Men and Women More Alike Than Previously Thought

[Guest guest]

The bottom part made me laugh - of course Nick Neave disagrees with

the research - he doesn't want to be out of a job!

 

Jo

 

 

Men and women 'not so different'

 

Is marriage an inter-planetary merger?

Men and women may be from the same planet after all. A US

psychologist says there are not that many differences between the

genders.

Janet Shibley-Hyde, women's studies specialist from the University of

Wisconsin, says men and women are more similar than the popular

perception.

 

She highlights studies showing similarities in personality,

communication, and leadership.

 

But a UK psychologist said there were differences which should be

recognised.

 

'Misrepresentation'

 

There is a popular perception that the psychological difference

between men and women is substantial - as seen in books such as Men

Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus by John Gray.

 

And there are stereotypes, such as women being more emotional than

men, or men having better spatial awareness.

 

But Dr Hyde, writing in American Psychologist, says her review of 46

meta-analyses (which cover a number of studies) conducted over the

last 20 years, shows men and women are alike in the majority of

areas.

 

There are differences - ignoring them is foolish, and exaggerating

them is dangerous

 

Dr Nick Neave, University of Northumbria

 

The studies looked at cognitive abilities, verbal and nonverbal

communication, social or psychological traits like aggression or

leadership, psychological well-being like self-esteem and motor

behaviours, such as throwing ability and moral reasoning.

 

Dr Hyde said gender differences accounted for either no or a very

small effect for most of the psychological variables examined.

 

She said only throwing distance and physical aggression showed marked

gender differences.

 

And she said the extent of " male " or " female " behaviours seemed to

depend on context.

 

Dr Hyde highlighted one study where participants were told that they

were not identified as male or female nor wore any identification,

which led to neither sex conforming to a stereotyped image when given

the opportunity to act aggressively.

 

They actually did the opposite to what was expected - they did not

stick to the stereotype of aggressive males and passive females.

 

She said the misrepresentation of how different the sexes are could

harm men and women of all ages in many different areas of life.

 

" The claims can hurt women's opportunities in the workplace, dissuade

couples from trying to resolve conflict and communication problems

and cause unnecessary obstacles that hurt children and adolescents'

self-esteem. "

 

But Dr Nick Neave, a spokesman for the British Psychological Society

and an expert in sex differences at the University of Northumbria,

said men and women did differ.

 

" Scientists have been guilty of over-emphasising sex differences.

 

" There are differences. Ignoring them is foolish, and exaggerating

them is dangerous.

 

" But that doesn't mean that society shouldn't treat the genders

equally. "