The Psychology of Gender 4th Edition

132 Chapter 4

Summary

I reviewed the evidence for sex differences

in cognitive abilities, specifically spatial

skills, math skills, and verbal skills. Overall,

most of the differences are small. For each

domain, the size of the sex difference varies

with how the ability is assessed. For example,

in the spatial skills domain, there is a more

substantial sex difference favoring males for

one particular skill, the mental rotation task,

but negligible differences for the other spatial

skills. Sex differences in math skills seem to

have disappeared with time, although a sex

difference in SAT scores persists. In terms

of verbal skills, many differences are small,

but the female advantage in writing is an

exception. The size of many sex differences

depends on the nature of the population. For

example, sex differences in verbal skills are

influenced by the population studied; among

children with verbal difficulties, there is a

preponderance of boys over girls. For many

of these areas of cognition, the differences

seem to be getting smaller with time.

I also reviewed the evidence for

sex differences in a number of social

behaviors. Many domains show larger

sex differences when self-report methods

are used compared to more objective

measures of behavior. For example,

self-reports of empathy demonstrate a

substantial sex difference favoring women,

but observational measures are less clear.

Other sex differences in social behavior are

influenced by the environment; for example,

sex differences in aggression are reduced

under conditions of provocation. One

limitation of much of this research is a lack

of external validity because social behavior

is often studied in the laboratory, where the

natural context is removed.

Two stage theories of development,

moral development and social development,

may differ for women and men. Men may

define morality in terms of justice and women

in terms of responsibility or connection

to others. If true, previous theories of

moral development may unfairly represent

women as inferior. However, it appears

that women and men have similar views of

morality but face different moral dilemmas

that call for construing morality differently.

The problem with previous theories

of social development is that the sequence

of establishing an identity before achieving

intimacy may describe men’s experiences

more than women’s.

1. After reading one of the meta-
   analytic reviews cited in this
   chapter, what are some of the
   details on the procedures used
   and what are some more specific
   findings?


2. For which of the cognitive domains
   is there the most evidence of sex
   differences? Sex similarities?
   3. What are some common moderator
   variables of sex differences in math,
   verbal, and spatial skills?
   4. Among the cognitive domains ex-
   amined, which sex differences seem
   to be disappearing with time, and
   which seem to have persisted?
   5. To What does the sex difference in
   variabilityrefer?

Discussion Questions

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