Sex differences in psychology are differences in the mental functions and behaviors of the
sex
Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones (ova, oft ...
es and are due to a complex interplay of
biological
Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary in ...
,
developmental
Development of the human body is the process of growth to maturity. The process begins with fertilization, where an egg released from the ovary of a female is penetrated by a sperm cell from a male. The resulting zygote develops through mitosi ...
, and cultural factors. Differences have been found in a variety of fields such as
mental health
Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health ...
,
cognitive abilities
Cognitive skills, also called cognitive functions, cognitive abilities or cognitive capacities, are brain-based skills which are needed in acquisition of knowledge, manipulation of information and reasoning. They have more to do with the mechanisms ...
,
personality
Personality is the characteristic sets of behaviors, cognitions, and emotional patterns that are formed from biological and environmental factors, and which change over time. While there is no generally agreed-upon definition of personality, mos ...
,
emotion
Emotions are mental states brought on by neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or displeasure. There is currently no scientific consensus on a definition. ...
,
sexuality
Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...
, and tendency towards
aggression
Aggression is overt or covert, often harmful, social interaction with the intention of inflicting damage or other harm upon another individual; although it can be channeled into creative and practical outlets for some. It may occur either reacti ...
Differences in socialization of males and females are known to cause, decrease, or increase the magnitude of various sex differences.
In most cultures, humans are subject from infancy to Gender role, gender socialization. For example, infant girls typically wear pink and infant boys typically wear blue. Gender schema theory, Gender schemas, or gendered cultural ideals which determine a person's preferences, are also installed into our behaviors beginning at infancy.
As people get older, gender stereotypes become more applied. The Role theory, social role theory primarily deals with such stereotypes, more specifically the division of labor and a gender hierarchy. When this theory is applied in social settings, such as the workplace, it can often lead to sexism. This theory also applies to certain personality trails, such as men are more typically more assertive and women more passive. According to this theory, ideally, in most cultures, the woman is to stay and tend to the house and home while the man works to both better the house itself and increase finances.
In the midst of so many idealistic concepts on the roles of a specific gender in society, there are also individuals who choose to not to conform to the ideas of their culture. Throughout history, gender roles have been altered and are much more flexible than they were in recent centuries. Such alterations include equal political rights as well as employment and education opportunities solely available to females. Homosexual people are also subject to go against gender conformities. The term ''congenital gender invert'' is used to define homosexuals who possess a trait of the opposite sex. Such individuals tend to have the most social difficulty in regards to cultural norms.
Evolutionary product
Donald Symons has argued that fundamental sex differences in genetics, hormones and brain structure and function may manifest as distal cultural phenomena (e.g., males as primary combatants in warfare, the primarily female readership of romance novels, etc.). There has been significant feminist critique of these and other evolutionary psychology arguments, from both within and outside of the scientific community.