Gender differences in personality traits across cultures: Robust and surprising findings.

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Abstract
Secondary analyses of Revised NEO Personality Inventory data from 26 cultures (N = 23,031) suggest that gender differences are small relative to individual variation within genders; differences are replicated across cultures for both college-age and adult samples, and differences are broadly consistent with gender stereotypes: Women reported themselves to be higher in Neuroticism, Agreeableness, Warmth, and Openness to Feelings, whereas men were higher in Assertiveness and Openness to Ideas. Contrary to predictions from evolutionary theory, the magnitude of gender differences varied across cultures. Contrary to predictions from the social role model, gender differences were most pronounced in European and American cultures in which traditional sex roles are minimized. Possible explanations for this surprising finding are discussed, including the attribution of masculine and feminine behaviors to roles rather than traits in traditional cultures. Gender differences in personality traits have been documented in many empirical studies.1 Maccoby and Jacklin (1974) con- ducted the first major review of research on sex-related differences in cognition, temperament, and social behavior in children and adults. They concluded that men are more assertive and less anxious than women; no differences were found for two other traits analyzed, locus of control and self-esteem. Feingold (1994) used meta-analysis to confirm the gender dif- ferences in adult personality traits reported by Maccoby and Jack- lin (1974) and explored other gender differences in normative data from the most widely used personality inventories. He concluded that women scored lower than men on assertiveness and higher on gregariousness (extroversion), anxiety, trust, and tender- mindedness (nurturance). Feingold (1994) organized his review in terms of the five broad factors and 30 specific facets of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R; Costa & McCrae. 1992). As a comprehen- sive guide to personality traits, that model can provide the basis for a systematic examination of gender differences in personality. Unfortunately, from the available data, Feingold was only able to conduct reviews of nine traits. In this article, we provide new data that allow an examination of gender differences in all 30 traits assessed by the NEO-PI-R, and thus offer a more complete account of gender differences in personality.

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