Sex differences

The mirror neuron system consists of a specific class of visuomotor neurons,
which fire for both observation and execution of an action (di Pellegrino et al., 1992), as
well as showing differences for empathy and gender. Fifty males (M = 25.94) and fifty
females (M = 25.48) watched short clips of a hand tapping fingers in a sequence in
neutral and emotional settings. Participants were asked to imitate emotions while
watching and repeating the finger sequences. A univariate ANOVA discovered
significant differences in response times for males and females in the emotion trials,
which were eliminated when empathy was included in the analysis. Findings show those
higher in empathy are faster at imitation of a motor task in emotional settings.

This study assessed the perceived fairness of vignette characters who
had contributed either more or less than a coworker in a task and had
subsequently divided the rewards either equitably or equally. The
objective was to explore the development of sex differences in
distributive justice between preadolescence and adulthood in light of
two competing explanations of those differences. The "normative"
explanation states that males and females vary in their respective
preferences for the norms of equity and equality. The "motivational"
explanation states that the sexes vary their norm preference according
to self-favoring (males) or generous (females) motives . Results
provided no support for the former explanation, but support in the
fifth grade and college groups for the latter explanation. The eighth
grade group was unique in that those males rated generous allocations
more fair than the females did. A developmental pattern of cognitive
changes in sex-role concepts was suggested.

I explored aspects of men's and women's short-term sexual psychology as a function of a potential short-term partner's relationship status. 468 subjects reported how likely they would be to pursue a casual sexual relationship with a member of the opposite sex who was (1) married, (2) not married but has casual sexual partners, (3) or not married and has no casual sexual partners. Guided by sperm competition theory, I predicted and found that men prefer short-term sex partners who are not already involved in relationships, thus presenting a lower risk of sperm competition. Because women sometimes use short-term sexual relationships to acquire long-term partners, I predicted and found that women prefer short-term sexual partners who are not already involved in relationships. Finally, across all three levels of the imagined partner's relationship status, men reported a greater likelihood than did women of pursuing a casual sexual relationship. Discussion addresses methodological limitations.

The rise in popularity of the female sleuth television programs makes it important to explore representations of gender and knowledge. This investigation analyzes interpretations of intuition in the television sleuth genre and relevant paratexts, examines gendered public and private spheres and raises broader questions about gendered knowledge in the series Medium, Crossing Jordan, Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Veronica Mars, Monk, The Profiler and True Calling. Rooted in feminist cultural studies, historical and sociological analysis, television and film theory and work on the detective genre, this investigation establishes common frames, or filters, through which the television sleuth genre represents intuition and the gendered experience of knowledge. Women with intuition are depicted as unstable, dangerous and mentally ill. Though framed similarly, intuitive men have more freedom. This study expands on academic research on television representations of gender and knowledge. Societal implications include further understanding of meaning-making in regard to gendered knowing.