SOCI201 Lecture 7: Toys 7

• School: University of Delaware
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOCI201
• Professor: Best Joel

Document Summary

The older dolls that existed before were paper fashion dolls. Somebody had the idea to make the actual doll to mimic it- barbie. David swartz went after fisher price toys because they were small enough to swallow. Standards for toys were made: ex: labels for hazards, violence. The idea that there were military themes may lead to violence. Giving children guns to play with teaches them the wrong thing: paralelle to what barbie is teaching girls, anti-religious messages. Turmoil in the toybox - marketed in christian book stores: cult toys- had messages that contradict biblical teachings, heman, carebears- living in the clouds with powers, jean piaget. Interested in how small children learned things. Showed that children pass through stages of cognitive development: conservation of quantities, children have to learn to see the world as others see it, think of children as learning machines, socialization: emphasizes social nature of learning.