The Contextual Specificity of Masculinity and Femininity in Early Adolescence

Using a social constructionist perspective, we investigated the flexibility of early adolescents' (N = 80, 40 boys, 40 girls; M age = 13.14; SD = .65) masculinity and femininity as a function of the interpersonal context (same- or other-sex partner) and situational demands (co-operation or competition). Participants played a block-building game with a girl and a boy peer and were instructed either to play the game co-operatively or competitively. Boys' and girls' femininity scores were greater when working with a girl peer rather than a boy peer. Stereotypical gender differences in masculinity were most apparent when instructions emphasized co-operation. These findings provide empirical support for a social constructionist theory of gender development by demonstrating how the proximal situation changes adolescents' views of gendered aspects of their identity. A conceptualization of masculinity and femininity as flexible states is discussed as supplementing the idea that masculinity and femininity are enduring personality traits. Implications of the study for understanding how social situations maximize or minimize gender differences and similarities are discussed.     

Friendship and Gender Differences in Task and Social Interpretations of Peer Collaborative Problem Solving

Investigations of peer collaboration often vary task or social aspects of collaborative contexts and assume that these aspects of the context are experienced similarly by individuals. The present study examined how social aspects (group friendship and gender) of a peer collaborative context related to differences in adolescents' interpretations of task and social problems that occurred while collaborating with peers in a naturalistic classroom setting. Eighth-grade adolescents ( N = 82, 44 females) worked with peers on a six-week Spanish project at school. Adolescents chose to work primarily with same-gender peers and friends. Task and social interpretations of problems were assessed twice. The salience of task problems decreased over time; social problems became somewhat more salient. Social problems were less salient to females than to males. Greater group friendship was associated with the lesser salience of task problems early in the project. The salience of social problems, gender, and friendship were important for understanding performance on the project. The value of considering the context of peer collaborative problem solving from individuals' perspectives is discussed.     

Context and Age Differences in Same‐ and Other‐gender Peer Preferences

Age and gender differences in preferences for same‐ and other‐gender peers as partners for working on a school project and casual interactions at home were investigated. Participants were 82 students (19 sixth‐grade preadolescents; 29 eighth‐grade adolescents; 34 tenth‐ and eleventh‐grade older adolescents). Same‐gender preferences were assessed via peer nominations and ratings of expected enjoyment of interacting with same‐ and other‐gender peers. Preferences varied by context: individuals expected to enjoy same‐gender peers more than other‐gender peers when working on a project at school but not when interacting casually at home. Greater expected enjoyment of same‐gender peers over other‐gender peers was most pronounced for preadolescent boys and girls, and least pronounced for older adolescent males. Nominations of same‐gender peers for home and school activities decreased with age. Results are interpreted in light of a social‐contextual approach to gender segregation.