Sex, Gender, and Personality Chapter 16 Sex, Gender, and Personality

The Science and Politics of Studying Sex and Gender Sex differences – _____________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ Gender stereotypes – _________________________________________ Study of sex differences is controversial Some worry that findings of sex differences might be used to support political agendas or status quo Some argue that findings of sex differences merely reflect gender stereotypes rather than real differences Some argue that any discovery of sex differences merely reflects biases of scientists, rather than objective reality 2

The Science and Politics of Studying Sex and Gender Some advocate stopping research on sex differences because findings of sex differences might conflict with ideas of egalitarianism Others argue that scientific psychology and social change will be impossible without coming to terms with real sex differences that do exist

History of the Study of Sex Differences Prior to 1973, there was little attention paid to sex differences __________________________ Maccoby and Jacklyn (1974) published a book, The Psychology of Sex Differences Conclusions: (a) women slightly better than men at verbal ability, (b) men slightly better than women in mathematical ability (e.g., geometry, algebra) and spatial ability (e.g., visualize a three-dimensional object), (c) only one sex difference in personality – men more aggressive than women Book received much criticism, but it did spark a dramatic increase in sex differences research (including more women) Research analysis techniques also improved – meta-analyses

Calculation of Effect Size: How Large Are the Sex Differences _____________ – a statistic that provides an estimate of how large the difference actually is between men and women Often represented by the d-statistic Used to express the difference in standard deviation units e.g., d = 0.50 means the average difference between two groups is half a standard deviation Effect size can be calculated for each study of sex differences, then averaged across studies to give an objective assessment of the difference (often using meta- analyses)

Calculation of Effect Size: How Large Are the Sex Differences Effect size (d): .20 = small .50 = medium .80 = large Interpreting direction (for this textbook) positive d means men higher negative d means women higher ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________

Calculation of Effect Size: How Large Are the Sex Differences

Minimalists and Maximalists ________________________________ Empirically, most findings of sex differences show small magnitudes of effect (i.e., much overlap) Whatever differences exist do not have much practical importance for behavior in everyday life Maximalists ______________________________________________ Not all sex differences are small – some are moderate and large Small effects can have important consequences (e.g., helping behavior)

Sex Differences in Personality Temperament in Children Girls score moderately higher on __________________________ (d = –0.41) Girls are better able to regulate or allocate their attention and inhibit socially undesirable/irresponsible behaviors Girls score moderately higher on __________________________ (d = –0.38) Girls are more sensitive than boys to subtle and low-intensity signals from their external world

Sex Differences in Personality Temperament in Children Boys score moderately higher on __________________ (d = 0.38) Boys have higher levels of approach behavior and are more active and impulsive This combined with low inhibitory control may account for boys having more discipline difficulties and higher levels of physical aggressiveness (d = 0.60) Girls and boys showed no difference in negative affectivity No sex difference in anger, amount of stress, and sadness

Sex Differences in Personality Extraversion (d = 0.15) Women score slightly higher on gregariousness (d = –0.15) Men score slightly higher on activity level (d = 0.09) Men score moderately higher on _________________________ (d = 0.50) Agreeableness (d = -0.32) Women score higher on ____________________ (d = –.25) and ___________________________ (d = –0.97) Women smile more than men (d = –0.60), but this may reflect submissiveness and low status rather than agreeableness

Sex Differences in Personality Conscientiousness (d = -0.14) Women score slightly higher on order (d = –0.13) Emotional Stability (d = -0.49) Men and women are similar on impulsiveness (d = 0.06) Women score higher on ______________ (d = –0.28) Openness to Experience No sex differences

Sex Differences in Personality Aggressiveness Men are more physically aggressive, as assessed on personality tests, in fantasies, and manifest behavior (moderate to large effect sizes) Profound consequences for everyday life Men commit 90% of homicides worldwide Men commit more violent crimes of all sorts _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________

Sex Differences in Personality

Sex Differences in Personality

Sex Differences in Personality Self-esteem Across ages, males score higher (d = 0.21), but: Young children (ages 7–10) show slight difference (d = 0.16) As children age, the gap widens: 11–14, d = .23 15–18, d = .33 In adulthood, the gap closes: 19–22, d = .18 23–59, d = .10 Why these differences?

Sex Differences in Personality Sexuality Permissive attitudes toward casual sex (d = 0.45) View pornography (d = 0.63) Number lifetime sex partners desired (d = 0.87) __________________________ (d = -0.39) Includes: loving, romantic, affectionate, cuddlesome, compassionate _______________________________________________________ Men are more likely than women to be ___________________ Most men are not sexually aggressive Subset of men: narcissistic, lack empathy, hostile masculinity

Sex Differences in Personality __________________________ Vocational interests Men are more toward “things” end (d = 1.35) e.g., impersonal objects – machines, tools, or materials Women are more toward “people” end e.g., social occupations – thinking about others, caring for others, or directing others

Sex Differences in Depression: A Closer Look In childhood, there are no sex differences After puberty, women show depression two to three times than that of men _______________ Repeatedly focusing on one’s symptoms or distress; women ruminate more, which contributes to the perseverance of depressive symptoms Largest sex difference is in ages 18–44; then sexes start to converge again

Masculinity, Femininity, Androgyny, and Sex Roles The Search for Androgyny Gender Stereotypes

The Search for Androgyny In the 1930s, researchers assumed sex differences on various personality items were attributable to differences along the single dimension of masculinity- femininity But perhaps someone could score high on both masculinity and femininity – this led to concept of __________________

The Search for Androgyny In the 1970s, researchers challenged the assumption of the single dimension, instead arguing that masculinity and femininity might be independent, separable Two new measures were developed to assess two dimensions, now assumed to be independent Those who scored high on both labeled androgynous, to reflect the notion that a person could have both masculine and feminine characteristics Researchers who developed measures believed androgyny was ideal

The Search for Androgyny Many criticisms of new measures and underlying ideas Contrary to researchers’ assumptions, both constructs are multidimensional, containing many facets Several studies documented that masculinity and femininity describe a single bipolar trait – i.e., __________ ________________________________________________________

The Search for Androgyny Researchers who constructed measures changed views Spence: Measure does not assess sex roles, but instead personality traits of _____________________ and _____________________ Bem: Measure assesses gender schemas and cognitive orientations that lead people to process social information on basis of sex-linked associations The ideal is not to be androgynous but, rather, to be _________________________ ________________________________________________________________

Theories of Sex Differences Socialization and Social Roles Hormonal Theories An Integrated Theoretical Perspective

Socialization and Social Roles Socialization theory – ____________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Bandura’s social learning theory – ________________________ _____________________________________________________________ Some research supports socialization and social learning theories of sex differences Cross-cultural evidence for different treatment of boys and girls

Socialization and Social Roles Socialization theory and social learning theory (cont.) Problem – simple theory that causal arrow runs one way (parents to children) is open to question ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ Problem – no account of origin of sex-differentiated socialization practices __________________________________________________________________ _

Socialization and Social Roles Social role theory – _______________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Some research supports social role theory Problem – no account of origins of sex-differentiated roles Why do men and women passively accept the roles they are assigned?

Hormonal Theories Hormonal, physiological differences cause boys and girls to diverge over development Following puberty, there is little overlap in the levels of circulating testosterone (with men having about 10 times more) ______________________________________ is linked with traditional sex differences in behaviors, such as aggression, dominance, career choice, and sexual desire Problems – research suggests link between hormones and behavior is bi-directional e.g., perhaps increase in dominance leads to increase in testosterone Problem – no account of origins of hormonal differences Why do men and women differ so dramatically in their levels of circulating hormones? (maybe simply biology?)

Summary and Evaluation Some sex difference are real and not artifacts of particular investigators or methods Some sex differences are constant over generations and across cultures But the magnitude of sex differences vary greatly When questions about sex differences are posed, a person must ask: In what domains? Domains that show larger sex differences include assertiveness, aggressiveness, interest in casual sex, but there is an overlap in each domain