There is a popular idea that is so ingrained that, despite the evidence, it continues to be embedded in our thinking: that human beings are like pieces of fresh clay perfectly moldable by education or context. However, there are many features that come standard and little or nothing can be modulated (not to mention that those features themselves shape the context, in turn).
For that reason, no matter how much effort has been made by institutions, educational centers and even television advertisements, a new meta-analysis (made up of 75 studies) has not found that boys and girls have changed their preferences for toys in the last half century.
Children toys"
Parents of young children know that boys like different toys than girls. Children show a preference for cars, robots, soldiers, bicycles, LEGOs. Girls also like bicycles, cars, and LEGOs, but they also play with dolls and stuffed animals, toys that boys find less attractive for active play .
According to the analysis, therefore, boys show a strong preference for "boy’s" toys, while girls are more flexible and tend to like toys more generally, even though they are also typical for boys .
Is this difference in the preference for toys due exclusively to the socialization of parents, other children and the media, or are there basic differences of perception / action between men and women that make some toys better adapted or more attractive for one sex than for another?
Interestingly, this trend is similar to what has been found in macaques offered "boy" and "girl" toys, according to a 2008 study , so sexually dimorphic toy preferences appear to reflect neurobiological differences. between males and females and are not caused solely by socialization , as has been suggested by cognitive-social theories of gender role behavior.