Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Culture and Gender Difference


An interesting read.
"When men and women take personality tests, some of the old Mars-Venus stereotypes keep reappearing. On average, women are more cooperative, nurturing, cautious and emotionally responsive. Men tend to be more competitive, assertive, reckless and emotionally flat. Clear differences appear in early childhood and never disappear.
...

What’s not clear is the origin of these differences. Evolutionary psychologists contend that these are innate traits inherited from ancient hunters and gatherers. Another school of psychologists asserts that both sexes’ personalities have been shaped by traditional social roles, and that personality differences will shrink as women spend less time nurturing children and more time in jobs outside the home."

Read more here

graph per ny times

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

biology and acquired behavior go hand in hand.

Sra said...

Interesting. I tend to think there's an innate component. Otherwise it would be easier to socialize children who exhibit tendencies against their gender norm so that they conform to the norm. I'm sure socialization does play an important role, though.

Anonymous said...

The only clear difference I saw as a child were the X-mas presents I got. I never got a doll. I kept getting balls I never knew how to use. Good thing my sister knew what to do with them. That's why now she's a coach and I an interior designer.

Anonymous said...

What I like about these times is the ubiquity of gender discourse. That alone is a great thing.