PSYC-320A Psychology of Sex Differences

UBC Distance Education

by David King

Lecture 2: Studying Sex and Gender

Methods in Sex and Gender Research
Biases and Challenges to Overcome
Introduction to Research on Sex Differences
What is Science?
This course emphasizes a scientific approach to sex and gender.

What is science?
Science is a systematic way of investigating the world in order to
identify rules and patterns in the way it works.
An ongoing process of discovery, defined more by its methods and
less by its contents.

The scientific method involves conducting systematic studies to test

theory-driven hypotheses, or testable predictions about the
outcome of a study.
Studying Sex and Gender
Applying the scientific method to this course, we are
attempting to answer questions about sex and gender
systematically based on scientific research.

Why is this important?

Without systematic research, people would rely too heavily on their
personal experiences and/or stereotypes, to the point that many
complexities about sex and gender would be overlooked.

E.g., men are not better at math, women are not more talkative, and men are
NOT more interested in sex!

Science can help validate the full spectrum of human experience.

Primary Research Methods
Quantitative Methods involve quantifying variables in order to
analyze them statistically.
experimental designs, ex post facto designs, quasi-experiments, and
correlational designs

Qualitative Methods involve collecting in-depth, non-numerical

information in order to understand subjective experiences.
case studies, interviews, and focus groups

Mixed Methods combine quantitative and qualitative methods.

Significance *
What does it mean to say that a relationship or statistical result
is significant?

→ The observation (relationship, difference, etc.) is likely

caused by something other than random chance.
Keep these tips in mind…
Examples of findings/conclusions and how to interpret…
1. If it is concluded that we need to better support women with depression, that does
NOT mean that men do not also get depressed. It may simply refer to the fact that
women are statistically more likely to be diagnosed with depression, but both men and
women do experience depression.

2. If it is suggested that “women live longer than men,” that is not true for ALL women. It
simply means that that’s the trend – a statistically meaningful majority of women outlive
men. But some men do outlive some women.

3. If it is suggested that aggression is associated with certain definitions of masculinity,

that does NOT imply that all men are aggressive. It may simply reflect an observed
correlation between masculinity and aggressiveness.

When reading research, do not misinterpret the results. Remember, most

findings are simply correlational in nature and suggest patterns, trends, or
averages. Findings should NOT be interpreted in strict or absolute ways!
Basic Concerns in Research
Validity refers to accuracy (of a measure or survey, or of
research findings).
Internal validity specifically refers to the extent to which a relationship
(either causal or correlational) can be assumed to be true or accurate
and not better explained by some unmeasured variable.

Reliability refers to consistency over time (of a specific measure

or findings from research).

Generalizability refers to the extent to which a measure or

survey retains validity in other samples; or the extent to which
research findings would apply to other samples.
A major concern in sex and gender research.
Research Biases
Both participant and researcher biases can affect results.

Sampling bias is one common form – relying on samples in which certain

people or characteristics are overrepresented, such that generalizability is
severely limited.

Beyond sampling, bias can enter a study through the measures and
procedures used to collect data.

The ways that researchers measure their variables can influence both their
findings and conclusions.
Biases in Sex & Gender Research
Until the 1960s, psychologists used all-male samples in research.

During the second wave of the women’s movement, this biased sampling
method came under fire from feminist psychologists and subsequently
began to decline steadily.

Researchers may act in ways that confirm what they expect to find.

Some gender researchers have framed their questions from the

perspective of a female deficit model – the tendency to view sex
differences as arising from something that women lack (Hyde, 1994).

Rooted in androcentrism.
Studying Sex Differences
How do researchers study sex differences in behaviour,
personality, and other aspects of psychology?
Measuring Differences
How large are sex differences? Typically look at large samples
of men and women or meta-analyses of individual studies.

Cohen’s d statistic: one common measure of effect size.

Quantifies the difference between two group means (averages) in
standardized units.
More overlap (i.e., similarity) between two distributions yields a smaller
effect size, whereas less overlap (i.e., similarity) yields a larger effect size.

d statistic can be calculated in a single study, or in a meta-

analysis across a set of studies.
 Calculating Effect Size
Effect size (Cohen’s d):

0.00–0.10 = close to zero

positive d means boys/men are
0.10–0.35 = small higher
0.36–0.65 = medium
0.66–1.00 = large negative d means girls/women
are higher
> 1.00 = very large

an androcentric convention
Androcentric thinking can shape how researchers interpret and frame results--
the tendency to state conclusions in the form of the masculine generic.
Meta-Analyses
A meta-analysis is a quantitative technique for analyzing the
results across a set of individual studies.

The unit of analysis is a d statistic or effect size--quantifies the

magnitude and direction of a difference between groups, or
the strength of a relation between variables.

A meta-analysis summarizes the results of a set of individual

studies, a second-order meta-analysis (or meta-synthesis)
summarizes the results of a set of meta-analyses.
Variance
Within-group variance reflects how spread out the values are among
people within the same group.

Between-group variance reflects the difference between the average

values for each group the effect size statistic, d, is the standardized
difference between two group means.

Costa et al. (2001): “Gender differences, although pervasive, appear

to be relatively subtle compared with the range of individual
differences found within each gender.”
In other words, within-group variance tends to be greater than
between-group variance.
 These are Average Differences

Remember, when referring to average or mean differences,

there is often a lot of overlap…
# of women & men

Women whose self-esteem falls in shaded area exceeds that of the average man.

Example: Self-Esteem
Studying Sex Differences

CAUTIONARY NOTE 1:
Effect sizes do not necessarily have implications for any one
individual. (So don’t make assumptions!)

CAUTIONARY NOTE 2:
Most differences are small; statistics should not be used to
exaggerate the differences between the sexes.

CAUTIONARY NOTE 3:
An effect size (or any statistical indication of difference) does not
mean the source or cause of the difference is biological or innate.
Maximalist and Minimalist Views
A maximalist approach emphasizes differences between boys
and girls / men and women.

By focusing on differences and ignoring similarities, researchers may

perpetuate overgeneralized and exaggerated beliefs about the sexes.
Often associated with suggestions that the sexes are “innately” different.

A minimalist approach emphasizes similarity between boys and

girls / men and women.

Minimalists ignore potentially important sex differences and conclude

that different sexes are “mostly alike.”
Gender Similarity Hypothesis
Janet Hyde (2005, American Psychologist) suggests that males and
females are similar on most, but not all, psych. variables.

Based on results from a review of 46 meta-analyses, found that 78%

of sex differences were small or close to zero.

So why care about

differences?
Should we study sex differences?
On one hand, we absolutely need to be concerned about
reinforcing stereotypes and potentially exaggerating
differences between the sexes.

On the other hand, we need to study sex differences in

order to gain an accurate understanding of them and their
context. This may help us overcome biases.

See debate in Chapter 2.

A Brief History of the Research

Prior to 1973, there was little attention

paid to sex differences.

1974, Maccoby and Jacklyn published a

book, The Psychology of Sex Differences,
in which they presented an informal
summary of research.

This set off an avalanche of work on sex

differences.
A Wealth of Research…

A recent PsycInfo search of “sex

differences” revealed 8,381 results in
publication titles.

18,048 results in keywords.

Psychological Sex Differences
Let’s take a closer look at some of the commonly observed
psychological differences between females and males…
Causes & Consequences
Throughout this segment, you should be thinking (critically) about
(1) the causes and (2) the consequences of sex differences.

For example, consider the observed sex difference in agreeableness.

(1) What could be causing this?

(2) Are there any consequences?

Sex Differences in Personality (2643 Canadians)
Extraversion d = -.08 F>M
Assertiveness (dominant, active) d = .09 M>F
Enthusiasm (warm, gregarious, positive) d = -.23 F>M
Neuroticism d = -.39 F>M
Volatility (hostile, impulsive) d = -.30 F>M
Withdrawal (depressed, anxious, self-conscious) d = -.40 F>M
Openness to Experience d = .02 non-sig
Intellect (ideas) d = .22 M>F
Openness (feelings, fantasy) d = -.27 F>M
Conscientiousness d = .06 non-sig

(Weisberg et al., 2011)

Industriousness (self-disciplined, achievement) d = .06 non-sig
Orderliness (ordered, methodical) d = -.18 F>M
Agreeableness d = -.48 F>M
Compassion (tenderminded, altruistic) d = -.45 F>M
Politeness (modest., compliant, straightforward) d = -.36 F>M
Sex Differences in Emotionality
Females across cultures report experiencing more positive and
negative emotions (Kajonius & Johnson, 2018; Costa et al., 2001).

Greater frequency and intensity; present early in life.

After puberty, females show depression 2-3 X more (Albert, 2015).

Females also ruminate more, which contributes to depression.

Sex Differences in Nurturance
Females across cultures consistently score higher on all aspects of
agreeableness and tender-mindedness specifically (Kajonius & Johnson,
2018; Costa et al., 2001; McCrae et al., 2005).

They also score higher on love / warmth and empathy (Feingold, 1994;
Wright et al., 2015).

→ higher nurturance
Sex Differences in Aggression
By age 4 or 5, boys show higher aggression (Björkqvist, 2018).

Across cultures, males are more aggressive, as assessed on personality

tests, in fantasies, and in behaviour (d = .40 to .86; Hyde, 1986).

People convicted of
homicide by sex, region:
(UN Global Study on
Homicide, 2013)
Sex Differences in Narcissism
A meta-analysis of 355 studies by Grijalva et al. (2015) found that
males tended to be more narcissistic than women (d = .26).

Notably higher in entitlement, exploitation, and social dominance aspects.

Little difference in grandiosity and exhibitionism.

Males also tend to be higher in dark triad traits (Schmitt et al.,

2016), which include narcissism, subclinical psychopathy, and
Machiavellianism.
Sex Differences in Self-Esteem
Across the Lifespan d = .21 M>F

Self-Esteem in Childhood
7 – 10 d = .16 M>F
11 – 14 d = .23 M>F
15 – 18 d = .33 M>F

Self-Esteem in Adulthood
19 – 22 d = .18 M>F
23 – 59 d = .10 M>F

(Feingold, 1994; Kling et al., 1999)

 Self-Esteem by Age & Sex
Robins et al. (2002) – cross-sectional data collected from 326,641 individuals over the
Internet (67% American); 1 item: “I see myself as someone who has high self-esteem.”

4.00
3.90
3.80 Males
3.70
3.60
3.50
3.40
3.30
Females
3.20
3.10
3.00
9 to 12 13 to 17 18 to 23 24 to 30 31 to 40 41 to 50 51 to 60 61 to 70 71 to 90

Age
A Cross-Cultural Perspective on Self-Esteem

Bleidorn et al. (2016) – First large-scale cross-cultural study of

gender and age differences in self-esteem.

Used a large internet sample (N = 985,937) across 48 nations.

Single item: “I see myself as someone who has high self-esteem.”

Consistent with previous research, found age-related increases in

self-esteem from late adolescence to middle adulthood.

Also found significant gender gaps, with males consistently reporting

higher self-esteem than females.
Femininity & Masculinity
Gender psychologists have struggled with the best way to define and
measure masculinity and femininity…
Femininity & Masculinity
Early self-report surveys of femininity and masculinity attempted to
measure female-typical and male-typical traits, in order to
distinguish women and men.

Sandra Bem interpreted these traits as indications of the extent to

which gender role expectations were fulfilled (rather than
fundamentally sex-linked personality traits).
Later suggested they were actually indicators of gender schemas.

Others have argued that measures of masculinity and femininity

need to extend beyond personality and behaviour.

See ‘Journey of Research’ in Chapter 2.

Items from Bem Sex-Role Inventory (Bem, 1979)

Active Aware of others’ feelings

/ Communion
Traits
Traits
/ Agency

Adventurous Considerate

“Feminine”
“Masculine”

Aggressive Cooperative Are these sex-related dimensions?

Ambitious Cries easily Or stereotypes?
Instrumentality

Competitive Emotional
→ Interpreted by Sandra Bem as
Expressiveness
Dominant Gentle the extent to which one fulfills
Independent Kind gender role expectations; and sees
the world through a gendered lens.
Persistent Needs approval
Self-reliant Understanding

According to Bem, there WAS evidence of a bipolar M-F dimension that reflected
gender identity specifically. In other words, most people tended to IDENTIFY as either
masculine or feminine.
Femininity & Masculinity Today…
In recent years, F-M measures have often failed to find between-sex
differences in self-ascriptions of gender stereotypical traits (e.g., Abele,
2000; Evans & Sieverding, 2014; Sczesny et al., 2004).

Presumably due to changes in gender roles across the decades (Wilde and
Diekman, 2005; Ebert et al., 2014).

But some have suggested that the scales simply no longer tap the relevant
variables for which sex differences persist (Kachel et al., 2016).

As such, many have attempted to measure other aspects of femininity and

masculinity to account for the multiple dimensions they are reflected in,
such as appearance, behaviours, attitudes, and interests (e.g., Lippa, 2005;
Kachel et al., 2016; Spence and Buckner, 2000).
Femininity & Masculinity Today…
But modern measures of F-M still take the approach that femininity
and masculinity are socially determined (e.g., Kachel et al., 2016).

Mirroring Sandra Bem’s approach, scales tend to address how people

relate or conform to social standards. They do not assume that F and
M are inherently sex-linked traits.
Gender Diagnosticity Score (Lippa & Connelly, 1990)
An alternative method for measuring social differences between
women and men based on their roles and preferences, compared to
indices such as the BSRI that are based on gender stereotypes.

Designed to estimate the probability of being male or female, based

on some gender-related diagnostic indicator.

Scores are often interpreted as “femininity” and “masculinity.”

Not intended to “diagnose” gender identity!

You can try this test here: https://surveydata.online/gdia

Etiology of Sex Differences
Consider the possible causes of these observed sex
differences…

Are they the result of genetic or biological differences between males

and females?
Can we understand them from an evolutionary perspective?
Do they arise due to socialization? What role does parenting play?
Are they a matter of learning and reinforcement?
Does culture have anything to do with them? Or the media?

To be explored in Lectures/Chapters 3 & 4.

Shortcomings in the Psychological Study
of Sex and Gender
There have been a number of shortcomings with the historical
study of sex differences in psychology…

• Androcentrism (i.e., males are the norm).

• Exaggeration of differences and stereotype reinforcement.
• Reliance on sex/gender binaries and cisgender people.
• Lack of diversity and concerns regarding generalizability.
• Insufficient attention to intersectionality.
How do we address these challenges?

Researchers working within a postpositivism framework offer a

set of guidelines for conducting gender-fair research.

These researchers view empirical investigation as a useful,

although inherently flawed, method for acquiring knowledge
(Eagly and Riger, 2014).
Guidelines for Gender-Fair Research
Researchers should…

• work to eliminate sex bias from sampling and always report the
demographic characteristics of their samples.
• use precise, non-gender-biased, non-evaluative terminology
when describing their participants and research findings.
• not exaggerate the prevalence and magnitude of sex differences.
• not imply or state that sex differences are due to biological
causes when biological factors have not been properly tested.
• engage in more critical reflection about their research questions,
methods, and findings.
Addressing Diversity Issues
Proponents of intersectionality argue that examining single identities
in isolation (e.g., comparing women and men, without taking race,
class, etc. into consideration) lacks meaning because it is the
intersection of multiple identities that shapes a person.

Psychology would benefit from more ethnic, racial, and class

diversity among its professional ranks (Eagly, 2013).

Researchers should strive to diversify their research samples, not

just within the United States but cross-culturally as well.

Researchers should expand the number of demographic questions

routinely asked of participants in their studies to capture a wider
range of identities than is typically measured.
Learning Objectives for this Lecture
Discuss the benefits of a scientific approach to sex and gender.
Name and describe issues and concerns in research (generally and
specific to sex and gender).
Describe how psychologists study sex differences, noting key
considerations (e.g., d statistic, meta-analyses, variance).
Define the maximalist and minimalist approaches to sex differences
(and the gender similarity hypothesis).
Discuss some of the key research findings on psychological sex
differences (e.g., aggression, emotionality).
Summarize the history of the research on femininity-masculinity.
Identify and discuss the shortcomings in the study of sex and gender.
Discuss ways to help address these shortcomings.
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© 2020 David King

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