1. Sex, Gender, and Personality
Chapter 16
Sex, Gender, and Personality

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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)

6. 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
________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________

7. Calculation of Effect Size: How Large Are the Sex Differences

8. 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)

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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
_____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________

14. Sex Differences in Personality

15. Sex Differences in Personality

16. 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?

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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

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

21. 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 __________________

22. 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

23. 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., __________
________________________________________________________

24. 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 _________________________
________________________________________________________________

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

26. 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

27. 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
__________________________________________________________________ _

28. 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?

29. 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?)

30. 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