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Boys and girls show different attention patterns within HOURS of birth, Cambridge study finds

From the Newshound archive · first published 21 September 2026 · last updated 22 September 2026.

Newborns in a Cambridge study — which found girls attend more closely to human faces while boys focus on objects — were tested using video stimuli to eliminate investigator bias.
Newborns in a Cambridge study — which found girls attend more closely to human faces while boys focus on objects — were tested using video stimuli to eliminate investigator bias.

A Cambridge study of 130 newborns tested within hours of birth has found that baby girls pay closer attention to human faces than boys, while boys are more drawn to objects. Professor Sir Baron-Cohen, Director of the Autism Research Centre, says the findings suggest prenatal biological factors shape sex differences before nurture can play any role. The research replicates and improves on a disputed 2000 study, this time using video stimuli rather than the lead investigator's own face to eliminate bias.

Professor Baron-Cohen says the results show 'it's nature and nurture, not nature or nurture.'

Girls are also reportedly more sociable from birth, with boys less attentive to social cues within the first 72 hours.

The findings could help settle what Baron-Cohen calls the 'age-old question' of whether nature plays any role in shaping sex differences.

MoreThe TelegraphBoys behave differently to girls within hours of birth, Cambridge study findsThe TimesBaby girls are more sociable than boys from birth, study findsDaily MailGirls are better at paying attention from BIRTH, study findsThe GuardianBaby girls’ greater interest in faces offers clue to nature v nurture debate - The GuardianMedical XpressNewborn girls and boys show different attention patterns within hours of birth - Medical XpressUniversity of CambridgeSex differences in attention are present at birth, study finds - University of Cambridge
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