Sex differences in behavioral and cognitive aspects of decision control

Sex differences in three components of decision control were examined in a series of studies utilizing 4-, 9-, and 14-year-old subjects. These components were actual decision control behavior, the cognitive understanding of the masculine or feminine nature of decision control, and the self-perception of decision control skills. At the behavioral level, boys controlled more decision outcomes than girls, especially at the oldest age grouping. In the area of self-perception, girls were less likely to perceive themselves as decision controllers compared to their male counterparts in the oldest age grouping. As far as general attitudes were concerned, neither boys nor girls equated decision control with masculinity. Results are discussed in terms of the socialization of powerlessness in women.