Date of Award
12-16-2024
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Psychology
Abstract
Children show gender differences in extent of early language abilities (e.g., first words, first sentences; Eriksson et al., 2012)—a pattern that also becomes evident in their gestures (e.g., Özçalışkan & Goldin-Meadow, 2010). Parents also show variability in the speech and gestures they use with their children, with some studies suggesting greater speech and gesture production by mothers as compared to fathers (Golinkoff & Ames, 1979; Grebelsky-Lichtman, 2016)—a pattern that also vary by child sex. However, less is known about the source of these differences. In this project, we examine two key factors that might explain sex differences in both children’s and parents’ speech and gesture production in early interactions, namely the play partner and the play context, across two studies. In Study 1, we asked whether children (33 boys, 33 girls; ages 3-to-5) will show sex differences in speech and gesture production with different play partners (mother vs. father) and whether these patterns will vary by play context (feminine, masculine, neutral). In study 2, we asked whether parents (66 mothers, 66 fathers) will show sex differences in speech and gesture production with different play partners (sons vs. daughters) and whether these patterns will differ by play context (feminine, masculine, neutral). We focused on both amount, diversity and complexity of speech and gesture production in three different play contexts (stereotypically feminine, stereotypically masculine, neutral) in each study. Our findings suggest that, aside from speech complexity, the feminine context mostly elicited the highest levels of speech and gesture production in both children and parents. Additionally, while children did not exhibit strong gender-typed behaviors in their communication, parents did. Overall, our studies will provide a comprehensive assessment of factors that contribute to sex differences in both children’s and parents’ multi-modal communications.
Recommended Citation
Pinar, Ebru, "Effect of Gender, Play Partner, and Play Context on Speech and Gesture Production of Children and Their Parents." Dissertation, Georgia State University, 2024.
https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/psych_diss/298
File Upload Confirmation
1