A young toddler, supported by his father, stands on a stool and peers into his own mirror on the bathroom vanity. While his father shaves, the child also applies shaving cream to his own face, and then scrapes the foam off with a toy razor. What sociological term best describes this child's actions?
A) play stage of development
B) sexual-script stage of gender development
C) secondary-sex characteristics development
D) imitative stage of development

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The imitative stage of development refers to a child's tendency to imitate the behaviors of those around them, especially adults. In this scenario, the child is imitating his father's behavior of shaving, indicating that he is in the imitative stage of development. The play stage of development (A) refers to a child's ability to take on and understand different roles in play scenarios, and does not seem to apply in this scenario. The sexual-script stage of gender development (B) refers to how individuals learn about gender roles and behaviors through socialization and observation, which may be relevant but not central to the child's actions in this scenario. Secondary-sex characteristics development (C) refers to the physical changes that occur during puberty, which are not applicable to a young toddler.

A Young Toddler, Supported by His Father, Stands on a Stool