Child plays with toy cars

by Rebecca Woods

March Nerd Nite on the Rocks

There is evidence to suggest that the types of gender-typical toys children prefer can be explained by biological factors such as hormones that predispose children to prefer those types of toys. However, countless studies demonstrate that many of the differences between the sexes once thought to be biologically determined, actually originate from societally-constructed environmental differences. Can the same be said about toy preferences? Studies investigating the emergence of these preferences in infancy and toddlerhood can help answer this question.