The Psychology of Gender 4th Edition

Sex Differences in Health: Evidence and Explanations 379

as different experiences with risk could lead

to the altered pattern of brain activation.

Concerns with Health

So far, we have discussed a number of character-

istics of the male gender role that might account

for men’s higher mortality rates: hazardous

jobs, driving, and risky behavior in general.

What aspects of the female gender role relate

to women’s lower mortality rates and higher

morbidity rates? One aspect of the female gen-

der role that may be related to both is women’s

concern with health. More frequent visits to the

physician might be counted as higher morbid-

ity, but—if effective—could reduce mortality.

Studies have shown that women are

more interested than men in health matters

(Green & Pope, 1999). For example, women

report they think about health and read about

health in newspapers and magazines more

often than men do. Women are more likely

than men to search the Internet for health

Indian/Alaska Natives—although the rate of

injury is highest for the latter group.

Risky activities may be linked to the

male gender role. Participation in sports

while in pain or while injured is an example

of a risky behavior with strong connections to

traditional masculinity. Playing while injured

is a sign of emotional toughness and physical

strength; in fact, taking care of oneself after an

injury is viewed as weak behavior that under-

mines masculinity. The athlete who continues

to play while injured is afforded high status.

There are a number of studies that have

tied male risk-taking behavior to the male

gender role. One study measured aspects of

masculinity and femininity and showed that

masculinity accounted for the sex difference,

meaning that males’ risk-taking behavior

was due to their higher masculinity scores

(Meier-Pesti & Penz, 2008). Male risk-taking

behavior also seems to be influenced by the

presence of the other sex. An observational

study of pedestrian risk-taking behavior (i.e.,

crossing dangerous intersections) showed that

males’ risk behavior increased when there was

a female across the street whereas females’ risk

behavior was not affected by the presence of

a male or female across the street (Pawlowski,

Atwal, & Dunbar, 2008). Pawlowski and col-

leagues concluded that male risk taking is a

mate attraction strategy. Try Do Gender 10.5

to see if there are sex differences in risky lei-

sure activities among your peers and if risky

activities can be linked to gender roles.

Despite the links of risky behavior to

gender roles, fMRI (functional magnetic

resonance imaging) research has shown that

there may be a neural basis for the sex dif-

ference in risk-taking behavior. Females and

males show a different pattern of brain acti-

vation in response to risky activity (Lee et al.,

2009). This does not necessarily imply a bio-

logical basis for the sex difference, however,

DO GENDER 10.5

Risky Leisure Activities

Develop a list of leisure activities that vary

in their level of risk. Ask a group of women

and men if they have ever engaged in the ac-

tivity and, if so, how often. You might also

ask respondents how willing they would be

to engage in each activity. Also administer a

measure of gender roles. Agency, commu-

nion, unmitigated agency, and traditional

gender-role attitudes are good candidates.

Is there a sex difference in willing-

ness to engage in risky activities? Is there

a sex difference in having engaged in risky

activities? Are differences in risky behavior

linked to gender-related traits or gender-

role attitudes?

M10_HELG0185_04_SE_C10.indd 379 6/21/11 8:54 AM