Tutorial 9 - Article 2 - Personality and gender differences in global perspective

Question 1

What is social role theory?

Answer 1

The idea that gender stereotypes and differences mostly find their origin in how society has determined and upholds the different roles for men and women, and the resulting behavioral expectations

Question 2

How does social role theory predict gender differences in personality across cultures?

Answer 2

Social role theorists would expect gender differences in personality to be smaller in more egalitarian cultures, where the roles of men and women aren’t as contrasting or different

Question 3

What do empirical studies say in terms of gender differences in personality across cultures?

Answer 3

most aspects of personality (big five traits, self-esteem, SWB, depression and values) are larger in cultures with more egalitarian gender roles

Question 4

What implications does this have?

Answer 4

Social role theory seems inadequate for explaining some of the observed cultural variations in men’s and women’s personalities. Perhaps evolutionary theories may prove more useful