Boys And Girls: As Different as Cats and Dogs?
Are gender differences inborn? Does my son like trucks because he’s as different from girls as cats are from dogs? Boys come out of the womb clutching footballs, girls cuddling dolls?
Probably not, but young kids seem to believe that.
In a U.S. study of 450 kids aged 5-college aged, researchers found that the young ones were more likely to believe that gender differences were nature, not nurture. As in: differences are there because they’re born into you, as species is. The differences are innate, they think.
Interestingly, over time children’s beliefs on gender differences fade, not grow stronger.
