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Barbies Vs. Balls: Eye Tracking Investigates Toy Preferences and Gender

Barbies Vs. Balls: Eye Tracking Investigates Toy Preferences and Gender Any big sister knows the devastation her Barbies risk in the hands of a little brother. My collection had several casualties because my younger brother’s idea of playing “Barbie Dream House” was very different from mine. While mine involved accessorizing, grooming, and planning elaborate Barbie parties, his was full of demolition, chaos, and artillery fire sound effects. A study conducted at Texas A&M University investigated why boys and girls differ in their play preferences. Using eye tracking software to gauge infants’ (age 3 to 4 months) interest in toys deemed typically male or female, the study sought to discover the reason why these differences exist.

According to an article about this study, boys tend to be “more strongly drawn to balls, vehicles, and construction toys,” and boys prefer playing in larger groups than girls. In the study, 21 male and 20 female infants were shown animated images of balls, dolls, groups of figures and individual figures and the babies’ visual preferences, as indicated by gaze fixations and looking times, were recorded using an eye-tracker. Hormone levels in the saliva, as well as finger dimensions that indicate prenatal testosterone exposure were measured to see if these things could explain why the infants visually preferred certain toys over others.

The results revealed that while the girls’ preferences weren’t affected by hormone levels at all, the boys’ preferences were affected by both current and prenatal hormone levels. It appears that the higher the presence of testosterone at the time of the test, the greater the preference for groups of figures over individual figures, and those who indicated a higher exposure to prenatal testosterone had a stronger preference for the ball over the doll.

This test was just the beginning in a larger study on the behavioral significance of hormone levels during early infancy. Further research will be done to investigate if the visual preferences the infants in this test presented will translate to actual choices and play preferences when the infants are older. The findings of this study could reveal a lot about why boys and girls typically play differently and maybe even uncover the cause for confusion in gender identity. It won’t, however, save the lives of any innocent Barbies because I think the temptation to annihilate plastic dolls is also ingrained in little brothers before they’re even born.

Boys will be boys when it comes to toys

Barbies Vs. Balls: Eye Tracking Investigates Toy Preferences and Gender

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