Nature vs Nature - Hassett

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  Sex Differences and the Role of Nature

  
  

  The sex of mammals is determined by sex chromosomes which affect their levels of sex hormones.

  
  

  This causes differences in the development of male and female brains, and consequently, their cognitive processes.

  
  

  In a nursery, boys are more likely to be seen playing with cars, and girls with dolls.

  
  

  However, this doesn’t mean that girls don’t like playing with cars; in fact, research found that girls like playing with trucks more than boys like playing with dolls.
• Nurture debate: Children learn about gender and societal norms through socialisation, leading them to conform to stereotypical gender roles, and seek out sex-typed toys.Hassett et al., however, reject the socialisation explanation for toy preferences and believe in the biological explanation.
• Nature debate: Boys and girls play with toys which suit their cognitive abilities, and these depend on each child’s sex hormone levels. Hence, toys are selected due to the play activities they promote, not due to societal norms on ‘gender-appropriate’ toys.
• Data recorded by observers: The start and finish time of each interaction, and from this they calculated the duration. The monkey’s age, sex, and rank.
• • Social Rank – A significant positive correlation between social rank (dominance of monkeys) and frequency of interaction was found.Higher-ranking monkeys interacted more with the toys.Female monkeys who preferred plush toys had a higher rank than those who had no preference.
• Nature vs Nurture

  
  

  Hassett believed that toy preferences in humans are due to nature because male monkeys prefer wheeled toys over plush toys, whereas females show no clear preference

  
  

  .Findings supported the nurture debate that interactions were affected by so

  cial rank.

  
  

  Female monkeys' social rank was positively correlated with the time spent interacting with both toys. However, female dominance is influenced by testosterones which is a biological effect.