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.)

購物療法一向是眾多女性的樂事，對她們而言，再沒有什么比逛商店更好的事情了。

這種喜好，是天性使然還是后天影響呢?有些人也許會為這個問題感到困惑，而現(xiàn)在，答案可能要浮出水面了。

據(jù)銷售數(shù)據(jù)顯示，愛購物是一種習(xí)得的行為，所以，女人們?nèi)绱藷嶂杂谫徫?，可能要歸咎于她們的媽媽。

有數(shù)據(jù)顯示，女嬰服裝銷量比男嬰服裝要多五分之一。

到四歲的時候，女孩們的衣服會比男孩們多出五分之一。

鑒于大多數(shù)童裝都是媽媽來買的，這表明，媽媽們在女兒很小的時候就本能地向她們灌輸這一觀點，就是女孩需要的衣服要比男孩多得多。

因此，在多年來時尚消費的熏陶下，女人們很可能逐漸喜歡上了購物。

赫特福德大學(xué)發(fā)展心理學(xué)教授卡倫?J?潘恩博士對德本漢姆百貨公司的銷售結(jié)果進行了解讀。

她說，“人類社會非常重視女性的外表，因此，不可避免地給女孩買的衣服會比男孩多。

“父母們通過帶孩子參加一些休閑活動，例如帶孩子購物或參加需要喬裝打扮的演出，讓孩子感受到衣服的重要性。

“爸爸們會帶著兒子去看足球比賽，而女人們則會帶著女兒去購物，這讓女孩們對時裝興趣漸增。”