Chapter Review

SUMMARY

The Pervasiveness of Gender Essentialism

  • Gender essentialism is the idea that women and men are fundamentally different at their very core, or “essence,” because of biological or genetic factors.
  • Gender essentialist arguments are popular and have an intuitive appeal.
  • Historically, sex/gender differences have been used as a way to justify sexism.
  • Belief in gender essentialism is linked to hostile and benevolent sexism.

Perspectives on Similarities and Differences

  • A similarities perspective emphasizes the ways in which women and men are similar and is aligned with liberal feminism. A differences perspective emphasizes the ways in which they are different and is aligned with cultural feminism.
  • In order to understand sex/gender similarities and differences, one must ask: (a) Is the difference consistent, or does it change based other aspects of one’s social identity? (b) Does the difference depend on context, or does it occur in any situation? (c) Is the difference categorical or dimensional? (d) What is the source of the difference?
  • Evolutionary psychologists argue that differences stem from evolutionary pressures, especially different mating strategies and parental investment. Other psychologists emphasize sex/gender similarities based on similar evolutionary pressures.
  • On average, there are some small biological differences between women’s and men’s brains, but these have not been clearly linked to behavioral differences.
  • Men have higher levels of testosterone, but testosterone can vary based on one’s experiences. Acting aggressively increases testosterone; acting in a nurturing way decreases it.
  • Plasticity is the capacity for biological structures, such as the brain, to change in response to environmental factors and learning experiences.
  • Social role theory emphasizes that sex/gender differences stem from the roles that women and men have traditionally held.
  • Expectancy role value theory holds that differences stem from women and men valuing different activities and having different expectations for success.

Methods Used to Study Sex/Gender Similarities and Differences

  • Because there is so much research on the topic, it is useful to look at the results of meta-analyses and meta-syntheses. These analyses use a statistic called an effect size to quantify difference.
  • Because non-significant results are generally not published, published research tends to be biased toward studies that find difference.
  • Psychologists are also interested in whether women and men differ in variability, reflected by whether there are greater differences on very low or very high scores.
  • Meta-analyses and meta-syntheses generally find that women and men are more similar than different.

Cognitive Variables

  • There are no differences on tests of general intelligence.
  • There are no overall differences in mathematics skills, but men have greater variability.
  • Men score better at mental rotation, and women score better on verbal tasks.
  • Women tend to have higher academic achievement through college.
  • All the differences found vary according to race, culture, and social class and are inconsistent from task to task.

Personality, Beliefs, and Behavior

  • There are some differences in personality—women tend to be more agreeable, and men tend to be more assertive.
  • Gender differences in emotion are consistent with internalized gender stereotypes and are more likely to be seen in self-report data than in behavioral data.
  • Men self-report having more sexual partners and experiencing greater comfort with sex. However, the data depend on whether participants think they are being monitored for truth telling.
  • Men are more likely than women to exhibit physical aggression; however, the data are skewed by small numbers of highly aggressive men, and most women and men show similar levels of aggression.
  • Men have somewhat higher global self-esteem, but this varies depending on age as well as the type of self-esteem measured.
  • Both women and men use reasoning based on ethics of justice and care when making moral judgments.
  • Women are more interested in people, and men are more interested in things.
  • Most of the above differences represent relatively small effect sizes and vary according to how questions are asked, the participants’ age, and the participants’ culture.

The Case of STEM/EMCP

  • Research suggests that parents and teachers have lower expectations for girls than they do for boys in math and science, which influences girls’ interest and performance.
  • Lowered expectations can be a particular problem for girls with physical disabilities.
  • People associate being good at science with being White and male.
  • Stereotype threat may lower achievement in math and science for some women.
  • Women may not be interested in STEM/EMCP careers because they see them as incompatible with communal goals. This interferes with the value women place on math and science.
  • Women experience discrimination in math and science fields. This can be related to being a minority in these settings and being treated as tokens.

KEY TERMS

neurosexism (p. 105)

similarities perspective (p. 107)

differences perspective (p. 108)

strategic essentialism (p. 108)

sexual strategies theory (p. 114)

differential parental investment theory (p. 114)

paternity uncertainty (p. 114)

attachment fertility theory (p. 114)

plasticity (p. 116)

social role theory/social structural theory (p. 117)

expectancy role value theory (p. 118)

gender stratification hypothesis (p. 124)

ethic of care (p. 133)

ethic of justice (p. 133)

self-fulfilling prophesy (p. 136)

model minority (p. 137)

stereotype threat (p. 138)

goal congruity perspective (p. 140)

token (p. 143)

THINK ABOUT IT

  1. Imagine you’re conversing with a friend who is convinced that there are fundamental differences between women and men. Using research results from this chapter, explain how this perspective is more complicated than your friend might expect.
  2. What are the benefits and drawbacks of conducting research on sex/gender differences? How would you advise psychologists to approach research in this area?
  3. In explaining sex/gender similarities, can you use the same theories that have been proposed to explain sex/gender differences? If not, what other theories might explain sex/gender similarities? Why aren’t we likely to discuss theories on sex/gender similarities?
  4. Design a campus-wide campaign to address gender disparities in STEM fields. What types of information are important to include? What types of interventions do you believe will have the greatest influence?

ONLINE RESOURCES

  • Cordelia Fine — a website featuring links to Fine’s writing. A neuroscientist and professor of history and philosophy of science at the University of Melbourne, she writes about neurosexism and gender essentialism in the popular press: cordeliafine.com
  • Girl Start — a blog dedicated to increasing girls’ interest and engagement in STEM educational programming: girlstart.org
  • STEM Women — a website created by women in STEM fields to encourage and promote gender equity in STEM fields: stemwomen.net
  • Van Anders Lab — a website hosted by Dr. Sari van Anders at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, offering resources about social neuroendocrinology, feminist science, sexuality, gender/sex, and sexual diversity: www-personal.umich.edu/~smva/

Glossary

  • neurosexism
    Reinforcement or justification of gender stereotypes based on the claim that there are biologically based differences between women and men.
  • similarities perspective
    The idea that women and men are more similar than different.
  • differences perspective
    The idea that women and men are more different than similar.
  • strategic essentialism
    The support of gender essentialist beliefs as a strategic choice to help advocate for social causes that uniquely affect large numbers of women.
  • sexual strategies theory
    A theory suggesting that women and men developed different mating strategies to ensure survival: Men maximized potential offspring through sexual activity with many women, while women were selective with sexual partners in order to find stable mates who would contribute resources to promote their children’s survival.
  • differential parental investment theory
    A theory suggesting that women are more invested in their offspring than men because of women’s greater contributions to parenting through gestation and breastfeeding.
  • paternity uncertainty
    The notion that men can never be 100% sure that the offspring they raise are their own.
  • attachment fertility theory
    A theory suggesting that early human survival was enhanced when women and men worked together to ensure the survival of their offspring.
  • plasticity
    The ability of the brain to change to a certain degree in response to aspects of the environment and learning experiences.
  • social role theory
    The idea that differences between women and men arise from the different roles they have traditionally held (e.g., caretaker, provider) rather than from biologically based differences passed down through evolutionary forces. Also known as social structural theory.
  • social structural theory
    See social role theory.
  • expectancy role value theory
    A theory suggesting that people make decisions about the activities they want to pursue based on both the expectation that doing the activity will lead to success and the value they put on the activity.
  • gender stratification hypothesis
    The idea that differences found between women and men (especially on cognitive skills) relate to the level of gender equality in a country.
  • ethic of care
    A moral perspective that considers how a given action will affect interpersonal relationships and the well-being of others.
  • ethic of justice
    A moral perspective based on abstract principles of right and wrong.
  • self-fulfilling prophesy
    The idea that expectations for how someone is going to behave influence that person’s behavior so that the expectations are fulfilled, making the prophesy come true.
  • model minority
    The perception that a given minority group is an ideal example of a minority group—for example, the perception that Asian American students are hard-working, smart, and over-achieving.
  • stereotype threat
    The idea that when people think their social group does poorly on a certain task (or think that others believe this is true), their anxiety about confirming that stereotype can actually undermine their performance.
  • goal congruity perspective
    The idea that people want to engage in activities that meet their goals.
  • token
    A member of a socially marginalized group whose group makes up less than 15% of the workforce in a workplace setting.