Study: Girls as competitive as boys

BOSTON, June 27 (UPI) -- Girls are as competitive as boys, but use more subtle tactics, a study of U.S. pre-schoolers suggests.

Researchers found while boys used aggressive tactics to get what they want, girls rely on the pain of social exclusion, ABC News reported Friday.

Joyce Benenson at Emmanuel College in Boston and her colleagues divided 87 4-year-olds into same-sex groups of three. In successive trials, each trio received one, two or three highly prized animal puppets, which each of the children wanted.

The study found the boys and girls behaved similarly when there were two or three puppets to go around. Differences between the sexes became clear when there was just one puppet for each group.

Boys tended to ask for the puppet, grab at it, or even chase the child who had it. Girls punished the puppet-holder by excluding her from their group, whispering behind her back or even hiding from her.