Gender differences in personality: A meta-analysis.
Abstract
Four meta-analyses were conducted to examine gender differences in personality in the literature (1958-1992) and in normative data for well-known personality inventories (1940-1992). Males were found to be more assertive and had slightly higher self-esteem than females. Females were higher than males in extraversion, anxiety, trust, and, especially, tender-mindedness (e.g., nurturance). There were no noteworthy sex differences in social anxiety, impulsiveness, activity, ideas (e.g., reflectiveness), locus of control, and orderliness. Gender differences in personality traits were generally constant across ages, years of data collection, educational levels, and nations.
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Gender differences have been found for some traits in adulthood, with women reporting greater anxiety/neuroticism and gregariousness and men reporting greater assertiveness; these differences parallel the meta-analytic findings for internalizing, positive, and externalizing emotion expressions.
“gender differences have been found for some traits in adulthood, with women reporting somewhat greater anxiety/neuroticism and gregariousness than men and men reporting greater assertiveness than women (Feingold, 1994); differences that parallel our findings of gender differences in internalizing, positive, and externalizing emotion expressions.”
From Gender differences in emotion expression in children: A meta-analytic review. (2013) · cites this paper as Feingold, 1994
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References 194 · Cited by 2,240
- Authors
- Feingold, A.
- Affiliations
- Yale University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Feingold, Alan
- Venue
- Psychological Bulletin
- Published
- 1994
- Volume
- 116
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 429-456
- ISSN
- 0033-2909 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1455
- OpenAlex
- W1991800845
- Cited by
- 2,240
- References
- 194
- Citations by year
- 2026: 60 · 2025: 58 · 2024: 78 · 2023: 90 · 2022: 77 · 2021: 78 · 2020: 152 · 2019: 153 · 2018: 95 · 2017: 111 · 2016: 112 · 2015: 98 · 2014: 78 · 2013: 106 · 2012: 114
- FWCI
- 32.10
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychological Bulletin (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Traits and Psychology
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender Roles and Identity Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Psychological Testing and Assessment
- Keywords
- gender differences, personality traits, sex differences, assertiveness, self-esteem, extraversion, anxiety, trust, nurturance, social anxiety, impulsivity, locus of control, personality tests, reference values
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Anxiety, Extraversion, Psychological, Female, Humans, Internal-External Control, Male, Middle Aged, Personality, Personality Inventory, Self Concept, Sex Factors, Observer Variation
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