Personality Countries with more gender-equality have more personality differences between sexes

[Jovialis]

The self-rated personalities of men and women differ more in more gender-equal countries, according to recent research from the University of Gothenburg, University West and the University of Skövde.

In the study over 130,000 people from 22 different countries filled in a validated personality test. The test measured the "big five" personality traits (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism), regarded as the most accepted categorization within personality research.

The average differences between men and women's personality scores were computed for each country and then compared with the country's gender equality level as measured by the World Economic Forum.

Replicating past research, the study showed that higher levels of gender equality were associated with larger differences in personality between the sexes. Countries with very high levels of gender equality, such as Sweden and Norway, showed differences in personality between the sexes that were around twice as large as countries with substantially lower levels of gender equality, such as China and Malaysia.

Furthermore, women generally rated themselves as more worried (neuroticism), social (extraversion), inquisitive (openness), caring (agreeableness) and responsible (conscientiousness) than men, and these relative differences were larger in gender equal countries.

"Insofar as these traits can be classified as stereotypically feminine, our interpretation of the data is that as countries become more progressive men and women gravitate towards their traditional gender norms. But, we really don't know why it is like this, and sadly our data does not let us tease out the causal explanations," says Erik Mac Giolla, Ph.D. in Psychology.

"A possible explanation is that people in more progressive and equal countries have a greater opportunity to express inherent biological differences. Another theory is that people in progressive countries have a greater desire to express differences in their identity through their gender," says Petri Kajnoius, Associate Professor in Psychology and Behavioral Measurements.

A combination of social role theory and evolutionary perspectives may ultimately be needed to explain these findings.

Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2018-10-personality-differences-sexes-largest-gender.html#jCp

 

[Angela]

The self-rated personalities of men and women differ more in more gender-equal countries, according to recent research from the University of Gothenburg, University West and the University of Skövde.

In the study over 130,000 people from 22 different countries filled in a validated personality test. The test measured the "big five" personality traits (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism), regarded as the most accepted categorization within personality research.

The average differences between men and women's personality scores were computed for each country and then compared with the country's gender equality level as measured by the World Economic Forum.

Replicating past research, the study showed that higher levels of gender equality were associated with larger differences in personality between the sexes. Countries with very high levels of gender equality, such as Sweden and Norway, showed differences in personality between the sexes that were around twice as large as countries with substantially lower levels of gender equality, such as China and Malaysia.

Furthermore, women generally rated themselves as more worried (neuroticism), social (extraversion), inquisitive (openness), caring (agreeableness) and responsible (conscientiousness) than men, and these relative differences were larger in gender equal countries.

"Insofar as these traits can be classified as stereotypically feminine, our interpretation of the data is that as countries become more progressive men and women gravitate towards their traditional gender norms. But, we really don't know why it is like this, and sadly our data does not let us tease out the causal explanations," says Erik Mac Giolla, Ph.D. in Psychology.

"A possible explanation is that people in more progressive and equal countries have a greater opportunity to express inherent biological differences. Another theory is that people in progressive countries have a greater desire to express differences in their identity through their gender," says Petri Kajnoius, Associate Professor in Psychology and Behavioral Measurements.

A combination of social role theory and evolutionary perspectives may ultimately be needed to explain these findings.

Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2018-10-personality-differences-sexes-largest-gender.html#jCp

I don't know why it's so, but maybe it's just another first world problem. People in the rest of the world are more focused on trying to survive than worrying or even thinking about things like this.

Also, look at things like women rating themselves as more responsible than men. In the second and third world, men want to have families, and they know if they don't take care of them they could die. In our world, a lot of men know they don't have to take care of their family in the same kind of ways, i.e. from physical danger, and the women or the state will feed their children etc., so they can just absolve themselves of responsibility.

Women in third world countries often can't be as "open", because it's more dangerous, especially around men.

I could go on and on.

Much of what is published in the social sciences should be taken with a whole bunch of salt, because it's based on culture specific norms. That's in addition to the fact that we're finding out many of those results can't even be replicated in the west because they used very small samples, questionable methodology, and had obvious inherent bias.

 

[halfalp]

I don't know why it's so, but maybe it's just another first world problem. People in the rest of the world are more focused on trying to survive than worrying or even thinking about things like this.

Also, look at things like women rating themselves as more responsible than men. In the second and third world, men want to have families, and they know if they don't take care of them they could die. In our world, a lot of men know they don't have to take care of their family in the same kind of ways, i.e. from physical danger, and the women or the state will feed their children etc., so they can just absolve themselves of responsibility.

Women in third world countries often can't be as "open", because it's more dangerous, especially around men.

I could go on and on.

Much of what is published in the social sciences should be taken with a whole bunch of salt, because it's based on culture specific norms. That's in addition to the fact that we're finding out many of those results can't even be replicated in the west because they used very small samples, questionable methodology, and had obvious inherent bias.

Absolutely OK with all this.