Women are caring and nurturing. Men are aggressive. Boys are good at math. The list of stereotypes goes on but a new study in American Psychologist suggests that these differences are illusions created by the media. Author of the study, Janet S. Hyde, from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, says traditional portrayals of men and women as psychologically different are vastly overestimated and the two sexes are more similar in personality, communication, cognitive ability and leadership than realized.
She bases her assertions on a meta-analysis of various gender studies conducted over the last twenty years. Psychological differences based on gender were examined in studies that looked at a number of psychological traits and abilities to determine how much gender influenced an outcome. The traits and variables examined were cognitive abilities, verbal and nonverbal communication, social or psychological traits, psychological well-being, motor behaviors and moral reasoning.
She found that gender differences accounted for either zero or a very small effect for most of the psychological variables examined. Only motor skills (such as throwing), some aspects of sexuality and increased aggression showed marked differences.
Interestingly, gender differences seem to depend on the context they were measured in. In studies where gender norms were removed, researchers demonstrated how important gender roles and social context were in determining a person's actions. In one study where participants in the experimental group were told that they were not identified as male or female nor wore any identification, neither sex conformed to a stereotyped image when given the opportunity to act aggressively. In fact, they did the opposite to what was expected.
Hyde believes it is gender portrayals in the media that are to blame for the over-inflated claims of gender difference, which affect women in work, parenting and relationships. She cites books and magazine articles that assert women and men can't get along because they communicate too differently. "Maybe the problem is that they give up prematurely because they believe they can't change what they mistakenly believe is an innate trait," she said.
The misrepresentation of how different the sexes are, which is not supported by the scientific evidence, harms men and women of all ages in many different areas of life, said Hyde. "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."
