Gender Differences in Personality

Forum Assignment:

This week, our discussion is about male and female differences in personality.What male and female differences in personality have you observed and where do you think they come from (e.g., are they learned, inborn, etc.)? NOTE: If you believe more than one personality theory explains male/female differences, give concrete examples.

Link the theory you choose solidly to the personality differences you describe to provide evidence of your thorough comprehension of your selected theory by your accurate application of it rather than just picking a theory by name and listing characteristics believed by the general public to differ between genders. You must describe how the theory you choose explains specific differences.

Reply to the following response with 200 words minimum. (please make response as if having a conversation, respond directly to some of the statements in below post.)

Male and female differences come from a wide variety of places. First and foremost, male and female differences come from that fact that they are each biologically very different. Males and females produce different levels of hormones which causes differences physically and cognitively. And still other factors come into play when defining male and female personalities. Some of those factors include but are not limited to their family genetic make up, and the society, time period, and culture they lived in.

The chapters on gender role and differences this week were very interesting. There are many approaches to trying to understand male and female personalities. I could not choose one. I believe the male and female personalities can be best described between a combination of The Behaviorist Approach: Social Learning, The Cognitive Approach: Gender Schema Theory, and the Trait Approaches to Masculinity and Femininity.

I completely agree with The Behaviroist Approach: Social Learning because it is so easy to observe as a reality. As you study different cultures, you can completely see how a child was "taught" to be their particular gender plays out in how they behave.

This was very true in my life. My mom took a great deal of time training my sister and I on the importance of being a lady. We learned early on how to sit like a lady and be polite as a lady with how we said things and when we spoke. Another example is the huge emphasis my mom put on my older brother to never touch our dolls.

Not for fear he would want to play with them and start to like "girl things", but because he wasn't going to allow his "masculine" side to do any harm to what we held precious...our dolls. He was also taught not to ever push us, even if we pushed him. He was taught on what it meant to be a gentleman.

I also think male and female personalities are partially explained through The Cognitive Approach: Gender Schema Theory as well. It is so prevalent in all societies that we treat those who are male differently from those who are female in many ways. Our expectations of them are subconsciously played out every day.

For example, as a teacher, I have seen on numerous occasions how the boys automatically assume no girl will want to play tag with them. In fact, a girl will inquire of them to play tag with them and the boys will 9 out of 10 times turn her down. The boys think because she is female, she won't be able to keep up when in fact the girls I have seen who desire to play with the boys totally could.

The third male and female approach to understanding personality that I liked was the Trait Approaches to Masculinity and Femininity. In this approach, it is emphasized that there are definitely certain traits that pertain to males and certain traits that predominately pertain themselves to females.

Although there are many examples of traits that are more dominate in one sex over the other, researchers are still hesitant to attribute those specific traits only to male and female because each sex can show examples of the other sex's traits as well in life. For example, centuries, women were considered to be too weak mentally, cognitively, and physically to be of any benefit in war efforts. This idea changed drastically when WWII came into play.

Women stood up when needed and took the place of men in factory related jobs, became spies when needed, and protected their families physically in incredible, unimaginable ways. This proved their strength of mind and physical abilities to step up to the plate as a man would when needed. Therefore, although certain traits such as aggression and dominance is attributed as a male train and emotional awareness and understanding is attributed as more of a female trait, neither of those traits can be termed as strictly male or female.

In conclusion, there are many influences in a person that creates their personality. As it relates to male and female personalities, I believe that the combination of The Behaviorist Approach: Social Learning, The Cognitive Approach: Gender Schema Theory, and the Trait Approaches to Masculinity and Femininity attribute to a well developed approach to male and female personalities.