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Gender and self in children's autobiographical narratives
Author(s) -
Buckner Janine P.,
Fivush Robyn
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
applied cognitive psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.719
H-Index - 100
eISSN - 1099-0720
pISSN - 0888-4080
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-0720(199808)12:4<407::aid-acp575>3.0.co;2-7
Subject(s) - narrative , psychology , autobiographical memory , closeness , developmental psychology , context (archaeology) , recall , girl , alienation , social psychology , cognitive psychology , mathematical analysis , paleontology , philosophy , linguistics , mathematics , political science , law , biology
In this study, we examined relations among gender, self‐concept and children's autobiographical narratives. Twenty‐two white middle‐class children 8 years of age (50% female) were administered the Children's Self‐View Questionnaire (CSVQ). In addition, children were asked to recall a specific experience associated with each of the nine self‐concept dimensions assessed by the CSVQ, including Achievement, Alienation, and Social Closeness. Consistent with previous research with adults, girl's autobiographical narratives were longer, more coherent and more detailed than were boys' narratives. Girls were also more likely to place their autobiographical narratives in a social context, to refer to more affiliative themes, and to mention more people and more emotions than were boys. In all these ways, girls' narratives were more socially contexted and relational than were those of boys. However, no relations were found between specific dimensions of self‐understanding and children's autobiographical narratives. Theoretical implications of these findings are discussed. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.