Thereisonedifferencebetweenthesexesonwhichvirtuallyeveryexpertandstudyagree:menaremore
aggressivethanwomen.Itshowsupin2-year-olds.Itcontinuesthroughschooldaysandpersistsintoadulthood.Itisevenconstantacrosscultures.Andthere
islittledoubtthatitisrootedinbiologyinthemalesexhormonetestosterone.
Ifthere'safemininetraitthat'sthecounterpartofmaleaggressiveness,it'swhatsocialscien-tistsawkwardlyrefertoas"nurturance".Feministshavearguedthatthenurturingnatureofwomenis
notbiologicalinorigin,butratherhasbeendrummedintowomenbyasocietythatwantedtokeeptheminthehome.
Butthesignsthatit
isatleastpartlyinbornaretoonumeroustoignore.Justastinyinfantgirlsrespondmorereadilytohumanfaces,
femaletoddlerslearnmuchfasterthanmaleshowtopickupnonverbalcuesfromothers.Andgrownwomenare
farmoreadeptthanmenatinterpretingfacialexpressions:ArecentstudybyUniversityofPennsylvaniabrainresearcher
Ru-benGurshowedthattheyeasilyreademotionssuchasanger,sadnessandfear.Theonlysuche-motionmencouldpickupwasdisgust.
Whatdifferencedosuchdifferencesmakeintherealworld?Amongotherthings,womenappeartobesomewhatlesscompetitive--oratleastcompetitiveindifferentways--thanmen.AttheHarvardLawSchool,forinstance,femalestudentsenterwithcredentialsjustasoutstandingas
thoseoftheirmalepeers.Buttheydon'tqualifyfortheprestigiousLawReviewinproportionatenumbers,afact
someschoolofficialsattributetowomen'sdiscomfortintheincrediblycompetitiveatmosphere.
Studentsofmanagementstyleshavefoundfewerdifferencesthantheyexpectedbetweenmenandwomen
whoreachleadershippositions,perhapsbecausemanysuccessfulwomendeliberatelyimitatemasculineways.
ButananalysisbyPurduesocialpsychologistAliceEaglyof166studiesofleadershipstyledidfindoneconsistent
difference:Mentendtobemore“autocratic”-makingdecisionsontheirown--whilewomentendtoconsultcolleaguesandsubordinatesmoreoften.Studiesofbehaviorinsmallgroup
sturnupevenmoredifferences.Menwilltypicallydomi-natethediscussion,saysUniversityofTorontopsychologistKennethDion,spendingmoretimetalkingand
lesstimelistening.
56.Thepassagemainlydiscusses__________.
[A]howsexdifferencesaredemonstratedinsocialrelations
[B]howhormonedeterminessexdifferences
[C]whytherearedifferencesbetweenmalesandfemales
[D]whymenandwomenhavedifferentsocialroles