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Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science pp 1–7Cite as

Personality, Gender, and Culture

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Synonyms

Behavioral syndromes; Coping styles; Personality; Sociality; Temperament; Traits

Definition

Research that uses perspectives from evolutionary biology to examine ultimate-level explanations for mean sex differences in personality traits, and whether the size of these sex differences vary according to cultural factors that are of interest to biologists (e.g., environmental harshness versus prosperity).

Introduction

There are biological differences between the sexes (Del Giudice et al. 2016; Hines 2011) and such differences, intertwined with culture, can account for mean-level differences in how men and women behave, their personality traits, cognitive and coping styles, and the ways in which they initiate and maintain relationships and form groups with others. Such differences can shape how men and women interact with the world and how people respond to them. In turn, although there are many similarities between men and women, sex differences have the potential to influence...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Psychology, School of Social and Health Sciences, Abertay University, Dundee, UK

    Christopher D. Watkins

Authors
  1. Christopher D. Watkins
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Correspondence to Christopher D. Watkins .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

  2. Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Viviana A. Weekes-Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Division of Psychology, School of Social and Health Sciences, Abertay University, Dundee, UK

    Christopher D. Watkins

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Watkins, C.D. (2018). Personality, Gender, and Culture. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_3392-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_3392-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

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