Gender differences in personality

Henslin (1999:76) contends that "an important part of socialization is the learning of culturally defined gender roles." Gender socialization refers to the learning of behavior and attitudes considered appropriate for a given sex. Boys learn to be boys and girls learn to be girls. This "learning" happens by way of many different agents of socialization. (Wikipedia)

'''This theory of socialization is common among sociologists to describe the personality differences between genders. In order to measure for gendered personality, we must take this information into account'''

Personality differences between gender from infancy
If gendered roles are learned, personality traits between male and female neonates and infants should be statistically insignificant.

Literature of gendered differences of neonates
On average, infant girls


 * show more interest in object with human attributes than boys and show less interest in objects like balls and vehicles
 * this divide of toys is additionally found within primates
 * cry longer than boys in response to hearing another baby crying (proxy for primitive empathetic reaction)
 * hold eye contact with an adult human longer than boys do
 * show more expressions of joy than boys at the appearance of the mother
 * are more responsive to maternal vocalizations than infant boys
 * are more likely to initiate and respond to joint attention

A meta-analysis of 20 studies shows that infant girls have higher levels of facial processing (weighted effect size of +0.92)

While there are some inconsistencies in the literature, the general findings show that there are significant detectable differences between neonates and infants in measurable personality traits

Gender gap of personality differences between societal egality
If gendered roles are reinforced by society, personality traits between male and females should decrease in more gender-equitable societies.

Literature of gender personality factored by gender equality

 * Costa, Terracciano, and McCrae (2001)