Gender stereotypes about intellectual ability in Japanese children

Japan has a large gender gap; thus, this study examined whether Japanese 4- to 7-year-old children exhibit a “brilliance = males” stereotype and whether parental attitudes toward gender roles were related to children’s stereotypes. We also explored whether children exhibit such stereotypes in response to various stimuli. We showed children photo (Study 1) and stick-figure (Study 2) stimuli of men, women, boys, and girls, asking them to attribute traits (smart or nice) to each. Unlike previous studies in the U.S., there were sex differences early in boys’ and girls’ attribution of smart or nice; however, a developmental transition was observed in 7-year-olds. In Study 1, 7-year-old girls were more likely to attribute nice, and 6-year-old boys were more likely to attribute smart, to their own sex, respectively. In Study 2, girls generally attributed nice to their own sex compared to boys, while only 7-year-old boys were more likely to attribute smart to their own sex compared to girls. Parental attitudes toward gender roles were unrelated to children’s gender stereotypes. The results indicated that Japanese children may acquire “brilliance = males” stereotypes later than American children (7-years-old). Further, the results were clearer when children were presented with stick figure stimuli.