Final answer:
Garth's refusal to let his sister Amelia play with trucks is an example of gender schema, a set of beliefs about gender roles learned through socialization. Gender stereotyping contributes to expectations and behaviors that support these roles from a very young age. Efforts like the Egalia preschool in Sweden aim to create a more gender-neutral environment and reduce these biases.
Step-by-step explanation:
Garth's refusal to allow his sister Amelia to play with his trucks is based on his gender schema. Gender schemas are the organized sets of beliefs and expectations about males and females that guide a person's behavior and thinking. In this context, Garth has learned and internalized the gender stereotype that trucks are toys typically associated with boys, not girls.
Children learn about gender roles through various forms of socialization. Parents, for example, often provide gender-specific toys which promote certain skills and behaviors that are seen as socially appropriate for their gender. This also includes the feedback children receive from their parents for engaging in gender-normative behavior.
Societal attitudes and gender stereotyping lead to overgeneralizing traits or behaviors expected from each gender. These expectations are deeply ingrained, as studies show that children are aware of gender roles by age two or three, and by four or five, most children are following culturally accepted gender roles.
One approach to challenge traditional gender socialization is found in the Egalia preschool in Sweden, where a gender-neutral environment is created to eliminate societal gender norms, showcasing the effort to combat gender-based biases in child development.