“Perhaps there’s more of a social pressure towards socializing these children to sexual norms” than previously thought, he added. Alan Fogel, a University of Utah professor of psychology who specializes in children, wasn’t surprised by the study results. By 2 years, children begin to see themselves in terms of categories – that they are boys or girls, he said. He suspects children are paying attention to gender stereotypes even earlier than 2 – though the BYU study found that 18-month-olds didn’t pay closer attention to the inconsistent activities. By age 1, babies can categorize male versus female faces, Fogel said. “There’s something about gender that’s very captivating for children,” Fogel said. “We don’t quite know why.”
(via Salon)