There is research showing male rhesus monkeys to have preference for wheeled toys
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2583786/
We shouldn't discount possible genetic influences on preferences.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2583786/
We shouldn't discount possible genetic influences on preferences.
That still shows a gender imbalance, but I find it interesting that it always seems to be used to imply that girls don't like trucks, rather than boys don't like dolls as much.
(A similar rhetorical trick is used when talking about favorite colours. Apparently lots of people's kids just love pink and this tells them it's all genetic, yet if you survey women their favourite color is the same as men, blue. They just collectively prefer pink more than men relatively speaking)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4785908/
The preference for dolls is likely related to the role of females in childcare. Males are more the explorers and hunters. Women never explored nor hunted very much.