Sex differences in parental directives to young children

This study investigated how children learn sex-associated strategies for requesting action. We compared the directives which mothers and fathers address to their 2 1/2- to 5-year-old children. Ten children, 5 boys and 5 girls, engaged separately with each parent in a construction task. Fathers produced more directives than mothers and tended to phrase them as imperatives (e.g., Put the screw in) or as highly indirect “hints” (e.g., The wheel's going to fall off) more often than mothers, who relied more on relatively transparent indirect forms (e.g., Can you put the screw in?). There were no differences in the form of the directives addressed to girls and boys, nor were there any cross-sex effects. Parental modeling, rather than differential socialization of girls and boys, appears to be the mechanism by which children learn to request action in sex-associated ways.     

Sex differences in proxemic behavior and personal space schemata in young children

Spatial preferences with feltboard figures, observed interpersonal distance, and sex-role identification were examined in 80 preschool children. On the feltboard measure, 4- to 5-year-olds chose generally greater interpersonal distance than younger children. Sex of stimulus figure also influenced older children's distance choices. When same-sex pair play was videotaped, older boys spent significantly more time at far distances and less time at close distances than younger boys. A positive correlation between sex-role identification, measured by the Rabban toy choice task, and feltboard figure distance was obtained for older boys only. Findings supported the notion that sex-related interpersonal spatial norms may be learned during the preschool years, particularly by boys.This study is based on a doctoral dissertation written by the author and submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Ph.D. degree at Michigan State University, 1974.     

Sex and ear differences in spontaneous and click-evoked otoacoustic emissions in young adults

Effects of sex and handedness on the production of spontaneous and click-evoked otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) were explored in a non-hearing impaired population (ages 17-25 years). A sex difference in OAEs, either produced spontaneously (spontaneous OAEs or SOAEs) or in response to auditory stimuli (click-evoked OAEs or CEOAEs) has been reported in infants and children, but healthy young adults seldom have been the target of study. In the current data, a robust sexual dimorphism was confirmed, with women producing more numerous and stronger SOAEs, and CEOAEs with greater response amplitude compared to men. A right-ear advantage was found for the number of SOAEs produced and, in women, for SOAE power. Although handedness did not moderate the ear asymmetry in production, exploratory analyses revealed that departures from strong right hand preference were associated in the present sample with reduced numbers or strengths of OAEs. The results are discussed with respect to differential exposure to androgens during prenatal development.     

Sex differences in cognition

Sex differences in cognitive skills, grouped into three areas — motor, spatial, and linguistic — are assessed in the context of current notions of cerebral lateralization (Buffery and Gray, 1972). There are few convincing sex differences, either overall, or in interactions with (putative) functional localization. There are several qualifying criteria (nature of further interactions with age, birth order, culture, sex of experimenter, sex role pressure) which would have to be met, but these are as yet inadequately documented. Serious caution is urged on the proliferating number of researchers in this area.     

Sex differences in depression

The role of housewife has been hypothesized as the source of excess mental illness among married women as compared with married men. The present study found both housewives and working wives significantly more depressed than working husbands. Although working wives report that they do more housework than husbands, this factor was not significantly related to depression for either wives or husbands. It is suggested that the risk factors for depression, including marriage for women, may be better understood in the context of clinical theories of depression, especially the learned helplessness model.     

Sex differences in pain

Are there sex differences in pain? For experimentally delivered somatic stimuli, females have lower thresholds, greater ability to discriminate, higher pain ratings, and less tolerance of noxious stimuli than males. These differences, however, are small, exist only for certain forms of stimulation and are affected by many situational variables such as presence of disease, experimental setting, and even nutritive status. For endogenous pains, women report more multiple pains in more body regions than men. With no obvious underlying rationale, some painful diseases are more prevalent among females, others among males and, for many diseases, symptoms differ between females and males. Sex differences in attitudes exist that affect not only reporting, coping, and responses to treatment, but also measurement and treatment. So many variables are operative, however, that the most striking feature of sex differences in reported pain experience is the apparent overall lack of them. On the other hand, deduction from known biological sex differences suggests that these are powerful sex differences in the operation of pain mechanisms. First, the vaginal canal provides an additional route in women for internal trauma and invasion by pathological agents that puts them at greater risk for developing hyperalgesia in multiple body regions. Second, sex differences in temporal patterns are likely to give rise to sex differences in how pain is "learned" and stimuli are interpreted, a situation that could lead to a greater variability and wider range of pains without obvious peripheral pathology among females. Third, sex differences in the actions of sex hormones suggest pain-relevant differences in the operation of many neuroactive agents, opiate and nonopiate systems, nerve growth factor, and the sympathetic system. Thus, while inductive analysis of existing data demonstrate more similarities than differences in pain experience between females and males, deductive analysis suggests important operational sex differences in its production.     

Sex differences in self-silencing

The construct of self-silencing was proposed to account for women's greater vulnerability to developing depression. This study of 1,117 students (795 women and 322 men) explored possible explanations for the empirical finding that men self-silence to the same or greater extent than women. Analysis showed that men reported more self-silencing than women. A factor analysis confirmed the subscale structure of the Silencing the Self Scale for women and men, with relatively few departures from the originally proposed subscales. Depression and self-silencing scores were correlated positively for both men and women. The results of two multiple regressions, performed separately for men and women, showed that depressive symptomatology accounted for a significant percentage of the variance in self-silencing but that social desirability did not account for a significant increment in the variance accounted for in silencing the self. The scores on the Care as Self-sacrifice and the Divided Self subscales were intercorrelated for women, but not for men, indicating that there may be a sex difference in perception of self-silencing behavior.     

The effects of empathic instructions upon donating behavior: Sex differences in young children

First-grade children were given either empathy instructions (in which they were told to imagine themselves in the target person's place) or neutral instructions (in which they were told to listen to what the target person did). For half the subjects, the target person was of the same sex; for the other half, the target person was of the opposite sex. Subjects were then given a chance to anonymously donate money to the target child, who was presented as being in need. Liking for the target child, subject's perceptions of the target child's emotional state, and subjects' report of their own emotional states were also assessed. Empathic instructions increased donating behavior for males, but not for females. Accuracy of perception of the target person's state was generally high. Self-reports of emotional states congruent with that of the target tended to be associated with increased donating behavior only for males, but these self-reports were greater for females than males, and greater for both sexes with same-sex target persons. Liking also was enhanced by gender similarity. These results are discussed in terms of a proposed relationship among empathy, prosocial behavior, sex, and age.We wish to express our gratitude to the staff and students of Wannamaker and North Fairview Elementary Schools of Topeka, Kansas, for their assistance in carrying out this research, and also thank C. Daniel Batson for his helpful suggestions and comments.     

Sex differences in urinary odors produced by young laboratory rats (Rattus norvegicus)

Responses of adult female rats to male and female pup urine were examined in three experiments. Investigatory sniffing of male and female pup urine deposits by maternal rats was compared in a series of simultaneous choice tests given at 3-day intervals between Day 2 and Day 17 postpartum. Male urine was consistently preferred. Introduction of male, but not female, pup urine to the nest was also found to significantly elevate maternal licking of anogenital regions of pups. Thus, urine from pups of various ages contains sex-identifying odors that differentially elicit spontaneous maternal interest. The odor of male urine may provide a sufficient stimulus to account for the greater anogenital licking that males of this species normally receive. Nonmaternal, naive, adult females behaved like maternal rats, preferring male urine in the choice test. This indicates that the maternal condition of a dam is not necessary either for the olfactory discrimination or for the male odor preference.     

Sex differences in preadolescent self-disclosure

Both amount and content of self-disclosure may vary with sex role. Both adult and preadolescent females have been reported as engaging in greater amounts of self-disclosure than males; the present study attempted to replicate these findings with preadolescents, and to investigate sex differences in the content of self-disclosure. A self-disclosure questionnaire covering a wide range of subjects was administered to 307 urban children. The sex difference on the total number of items revealed to a friend closely approached significance, with girls showing greater disclosure. When only intimate content items were examined, the sex difference reached clear significance. Content analysis showed that girls were more willing to reveal items related to emotionality, anxiety, and dependence.     

Sex differences in achievement motivation

Abstract.— Norwegian undergraduate psychology students were given Heckhausen's TAT test of achievement motivation prior to or after final course examination. Women obtained higher mean score on Fear of Failure than men on both occasions. There was no sex difference in length of protocol, nor was this variable related to any of the motivation scores. Success in terms of examination results did not affect motivation scores, whereas failure led to higher score on Hope of Success for men but not for women.     

Sex differences in listening comprehension

In order to examine the effect of sex of the speaker on listening comprehension in a public speaking situation, 60 male and 60 female subjects viewed either a male or female speaker presenting a talk on either a masculine (chess), feminine (interior decorating), or neutral (snow skiiing) topic. The results supported the hypotheses that when a male speaks he is listened to more carefully than a female speaker, even when she makes the identical presentation. No differences were found when the topic was biased towards one sex; males were still recalled better than females. The above relationships were also true for male and female subjects; both recalled information more accurately from male speakers than from female ones. Rating of informativeness of the presentation showed no difference for sex of the speaker; but effectiveness ratings of the speaker indicated that while both male and female subjects rated male speakers equally effective, the same was not true for the female speakers. Male subjects rated the female speakers significantly more effective than they did male speakers, whereas female subjects rated male and female speakers equally effective.This article is based in part on the first author's master's thesis, submitted to the Graduate School, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, under the direction of the second author. This research was supported in part by the Center for Creative Leadership, Greensboro, North Carolina. A portion of this paper was presented at the 23rd Southeastern Psychological Association Convention, Hollywood, Florida, May 1977.     

Sex differences in nonverbal communication

An experiment was conducted to determine the relationship between sex-role attitudes, affiliation, and dominance and nonverbal communication styles in men and women in same- and opposite-sex dyads. Women were found to elicit more warmth and men more anxiety from their partners. Evidence was found for a possible monitoring mechanism through which women adjust their nonverbal communications to fit the male in the interaction. Liberalism in sex-role attitudes was found to correlate with nonverbal warmth in men. The nonverbal presentations of men and women in the microprocesses of dyadic interaction were found to relate significantly to the macrostructure of societal sex roles.This research was supported by NSF Grant GS36814. The author wishes to express her special thanks to Harmon Hosch, Vivian Shayne, David Fineman, and Lee Braff for their help in the experiment and data analysis. An abbreviated version of this paper was presented at the meeting of the American Sociological Association, San Francisco, August 1975.     

Sex differences in dominance behavior

The effect of the status characteristic of sex on dominance behavior was investigated as a function of a challenger's sex and in relation to one's sex-role orientation. Dyads composed of a student and a confederate recorded individual preferences, then joint decisions, for the more attractive picture of 20 pairs of pictures. The number of challenges a student sustained each time a disagreement occurred regarding the more attractive picture of a pair was recorded. Males withstood significantly more challenges against their preferences than females did (p<.006). However, no differences were found as a function of the sex of one's partner; nor did the Attitudes toward Women Scale (AWS) prove to be a good predictor of dominance. Results were discussed in terms of predictions made by the theory of status characteristics.This report is based on a master's thesis written by the first author under the sponsorship of the second and submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the MA degree at the Graduate School of the University of Alabama. Portions were presented as part of of the paper session Compliance-Conformity/Altruism-Helping Behavior at the annual meeting of the Southeastern Psychological Association, New Orleans, March 1976.The authors would like to express their appreciation those who served as confederates in this study: Jim Dodds, Rochelle Hanan, Eunice Fogarty, and Rex Hall.     

Sex differences in nonverbal behavior

A variety of nonverbal behaviors was coded from videotapes of 88 dyadic conversations. The 44 male and 44 female subjects were paired so that each participated in one conversation with a stranger of the same sex and one conversation with a stranger of the opposite sex. It was found that sex of subject, but not sex of partner, had a significant effect on many of the nonverbal behaviors displayed during the conversations. Subjects' scores on the behavioral measures were correlated with their scores on several personality measures and on a post-conversation questionnaire. Sex differences in these correlations were used to generate hypotheses linking specific behavioral differences between the sexes to more general differences between the masculine and feminine interpersonal styles.This study was supported in part by NSF grant GS-3033, awarded to Starkey Duncan, University of Chicago; by NSF grant GS-3127, awarded to Donald Fiske, University of Chicago; by a grant awarded to Starkey Duncan and Donald Fiske by the Social Science Divisional Research Committee of the University of Chicago; and by a University of Chicago Humanities Fellowship awarded to the author. The author is grateful to Starkey Duncan and Donald Fiske for the extensive assistance they provided with this study. The author also wishes to express her appreciation to Jeanine Carlson, George Niederehe, Bruno Repp, Thomas Shanks, and Cathy Stepanek, who assisted in coding the videotaped data and in the statistical analysis. This article is based on the author's doctoral dissertation (Beekman, 1973), which may be consulted for further details.Previous drafts of this article have been circulated under the author's former name, Susan J. Beekman.     

Sex differences in time perception

In an experiment on discrimination of duration of auditory stimuli in the range of milliseconds 16 men and 16 women were tested. Men scored better than women in discrimination of duration as well as in required session time. These results were discussed in terms of the assumption of a neurotransmitter-related internal clock and with respect to sex differences in reaction time.