AT the tender age of just three months, little boys can detect a
difference between male and female babies鈥攁nd it seems they like the boys
better, say researchers in Britain.
Anne Campbell and her colleagues at Durham University tested 60
three-month-old infants for signs of gender preference. They did this by showing
the babies photos of male and female babies wearing clothes, and monitoring
their reaction. For instance, they recorded which photo they looked at first,
and how long they spent looking at babies of their own sex.
Pictures of trucks, dolls and five-year-old children of either sex sparked
little interest. But to the researchers鈥� surprise, the boys showed a marked
curiosity when shown pictures of other male infants. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 know how they do
it,鈥� says Campbell. 鈥淲e strongly suspect that adults couldn鈥檛 tell the
诲颈蹿蹿别谤别苍肠别.鈥�
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Three-month-old girls did not show any preference for either sex. The
researchers speculate that the neonatal surge in testosterone levels in boys may
somehow make the difference.