ABSTRACT
How do children learn to perceive and label themselves as boys or girls? Why do boys play with other boys and avoid girls' Do girls and boys differ in their mathematical and verbal skills? In psychological and educational theory and research, these questions are representative of the many and diverse issues concerning gender development and gender effects. One large set of issues concerns the origins and development of children's gender identity, gender stereotypes, and genderrelated behaviors and personality characteristics. Another, larger body of research pertains to issues regarding differences between males and females in behaviors, characteristics, and psychological processes (e.g., preferences, attributional biases). A third set of issues concerns the constructs of masculinity, femininity, and androgyny and their relation to behavior and mental health (see Huston, 1983).
