A Cross-Cultural
Analysis of the Behavior of Women and Men:
Implications for the Origins of Sex Differences
Wendy Wood
and Alice H. Eagly
Abstract
Theories of the origins of sex differences in human
behavior are evaluated with a review of the cross-cultural literature
that addresses the uniformity versus variability in sex-differentiated
behavior. We consider the behavior of women and men in a wide
range of societies, especially the activities that contribute
to the sex-typed division of labor and patriarchy. To explain
these cross-cultural findings, we propose a biosocial theory that
emphasizes the interaction between the physical specialization
of the sexes, especially female reproductive capacity, and the
economic and social structural aspects of societies. This approach
treats the psychological attributes of women and men as emergent
given the evolved characteristics of the sexes, their developmental
experiences, and their situated activity in society.
This working paper has been published in the Psychological
Bulletin.
Wendy Wood, Department of Psychology,
Texas A&M University Alice H. Eagly, Department of Psychology, Northwestern
University
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