Cambridge study finds newborns show sex differences in attention within hours of birth
A 130-infant study finds girls look longer at faces and boys longer at objects, suggesting prenatal as well as social influences.
What to know
- Study of 130 newborns replicates and extends a 2000 Cambridge finding using more controlled methods and better eye-tracking.
- Both sexes preferred looking at a human face over an object, but girls spent proportionally more time on the face and boys proportionally more on the object.
- Researchers frame the result as evidence for 'nature and nurture, not nature or nurture' in sex-linked psychological differences.
- A statistics-focused comment notes the reported effect size is small (d=0.4, 51% vs 59%) and may be driven by females looking less at objects overall rather than a stronger face preference.
Yumnah Khan PhD student, lead researcher
Simon Baron-Cohen Director, Autism Research Centre, University of CambridgeUniversity of Cambridge Research institution
How it unfolded 4 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlespostscomments
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4
Story reaches Hacker News front-page discussion
The medicalxpress writeup of the study was submitted to Hacker News, drawing a small discussion thread about the findings.
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Coverage continues to spread internationally
Further outlets such as Daily Excelsior republished wire coverage of the study, extending its reach beyond UK media a day after initial publication.
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Commenter questions the size and source of the effect
A Reddit comment analyzing the paper's figures argues the reported effect size is small (Cohen's d=0.4, roughly 51% vs 59%) and that the apparent sex difference may stem from females looking less at objects overall rather than a stronger inherent preference for faces.
“Effect size is d =0.4 (small, 51% v 59%). ... the effect is driven by females spending less time overall looking at objects rather than them spending more time looking at faces or males spending more time on objects over faces.”
— u/potatoaster -
Effect size is d =0.4 (small, 51% v 59%). The follow-up ( Fig 4B: Looking time by sex and stimulus ) suggests that the effect is driven by females spending less time overall looking at objects rather than them spending more time looking at faces or males spending more time on objects over faces.
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background
Baron-Cohen frames result as 'nature and nurture' — Study supervisor Professor Sir Simon Baron-Cohen said the pre-experience timing of the differences suggests prenatal factors like sex hormones and genes interact with later postnatal experience rather than acting alone.
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background
Cambridge team publishes newborn attention study — Researchers at the University of Cambridge's Autism Research Centre published findings in Biology of Sex Differences showing that among 130 newborns tested hours after birth, girls on average spent more time looking at a human face and boys more time looking at a non-social object (a Newton's cradle).
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UK outlets pick up the newborn attention findings
The Telegraph, The Times, Cambridge University's own news office and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust all published pieces summarizing the study, with headlines emphasizing that baby girls appear more sociable than boys from birth.
“Our recent research has also shown that on-average sex differences are present in brain structure at birth and emerge prenatally. This new study tells us that there are not only on-average sex differences in the brain but also in attention and behaviour.”
— Yumnah Khan, PhD student, Autism Research Centre, Cambridge · source -
first by DT Next, 18h ago · also Daily Excelsior
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first by The Times, 2d ago · also The Telegraph
1 more headline
- Boys behave differently to girls within hours of birth, Cambridge study finds The Telegraph · 2d ago
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