Psychology behind it - Hassett

• Aim

  • To test if sex differences in children's toy preferences are due to biological factors (i.e. exposure to high levels of prenatal androgen) rather than socialisation
• AIM

  • To investigate whether male and female rhesus monkeys have similar toy preferences to human children despite having no experience socialising with human toys.
• Play = Pleasure gained in self-expression.
• Animal play = An activity/action voluntarily and repeatedly done by animals as a form of enjoyment and self-expression. Play may be adaptive, and it can help individuals practice skills required for adulthood.
• Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH) = An inherited condition where the foetus is exposed to high levels of prenatal androgens (male sex hormones).
• Research Method ➜ Field experiment involving a controlled observation, and a correlational study using a behavioural checklis
• Research Design ➜ Independent measures design.
• Independent Variable ➜ The sex of the monkey (male or female).
• Dependent Variable ➜ Whether the monkeys interacted more with the plush toys or the wheeled toys.
• Applications to everyday life

  Findings are helpful when choosing toys for children. Results suggest that boys like moving toys, so if a parent wants to develop their empathy, toy vehicles with expressive faces can be bought.

  As girls like plush toys with faces, their visuospatial skills can be improved by using toys with moving parts but in a context where dolls are included. For example, playing a scene with toy school buses and dolls.