1. Sex Differences
Real or Imagined?

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

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

4. 3 broad areas of differences
Biological
Personality
Cognitive

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

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

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

8. 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

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

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

11. 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

12. 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

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

14. 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

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

16. 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