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The Effects of Sex and Toy Characteristics on Exploration in Preschool Children

1983; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 142; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/00221325.1983.10533513

1940-0896

Vonnie C. McLoyd, Hilary Horn Ratner,

Child and Animal Learning Development

Summary Previous research indicates that girls spend less time than boys exploring a novel toy. Whether this finding is due to individual differences, sex differences in the toys' attractiveness, or the restricted number of exploration indices employed remains unanswered. In the present study, the novel toy, a box with five manipulanda and three detachable panels, incorporated a sex-typed feature (picture on panel) which appealed to boys and girls, respectively. Panels were identical except the depictions they presented which included a house, dashboard of a car, and pinwheel of colors (control). An independent assessment of panel preference with 35 boys and girls indicated that girls preferred the house panel while boys preferred the car panel. Results indicated that children in both the car and house condition spent significantly more time manipulating the novel toy and less time manipulating the familiar toys during a IS-min free play session than children in the control group. Girls in the house condition spent significantly more time than boys exploring the novel and familiar toys concurrently, suggesting that girls may have a proclivity toward exploring certain types of novel toys in conjunction with familiar toys.