The Psychology of Gender 4th Edition

Sex-Related Comparisons: Theory 143

appropriate term to use in the study of gen-

der. There are other, more philosophical dis-

tinctions, such as whether the replication of

genes is a goal that motivates behavior (so-

ciobiology, yes; evolutionary psychology, no).

These distinctions are beyond the scope of

this text, but see David Buss’s (2007) textbook

Evolutionary Psychologyfor an elaboration of

these issues.

Evolutionary theory can be applied to

several domains of social behavior. Here,

I  discuss sexual behavior and aggression

as examples (mate selection is discussed in

Chapter 9). Evolutionary theory is also linked

to the development of the hunter-gatherer so-

ciety, which shaped women’s and men’s roles.

Sexual Behavior

Buss (1995) argues that we can observe sex

differences in behaviors that historically

presented men and women with differ-

ent challenges. One such domain is sexual

behavior. First, men and women face differ-

ent challenges during pregnancy. Because

conception takes place inside of the female,

males face the challenge of establishing pa-

ternity. The challenge that females face is

to safely get through nine months of preg-

nancy and the period of lactation. Thus

males will behave in ways to increase their

chances of paternity and females in ways to

ensure the survival of themselves and their

infants. Second, women and men face dif-

ferent challenges to successful reproduction.

For women to reproduce successfully, it is in

their best interests to be selective in choosing

a man who has the resources to help ensure

the survival of their children. For men to re-

produce successfully, it is in their best inter-

ests to have sexual intercourse with as many

women as possible and to mate with women

who are more likely to be fertile (i.e., young).

prenatal exposure to male hormones (androgens) is as-

sociated with enhanced spatial skills and male gender-

role behavior in women.

■ The major problem with most studies of the relations

of hormones to behavior is that they are correlational;

thus cause and effect cannot be established. Some

recent studies have begun to manipulate hormones,

specifically testosterone.

■ Studies of the brain reveal some sex differences in

structure, but the meaning of those differences is

unclear.

■ In sum, biological theories leave open to explanation

much variability in the behavior of women and men.

Evolutionary Theory and Sociobiology

We typically think of evolution as explaining

how humans developed from simpler organ-

isms, not why men behave in masculine ways

and women in feminine ways. Evolutionary

psychology applies the principles of evolution

to the study of cognition and behavior. So-

ciobiology examines the biological origins of

social behavior—in other words, how social

behavior evolved over time to perpetuate the

species. Both evolutionary psychology and

sociobiology are extensions of Darwin’s the-

ory of evolution, which states that we behave

in ways to ensure the survival of our genes.

The idea is that different behaviors may have

evolved in women and men because the

differences were adaptive for survival.

People often confuse the fields of so-

ciobiology and evolutionary psychology. Al-

though there is a great deal of overlap, there

are some distinctions. One is that evolution-

ary psychology is not limited to the study

of social behavior, as is sociobiology. Thus

evolutionary psychologymight be the more

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