Six-year-old Sam is visiting his friend Lily's house for dinner.They are greeted at the door by her father and he tells them that dinner is almost ready.Lily's mother arrives home from work a few minutes later and helps the children set the table.Later that night when Sam's mother asks him about his evening,he incorrectly reports that Lily's mother cooked the meal.Are such distortions of gendered recall common?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

According to research on gendered recall, children often make recall errors when the situation is inconsistent with their expectations. Children have certain expectations and schemas about gender roles and behaviors, and when those expectations are violated, their recall of events may be distorted. In this case, Sam may have assumed that the mother cooked the meal because he has a schema that women are usually responsible for cooking. Therefore, choice C is the best answer. Choices A and B are incorrect because the research on gendered recall suggests that children do not always recall events accurately, even when those events deviate from their expectations. Choice D is also incorrect because 6-year-olds do have schemas for gender-appropriate behaviors, even if those schemas may sometimes lead to recall errors.

Six-Year-Old Sam Is Visiting His Friend Lily's House for Dinner