What, If Anything, Can Neuroscience Tell Us About Gender Differences?

Abstract

There exists a widespread belief that men and women are very, ver y different – even to the point of being like different species, or like inhabitants of different planets.¹ This idea is ubiquitous: it can be found in scientific journal articles, newspapers, movies, TV shows, songs, stand-up comedy, self-help literature, and our everyday remarks and behaviors. To get a flavor of the intensity and character that this idea can acquire, consider this quotation from Why Men Don’t Listen and Women Can’t Read Maps, a popular book authored by Barbara and Allan Pease:

Men and women are different … They live in different worlds, with different values and according to quite different sets of rules. Everyone knows this, but very few people, particularly men, are willing to admit it … Men dominate TV remote controls and flick through the channels; women don’t mind watching the commercials. Under pressure, men drink alcohol and invade other countries; women eat chocolate and go shopping. Women criticize men for being insensitive, uncaring, not listening, not being warm and compassionate, not talking, not giving enough love, not being committed to relationships, wanting to have sex rather than make love, and leaving the toilet seat up. Men criticize women about their driving, for not being able to read street directories, for turning maps upside down, for their lack of a sense of direction, for talking too much without getting to the point, for not initiating sex often enough, and for leaving the toilet seat down. (Pease and Pease 2001: 3)