Kids ‘are genetically programmed to pick toys’

According to the researchers,one theory is that these innate preferences are linked to traditional male and female functions dating back to the dawn of the species.

Boys are thought to prefer playing with cars and balls because they involve moving objects and rough and tumble play.

These activities may be linked to their ancestors’ skills in hunting for food and finding a mate.

Girls,on the other hand,are thought to like red or pink toys because a preference for those colours enhanced abilities to nurture infants,aiding their family’s survival.

“The findings from the present research are consistent with the hypothesis that males and females may show different patterns of attention to toys because they are attracted to different visual characteristics of objects.

“It seems unlikely that object interests in infants younger than nine months of age are a result of internal motivation to conform to external referents of gender role behaviour,” the researchers said.

For the study,the researchers set up a presentation box similar to a puppet theatre and placed a doll and truck inside. Eye-tracking technology measured how many times and how long the babies focused or ‘fixated’ on each object.

The researchers found that “girls showed a visual preference for the doll over the toy truck and boys compared to girls showed a greater number of visual fixations on the truck”.

The findings are published in the ‘Archives of Sexual Behaviour’ journal.