Summary: Sex Differences In The Brain

However in regards to general results between both genders it was shown that no definite statistical mean yielded notable results (Alansari & Baroun, 2004). Stroop (1935) also showed that women college students also showed a difference when compared to the men and tended to have higher word reading results, but in regards to the genders showed no significant differentiation between both at the cognitive level.

Gender roles have caused strain over decades to not only females, but recently males as well. There are many attributes that humans have associated with each gender, causing a divide between sexes not only with each other, but also separating the two into almost completely different species. Due to this categorizing which is placed on gender, there can be a declining value of a person or even a higher hand given to the one gender which is seen as more powerful to society.

‘Women produce children; women are mothers and wives; women do the cooking, cleaning, sewing and washing; they take care of men and are subordinate to male authority; they are largely excluded from high-status occupations and from positions of power.’ (Haralambous and Holborn 1995, Sociology Themes and Perspectives, HarperCollins Publishers) These stereotypes have come from our past and have now become quite frequently used in today’s society. Women have been seen as the maintainers of the household while the men go out to work and earn a living. “When our ancient ancestors switched to hunting as a way of life, the relationship between males and females was dramatically

Assumptions about gender are embedded in scientific bias. In Cordelia Fine’s From Scanner to Sound Bite: Issues in Interpreting and Reporting Sex Differences in the Brain, the author examines four scientific issues that are overlooked about sex differences in the brain. She concludes that there are numerous misinterpretations of neuroimaging research that ultimately influence gender biases, and society should be cautious when reading these articles about sex differences.

According to sociobiology our sex, or, our biological differences are what determines our gender. Sociobiologists suggest that biological elements such as our hormones, chromosomes and the size of our brain are what influence our behaviour and consequently what differentiates our gender. Because men produce more testosterone and androgens than women, which are linked to strength and aggression, sociobiologists argue that this explains men’s dominant and aggressive behaviour. (Haralambos & Holborn, 2000)

Differences in brain structure between males and females result in important differences in perceptions, emotional expressions, priorities and behaviors. (*) Relationship traits, problem solving approaches, mathematical abilities, reactions to stress, language, emotions, brain size, pain perception, spatial ability and susceptibility to disorders are just some areas in which men and women react differently because of their differences in brain structure. (*) To some scientists and theorists these many influential biological differences between men and women make gender roles inevitable. (*)

Infants of both genders have the same capacity for proficiency in math, but as they get older, more barriers seem to appear, which separate the results of males and females (Spelke). Women have one major barrier that men do not have: their responsibility to bear children and tend the household. This lead some females to believe that they do not have to excel in math and science fields, or at school in general, because they will one day stay at home and take care of their children and family. While women must focus on both their family and their studies, men can work and study without this pressure (Sternberg). Researchers have identified other differences between males and females, including advanced spatial skills in males and superior verbal skills in females (Spelke). The studies collected, however, do not supply sufficient information on gender differences, and therefore lack enough data to support any findings

Slaby and Frey also found that boys tend to reach gender consistency before girls. This difference can't be explained by Kohlberg, since the rate of cognitive maturation is the same for both sexes. This suggests that other factors, apart from cognitive changes, must be taken into account when explaining gender

But they couldn’t be more wrong. Victoria M. Indivero of Penn State News’s ‘Sex segregation in schools, detrimental to equality’ say,”Neuroscientist have found a few difference between male and female brains, but none have been linked to different learning styles.” And to further back up this claim, I have Gina Rippon of Neuroscience News’s ‘Are Female and Male brains really different.’Which states,”It can be shown that a ‘characteristically male’ density of dendritic spines or branches of a neuro cell can be changed to the ‘female’ form simply by the application of a mild external stress. Biological sex alone cannot explain brain differences; to do so requires an understanding of how, when, and to what extent external events affect the struggle of the brain.” So as you can see the gender of the host does not determine nor change any aspect on the brain. It all has to do with the uniqueness of the brain and what happens outside it to the rest of the body that determines exactly what is need for living and learning. For example, if someone had been in a traumatizing car accident, but he was a young boy, it would be best not to stick him into a classroom that is littered with pictures and pictures of cars because they are seen as ‘boyish’. The things we do and happen to us as people

In the book the male brain, the author makes a point that there are many differences between boys and girls ; its all about the brain and hormones that makes the differences. "Hormones can determine what the brain is interested in doing. Their purpose is to help guide social, sexual, mating, parenting, protective and aggressive behaviors (Brizendine)" . Men were born to be different than girls ; ever since a boy is born without the influence and pressure by surrounding, boys can act different than girls naturally. The author of The Make Brain has developed nine topic regarding to the male brain. The nine topic consist of The Boy Brain, The Teen Boy Brain, The Mating Brain, The Brain below the belt, The Daddy Brain,

I found the article Women’s Brains to be highly interesting and filled with many different opinions on an assumption. At first, I thought the article was going to be a man bashing the intelligence of a woman. I don’t believe that I was entirely wrong about men thinking little of women. As I read more of the article I believe he was just trying to prove the difference in the size of the brain between men and women. The scientist did have some scientific studies to back up his assumptions of women, even though I find them to be a bit bias. Broca’s experiment did involve some testing but not all the variables were the same. Within his autopsy study it proved to be that a man has a larger brain than woman, therefore, he believed it was impossible

In her paper on the biological differences in cognition between men and women, Doreen Kimura suggests that the social differences between genders arose out of biological necessity (Kimura 46). Even so, it is difficult to argue that social factors do play a large part in gender in society today. A closer look at both biological and social perspectives will reveal more about the processes that determine gender roles.

Studies have also been carried out into whether or not there are differences between male and female brain size and whether this affects how we relate to each other in terms of gender. Simon Baron-Cohen believes that male brains are wired towards systematic understanding and females are wired towards empathy. In addition he says that this is not necessarily always the case but the majority are wired in this way: “Both sexes have their strengths and weaknesses. Neither sex is superior overall.” (Baron-Cohen, S. 2003).

Knowing the differences in the brain begins to give some understanding on how and why females and males learn differently. There are many basic differences in learning. Like stated previously females are better at verbal skills which makes them better at reading and writing and causes them to use words as they learn, and males are better

Before examining particular societies, the general notions of patriarchy must be established. Generally, women were considered inferior to men, but each facet of society provides a distinctive insight into gender roles. A fundamental difference between the two genders was that the responsibility of a man was to be a member of the public, whereas the responsibility of a woman was to be in the home. Social norms defined men as “rulers, warriors, scholars, and heads of households” (Ways of the World 59). Even if a man had little