M.A., Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles
B.A., Boston University

Campbell Leaper is a developmental and social psychologist investigating the origins and consequences of gender inequities across the lifespan. His social-psychological approach emphasizes the interactions between the person, the social situation, and society. In addition, his developmental perspective considers the childhood origins and long-term consequences of gender typing. According to Professor Leaper's analysis, gender-differentiated experiences during childhood maintain and perpetuate gender inequities in the larger society.

Much of Professor Leaper's research has considered how gender is defined through social-interaction patterns in families, peer groups, schools, the media, friendships, and romantic relationships. Within these sociocultural contexts, girls and boys are often provided different opportunities to practice particular social and cognitive skills. Gender differences in experience, in turn, are viewed as contributing to the development of different expectations, social identity, preferences, and abilities. In these ways, gender inequalities are perpetuated.

Some of the topics addressed during the course of Professor Leaper's research program have included gender-related variation in the following: parental socialization; gender self-concepts, stereotypes, and attitudes; communication patterns between friends; stereotyping in the media; and academic and athletic achievement.

Most recently, Professor Leaper has begun investigating factors related to adolescent girls' and young women's experiences with sexism and feminist beliefs. One goal of this research is to examine when and why girls become aware of sexism. Another aim is to consider if and how sexism may contribute to girls' academic interests and achievement—particularly in science, math, and technology, which are occupational areas where women remain significantly underrepresented.

Finally, Professor Leaper maintains an ongoing interest in synthesizing our knowledge about gender. He is the author of several review chapters on gender development. Many of these include meta-analyses. These quantitative reviews not only test for average gender-related differences across studies in particular behaviors (for example, the uses of affiliative and assertive speech) but, more importantly, consider how characteristics of the situation and the person moderate the likelihood of gender differences. For example, his work has revealed how certain gender-typed forms of communication depend more on the selected activity than the person's actual gender. Hence, the findings underscore the importance of having access to particular contexts as an important basis for perpetuating gender inequities in the larger society.

Social construction and socialization of gender in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood; self-concept and social identity; language and social interaction; social relationships, gender bias in the schools and academic achievement; images of gender in the media; perceptions and consequences of sexism.

Leaper, C., and Friedman, C.K. The socialization of gender. In J. Grusec & P. Hastings (Eds.), The handbook of socialization: Theory and research (pp. 561-587). New York: Guilford, 2006.

Smith, T. E., and Leaper, C. Self-perceived gender typicality and the peer context during adolescence. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 2006, 16, 91-104.

Leaper, C. and Smith, T.E. A meta-analytic review of gender variations in children's talk: Talkativeness, affiliative speech, and assertive speech. Developmental Psychology. 2004, 40, 993-1027.

Leaper, C. and Bigler, R.S. Gendered language and sexist thought: Commentary. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 2004, 69(1), 2004, 128-142.

Sabattini, L. and Leaper, C. The relation between mothers' and fathers' parenting styles and their division of labor in the home: Young adults' retrospective reports. Sex Roles, 2004, 50, 217-224.

Tenenbaum, H.R. and Leaper, C. Parent-child conversations about science: The socialization of gender inequities? Developmental Psychology, 2003, 39, 34-47.

Parenting girls and boys. In M.H. Bornstein (Ed.), Handbook of parenting, Vol. 1: Children and parenting (2nd ed., pp. 127-152). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrene Erlbaum.

Tenenbaum, H.R. and Leaper, C. Are parents' gender schemas related to their children's gender-related cognitions?: A meta analysis. Developmental Psychology, 2002, 38, 615-630.

The social construction and socialization of gender. In P.H. Miller and E.K. Scholnick (Eds.), Towards a feminist developmental psychology. New York: Routledge Press, 2000.

Childhood gender segregation: Causes and consequences. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1994.