ABSTRACT
Researchers experienced in working with young childrenÐsay, 4-to 6year-oldsÐanticipate that the occasional participant will decline to comply with the experimental procedure. In a random sample of 100, it would not be unusual to encounter a few children who refuse, perhaps because of temperament, mood, or some other reaction. Warin (2000), working with 100 children in exactly this age group, was rather unlucky: 43 participants were adamant that they would not engage in a task that she set them. The problem was not due to any lack of administrative skill or interpersonal sensitivity on the part of the experimenter; the children happily performed several other tasks and patiently answered miscellaneous questions. Recalcitrance set in when Warin wanted the children to do something that they clearly regarded as outrageous: She asked them to put on the clothes typically associated with the opposite sex. Boys were invited to wear a frilly pink dress and girls were offered army fatigues.
