957) and Whiting and Edwards (1973) have noted that cross-cultural distinctions in sex-role socialization are apparent in children, which leads to speculation about the development of these sex trait stereotypes in Malaysia. Western data confirm that stereotypes are apparent at the preschool level and increase with age (Barry & Barry, 1976; Hartley & Hardesty, 1964; Hartup & Zook, 1960; Tibbetts, 1975) and that children are more acquainted with the male stereotype than the female (Hall & Keith, 1964; Iglitzen, 1972; Williams et

Sex Trait Stereotypes 37

al., 1975), but for the most part, there is little cross-cultural evidence to support these trends. With this background a study was implemented to investigate the emergence of sex trait stereotypes in Malaysian children. Although emphasis is placed on development of Malaysian stereotypes, as part of Best's (1982) study of children's stereotypes in 23 countries, these data may also be viewed in a comparative context.

M E T H O D

Subjects

The subjects were composed of 80 Malaysian ch i ld ren-40 five year olds attending tadika or kindergarten and 40 eight year olds attending primary school. In each age group the sample was divided equally between males and females. As Malaysia is a multiracial society, Malays, Chinese, and Indians were included in the sample.

Materials and Procedure

The Sex Stereotype Measurement II (SSM It) was employed as the basic research instrument (Best et al., 1977). This picture-story questionnaire is designed to represent traits which adults define as descriptive of the male and female stereotypes. The materials are composed of 32 stories created to represent the adjectives or groups of adjectives from the ACL (Gough & Heilbrun, 1965) which college students identified as more descriptive of either males or females. Although the items were chosen from stereotypes held by American university students (Williams & Best, 1977), 90O7o of these adjectives have been reconfirmed in Malaysian data (Ward, 1982).

The SSM II is composed of 32 "stories" which reflect male and female traits. Each story is presented in conjunction with silhouette pictures of a boy and girl, and the subject is requested to indicate which figure is described by the narrative. For example, "One of these people is always pushing other people around and getting into fights. Which person gets into fights?" is designed to assess knowledge about the stereotypically male trait of aggres- sion. A female story may be illustrated by "One of these people gets excited easily . . . . " which is intended to evaluate emotionality.

Scores for the SSM II range from 0 to 16 for both male and female items (greatest total score = 32), according to the number of stereotypic responses given to male and female stories.

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Table I1. Mean Scores for Male and Female Stereotypes

Subjects Stereotype

Age Sex Male Female

5 year olds M 10.35 9.55 F 9.95 10.20

8 year olds M 12.45 10.65 F 11.20 10.55

The SSM II was administered to each child individually by graduate research assistants? Although the questionnaire was presented in English, standard repetition was provided in Malay or Hokkien if required.

RESULTS

Data were subjected to (1) an item-level analysis, (2) a three-factor, 2(sex of subject) X 2(age of subject) X 2(sex of stereotype), mixed-design analysis of variance with repeated measures on one factor, and (3) cross-cultural comparisons.

The item-level analysis was performed by calculating the percentage of subjects at each level who produced stereotypic responses. These findings are presented in Table I. It may be noted that, for the most part, the percentage of stereotypic responses increases with age. The most frequently identified male adjectives were aggressive, strong, and loud, while confident, logical, and jolly evoked more inconsistent responses. Adjectives such as emotional and weak were strongly associated with females, but stereotypic traits such as talkative and frivolous were not firmly established.

Turning to the analysis of variance, both significant main and significant interaction effects were apparent.

1. Older subjects are more familiar with sex trait stereotypes (F = 11.4, p ~.005).

2. Subjects identify the male stereotype more correctly than the female stereotype (F = 10.41, p ~ .005).

3. Both boys and girls are more familiar with the male stereotype, although the effect is more pronounced in boys (F -- 5.607, p ~< .025).

See Table II for mean scores.

3The author would like to thank Poh Eng Lip, Ong Hong Peng, and Saw Hean Yeow for transla- tion of materials and data collection.


Table II1. Analysis of Malaysian SSM II Data in Comparison with Those of 22 Other Countires

Age group Scores, Increase over SSM II 5 year olds 8 year olds age .~ 20.0 22.4 2.4 Range 16.9-24.9 19.8-25.9 0.4-5.1 Rank 4.5 11 16

Note. Scores range from 0 to 32, with higher scores representing greater stereotyping_ The range is calculated from the mean scores of 23 countries; the rank represents Malaysia's position within the cross-cultural sample (ranked high to low).

The Malaysian data are also compared to those of 22 other countries in Table III (Best, 1982). Results indicate relatively high stereotype scores for Malaysian 5 year olds, while the data from 8 year olds fall well within the median range.

DISCUSSION

It is evident that, to some extent, the emergence of stereotypes in Malaysian children follows certain universal trends in child development, e.g., increasing knowledge with increasing cognitive abilities, but distinctive features of Malaysian society also influence sex-role learning. From this perspective, assessment of adult stereotypes and consideration of social factors which shape ideology are a necessary background to the examination of stereotypes in children. Williams' (1982) documentation of sex stereotypes in 25 countries revealed that the most striking features of the Malaysian data in cross-cultural comparison were that (1) the male and female stereotypes are highly differentiated, with little overlap (males and females are frequently described in terms of opposites, the former perceived as strong, cold, and intelligent, while the latter are viewed as weak, warm, and unintelligent), and (2) the male stereotype reflects an exceptionally high favorability rating contrasted with the particularly low favorability evaluation of the female stereotype (on a cross-cultural basis the Malaysian male stereotype is viewed very favorably, but the female stereotype very unfavorably). These results emphasize the polarization of male and female stereotypes in Malaysia and the more positive evaluation of male traits and characteristics.

These findings are reiterated by social patterns and interactions in Malaysia's multiracial society. Composed of Malays, Chinese, and Indians, this rapidly developing country is still predominantly rural and individuals

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rely heavily on long-standing traditions. In most Malaysian homes, for example, there is a sharp division of labor, with the husband assuming the role of dominant partner, provider, and decision maker and the wife engaging in a more submissive, servile, domestic position. In addition, religious influences, particularly of Islam and Hinduism, serve to segregate males and females, reiterate the dichotomies of sex-related roles and characteristics, and glorify the position of men. Wong (1971) has emphasized this point, noting that in all Malaysian ethnic groups greater status is accorded to the male than the female. In terms of roles and stereotypes, then, this sexually polarized, male-dominated society represents the cultural milieu in which the Malaysian child is socialized and develops traditional sex stereotypes.

The emergence of stereotypes in Malaysian children may be examined first within the framework of Hurlock's (1978) theory of sex-role development. Hurlock contends that children go through five stages of learning sex stereotypes and role-related activities. The child becomes aware, first, that boys and girls are different in appearance and, second, that they engage in different activities. At the third level children recognize differences in male and female abilities. Hurlock postulates that in the fourth stage, which is apparent at school age, children view activities in terms of sex appropriateness and, finally, at the fifth level, that they are able to associate differential levels of prestige with male and female traits and roles. Item-level analysis of Malaysian data indicates that there is a considerable knowledge of sex trait stereotypes in children at 5 years and that it increases with age, although at 8 years it is still not complete. Results also suggest that these children have attained at least the fourth stage of Hurlock's developmental sequence, being fairly accurate in stereotyping, particularly of males, and aware of their own sex-appropriate traits.

Knowledge of stereotypes appears to be strongly linked to the child's level of cognitive development. Best (1982) recognized male traits as aggressive, loud, and strong, contrasted with the female characteristics, weak and emotional. These adjectives are relatively concrete and have behavioral correlates easily defined in the child's peer group (e.g., gets into fights, cries a lot). Adjectives such as charming, confident, and frivolous (assessed by questions such as flirts a lot, is sure of him- or herself, buys silly things) are less tangible and more difficult for the child to comprehend. Formation of stereotypes found in adults, then, is not complete in 8 year olds, being dependent upon cognitive abilities, and must emerge at a later stage of development, probably adolescence.

In line with Bandura & Waiter's (1963) social learning theory of sex-role development, both males and females are familiar with their own sex-appropriate stereotype, having acquired gender identities, sex-role

Sex Trail Stereotypes 43

preferences, and sex-typed behaviors by direct teaching, systematic use of reward and punishment, and observational learning. Parents, peers, schools, and media are all viewed as agents of a child's sex-role socialization whereby boys and girls are differentially rewarded and punished for displaying appropriate masculine and feminine behavior. This is particularly prevalent in Malaysia, where Wong (1971) has noted that in this somewhat conservative society character training begins early and pressure is put upon daughters to learn domestic arts and sons to emulate their fathers in manly pursuits. However, in overall terms the male stereotype is more clearly defined and more easily recognized than the female.

Williams et al. (1975) uncovered the same "male bias" trend in American children and postulated that the results are due to the behavioral nature of the male traits. It is just as likely, however, that the socialization patterns of boys and girls may affect the acquisition of stereotypes. Bardwick & Douvan (1970) have noted that boys learn their masculinity earlier, being rewarded for masculine behaviors and punished for feminine activities. Young girls are given more role freedom in that they are allowed at least some masculine pursuits until near puberty, when they are expected to conform to the demands of femininity. This has been supported in the United States by evidence which indicates that girls in middle childhood prefer male activities and masculine roles (Rosenberg & Sutton-Smith, 1964; Ward, 1973) and that a large proportion has even expressed the desire to be boys (Brown, 1957).

The harsh training for boys and ambivalent socialization of girls are even more apparent in male-dominated Malaysian society. Pressure is put upon boys, the more favored children, from an early age to assert their masculinity and learn male roles, especially since social and religious customs demand that they will be responsible for heading households and leading communities. In all of the Malaysian ethnic groups--the Malays, Indians, and Chinese--males retain the majority of social, economic, and political power and are primed for it at an early age (Swift, 1963; Wee, 1963; Wiebe & Mariappen, 1978). In contrast, girls are allowed to indulge in a variety of behaviors in early years and receive the majority of their sex-role learning later at puberty. Malay traditions, for example, which permit relatively uninhibited play in preadolescents, demand the separation of males and females at puberty, when young girls are then taught domestic roles with emphasis on attending to the comforts of their menfolk (Swift, 1963; Wong, 1971). Both Malay and Indian girls are frequently isolated and heavily chaperoned during adolescence, when they become more acquainted with the complexities of the female role. This delayed and ambivalent socialization of females in an intrinsically male-oriented society contributes to ~ more clearly defined male stereotype and the stronger pressure for boys

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to conform to sex-role standards. While the male stereotype is firmly established at an early age, the female stereotype becomes crystallized with adolescent sex-role development.

Although only a limited number of cross-cultural studies have been undertaken on sex trait stereotyping and related sex-role activity, results reveal that a large number of societies endorse sex-role standards which define masculine traits in terms of competency and feminine characteristics in terms of warmth and expressivity (D'Andrade, 1966; Williams, 1982). Barry et al. (1957) confirmed different sex-role socialization patterns of boys and girls in 110 cultures, with emphasis on self-reliance and achievement for males and nurturance, obedience, and responsibility for females. Best's (1982) findings reiterate the panuniversalism of sex stereotypes in children, with the exceptional feature of the Malaysian data being the relatively high scores found in the 5-year-old sample. This is in line with Wong's (1971) contention that character training is introduced at an early age to the Malaysian child and Whiting & Edwards' (1973) suggestion that children in developing countries experience more intense sex-role socialization. In short, males and females are highly differentiated in personality, roles, and abilities, and in Malaysia these differences are emphasized from an early age.

In conclusion the development of sex trait stereotypes in Malaysian children follows three main trends.

1. Stereotype knowledge increases with age. 2. The male stereotype is more easily recognized than the female. 3. Boys and girls are more familiar with the male stereotype, but

the trend is more pronounced in boys.

These results may be interpreted in terms of level of cognitive development, delayed sex-role learning in girls, socialization patterns, and cultural and religious traditions in Malaysian society.

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Sex trait stereotypes in Malaysian children