by Maryam Srouji
Last week was International Day of the Girl. You might have seen posts about it all over social media, but did you ever wonder why there's a push to celebrate girls? What makes girls different from (or similar to) boys? Those are some questions we study in Dr. Dinella's Gender Development Lab. We study the effects of media and toys on young children's gender development. Specifically, we want to see how factors such as the color of a toy (did you know pink gives girls permission to play with a toy?) and how being told a toy or activity is for a girl or for a boy (even if it's not a toy, they'll only play with it if it's for their gender!) influences how children play, the friendships they make, and what career paths they choose. Dr. Dinella has presented everywhere from Toys R Us to the White House, and she's a great mentor when it comes to research. She pushes us to do our best and helps us realize that we can do what we never thought we were able to. In short, whether it's discovering how block toys influence girls and boys' spatial abilities differently to watching videos in honor of Day of the Girl, being in Dr. Dinella's lab is a one of a kind experience!
For more information on Dr. Dinella or her lab, click here:
http://lisadinella.com/
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