Sex Differences Real or Imagined?

Traditionally, we documented and remember the differences Religious writings Plato’s wandering uterus Germanic soldiers and system of fines Mythology Studies of brain differences

Yes, there are some sex and gender differences Are they due to nature or nurture????

3 broad areas of differences Biological Personality Cognitive

Biological- Physical Attributes Genes - chromosomes, sex-linked traits Hormonal differences Physical features - height, strength, % body fat, hemoglobin, temperature regulation,bones, iron deficiency Health

Physical/Personality Differences Body Space Body Posture Touch Facial Expressions Smiling Eye Contact

Personality Differences/Similarities Sociability Nurturance, Helping behavior Self-Esteem Emotionality sadness, tears, joy, etc. aggression

Cognitive Abilities Until recently, thought there were 3 areas of big differences - verbal, spatial, mathematics Today new research casts doubt General Intelligence Brain & Cognitive Processing

Cognitive Abilities Verbal Quantitative and Spatial Mathematics math abilities attitudes about math

Eccles’ Expectation X Model Examines the variables that affect/ determine whether girls take math courses in high school

So what does this info say/mean? There may not be glaring male/female differences differences in attitude (anxiety,self-confidence, attribution for success) may be different for men and women stereotypic beliefs still exist for some parents, teachers, others

So here’s the BIG question: If women don’t have some genetic inferiority regarding math and math-related occupations, why are females less likely to choose advanced math classes? Think about how earlier choices in math courses affect college major choice and career options

We need to look not only at genetic abilities but at the influences of society, stereotypes, unconscious assumptions and attitudes

Why do we see ‘mixed’ findings? Behavior is situation specific Hawthorne effect - people act differently when being observed Difficult to measure subtleties - we use stereotypes to fill in gaps Social situations reward people differently toys, childhood experiences, practice to performance,self-esteem, individual motivation, power differential Wide variations & overlap between men & women

So-- are gender differences due to nature or nurture?

What causes aggression and the differences between m & f?? As a small group - design a graphic model to shows the factors that contribute to aggression Then we’ll share different models on the blackboard