The popular media has portrayed men and women as psychologically different as two planets – Mars and Venus - but these differences are overestimated.

A new study found that the men and women are more similar in personality, communication, cognitive ability and leadership than realized.

Men and women from childhood to adulthood are more alike than different on most but not all psychological variables, said psychologist Janet S. Hyde, Ph.D., of the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

Gender differences accounted for either zero or a very small effect for most of the psychological variables examined, according to Hyde. Only motor behaviors (throwing distance), some aspects of sexuality and heightened physical aggression showed marked gender differences.

Over-inflated claims of gender difference seen in the mass media affect men and women in work, parenting and relationships, said Hyde. Studies of gender and evaluation of leaders in the workplace show that women who go against the caring, nurturing stereotype may pay for it dearly when being hired or evaluated. This also happens with the portrayals of relationships in the media.

Best-selling books and popular magazine articles assert that women and men can’t get along because they communicate too differently, said Dr. Hyde.

Children also suffer the consequences of these exaggerated claims of gender difference. There is a wide spread belief that boys are better in math than girls, said Dr Hyde. However, study has found that boys and girls perform equally in math until high school where boys do gain a small advantage.

Unfortunately, elementary aged mathematically-talented girls may be overlooked by parents who have lower expectations for a daughter’s success in math versus a son’s likelihood to succeed in math.

Research has shown that parents’ expectations for their children’s math success relate strongly to a child’s self-confidence and his or her performance.

The misrepresentation of how different the sexes are, which is not supported by the scientific evidence, harms men and women of all ages in many different areas of life, said Dr. Hyde.

“The claims can hurt women’s opportunities in the workplace, dissuade couples from trying to resolve conflict and communication problems and cause unnecessary obstacles that hurt children and adolescents’ self-esteem.”

SOURCE: “The Gender Similarities Hypothesis,” Janet Shibley Hyde, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin 

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