SSCI
Irvingshan
hsciGenderDifferencesorSimilaritiesGarcia.pptxJohn Grey
https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQc3ig12jHo (3 mins)
What is appealing about John Gray's assertions (i.e., why do so many people believe them to be true)?
What does he suggest about men?
How does he position gender relations?
How does he construct gender differences?
Gender Differences
Gender differences hypothesis
Accentuation of ingroup similarities and outgroup differences
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PZyytKK2EE
Gender Differences?
The Psychology of Sex Differences (Maccoby & Jacklin, 1974)
Reviewed 2,000+ studies of several psychological gender differences (abilities, personality, social behavior, and memory).
No support for many popular beliefs:
Girls > boys: social; suggestible; rote learning
Boys > than girls: self-esteem; higher level cognitive processing; achievement motivation.
Gender Differences?
The Psychology of Sex Differences (Maccoby & Jacklin, 1974)
Concluded that gender differences were well established in only four areas: verbal ability, visual-spatial ability, mathematical ability, and aggression.
Overall, then, they found much evidence for gender similarities.
Gender Differences?
The Psychology of Sex Differences (Maccoby & Jacklin, 1974)
Secondary reports of their findings in textbooks and other sources, however, focused almost exclusively on their conclusions about gender differences.
Gender Similarities
Gender similarities hypothesis (Hyde, 2005)
Males and females are similar on most, but not all, psychological variables.
Overall, men and women, as well as boys and girls, are more alike than they are different.
Gender Similarities
Gender similarities hypothesis (Hyde, 2005):
Reviewed 46 meta-analyses
In terms of effect sizes, most psychological gender differences will be in the close-to-zero (d ≤ 0.10) or small (0.11 < d < 0.35) range, a few will be in the moderate range (0.36 < d < 0.65), and very few will be large (d = 0.66 –1.00) or very large (d > 1.00).
Focusing on Similarities
Gender similarities hypothesis (Hyde, 2005):
124 effect sizes were classified into the size categories
30% of the effect sizes in the close-to-zero range.
48% in the small range.
Including mathematics performance, verbal ability, and aggressive behavior.
Hyde: Differences or Similarities?
distribution of male and female performance for a small effect size of 0.20.
Focusing on Similarities
Gender similarities hypothesis (Hyde, 2005):
124 effect sizes were classified into the size categories
Largest gender differences were for motor performance, particularly for measures such as throwing velocity (d = 2.18) and throwing distance (d = 1.98)
Bruce Kidd
Focusing on Similarities
Gender similarities hypothesis (Hyde, 2005):
Large gender differences are found is some— but not all—measures of sexuality (Oliver & Hyde, 1993).
Gender differences are strikingly large for incidences of masturbation and for attitudes about sex in a casual, uncommitted relationship.
Gender difference in reported sexual satisfaction is close to zero.
Self-Esteem
Note. Two normal distributions that are 0.21 standard deviations apart (i.e.,
d 0.21). This is the approximate magnitude of the gender difference in
self-esteem, averaged over all samples, found by Kling et al. (1999). From
“Gender Differences in Self-Esteem: A Meta-Analysis,” by K. C. Kling, J. S.
Hyde, C. J. Showers, and B. N. Buswell, 1999, Psychological Bulletin, 125, p.
484. Copyright 1999 by the American Psychological Association.
Pushups
Zell et al. (2015)
Metasynthesis to assess psychological gender differences.
106 meta-analyses and 386 individual meta-analytic effects
Conclusion: majority of effects were either small (46%) or very small (39%)
Actual Gender Differences
Eagly and Wood (1991): 9 gender differences in social behavior across many studies
Women are better at sending and receiving messages non-verbally
Women more likely to conform to group pressures
Women act more friendly and agree more with other group member in small groups
Actual Gender Differences
Men are more strictly task-oriented in work groups
All female groups typically perform better than all male groups
Men are more likely to emerge as leaders in initially leaderless groups
Men are more helpful in short-term interactions with strangers
Actual Gender Differences
Men behave more aggressively to others than women, particularly when the aggression brings about physical harm or pain
Women report more life satisfaction and happiness then men
Actual Gender Differences
What about Emotion?
Are women more emotional than men?
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Who is more emotional?
Imagine that we give thousands of men and women a smart phone with a journal app on it and track their emotional state for a long period of time. At random times during the day, the app beeps until the individuals record their current emotional state: what they are feeling and how strong their feelings are.
Who is more emotional?
What would you find?
Who would report more frequent emotional experiences: women or men?
Who would report more intense emotional experiences: women or men?
Who is more emotional?
Now imagine you conduct another large-scale study asking men and women about the times they have fallen in love, out of love, and experienced unreciprocated love.
Who is more emotional?
What would you find?
Who falls in love faster: women or men?
Who falls out of love faster: women or men?
Who suffers more intense emotional distress after a break up: women or men?
Who is more likely to experience unrequited love?
Who is more emotional?
Smart phone study (Larson & Pleck, 1999):
Contrary to stereotype, no gender differences exist
Men and women did not differ in frequency of emotion
Men and some did not differ in intensity of emotion
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One large-scale research (Larson and Pleck, 1999) had married men and women fill out a quick rating of their current mood and emotional at different times throughout the day. The result? No gender differences: “there was simply no evidence that the husbands were less emotional than their wives,” concluded the researchers.
Not only this but when married couples argue, it is the husbands that show stronger and longer-lasting physiological emotion than their wives. As a result, husbands tend to avoid marital conflicts, whereas wives are more willing to argue and confront their spouse with problems (Gottman, 1994).
The reason for this stereotype could be the fact that women feel (due to societies norms and values) more willing to report their emotions and claim to have stronger feelings. Social norms may put pressure on men to stifle their emotions and not admit to having stronger feelings.
What about love? The evidence also contradicts the view that women love more than men. Men fall in love faster than women and women fall out of love faster than men (Hill, Rubin & Peplau, 1976; Huston, Surra, Fitzgerald, & Cate, 1981; Kanin, Davidson, & Scheck, 1970). Furthermore men have more experiences of loving someone who does not love them back, while it is the opposite for women. Not only this, men suffer more intense emotional distress than women, when a love relationship breaks up (Hill et al., 1976)
Who is more emotional?
Answers:
Men fall in love faster (Harrison & Shortall, 2011)
Women fall out of love faster (Harrison & Shortall, 2011)
Men suffer more intense emotional distress after a break up (Simon & Barrett, 2010)
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Who is more emotional?
Answers:
Men have more experiences of loving someone who does not reciprocate their love, whereas women have more experiences of receiving love but not reciprocating it
27
Who is more emotional?
Overall:
Men and women differ little in their experience of emotions
Men and women differ in their experiences with love
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Who is more emotional?
Were your answers correct?
What did you base your answers on?
Why do stereotypes regarding women’s greater emotionality persist despite research findings to the contrary?
Women more emotional…
Attributional biases
Women more emotional…
Women more easily express their emotions and display more emotional awareness
The expression of emotions is strongly determined by culturally determined display rules
In the United States and many other cultures, women are allowed a wider range of emotional expressiveness and responsiveness than men
Why are there gender differences?
Evolution theory (David Buss)
Social structure theory (Eagly & Wood, 1999)
Social role theory (Alice Eagly)
Evolution Theory
Primary motive is reproductive success
We are instinctively attracted to features associated with reproductive success
Parental investment theory
The sex that invests more is more selective.
Buss’s Cross Cultural Study
Rankings across 36 countries
Men ranked attractiveness higher than women
Women ranked good financial prospect higher than men
Women want to marry an older mate while men want to marry younger mate
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Social Structure Theory
Proposes that differences found by Buss can be explained by social structure (Eagly & Wood, 1999)
In most countries, men control financial resources
Easiest way for women to access these resources is marry a man with them
As women have increased access to resources, gender differences in importance ratings decreased
Social Structure Theory
Social Role Theory
Almost all known behavioral and psychological differences between males and females is the result of cultural stereotypes about gender and the resulting social roles that are taught to young people
Differences in parental investment
So which one is true…
Meta-analysis (Petersen & Hyde, 2010)
Analyzed gender differences in 30 reported sexual behaviors and permissive attitudes
834 samples; 1,419,807 participants (682,863 male and 736,944 female)
87 countries from six continents
So which one is right?
Evolutionary Psychology Theory
Gender Similarities Hypothesis
Social Structural Theory
√
So which one is true…
Evolutionary Psychology
26 variables, men ≠ women
4 variables, men = women
√
Self-Reported Behaviors
Petting
Intercourse
Age at first sex
Number of partners
Oral sex
Anal sex
Casual sex
Same gender sex
Extramarital sex
Condom use
Masturbation
Pornography
Cybersex
M>
M>
M>
M>
M>
M>
M>
W>
M>
M>
M>
M>
M=F
Evolutionary Psychology √
Self-Reported Attitudes
Permissiveness
Premarital sex
Casual sex
Extramarital sex
Sex when engaged
Sex with commitment
Masturbation M=W
Condom use M>
Double standard M>
Fear/anxiety/guilt W>
Sexual satisfaction M>
M>
M>
M>
M=F
M>
W>
Evolutionary Psychology √
Self-Reported Behaviors
Petting
Intercourse
Age at first sex
Number of partners
Oral sex
Anal sex
Casual sex
Same gender sex
Extramarital sex
Condom use
Masturbation
Pornography
Cybersex
M>
M>
M>
M>
M>
M>
M>
W>
M>
M>
M>
M>
M=F
M>
M>
M>
Gender Similarities Hypothesis √
Self-Reported Attitudes
Permissiveness
Premarital sex
Casual sex
Extramarital sex
Sex when engaged
Sex with commitment
Masturbation M=W
Condom use M>
Double standard M>
Fear/anxiety/guilt W>
Sexual satisfaction M>
M>
M>
M>
M=F
M>
W>
M>
Gender Similarities Hypothesis √
Type of Mating Strategies
Short-term mating strategies were associated with significant gender differences, but long-term mating strategies, especially in adulthood were associated with a shift toward gender similarities
Gender differences decreased with age of the sample for some sexual behaviors and attitudes
Evolutionary Psychology √
Comparison across Nations
Nations and ethnic groups with greater gender equity had smaller gender differences for some reported sexual behaviors than nations and ethnic groups with less gender equity
Social Structural Theory √
Comparison across Nations
Differences between males and females across domains have remained largely constant over the last several decades
Social Role Theory X
Bad Research?
Hyde (2005)
Reviewed 46 meta-analyses
Zell et al. (2015) Metasynthesis
106 meta-analyses
Over 12 million participants
Male Nurses 2012
Percentage of Employed
2.2% of employed population = 3.32 Million
USA: People Employed in 2016 = 151 Million
31 countries higher IQ than US
51
Percentage of Employed
2.2% of employed population = 3.32 Million
1.8 Million Computer Scientists
1.6 Million Engineers
31 countries higher IQ than US
52
IQ Averages
Average IQ American = 100
115
130
100
145
Average IQ
Physicists = 130; Mathematics = 129
Computer Scientists = 128.5; Engineers = 125.5 to 127.5
31 countries higher IQ than US
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Variability Hypothesis
Ed Hagen, a biological anthropologist at Washington State University.
https ://grasshoppermouse.github.io/2018/06/25/the-universal-genetic-program-and-the-custom-built-phenotype-implications-for-race-and-sex/
Things-People
Large sex differences along the Things–People dimension
Sue et al., (2009) Meta-analysis
d = .26 to .36 (within the small to moderate range according to Cohen’s, 1988 benchmarks).
Why are there gender differences?
Many reasons
Much of social science (including social psychology) focus on the self-fulfilling role of social/cultural beliefs
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0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
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Gender Empowerment Index
Gender Differences in Ratings
Importance
