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Preschool children's genital knowledge: Does Bem's report of a male deficit survive replication?
Author(s) -
Lloyd Barbara,
Stroyan James
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
british journal of developmental psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.062
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 2044-835X
pISSN - 0261-510X
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-835x.1994.tb00632.x
Subject(s) - generality , psychology , sex organ , replication (statistics) , developmental psychology , test (biology) , medicine , biology , paleontology , genetics , virology , psychotherapist
A replication of Bem's (1989) genital knowledge test was undertaken to assess the generality and reliability of her findings and, in particular, the demand characteristics of female experimenters. Following Bem, it was predicted that among preschool children, older children and females would have more genital knowledge than younger children and males. Significant main effects in the predicted direction for age and sex provide strong support for Bem's original findings. Possible explanations for the superior genital knowledge of young girls are proposed.