The notion that children's taste in toys might somehow be genetically determined has long been disparaged by psychologists, pooh-poohed as unscientific, sexist or both.

孩子們對玩具地喜好在某種程度上是由基因決定的，這個說法長期遭到心理學家的鄙視，被認為是不科學的，或是有性別歧視的，或者兩者兼而有之。

But a study by researchers in the United States suggests that when it comes to choosing between trucks and cuddly stuffed animals, chromosomes could make a difference. 

但一項由美國研究人員做的研究表明，在選擇玩具卡車還是讓人禁不住想抱抱的填充玩具時，染色體有可能是會起作用的。

A team of scientists led by Kim Wallen of the Yerkes National Primate Research Center in Atlanta, Georgia decided to offer typical "male" and "female" toys to rhesus monkeys to see if preferences aligned with sex.

在佐治亞州亞特蘭大市的耶爾克斯國家靈長類動物研究中心，一隊由金?沃倫帶領的科學家就決定拿典型的“男性化”玩具和“女性化”玩具讓獼猴選擇，看看這種偏好到底是不是跟性別有關。

Much to their surprise, they did. The 11 male monkeys headed straight for the wheeled toys, such as dump trucks, leaving the plush toys more-or-less unmolested. 

令他們十分意外的是，這種偏好的確跟性別有關。實驗用的11只公猴子直奔翻斗火車等帶輪子的玩具，對毛絨玩具幾乎置之不理。

"They are not subject to advertising. They are not subject to parental encouragement, they are not subject to peer chastisement," said Wallen.

“它們不會受到廣告影響，也不受父母鼓勵的影響，也沒有同伴的指責。”沃倫說。

The results support an earlier study at Texas A&M University, with vervet monkeys, which also showed a distinct preference among male monkeys for "masculine" playthings.

這項結果支持了之前德克薩斯農工大學的一項研究。那項研究是用長尾猴做的實驗，實驗結果同樣表明了公猴子對“男性化”玩具有著明顯的偏好。

（來源：網絡 實習生許雅寧 英語點津Jennifer編輯）