A comparison of the doll play of preschool boys and girls

Five-year-old children were divided into same-gender pairs (22 female and 19 male) and were given the opportunity to play with six dolls grouped within three doll categories: (a) Humanoid, composed of a robot and an Ultraman doll; (b) Fashion, composed of a Barbie and a Ken doll; and (c) Baby, composed of an infant and a toddler doll. Several additional play items were given to all pairs during play with each of the three doll categories: colored blocks, colored legos, a cardboard box, and colored pipe cleaners. The pairs were observed during three 10 minute play sessions, each session with a different randomly assigned doll category. Play was recorded by an unobtrusive observer and an audiotape recorder. Actions and comments made by the children were coded for the presence of nurturant, aggressive, and sexual play.;Results reveal that girls engaged in more overall nurturant play than boys across all three doll categories combined. They displayed more overall nurturant play than aggressive or sexual play. Girls were more nurturing than boys toward the Barbie and infant dolls, but were more aggressive than boys toward the Ultraman doll. They were more nurturing toward the Barbie doll than the Ken doll, and were more nurturing toward the infant doll than the toddler doll. Girls exhibited more nurturant play apart from the dolls than boys during each of the three separate play sessions. They displayed more total nurturant play than boys during each of the three separate play sessions. Boys engaged in more overall aggressive play across all three doll categories combined. They displayed more overall aggressive play than nurturant or sexual play. Boys were more aggressive than girls toward the Barbie, infant, and toddler dolls. They exhibited more aggressive play than girls apart from the dolls during each of the three separate play sessions. Boys displayed more total aggressive play than girls during each of the three separate play sessions.