Analysis: Differences between the sexes largely exaggerated

Aiming to dispel misplaced – and widely prevalent – stereotypes about the differences between men and women, a scientist has finally confirmed what many have intuitively known for years: psychologically, at least, the two sexes are basically the same.

Janet Hyde, a psychologist at UW–Madison and an expert on the psychology of women, distilled the results of 46 large-scale studies on gender differences into one over-arching analysis. In the case of most traits, such as self-esteem and mathematical ability, Hyde found that men and women live on the same page – and not in different books altogether.

Reported in the Sept. 19 issue of the journal American Psychologist, Hyde’s work strives to lessen the hidden costs of faulty social beliefs that she says have been perpetuated by the public and mass media.

The false stereotype that men make better leaders, for instance, may have caused numerous women with leadership potential to miss key opportunities in their lives. Similarly, Hyde adds, the notion that adolescent girls have lower self-esteem than boys is another mistruth that comes with potential side effects.

“If we keep thinking that girls are the ones with all the self-esteem issues, then we miss all the boys with low self-esteem,” says Hyde. “And those are the boys who may end up doing something like Columbine.”

The recent work is also important because it finally addresses a pervasive public question with a rigorous scientific approach, says Hyde. “Finding unambiguous scientific evidence of similarities between the sexes can open our eyes to phenomena that we routinely see but miss due to public perceptions about gender differences.”

In compiling her analysis, Hyde explored the relationship of gender to an array of psychological traits, including cognitive abilities, verbal and nonverbal communication, psychological wellbeing and motor behaviors like throwing distance.

In 78 percent of cases, Hyde found little or no difference between the sexes, though she did find that men display more physical aggression and throw much farther than women. Men also deal differently, Hyde found, with certain aspects of sexuality.

To continue eroding misconceptions about gender difference, meanwhile, “We have to continue providing the right education and doing the right science,” the psychologist says.