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Sex differences in 1-, 3-, and 5-year-olds' toy-choice in a structured play-session

A Servin1, G Bohlin, L Berlin

  • 1Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Sweden.

Scandinavian Journal of Psychology
|April 27, 1999
PubMed

Insights

Children show sex-differentiated toy preferences from one year old, with feminine toys becoming less appealing as they age. Play status did not consistently influence these early behavioral sex differences.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Child Behavior Studies

Background:

  • Early childhood toy preferences are often linked to gender stereotypes.
  • Understanding the origins and development of sex differences in play is crucial for developmental research.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate sex differences in toy choice among one-, three-, and five-year-old children.
  • To examine how toy preferences evolve with age and in different play contexts.

Main Methods:

  • A cross-sectional study involving 106 children aged 1-5 years.
  • Children selected from a set of feminine, masculine, and neutral toys during solitary and parent-present play sessions.

Main Results:

  • Significant sex differences in toy choice were observed from 12 months of age, persisting across all age groups.
  • Contrary to previous findings, the appeal of feminine toys decreased with age for both boys and girls.
  • Play status (solitary vs. parent-present) did not yield consistent effects on toy selection.

Conclusions:

  • Behavioral sex differences in toy preference emerge very early in development.
  • The decreasing interest in feminine toys with age suggests a complex interplay of factors influencing gendered play.
  • Further research is needed to explore the etiological factors underlying observed sex differences in childhood play behavior.

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