Assignment for July 7, topic 3

Yi Xiang
Amanda T.
Reading/Writing
July 7, 2010

Gender Differences Result in Differences in Siblings

The explanations for the differences between children in the same family we learned today can be summarized as position in the sibling system, parents' experiences and attitudes and roles assumed by the siblings. Besides these reasons, I think gender, school experiences, accidents, illness can result in the differences in siblings too.
I'm going to explain one of the reasons I listed above - gender. Expected behavior for siblings may depend on the child's birth order and whether the child is male or female. For example, at all ages, sisters are reported to be, and report themselves to be, closer to one another than are brothers or cross-sex sibling pairs (Sibling Relationships). A project which was held in University of North Carolina did an experiment on forty same-sex and cross-sex school-aged sibling pairs in their homes during self-selected activities. It showed that male dyads interacted less than other sibling groups. Older sisters in female dyads most capture in teaching. Older female siblings, whether the younger sibling is male or female, often take the organizer role. In the project also noted the affective differences related to gender. "Younger girls with older brothers and younger boys with older sisters evidenced the least gender stereotyping"(Sex Roles).
According to the research, it is believable that the difference in gender can also result in the differences between children that are raised in the same family.

"Same-sex and cross-sex siblings: Activity choices, roles, behavior, and gender stereotypes." Sex Roles 15 (1986): 495-511. SpringerLink. 22 Oct. 2004. Springer Netherlands. 7 July 2010 .

"Sibling Relationships." Family.jrank.org. 7 July 2010 .