Interpretations and societal implications of sex differences in personality
This essay will discuss the problems with viewing self-reported personality differences between men and women as representative of actual differences stemming from innate causes. It will discuss how self-reported differences may not be representative of actual differences. It will also discuss the possible causes of self-reported differences, such as gendered socialisation, affecting people’s perceptions of their personalities and abilities. It will also discuss the potential harms to women caused by viewing gendered stereotypes of people’s personalities and abilities as both accurate and unchangeable. The field of research into gender differences in personality has been criticised for viewing findings through an essentialist lens. Meaning findings in personality differences are explained as being due to innate difference, as opposed to being caused by gendered socialisation. The self-report method used by much personality research has been criticised as it is subject to influence ...