January 4, 2012

expert reaction to new research into gender differences, as published in PLoS One

Researchers from Torino and Manchester looked at current methods of measuring personality differences between the sexes.

Janet Hyde, Professor of Psychology and Women’s Studies, University of Wisconsin – Madison, said:

“I proposed the Gender Similarities Hypothesis, which states that males and females are very similar on most psychological variables, basing the assertion on accumulated data from hundreds of studies that tested millions of people. Del Giudice and colleagues challenge this hypothesis in the case of personality, arguing that men and women are vastly different. However, their statistical method leads to uninterpretable results. The scientific evidence still shows that, contrary to stereotypes, men and women are quite similar on a wide array of psychological qualities.”

‘The Distance Between Mars and Venus: Measuring Global Sex Differences in Personality’ by Del Giudice et al, published in PLoS ONE on Wednesday 4th January 2012.