Developmental differences in children's preferences for high- and low-arousing forms of contact stimulation.
In a 2-choice preference situation involving the availability of adult-administered cuddling versus tickling stimulation, overall preferences for cuddling steadily decreased across 4 groups of children from 3 to 7 years of age. This developmental decrease was most prevalent, for both boys and girls, when the contact agents were a female cuddler versus a male tickler. The reversal of these contact-sex roles (female tickler vs. male cuddler) did not affect the developmental preference for less cuddling stimulation of the 3 oldest groups of girls; however, the youngest girls now avoided male cuddlers, while the boys were found to prefer male cuddlers at all 4 age levels.
D001143:Arousal; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005783:Gender Identity; D006234:Handling, Psychological; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009769:Object Attachment; D012737:Sex Factors; D014110:Touch