Retail therapy has long been a treat for millions of women who enjoy nothing better than a trawl round the shops.
For those who pause long enough to wonder if it is nature or nurture which guides them, the answer may have emerged.
Sales levels indicate that it is behaviour that is learned, so it may be down to women's mothers that they like to shop so much.
Figures have revealed that clothes for baby girls out-sell those for boys by a fifth.
It emerged that by the age of four, girls have 20 percent more clothes than boys of that age.
As mothers buy most of the clothes for their children, this suggests that they instinctively instill a much greater need for clothes in their daughters from a very young age.
As a result, it is likely that women are brought up to love shopping through years of intense exposure to fashion and purchases.
The Debenhams sales results have been interpreted by Dr Karen J. Pine, Professor of Developmental Psychology at the University of Hertfordshire.
'Human society puts a great deal of emphasis on female appearance and this will inevitably result in more clothes being purchased for girls than boys,' she said.
'Parents encourage the importance of clothes through leisure activities such as shopping and play that involves dressing up.
'While dads are taking their sons out for football matches, women are taking their little girls shopping and encouraging them to take an interest in fashion.'
(Read by Nelly Min. Nelly Min is a journalist at the China Daily Website.)
购物疗法一向是众多女性的乐事,对她们而言,再没有什么比逛商店更好的事情了。
这种喜好,是天性使然还是后天影响呢?有些人也许会为这个问题感到困惑,而现在,答案可能要浮出水面了。
据销售数据显示,爱购物是一种习得的行为,所以,女人们如此热衷于购物,可能要归咎于她们的妈妈。
有数据显示,女婴服装销量比男婴服装要多五分之一。
到四岁的时候,女孩们的衣服会比男孩们多出五分之一。
鉴于大多数童装都是妈妈来买的,这表明,妈妈们在女儿很小的时候就本能地向她们灌输这一观点,就是女孩需要的衣服要比男孩多得多。
因此,在多年来时尚消费的熏陶下,女人们很可能逐渐喜欢上了购物。
赫特福德大学发展心理学教授卡伦?J?潘恩博士对德本汉姆百货公司的销售结果进行了解读。
她说,“人类社会非常重视女性的外表,因此,不可避免地给女孩买的衣服会比男孩多。
“父母们通过带孩子参加一些休闲活动,例如带孩子购物或参加需要乔装打扮的演出,让孩子感受到衣服的重要性。
“爸爸们会带着儿子去看足球比赛,而女人们则会带着女儿去购物,这让女孩们对时装兴趣渐增。”
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