Sex/Gender Differences

August 1, 2023

From the most basic biological perspective, human sex is determined by "the presence or absence of a Y in the 23rd pair of chromosomes in the human genome." (From the Wikipedia article entitled Sex Differences in Humans)

But everybody is more curious about the differences between men and women that would account for their varying behaviors, preferences, and minds.

It's a hot debate.

Here are some of my favorite bits on the topic:

Quotes from Steven Pinker (2005)

[...] In fact, much of the scientific literature has reported numerous statistical differences between men and women. As I noted in The Blank Slate, for instance, men are, on average, better at mental rotation and mathematical word problems; women are better at remembering locations and at mathematical calculation. Women match shapes more quickly, are better at reading faces, are better spellers, retrieve words more fluently, and have a better memory for verbal material. Men take greater risks and place a higher premium on status; women are more solicitous to their children.

Of course, just because men and women are different does not mean that the differences are triggered by genes. People develop their talents and personalities in response to their social milieu, which can change rapidly. So some of today's sex differences in cognition could be as culturally determined as sex differences in hair and clothing.

Study by Clearer thinking

In 2023, the organization Clearer Thinking ran 15 studies to examine the relationships between gender and personality. (From: An empirical look at the personality differences between men and women)

Overall, there results show the following relationships:

Correlations of characteristically male traits with men:

  • Sex Focused (0.42)
  • Thick Skinned (0.23)
  • Risk Taking (0.21)
  • Self Valuing (0.18)
  • At Ease (0.17)
  • Self Defending (0.17)
  • Improvisational (0.16)
  • Unusual (0.15)
  • Complexity Seeking (0.14)

Correlations of characteristically female traits with men:

  • Amicable (-0.20)
  • Honest (-0.21)
  • Warm (-0.21)
  • Forgiving (-0.21)
  • Aesthetic (-0.22)
  • Emotionally Aware (-0.26)
  • Peaceful (-0.26)
  • Compassionate (-0.28)
  • Unselfish (-0.30)

The strongest relationship is between men and the "Sex Focused" personality trait. The second strongest relationship is between women and the "Unselfish" personality trait.

Then just below that are the female traits of being "Compassionate", "Emotionally Aware", and "Peaceful".

Conclusion

Women/Females

The following traits are more likely for "women", as a "sex" difference:

  • better at remembering locations
  • better at mathematical calculation
  • better at matching shapes more quickly
  • better at reading faces
  • better at spelling
  • better at fluent word retrieval
  • better at verbal memory
  • more solicitous to their children

The following personality traits are more likely for females, as a "gender" difference:

  • Unselfish
  • Compassionate
  • Emotionally Aware
  • Peaceful
  • Aesthetic
  • Forgiving
  • Warm
  • Honest
  • Amicable
Men/Males

The following traits are more likely for "men", as a "sex" difference:

  • better at mental rotation
  • better at mathematical word problems
  • take greater risks
  • place higher premium on status

The following personality traits are more likely for males, as a "gender" difference:

  • Sex Focused
  • Thick Skinned
  • Risk Taking
  • Self Valuing
  • At Ease
  • Self Defending

... Everything else is pretty speculative. And even these traits mentioned here could easily change over time with various factors and contexts.