"Man up!": Threats to Masculinity Reduce Boys' Help-seeking Behavior

Despite the importance of seeking help when in need, men seek help less than women do. One possible explanation is that men's resistance to help-seeking functions as a compensatory behavior to reassert masculinity when it is challenged. The present study experimentally examined this mechanism in early childhood by testing whether threats to gender typicality influence children's, especially boys', willingness to seek help. Children ages 8 to 11 years (N = 234) were randomly assigned to either a gender typicality threat (threat) condition or affirmation (no threat) condition, in which they received feedback designed to either challenge or reinforce their sense of gender typicality. Children then completed an unsolvable task with opportunities to ask for help. Results showed that gender typicality threat reduced boys' willingness to ask for help, whereas girls' help-seeking was unaffected. These findings provide causal evidence that threats to gender typicality can discourage help-seeking among boys and highlight this mechanism as a potential important target for early intervention.