Science

Newborn girls show stronger visual preference for human faces than boys

The Guardian reports that newborn girls spent more time looking at faces than toys compared with boys.

Updated Sep 21, 2026 · 10:15 UTC1 reports

The short version

Tests on 130 newborn infants found that baby girls spent proportionally more time looking at a face than a toy compared to boys.[The Guardian]
The infants were between eight hours and three days old when tested at the Rosie hospital in Cambridge.[The Guardian]
Researchers consider biological elements, including genetics and womb testosterone levels, as the likely drivers because of the babies' young age.[The Guardian]
Scientists hypothesize this early social interest may support skills like early speech, but this remains unproven.[The Guardian]

Newborn girls spent proportionally more time observing a face rather than a toy when compared to newborn boys.[The Guardian]
The research was conducted with 130 infants aged eight hours to three days at the Rosie hospital in Cambridge.[The Guardian]
Because of the infants' age, researchers suspect biological influences like genetics or womb testosterone exposure rather than cultural factors.[The Guardian]

Whether early social interest directly facilitates milestones such as earlier speech remains an unproven hypothesis.[The Guardian]
The observed behavioral patterns reflect group-level averages rather than rules that apply to every individual infant.[The Guardian]

Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.