Abstract
The evolutionary neurological and physical foundations for human sex differences in language, sexuality, and visual spatial skills are detailed and primate and human studies are reviewed. Trends in the division of labor were established early in evolution and became amplified with the emergence of the “big brained” Homo erectus. A bigger brain necessitated a size increase in the birth canal and female pelvis. These and other physical changes, e.g., the swelling of the breasts and buttocks, may have paralleled the evolution of full-time sexual receptivity, the establishment of the home base, and exaggerated sex differences in the division of labor (hunting vs. gathering), which in turn promoted innate sex differences in visual spatial vs. language skills. For example, female primates produce more social and emotional vocalizations and engage in more tool use and gathering activities, whereas males tend to hunt and kill. Similar labor divisions are evident over the course of human evolution. “Woman's work” such as child rearing, gathering, and domestic tool construction and manipulation contributed to the functional evolution of Broca's speech area and the angular gyrus—which injects temporal sequences and complex concepts into the stream of language and thought. These activities gave rise, therefore, to a female superiority in grammatical (temporal sequential) vocabulary-rich language. Hunting as a way of life does not require speech but requires excellent visual–spatial skills and, thus, contributed to a male visual–spatial superiority and sex difference in the brain. Over the course of evolution males acquired modern human speech through genetic inheritance and because they had mothers who taught them language.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.
REFERENCES
Aboitiz, F., and Garcia V. A. (1997). The evolutionary origin of the language areas of the brain. A neuroanatomical perspective. Brain Res.Rev. 25: 381–396.
Ainsworth, M. D. S., and Witig, B. A. (1969). Attachment and Exploratory Behavior of One Year Olds in a Strange Situation, Lawrence Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ.
Barrett, M. (1996). Early lexical development. In Fletcher, P., and MacWhinney, B. (eds.), The Handbook of Child Language, Blackwell, New York, pp. 363–392.
Bayart, F., Hayashi, K. T., Faull, K. F., Barchas, J. D., and Levine, S. (1990). Influence of maternal proximity on behavioral and physiological responses to separation in infant rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta). Behav.Neurosci. 104: 98–107.
Bayley, N. (1968). Behavioral correlates of mental growth. Am.Psychol.23: 1–17.
Beach, F. (1965). Sex and Behavior, Wiley, New York.
Beatty, W. W. (1992). Gonadal hormones and sex differences in nonreproductive behaviors. In Gerall, A. A., Moltz, H., and Ward, I. L. (eds.), Handbook of Behavioral Neurobiology, Vol. 11.Sexual Differentiation, Plenum, New York, pp. 85–128.
Belsky, J., Gilstrap, B., and Rovine, M. (1984).The Pennsylvania infant and family development project. I. Child Dev. 55: 692–705.
Benbow, C. P., and Benbow, R. M. (1984). Biological correlates of high mathematical reasoning ability. In De Vries, G. J., De Bruin, J. P. C., Uylings, H. B. M., and Corner, M. A. (eds.), Progress in Brain Research, Vol.61.Sex Differences in the Brain, Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 469–490.
Berman, P. (1983). Children's nurturance to younger children. Soc.Res.Child Dev. 27: 33–67.
Berman, P., and Goodman,W. (1984). Age and sex differences in childrens responses to babies. Child Dev. 55: 1071–1077.
Blakemore, J. E. O. (1981). Age and sex differences in interactions with a human infant. Child Dev. 52: 386–388.
Blakemore, J. E. O. (1985). Interaction with a baby by young adults. Sex Roles 13: 405–411.
Blakemore, J. E. O. (1990). Children's nurturant interactions with their infant siblings. Sex Roles 22: 43–57.
Blakemore, J. E. O., Baumgardner, S. R., and Keniston, A. H. (1988). Male and female nurturing. Sex Roles 18: 449–459.
Bradshaw, J. L., and Rogers, L. J. (1992). The Evolution of Lateral Asymmetries, Language, Tool Use, and Intellect, Academic Press, San Diego.
Brend, R. (1975). Male-female intonation patterns in American English. In Thorne, B., and Henley, N. (eds.), Language and Sex, Newbury House, Boston.
Brody, L. (1985). Gender differences in emotional develoment. A review of theories and research. In Steward, A., and Lyko, M. (eds.), Gender and Personality, Duke University Press, Durham, NC.
Broverman, D. M., Vogel, W., Klaiber, E. L., Majcher, D., Shead, D., and Paul, V. (1968). Roles of activation and inhibition in sex differences in cognitive abilities. Psychol.Rev. 48: 328–331.
Buck, R. (1977). Nonverbal communication of affect in preschool children. J.Personal.Soc.Psychol. 35: 225–236.
Buck, R. (1984). The Communication of Emotion, Guilford, New York.
Buck, R., Miller, R., and Caul,W. (1974). Sex, personality and physiological variables in communication of affect via facial expressions. J.Personal.Soc.Psychol. 30: 587–596.
Buck, R., Baron, R., and Barrette, D. (1982). The temporal organization of spontaneous nonverbal expression. J.Personal.Soc.Psychol. 42: 506–517.
Burton, L. A., and Levy, J. (1989). Sex differences in the lateralized processing of facial emotion. Brain Cogn. 11: 210–228.
Bygott, J. D. (1979). Agonistic behviour, dominance, and social structure in wild chimpanzees. In Hamburg, D. A., and McGown, E. R. (eds.), The Great Apes, Benjamin/Cummings, Menlo Park, CA.
Campbell, C. C. (1985). Human Evolution, Aldine, New York.
Card, A. L., Jackson, L. A., Stollak, G. E., and Ialongo, N. S. (1986). Gender role and person-perception accuracy. Sex Roles 15: 159–171.
Carpenter, C. R. (1942). Sexual behavior of the free ranging rhesus monkey. J.Comp.Psychol. 33: 113–162.
Chauvet, J.-M., Deschamps, E. B., and Hillaire, C. (1996). Dawn of Art: The Chauvet Cave, H. N. Abrams, New York.
Clark, G. (1967). The Stone Age Hunters, McGraw-Hill, New York.
Clark, J. G. D. (1952). Prehistoric Europe: The Economic Basis, Methuen, London.
Clark, J. D., and Harris, J.W. K. (1985). Fire and its role in early hominid lifeways. Afr.Archaeol.Rev. 3: 3–27.
Clarke-Stewart, K. A. (1978). And daddy makes three. The father's impact on the mother and young child. Child Dev. 44: 466–478.
Clayton, D. E. (1932). A comparative study of the non-nervous elements in the nervous system of invertebrates. J.Entomol.Zool. 24: 3–22.
Coleman, R. (1971). Male and female voice quality and its relationship to vowel formant frequencies. J.Speech Hear.Res. 14: 123–133.
Comas, J. (1960). Manual of Physical Anthropology, Thomas, Chicago.
Conroy, G. C. (1998). Endocranial capacity in an early hominid cranium from Sterkfontein South Africa. Science 280: 1730–1732.
Cook, L. S., Darling, J. R., Voigt, L. F., deHart, P. M., Malone, K. E., Stanford, J. L., Weiss, N. S., Brinton, L. A., Gammon, M. D., and Brogan, D. (1997). Characteristics of women with and without breast augmentation. JAMA 277: 1612–1617.
Cooper, R. P., and Aslin, R. N. (1990). Preference for infant-directed speech in the first month after birth. Child Dev. 61: 1584–1595.
Corballis M. C., and Beale, I. L. (1983). The Ambivalent Mind: The Neuropsychology of Left and Right, Nelson-Hall, Chicago.
Corina, D. P., Poizner, H., and Bellugi, U. (1992).Dissociation between linguistic and nonlinguistic gestural systems: A case for compositionality. Brain Lang. 43: 414–447.
Cornford, J. M. (1986). Specialized resharpening techniques and evidence of handedness. In Callow, P., and Cornford, J. M. (eds.), Excavations, Geo Books, New York.
Cross, H. A., and Harlow, H. F. (1965). Prolonged and progressive effect of partial isolation on the behavior of macaque monkeys. J.Exp.Res.Person. 1: 39–49.
Dahlberg, F. (1981). Woman the Gatherer, Yale University Press, New Haven, CT.
Dart (1949). The predatory implemental technique of Australopithecus. Am.J.Phys.Anthropol. 7: 1–38.
Dawson, J. L. M., Cheung, Y. M., and Lau, R. T. S. (1975). Developmental effects of neonatal sex hormones on spatial and activity skills in the white rat. Biol.Psychiatry 3: 213–229.
Day,M.H. (1982). TheHomoerectus pelvis: Punctuation or gradualism. Proc.1st Congr.Int.Paleontol.Hum. 1: 411–421.
Day, M. H. (1996). Guide to Fossil Man, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
DeRenzi, E., and Lucchetti, F. (1988). Ideational apraxia. Brain 111: 1173–1185.
Devore, I. (1964). Primate behavior. In Tax, S. (ed.), Horizons of Anthropology, Aldine, Chicago.
Devore, I. (1977). Male dominance and mating behavior in baboons. In Beach, F. A. (ed.), Sex and Behavior, Wiley, New York.
Edelsky, C. (1979). Question intonation and sex role. Lang.Soc. 8: 15–32.
Ehrhardt, A. K., and Baker, W. W. (1974). Fetal angrodgens, Human central nervous system differentation and behavior sex differences. In Freidman R. C., Richart, and VandeWiele (eds.), Sex Differences in Behavior, Wiley, New York.
Eisenberg, N., Fabes, R. A., and Miller, P. A. (1989). Relation of sympathy and personal distress to prosocial behavior. J.Person.Soc.Psychol. 57: 55–66.
Elia, I. (1988). The Female Animal, Holt, New York.
Erwin, J. (1975). Rhesus monkey vocal sounds. In Bourne, G. (ed.), The Rhesus Monkey, Academic Press, New York.
Fedigan, L. (1992). Primates and Paradigms: Sex Roles and Social Bonds, Elden Press, Montreal.
Fernald, A. (1991). Prosody in speech to children: Prelinguistic and linguistic functions. In Vasta, R. (ed.), Annals of Child Development, Academic Press, San Diego.
Fernald, A. (1992). Meaningful melodies in mother's speech to infants. In Papousek, H., Jurgens, U., and Paplousek, M. (eds.), Origins and Development of Nonverbal Communication: Evolutionary, Comparative, and Metholodogical Aspects, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Fernald, A. (1993). Approval and disaproval: Infant responsiveness to vocal affect in familiar and unfamiliar languages. Child Dev. 64: 657–674.
Fernald, A., Taescherner, T., Dunn, J., Papousek, M., Boysson-Bardies, B., and Fukui, I. (1989). A cross-language study of prosodic modifications in mothers' and fathers' speech to preverbal infants. J.Child Lang. 16: 477–501.
Foester, O. (1936). The motor cortex of man in light of Hughlings Jackson's doctrines. Brain 59: 135–159.
Ford, C. S., and Beach, F. A. (1951). Patterns of Sexual Behavior, Harper, New York.
Fox, P. T. (1995). Broca's area. Motor encoding in somatic space. Behav.Brain Sci. 18: 344–345.
Frodi, A. M., and Lamb, M. E. (1978). Sex differences in responsiveness to infants. Child Dev. 49: 1182–1188.
Frodi, A. M., Lamb, M. E., Hwang, C. P., and Frodi, M. (1982). Father-mother-infant interaction in traditional and nontraditional Swedish families. Altern.Lifestyles 4: 6–13.
Fuchs, D., and Thelen, M. H. (1988). Children's expected interpersonal consequences of communicating their affective state and reported likelihood of expression. Child Dev. 59: 1314–1322.
Gannon, P. J. (1998). Asymmetry of chimpanzee planum temporal: Humanlike pattern of Wernicke's area homolog. Science 279: 348–351.
Geschwind, N. (1965). Disconnexion syndromes in animals and man. Brain 88: 585–644.
Geschwind, N., and Levitsky, W. (1968). Human brain: Left right asymmetries in temporal speech regions. Science 161: 186–187.
Gilbert, D. (1969). The young child's awareness of affect. Child Dev. 40: 629–640.
Gilligan, C. (1982). In a Different Voice, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
Gladue, B. A., and Bailey, M. J. (1995). Spatial ability, handedness, and human sexual orientation. Psychoendocrinology 20: 487–497.
Gladue, B. A., Beatty, W., Larson, J., and Staton, D. (1990). Sexual orientation and spatial ability in men and women. Psychobiology 18: 101–108.
Glass, L. (1992). He Says, She Says, G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York.
Glees, P., Cole, J., Whitty, C.W. M., and Cairns, H. (1950).The effects of lesions in the cingulate gyrus and adjacent areas in monkeys. J.Neurol.Neurosurg.Psychiat. 13: 178–190.
Goldberg, H. (1976). The Hazards of Being Male, Plainville Press, Nashville.
Goodall, J. (1971). In the Shadow of Man, Houghton Mifflin, Boston.
Goodall, J. (1986). The Chimpanzees of the Gombe: Patterns of Behavior, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Goodall, J. (1990). Through a Window, Houghton Mifflin, Boston.
Goodglass, H., and Kaplan, E. (2000). Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination, Lange, New York.
Gordon, T., and Draper, T. W. (1982). Sex bias against male day care workers. Child Care Q. 10: 15–17.
Greenfield, P. M. (1992). Language, tools and brain: The ontology and phylogeny of hierarchically organized sequential behavior. Behav.Brain Sci. 14: 531–595.
Grine, F. E. (1988). Evolutionary History of the “Robust” Australopithecines, Aldine, New York.
Guiard, Y. G. (1983). Left-hand advantage in right-handers for spatial constant error: Preliminary evidence in a unimanual ballistic aimed movement. Neuropsychologia 21: 111–115.
Gusinde, M. (1961). The Yamana, Human Relations Area Files, New Haven, CT.
Haaland, K., and Harrington, D. L. (1990). The role of the right hemisphere in closed loop movements. Brain Cogn. 16: 104–122.
Hall, J. (1978). Gender effects in decoding nonverbal cues. Psychol.Rev. 85: 845–857.
Hamburg, D. A. (1971). Aggressive behavior of chimpanzees and baboons in natural habitats. J.Psychiatr.Res. 8: 385–398.
Hampson, E., and Kimura, D. (1992). Sex differences and hormonal influences on cognitive function in humans. In Becker, J. B., Breedlove, S. M., and Crews, D. (eds.), Behavioral Endocrinology, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, pp. 357–398.
Hamrick, M. W., and Inouye, S. E. (1995). Thumbs, tools and early humans. Science 268: 586–587.
Harackiewicz, J. N., and DePaulo, B. M. (1982). Accuracy of person perception. Personal.Soc.Psychol.Bull. 8: 247–256.
Harding, R. S. O., and Strum, S. C. (1978). The predatory baboons of Kekopey. Nat.Hist. 85: 46–53.
Harris, L. J. (1978). Sex differences in spatial ability. In Kinsbourne, M. (ed.), Asymmetrical Function of the Brain, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Harshman, R. A., Hampson, E., and Berenbaum, S. A. (1983). Individual differences in cognitive abilities. Part I: Sex and handedness differences in ability. Can.J.Psychol. 37: 144–192.
Hauser, M. D. (1997). The Evolution of Communication, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.
Hauser, M. D., and Anderson, K. (1994). Left hemisphere dominance for processing vocalizations in adult, but not infant rhesus monkeys: First experiments. Proc.Natl.Acad.Sci.USA 91: 3946–3948.
Heffner, H. E., and Heffner, R. S. (1984). Temporal lobe lesions and perception of species-specific vocalizations in macaques. Science 226: 75–76.
Heilman, K. M., Rothi, L. J., and Valenstein, E. (1982). Two forms of ideomotor apraxia. Neurology 32: 342–346.
Heller,W., and Levy, J. (1981). Perception and expression of emotion in right-handers and left-handers. Neuropsychologia 19: 263–272.
Hicks, R. E. (1975). Intrahemispheric response competition between vocal and unimanual performances in normal adult human males. J.Comp.Physiol.Psychol. 89: 50–60.
Holloway, R. L., Anderson, P. J., Defendini, R., and Harper, C. (1993). Sexual dimorphism of the human corpus callosum from three independent samples: Relative size of the corpus callosum. Am.J.Phys.Anthropol. 92: 481–498.
Hiatt, B. (1970).Woman the gatherer. In Gale, F. (ed),Woman's Role in Aboriginal Society, Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies, Canberra.
Hrdy, S. B. (1979). Infanticide among animals: A review, classification and examination of the implications for the reproductive strategies of females. Ethol.Sociobiol. 1: 13–40.
Hupfer, K., Jurgens, U., and Ploog, D. (1977). The effect of superior temporal lesions on recognition of species-specific calls in the squirrel monkey. Exp.Brain Res. 30: 75–87.
Hyde, J. S., and Linn, M. C. (1988). Gender differences in verbal ability: A meta-analysis. Psychol.Bull. 104: 53–69.
Hyvarinen, J. (1982). The Parietal Cortex of Monkey and Man, Spinger Verlag, Berlin.
Jacob, T. (1973). Morphology and paleocology of early man in Java. In Tuttle, R. H. (ed.), Paleoanthroplogy, Mouton, Paris, pp. 311–326.
Johnson, R. N. (1972). Aggression in Man and Animals, W. B. Saunders, Philadelphia.
Jolly, A. (1985). The Evolution of Primate Behavior, Macmillan, New York.
Joseph, R. (1979). Effects of rearing and sex on maze learning and competitive exploration. J.Psychol. 101: 37–43.
Joseph, R. (1982). The neuropsychology of development: Hemispheric laterality, limbic language, and the origin of thought. J.Clin.Psychol. 38: 3–34.
Joseph, R. (1985). Competition between women. Psychology 22: 1–11.
Joseph, R. (1988). The right cerebral hemisphere: Emotion, music, visual-spatial skills, body image, dreams, and awareness. J.Clin.Psychol. 44: 630–673.
Joseph, R. (1990). The left cerebral hemisphere: Aphasia, alexia, agraphia, agnosia, apraxia, schizophrenia, language and thought. In Puente, A. E., and Reynolds C. R. (ser. eds.), Neuropsychology, Neuropsychiatry, Behavioral Neurology, Plenum Press, New York.
Joseph, R. (1992a). Speculations on the evolution of mind, woman, man, and brain. In The Right Brain and the Unconscious, Plenum, New York.
Joseph, R. (1992b). The limbic system: Emotion, laterality, and unconscious mind. Psychoanal.Rev. 79: 405–456.
Joseph, R. (1993). The Naked Neuron: Evolution and the Languages of the Body and Brain, Plenum Press, New York.
Joseph, R. (1996a). Paleo-neurology and the evolution of the human mind and brain. In Neuropsychiatry, Neuropsychology, Clinical Neuroscience, Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore.
Joseph, R. (1996b). Limbic language, social-emotional intelligence, development and attachment. In Neuropsychiatry, Neuropsychology, Clinical Neuroscience, Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore.
Joseph, R. (1998). Traumatic amnesia, repression, and hippocampal injury due to corticosteroid and enkephalin secretion and stress. Child Psychiat.Hum.Dev.29: 169–186.
Joseph, R. (1999a). The limbic language/language axis theory of speech. Behav.Brain Sci. (in press).
Joseph, R. (1999b). Environmental influences on neuroplasticity, the limbic system, and emotional development. Child Psychiat.Hum.Dev. 29: 187–200.
Joseph, R. (1999c). The neurology of traumatic “dissociative” amnesia. Child Abuse Negl. 23: 715–727.
Joseph, R. (2000). The evolution of human female sexuality. In Clinical Neuroscience, Neuropsychology, Neuropsychiatry, Academic Press, San Diego.
Joseph, R., and Gallagher, R. E. (1980). Gender and early environmental influences on activity, overresponsiveness, and exploration. Dev.Psychobiol. 13: 527–544.
Joseph, R., Hess, S., and Birecree, E. (1978). Effects of sex hormone manipulations and exploration on sex differences in maze learning. Behav.Biol. 24: 364–377.
Jurgens, U. (1990). Vocal communication in primates. In Kesner, R. P., and Olton, D. S. (eds.), Neurobiology of Comparative Cognition, Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ.
Jurgens, U., Kirzinger, A., and von Cramon, D. (1982). The effects of deep-reaching lesions in the cortical face area on phonation. A combined case report and experimental monkey study. Cortex 18: 125–140.
Kaas, J. H. (1993). The functional organization of somatosensory cortex in primates. Ann.Anat. 175: 509–518.
Kaufman, C. (1974). Mother and infant relationships in monkeys and humans. In White, N. F. (ed.), Ethology and Psychiatry, Toronto Press, Toronto, p. 51.
Kemper, T. (1978). Toward a sociology of emotions. Am.Soci. 13: 30–41.
Kimura, D. (1993). Neuromotor Mechanisms in Human Communication, Oxford University Press, New York.
Kimura, D., and Harshman, R. A. (1984). Sex differences in brain organization for verbal and nonverbal functions. Prog.Brain Res. 61: 423–441.
Kinsbourne, M., and Cook, J. (1971). Generalized and lateralized effect of concurrent verbalization on a unimanual motor skill. Q.J.Exp.Psychol. 23: 341–345.
Kleiman, D. G. (1977). Monogamy in mammals. Q.Rev.Biol. 52: 39–69.
Koenigsknecht, R. A., and Friedman, R. (1976). Syntax development in boys and girls. Child Dev. 47: 1109–1115.
Kummer, H. (1971). Primate Societies, Aldine, Chicago.
Leakey, R. E. F., and Walker, A. (1988). New Australopithecus boisea specimens from East and West Lake Turkana, Kenya. Am.J.Phys.Anthropol. 76: 1–24.
Lee, R. B. (1974). Male-female residence arrangements and political power in human hunter-gatherers. Arch.Sex.Behav. 3: 167–173.
Lee, R. B., and DeVore, I. (1968). Man the Hunter, Aldine, New York.
Leroi-Gourhan, A. (1964). Treasure of Prehistoric Art, H. N. Abrams, New York.
Leroi-Gourhan, A. (1982). The archaeology of Lascauz Cave. Sci.Am. 24: 104–112.
Levy, J. (1972). Lateral specialization of the human brain: Behavioral manifestations and possible evolutionary basis. In Kliger, J. A. (ed.), The Biology of Behavior, Oregon State University Press, Corvallis.
Levy, J. (1974). Psychological implications of bilateral asymmetry. In Dimond, S., and Beaumont, J. G. (eds.), Hemisphere Function in the Human Brain, Paul Elek, London, pp. 121–183.
Levy, J., and Heller, W. (1992). Gender differences in human neuropsychological function. In Gerall, A. A., Moltz, H., and Ward, I. L. (eds.), Handbook of Behavioral Neurobiology, Vol. 11.Sexual Differentiation, Plenum, New York, pp. 245–274.
Lewis, H. (1983). Freud and Modern Psychology, Plenum, New York.
Lewis, J., and Hoover, H. D. (1983). Sex Differences on Standardized Academic Achievement Tests, American Educational Research Association, Montreal Quebec, Apr.
Lezac, M. D. (1983). Neuropsychological Assessment, 2nd ed., Oxford University Press, New York.
Linn, M. C., and Petersen, A. C. (1985). Emergence and characterization of sex differences in spatial ability: A meta-analysis. Child Dev. 56: 1479–1498.
Locke, J. L. (1996). Development of the capacity for spoken language. In Fletcher, P., and MacWhinney, B. (eds.), The Handbook of Child Language, Blackwell, New York, pp. 278–302.
Lombardo, J. P., and Lavine, L. O. (1981). Sex-role stereotyping and patterns of self-disclosure. Sex Roles 7: 403–411.
Lorenz, K. (1966). On Aggression, Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, New York.
Lovejoy, C. O. (1982). The origin of man. Science 211: 341–350.
Lovejoy, C. O. (1988). Evolution of human walking. Sci.Am. Nov.: 118–125.
Lutz, C. (1980). Emotional Words and Emotional Development, Doctoral dissertation, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.
Lynch, J. C. (1980). The functional oranization of posterior parietal association cortex. Behav.Brain Sci. 3: 485–499.
MacKinnon, J. (1979). Reproductive behavior in wild organutans populations. In Hamburg, D. A., and McCowan, E. R. (eds.), The Great Apes, Benjamin/Cummings, Menlo Park, CA, pp. 257–273.
MacLean, P. (1990). The Evolution of the Triune Brain, Plenum, New York.
Manning, A. (1972).An Introduction to Animal Behavior, Addison-Wesley, Menlo Park, CA.
Martin, M. K., and Voorhies, B. (1975). Female of the Species, Columbia University Press, New York.
Marzek, M. W. (1997). Precision grips, hand morphology, and tools. Am.J.Phys.Anthropol. 102: 91–110.
Masters, W. H., and Johnson, V. E. (1966). Human Sexual Response, Little Brown, Boston.
Mateer, C. A., Polen, S. B., and Ojemann, G. A. (1982). Sexual variation in cortical localization of naming as determined by stimulation mapping. Behav.Brain Sci. 5: 310–311.
McGee, M. G. (1979). Human spatial abilities: Psychometric studies and environmental, genetic, hormonal, and neurological influences. Psychol.Bull. 86: 889–918.
McGone, J. (1980). Sex differences in human brain asymmetry. Behav.Brain Sci. 3: 215–263.
McGrew, W. C. (1995). Thumbs, tools and early humans. Science 268: 586.
McGrew, W. C., and Marchant, L. F. (1992). Chimpanzees, tools, and terminates: Hand preference or handedness. Curr.Anthropol. 33: 114–119.
McGuiness, D. (1976). Sex differences in the organization of perception and cognition. In Loyd, B., and Archer J. (eds.), Exploring Sex Differences, Academic Press, New York.
McHenry, H. M., and Berger, L. R. (1998). Body proportions in Australopithecus aferensis and A. Africana and the origin of the genus Homo. J.Hum.Evol.35: 1–22.
Mellars, P. (1989). Major issues in the emergence of modern humans. Curr.Anthropol. 30: 349–385.
Melson, G. F., and Fogel, A. (1982). Young children's interest in unfamiliar infants. Child Dev. 53: 693–700.
Meyer-Bahlburg, H. F. L. (1993). Psychobiological research on homosexuality. Child Adolesc.Psychiat. Clin.North.Am. 2: 489–500.
Mitchell, G. (1979). Behavioral Sex Differences in Nonhuman Primates, Van Nostrand, New York.
Money, J., and Ehrhard, A. A. (1972). Man and Woman, Boy and Girl, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.
Moore, T. (1967). Language and intelligence. Hum.Dev. 10: 88–106.
Mori, A. (1975). Signals found in the grooming interactions of wild Japanese monkeys. Primates 16: 107–140.
Mori, U., and Kawai, M. (1975). Social relations and behavior of gelada baboons. In Mori, U., and Kawai, M. (eds.), Contemporary Primatology, Karger, Basel.
Morris, B. B. (1971). Effects of angle, sex, and cue on adults' perception of the horizontal. Percept.Motor Skills 32: 827–830.
Morris, D. (1967). The Naked Ape, McGraw-Hill, New York.
Mountcastle, V. B., Lynch, J. C., and Georgopoulos, A. (1975). Posterior parietal assocation cortex of the monkey. J.Neurophysiol. 38: 871–908.
Mountcastle, V. B., Motter, B. C., and Andersen, R. A. (1980). Some further observations on the functional properties of neurons in the parietal lobe of the waking monkey. Behav.Brain Sci. 3: 520–529.
Moyer, K. E. (1974). Sex differences in aggression. In Friedman, R. C., Richart, R. M., and Vande Wiele R. L. (eds.), Sex Differences in Behavior, Wiley, New York.
Murdock, G. P., and Provost, C. (1973). Factors in the division of labour by sex: A cross-cultural analysis. Ethnology 12: 203–225.
Myers, R. F. (1976). Comparative neurology of vocalization and speech: Proof of a dichotomy. Ann N.Y.Acad.Sci. 280: 755–757.
Nader, R. D. (1976). Sexual behaviour of captive lowland gorillas. Arch.Sex.Behav. 5: 487–502.
Nash, S. C., and Feldman, S. S. (1981). Sex-role and sex-related attributions. In Lamb, M. E., and Brown, A. L. (eds.), Advances in Developmental Psychology, Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ.
Neithammer, C. (1977). Daughters of the Earth, Collier, New York.
Newman, J. D., and Wollberg, Z. (1973). Multiple coding of species-specific vocalizations in the auditory cortex of squirrel monkey. Brain Res. 54: 287–304.
Peterson, M. R., Beecher, M. D., Zoloth, S. B., Moody, D. B., and Stebbins, W. C. (1978). Neural lateralization of species-specific vocalization by Japanese macaques. Science202: 324–326.
Peterson, M. R., and Jusczyk, P. (1984). On perceptual predispostions for human speech and monkey vocalizations. In Marler, P., and Terrace, C. E. (eds.), The Biology of Learning, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp. 585–616.
Potts, R. (1996). Humanity's Descent, William Morrow, New York.
O'Neil, J. M. (1982). Gender and sex role conflicts in men's lives. In Soloman, K., and Levy, M. (eds.), Men in Transition, Plenum, New York.
Porteus, S. D. (1965). Porteus Maze Test: Fifty Years' Application, Pacific Books, Palo Alto, CA.
Potts, R. (1984). Home bases and early hominids. Am.Sci. 72: 338–347.
Prideaux, T. (1973). Cro-Magnon, Time-Life, New York.
Ransom, T. W., and Powell, T. E. (1972).Early social development of feral baboons. In Poirer, F. E. (ed.), Primate Socialization, Random House, New York.
Reinisch, J. M., and Sanders, S. A. (1992). Prenatal hormonal contributions to sex differences in human cognitive and personality development. In Gerall, A. A., Moltz, H., and Ward, I. L. (eds.), Handbook of Behavioral Neurobiology, Vol. 11.Sexual Differentiation, Plenum, New York, pp. 221–244.
Rightmire, G. P. (1990). The Evolution of Homo Erectus, Cambridge University Press, New York.
Riscutia, C. (1973). A study of the Modjokerto infant calvarium. In Tuttle, R. H. (ed.), Paleoanthropology, Mouton, Paris, pp. 373–380.
Rizzolatti, C., Camarda, R., Fogassi, L., Gentilucci, M., Luppino, G., and Matelli, M., (1988). Functional organization of inferior area 6 in the macaque monkey. II. Area F5 and the control of distal movements. Exp.Brain Res. 71: 491–507.
Robinson, B. W. (1967). Vocalizations evoked from forebrain in Macaca mulatta. Physiol.Behav. 2: 345–352.
Robinson, B. W. (1972). Anatomical and physiological contrasts between human and other primate vocalizations. In Washburn, S. L., and Dolhinow, P. (eds.), Perspectives on Human Evolution, Vol. 2, Liss, New York.
Rossi, A. (1985). Gender and parenthood. In Rossi, A. (ed.), Gender and the Life Cycle, Aldine, Hawthorne.
Rowell, T. E. (1968). The social development of baboons in their first three months. J.Zool. 155: 461–483.
Rowell, T. E. (1991). On the significance of the concept of the harem when applied to animals. In Schubert, G., and Masers, R. D. (eds.), Primate Politics, Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale.
Rubin, L. (1983). Intimate Strangers, Harper and Row, New York.
Safer, M. (1981). Sex and hemisphere differences in access to codes for processing emotional expression and faces. J.Exp.Psychol.Gen. 110: 86–100.
Sattel, J. W. (1989). Men, inexpressiveness and power. In Richardson, L., and Taylor, V. (eds.), Feminist Frontiers II, Random House, New York.
Schaller, G. B. (1964). The Year of the Gorilla, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Schwarz, D.W. F., and Tomlinson, R.W. (1990). Spectral response patterns of auditory cortex neurons to harmonic complex tones in alert monkey. J.Neurophysiol. 64: 282–298.
Shaywitz, B. A., Shaywitz, S. E., and Pugh, K. R. (1995). Sex differences in the functional organization of the brain for language. Nature 373: 607–609.
Shennum, W., and Begental, D. (1982). The development of control over affective expression in nonverbal behavior. In Feldman, R. S. (ed.), Development of Nonverbal Behavior in Children, Springer-Verlag, New York.
Skelton, R. R., and McHenry (1992). Evolutionary relationships among early hominids. J.Hum.Evol. 23: 303–349.
Sigmon, B. A. (1982). Comparative morphology of the locomotor skeleton of Homo Erectus and other fossil hominids with special reference to the trautavel inominte and femora. Proc.1st Congr.Int.Paleontol.Hum. 1: 422–446.
Soloman, D., and Ali, F. (1972). Age trends in the perception of verbal reinforcement. Dev.Psychol. 7: 238–243.
Stacey, P. B. (1982). Female promiscuity and male reproductive success in social birds and mammals. Am.Nat. 51–64.
Strayer, J. (1980). A naturalistic study of emphatic behaviors and their relation to affective states and perspective-taking skills in preschool children. Child Dev. 51: 815–822.
Strub, R. L., and Geschwind, N. (1983). Localization in Gerstmann syndrome. In Kertesz, A. (ed.), Localization in Neuropsychology, Academic Press, New York.
Strum, S. C. (1987). Almost Human, Random House, New York.
Suomi, S. J. (1972). Social development of rhesus monkeys reared in an enriched laboratory environment. In Proc.20th Int.Congr.Psychol., Japanese Science Press, Tokyo.
Susman, R. L. (1995). Thumbs, tools and early humans. Science 268: 589.
Tabet, P. (1982). Hands, tools, weapons. Femin.Issues 2: 3–63.
Tannen, D. (1990). You Just Don't Understand, Ballantine, New York.
Tobias, P. V. (1971). The Brain in Hominid Evolution, Columbia University Press, New York.
Toth, N. (1985). Archeological evidence for preferential right-handedness in lower and Middle Pleistocene, and its possible implications. J.Hum.Evol. 14: 607–614.
Thomas, H., Jamison, W., and Hummel, D. D. (1973). Observation is insufficient for discovering that the surface of still water is invariantly horizontal. Science 181: 173–174.
Uniform Crime Reports (1990–1996). Crime in the United States, U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Washington, DC.
Van Lawick-Goodall, J. (1968). The behavior of free-living chimpanzees in the Gombe Stream Reserve. Anim.Behav.Monogr. Part III.
Walker, L. J., de Vries, B., and Trevethan, S. D. (1987). Moral stages and moral orientations in real life and hypothetical dilemmas. Child Dev. 58: 842–858.
Watanabe, H. (1964). The Ainu. J.Faculty Sci. 2: 1–87.
Wickler, W. (1973). The Sexual Code, Doubleday, Garden City, NY.
Wiener, S. G. Bayart, F., Faull, K. F., and Levine, S. (1990). Behavioral and physiological response to maternal separation in squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus). Behav.Neurosci. 104: 108–115.
Wilkins, W. K., and Wakefield, J. (1995).Brain evolution and neurolinguistic preconditions. Behav.Brain Sci. 18: 161–226.
Witelson, S. F. (1985). Sex and the single hemisphere: Specialization of the right hemisphere for spatial processing. Science 194: 425–427.
Woolsey, C. N. (1958). Organization of somatic sensory and motor areas of the cerebral cortex. In Harlow, H. F., and Woolsey, C. N. (eds.), Biological and Biochemical Bases of Behavior, University of Wisconsin Press, Madison.
Zahn-Waxler, C., Friedman, S. L., and Cummings, E. M. (1983). Children's emotions and behaviors in response to infant cries. Child Dev. 54: 1522–1528.
Zilman, A. L. (1981). Women as shapers of the human adaptation. In Dalhberg, F. (ed.), Woman the Gatherer, Yale University Press, New Haven, CT.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Joseph, R. The Evolution of Sex Differences in Language, Sexuality, and Visual–Spatial Skills. Arch Sex Behav 29, 35–66 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1001834404611
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1001834404611