Perceived Sex Differences Research Articles

The Impact of Social Roles on Trait Judgments

Consistent with social role theory's assumption that the role behavior of men and women shapes gender stereotypes, earlier experiments have found that men's and women's occupancy of the same role eliminated gender-stereotypical judgments of greater agency and lower communion in men than women. The shifting standards model raises the question of whether a shift to within-sex standards in judgments of men and women in roles could have masked underlying gender stereotypes. To examine this possibility, two experiments obtained judgments of men and women using measures that do or do not restrain shifts to within-sex standards. This measure variation did not affect the social role pattern of smaller perceived sex differences in the presence of role information. These findings thus support the social role theory claim that designations of identical roles for subgroups of men and women eliminate or reduce perceived sex differences.

Gender Differences in the Mu Rhythm of the Human Mirror-Neuron System

BackgroundPsychologically, females are usually thought to be superior in interpersonal sensitivity than males. The human mirror-neuron system is considered to provide the basic mechanism for social cognition. However, whether the human mirror-neuron system exhibits gender differences is not yet clear.Methodology/Principal FindingsWe measured the electroencephalographic mu rhythm, as a reliable indicator of the human mirror-neuron system activity, when female (N = 20) and male (N = 20) participants watched either hand actions or a moving dot. The display of the hand actions included androgynous, male, and female characteristics. The results demonstrate that females displayed significantly stronger mu suppression than males when watching hand actions. Instead, mu suppression was similar across genders when participants observed the moving dot and between the perceived sex differences (same-sex vs. opposite-sex). In addition, the mu suppressions during the observation of hand actions positively correlated with the personal distress subscale of the interpersonal reactivity index and negatively correlated with the systemizing quotient.Conclusions/SignificanceThe present findings indirectly lend support to the extreme male brain theory put forward by Baron-Cohen (2005), and may cast some light on the mirror-neuron dysfunction in autism spectrum disorders. The mu rhythm in the human mirror-neuron system can be a potential biomarker of empathic mimicry.

A meta-analysis of sex differences in romantic attraction: do rating contexts moderate tactic effectiveness judgments?

Although a number of studies have explored perceived sex differences in romantic attraction effectiveness, no research has systematically examined whether different rating contexts might moderate effectiveness judgments. In a meta-analytic review of romantic attraction research, four potential moderating variables were examined: temporal context (unspecified, long-term, short-term), manipulation form (self-promotion, competitor derogation), attraction type (general, retention, poaching), and sex of rater (mixed, same, opposite). Although perceived sex differences in physical appearance and resource-related tactics remained stable across most moderating variables, sex differences did vary across some rating contexts. For example, perceptions of sex differences in the effectiveness of appearance-related attraction tactics were much stronger in the context of self-promotion (d = -.77) compared with the competitor derogation context (d = -.17). Resource-related tactics of attraction displayed the opposite pattern, with significantly larger perceived sex differences in the context of competitor derogation (d =.93) than in self-promotion (d =.68). Discussion focused on the implications of sex difference variability and stability across rating contexts for evolutionary theories of romantic attraction.

Sex Differences in Emotion

This article examines the findings of several reviews of the empirical literature on biological sex and emotion, focusing on the degree to which perceived sex differences in emotionality are, and in most cases are not, supported while at the same time addressing the implications this body of research has for counseling psychologists. This article also explores potential explanations, such as gender role socialization or situational influences, for the profession’s continued acceptance of large innate sex-based affective differences. Finally, the third section discusses several concerns this continued acceptance raises for the practice of counseling, whereas the last section offers a research agenda building on the review presented herein.

Some late nineteenth century perspectives on sex and emotional expression.

A review of nineteenth century popular literature indicates a deep and sustained public interest in sex differences in emotional expression. The conclusions advanced by popular writers included a catalog of perceived sex differences, reinforced by an essentialist philosophy that provided justification for the separation of sexual spheres and restrictions on political, educational, and vocational opportunities for women. Current scientific research on sex differences appears in popular media and is often presented in the context of an essentialist philosophy comparable with that which was dominant in the nineteenth century. Unfortunately, the subtleties and complexities of sex differences are not always communicated to the public and there is thus a potential for misinterpretation or even misuse.

SOME LATE NINETEENTH CENTURY PERSPECTIVES ON SEX AND EMOTIONAL EXPRESSION

A review of nineteenth century popular literature indicates a deep and sustained public interest in sex differences in emotional expression. The conclusions advanced by popular writers included a catalog of perceived sex differences, reinforced by an essentialist philosophy that provided justification for the separation of sexual spheres and restrictions on political, educational, and vocational opportunities for women. Current scientific research on sex differences appears in popular media and is often presented in the context of an essentialist philosophy comparable with that which was dominant in the nineteenth century. Unfortunately, the subtleties and complexities of sex differences are not always communicated to the public and there is thus a potential for misinterpretation or even misuse.

Individual Differences in Sex Stereotyping of Occupations and Personality Traits

Student respondents in Studies 1 and 2, and nonstudent respondents in Study 3, estimated the percentage of females or males in 10 sex-stereotyped occupations. Mean estimates (social stereotypes) were highly stable over a four-week interval and were correlated highly with criterion percentages from the U.S. Census, but, contrary to the kernel of truth hypothesis, tended consistently to underestimate the objective differences between male and female representation in the stereotyped occupations. For each respondent, perceived sex differences were aggregated across the 10 occupations to form a composite scale of strength of sex-occupation stereotyping and perceived sex differences in personality were similarly aggregated to form a scale of strength of sex-personality stereotyping, both with satisfactory reliability. The correlation of these two scales shows that there is some generality in strength of occupational and personality-trait stereotyping as components of sex-stereotyping. Strength of sex-stereotyping of occupations was not related to attitude toward women in nontraditional occupations or to authoritarian attitude.

Sex differences in interaction style as a product of perceived sex differences in competence.

Males' and females' interaction styles were observed while they worked in four-person, mixed-sex groups on a discussion task. In some groups, members were only given information about each others' names and gender. In this circumstance, men were perceived by themselves and other group members to be higher in competence than women. Further, men engaged in a greater amount of active task behavior than women (e.g., giving information, giving opinions), and women exhibited a greater amount of positive social behavior than men (e.g., agreeing, acting friendly). In other groups, members' competency-based status was manipulated by providing false feedback that they were high or low relative to their group in intellectual and moral aptitude. High status members were then perceived to be more competent than low status ones and, further, high status individuals engaged in more active task and less positive social behavior than low status ones. In this condition, no sex differences were obtained on perceived competence or on active task or positive social behavior. Overall, these findings support the idea that the gender differences obtained in interaction when status was not specified were partially a function of group members' belief that the sexes differ in competence. Direct information concerning members' intellectual and moral competence apparently blocked the perceived gender-to-competence link, and status alone affected perceived competence and interaction style.

Sex differences in interaction style as a product of perceived sex differences in competence.

Sex differences in interaction style as a product of perceived sex differences in competence.

Role expectations in social dilemmas: Sex roles and task motivation in groups.

Tested the impact of asymmetric role relationships (in which some group members contribute more to the group's welfare than others) on behavior in a social dilemma setting by manipulating the sex composition of cooperative performance dyads, using 47 male and 48 female undergraduates. The prescriptions of traditional sex roles suggested that Ss of both sexes would defect more (i.e., work less hard) with a male partner than with a female partner, both when the partner presented an opportunity to free ride and when the partner appeared to be free-riding on the S's efforts. Results confirm this prediction. Male Ss were less willing to free ride when the partner was female than male, while females were more willing to free ride on their male partner than on their female partner. In the sucker condition, both males and females seemed to balk more at the prospect of carrying a male free rider than a female free rider. Further analyses suggested that the effects should not be attributed to perceived sex differences in task ability. Plausible alternatives are discussed, including the possibility that interaction with women, per se, encourages greater effort, regardless of whether roles prescribe differential effort for the task.

Group sex composition and member task motivation

Previous research and the performance prescriptions of traditional sex roles suggested that even when sex differences in ability were effectively eliminated, males would increase and females would decrease their motivation when working in a mixed-sex group. To test this prediction, the task performance of members of same- and mixed-sex dyads was compared with individual controls. The results supported the prediction for males, but not for females. Both males and females were better motivated in mixed-sex dyads than when working individually. Neither males nor females were any better motivated in same-sex dyads than when working individually. Several alternative explanations for these results are discussed: The consequences of mixed-sex group composition for motivation may have been due to greater cohesiveness, greater concern with one's partner's performance expectations, increased self-awareness, or increased drive level in mixed-sex groups. The possible mediating role of perceived sex differences in ability is discussed, as well as several external validity questions.

Sexism: A tri-dimensional phenomenon

A review of the existing sex-role scales indicated the need for a relatively short multidimensional scale with established validity and reliability. The scale reported herein, consisting of 20 self-administered items in Likert format with Guttman scoring option, measures attitudes toward sex roles in three broad areas: internal familial division of labor, external (economic) division of labor, and perceived sex differences. One hundred and ninety-seven carefully selected and worded items were pretested by administration to a diverse group of 154 respondents. The results were submitted to factor analytic procedures leading to one dimension comprising two sets of items — those measuring attitudes toward internal division of labor, and those measuring attitudes toward external division of labor — and another dimension comprising items measuring attitudes toward perceived sex differences. These sets of items were treated as three subscales and submitted to Guttman procedures. The coefficients of reproducibility and scalability for each subscale were deemed satisfactory. Furthermore, 17 of the 20 items on the scale were able to distinguish females' responses from those of males. The alpha coefficient of reliability for the 20 items was .94.

Sex stereotypes and implicit personality theory. II. A trait-inference approach to the assessment of sex stereotypes

Two experiments were conducted to assess sex stereotypes using the trait-inference method originated by Asch (1946). In both, subjects were asked to make inferences about the personality of a male or a female stimulus target who was introduced by a brief list of traits. In Experiment 1 this trait list described the target as either good or bad in intellectual activities and as either warm or cold while in Experiment 2 the introductory list comprised traits which are relatively neutral in terms of evaluation. Subjects rated the stimulus persons on adjective scales selected to reflect dimensions of personality perception reported in previous research. In both studies, male targets were rated significantly higher than females in terms of the Intellectual Desirability dimension. In addition, female targets tended to be rated higher on Communion in Experiment 1 (p<.06), and lower than males on Potency in Experiment 2 (p<.07). No differences as a function of stimulus sex were obtained for Social Desirability, Activity, and Agency. The results suggest that the dimension of implicit personality theory most closely associated with perceived sex differences is a combination of Intellectual Desirability and Potency. The male end of this dimension is relatively well defined by traits which convey a hard-headed, rational approach to problem solving. The female end is much less elaborated and consists of traits reflecting soft-heartedness.

Perceived Sex Differences in Inpatients’ Psychopathology: Some Preliminary Findings

21 staff members from an inpatient psychiatric hospital were interviewed about their perceptions of symptomatological differences between male and female inpatients. Analysis of the interview data indicated significant staff agreement on 4 of 9 rated contrast categories and trends toward significance in two others. Staff described females as greater management problems, showing more emotion, being more troublesome and uncooperative, having poorer contact with reality, and being less willing to participate in social interactions than their male counterparts. These consistently perceived differences, it is suggested, likely lead to different ward atmospheres and difference staff expectations for male and female inpatients.

Perceived sex differences in managerially relevant characteristics

A national sample of 884 male managers completed a survey of managerially relevant perceived sex differences. Females were rated lower on the following scales: (a) aptitudes, skills, and knowledge; (b) motivation and job interest; (c) temperament; and (d) work habits and attitudes. Moreover, lower ratings of women were prevalent among males in a variety of jobs, organizations, and industries.

Equity and perceived sex differences: Role behavior as defined by the task, the mode, and the actor.

Equity and perceived sex differences: Role behavior as defined by the task, the mode, and the actor.

Suicide and attempted suicide: study of perceived sex differences.

The study investigated social evaluations of suicidal behavior as a function of sex. A 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design was used with the following factors: sex of S, sex of concept, suicidal behavior of concept (suicide, attempted suicide). 202 evening school college students rated the concepts on evaluative, potency, activity, and masculinity semantic differential scales. Results support the hypothesis that suicide is considered more masculine than attempted suicide and partially support the hypothesis that suicide is considered more potent than attempted suicide.

When women are more deserving than men: Equity, attribution, and perceived sex differences.

When women are more deserving than men: Equity, attribution, and perceived sex differences.