Antecedents of Gender Differences*

Abstract

Almost any discussion of differences between the sexes in cognitive function, including that of whether such differences are an appropriate focus of . scientific inquiry, is inherently controversial. Debates prevail about virtually every aspect of the issue: whether the differences are meaningful, how they should be studied, whether they should be reported; and, perhaps most consequentially, what causes the differences in the first place.One may ask why it is necessary to explore potential cause or, at least, antecedents of the test performance data that are the substance of this book, H the differences, exist, why should it matter how they came to be? The answer, of course, is that attributions about cause have everything to do with how the differences are treated. H the causes are perceived as relatively immutable, or changeable only over geologic time periods, the response will be inaction and (perhaps reluctant) acceptance. If, on the other hand, the diagnosis is that the causes lie within domains of human effort, those who seek to eradicate the differences will be inspired and helped to devise remedial strategies. Thus, the ways in which we respond to questions about sex differences --and, indeed, the ways in which we pose these questions --have important implications for education, social policy, and parenting.Men and women lead very different lives. Some of the more verifiable dimensions of the difference involve the occupations and earnings of men and women, their relative participation in specific activities, and their relative risk for particular psychiatric and psychological disorders. For example, despite recent changes in the social roles of men and women and the fact that increasing numbers of females are entering traditionally male occupations, women are considerably less likely than men to major in science, mathematics, or engineering Supplement: Section I -2-in college and to seek careers in these fields. Women who worked full-time in 1989 earned 66 cents for every dollar earned by men, an increase of only seven cents since 1968. More than 60% of all adults currently living below the poverty line in the Unites States are women. Women are totally absent from professional baseball, basketball, and soccer. Eating disorders (obesity, anorexia, and bulimia) are much more common in females than males, and men are more likely to be diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, mental retardation, and schizoid disorders, among other psychiatric conditions.Attempts to explain the differences between males and females in cognitive functioning fall into two major classes: biological and psychosocial factors. The former include genetic influences on cognitive performance, the contribution of sex hormones, and the possibility of differential brain structures. The latter include a wide range of social and psychological factors: sex roles and sex-role stereotypes, socialization processes throughout the life cycle, individual differences, and educational experiences. It is often assumed that the two classes of exp...

The importance of breaking set

“…Possibly because of these limitations, many scholars have dropped any biological component from their explanations of the gender disparity in mathematics, and those who have not frequently espouse dual-stranded theories that incorporate both biological and social influences (Benbow, 1988;Halpern, 2000;Wilder, 1997).…”