Schwartz, S. H., & Rubel, T. (2005). Sex differences in value priorities: Cross-cultural and multimethod studies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89, 1010-1028.

Are male and female values fundamentally different? Are some things considered to be good and valuable for one gender and not the other?

In class we noticed some very distinctive sex differences in the values and beliefs of our male and female classmates based on the results of the Wrightsman PHN (Philosophies of Human Nature) Questionnaire. It appeared that men often exhibited more cynical or critical views of human nature as untrustworthy and irrational, while women seemed to have stronger beliefs in the fundamental goodness of mankind. It remains to be seen whether these sex differences will extend into our value systems when we compare findings on the Schwartz Value Survey (SVS), but the article by Schwartz and Rubel (2005) seems to suggest that significant differences do emerge between the two genders.

In particular, Schwartz and Rubel (2005) found that across three different studies (in numerous countries with a variety of different age groups) that men and women showed sex differences on many of the 10 basic values (power, achievement, hedonism, stimulation, self-direction, universalism, benevolence, tradition, conformity, and security). While these results were typically rather small in effect size, they do typically indicate the following preferences for values across genders...

Males Value: Power, Stimulation, Hedonism, Achievement, and Self-Direction

Females Value: Benevolence and Universalism

Both Equally Value: Tradition and Conformity

Past research and this work have both emphasized a tendency for women to prefer benevolence values more than men as a possible result of their more stereotypically female care orientation. Men, on the other hand, seem to be more likely to exhibit a preference towards power values which may be a reflection of the more typically agentic expectations of men and leaders.

There are two main explanations for these findings which are posited by Schwartz & Rubel (2005)...

1. Evolutionary Psychology:

• Over time men and women have evolved to develop different cognitive and affective mechanisms that cause them to think and feel differently.
• Parental investment and Sexual Selection have led men to be more aggressive and competitive and thus develop increased values for power in order to secure a desirable mate.
• Men are more hedonistic because of the reproductive benefits of having more mates.
• Women are more caring and benevolent because they want to attain the greatest return possible on their investments of their young.
• Criticism: Neither sexual selection or differential parental investment can explain sex differences in universalism and self-direction.

2. Social Role Theory:

• Sex differences are the result of the gendered division of labor as gender specific experiences directly influence behavior, identity, attitude, and values.
• Men are encouraged by society to pursue power values while women are not.
• Women's status as a disadvantaged group may make them more able to sympathize with other groups and have higher values for universality.
• The differential placement of men and women in the occupational world may explain why men are expected to exhibit agentic (self-asserting) traits while women are expected to show more communal ones.
• Women, in many societies, place more emphasis on security values due to their lower status than men and dependence on others' support, thus making them more vulnerable than men.
  

These findings do not necessarily suggest that men and women are completely different in regards to their basic values, but it certainly lends insight into our class discussions and may be helpful in understanding the causes of value differences across genders.

Also, check out this hilarious video on the differences between men and women...

• Men vs. Women Video