Sex differences in psychology are differences in the mental functions and behaviors of the sexes and are due to a complex interplay of biological, developmental, and cultural factors. Differences have been found in a variety of fields such as mental health, cognitive abilities, personality, emotion, sexuality, friendship, and tendency towards aggression. Such variation may be innate, learned, or both. Modern research attempts to distinguish between these causes and to analyze any ethical concerns raised. Since behavior is a result of interactions between nature and nurture, researchers are interested in investigating how biology and environment interact to produce such differences, although this is often not possible. A number of factors combine to influence the development of sex differences, including genetics and epigenetics; differences in brain structure and function; hormones, and socialization. The formation of gender is controversial in many scientific fields, including psychology. Specifically, researchers and theorists take different perspectives on how much of gender is due to biological, neurochemical, and evolutionary factors (nature), or is the result of culture and socialization (nurture). This is known as the nature versus nurture debate.
Definition Psychological sex differences are emotional, motivational, or cognitive discrepancies between the sexes. Differences in behavior across sexes can be biological ("sex differences"), social ("gender differences"), or a mix of the two. The close alignment and mutual confounding between sex and gender in many individuals can make it difficult to distinguish between sex and gender differences in empirical studies. Thus, while the two terms are different, with "sex" referring to biological differences and "gender" to socially constructed ones, "sex differences" and "gender differences" are sometimes used interchangeably in psychosexual analysis. Gender is generally conceived of as a set of characteristics associated with a particular biological sex (typically male or female). These traits are sometimes referred to as being masculine or feminine. The definition of such gender categories is often culturally dependent. In some cultures, gender is not always conceived as binary, or strictly linked to biological sex. As a result, in some cultures there are third, fourth, or "some" genders.
History Beliefs about sex differences have likely existed throughout history. Since at least antiquity, thinkers like Aristotle and Galen theorized maleness and femaleness as the outcome of the heat of a person's body. The history of sex research demonstrates an ongoing coexistence of multiple, conflicting meanings of sex, rather than a linear progression of better models replacing inadequate ones. In his 1859 book On the Origin of Species, Charles Darwin proposed that, like physical traits, psychological traits evolve through the process of sexual selection:
In the distant future I see open fields for far more important researches. Psychology will be based on a new foundation, that of the necessary acquirement of each mental power and capacity by gradation. Two of his later books, The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex (1871) and The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (1872) explore the subject of psychological differences between the sexes. The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex includes 70 pages on sexual selection in human evolution, some of which concerns psychological traits. The study of gender took off in the 1970s. During this time period, academic works were published reflecting the changing views of researchers towards gender studies. Some of these works included textbooks, as they were an important way that information was compiled and made sense of the new field. In 1978 Women and sex roles: A social psychological perspective was published, one of the first textbooks on the psychology behind women and sex roles. Another textbook to be published, Gender and Communication, was the first textbook to discuss the topic of its subject. Other influential academic works focused on the development of gender. In 1966, The Development of Sex Differences was published by Eleanor E Maccoby. This book went into what factors influence a child's gender development, with contributors proposing the effects of hormones, social learning, and cognitive development in respective chapters. Man and Woman, Boy and Girl, by John Money was published in 1972, reporting findings of research done with intersex subjects. The book proposed that the social environment a child grows up in is more important in determining gender than the genetic factors he or she inherits. The majority of Money's theories regarding the importance of socialization in the determination of gender have come under intense criticism, especially in connection with the inaccurate reporting of success in the infant sex reassignment of David Reimer. In 1974, The Psychology of Sex Differences was published. It said that men and women behave more similarly than had been previously supposed. They also proposed that children have much power over what gender role they grow into, whether by choosing which parent to imitate, or doing activities such as playing with action figures or dolls. These works added new knowledge to the field of gender psychology.
Psychological traits
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