Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Development of Sex Differences

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science

  • 70 Accesses

Synonyms

Sexual differentiation, development of differences between males and females; Development of sex differences in brain and behavior

Definitions

Activational effects:

Transient effects of hormones that occur throughout life.

Asexual reproduction:

Offspring produced from a single organism that inherits the entire genome of the parent organism.

Diploid:

Having two sets of chromosomes or double the number of chromosomes in the germ cell.

Eusociality:

Cooperative breeding strategy in which usually one female and a few males are reproductively active, whereas the rest of the nonbreeding members provide care for the offspring of the colony and gather food and resources for the colony.

Haploid:

Having a set of chromosomes equal to the number in the germ cell.

Heterogametic:

Refers to the sex of a species that has two different sex chromosomes.

Homogametic:

Refers to the sex of a species that has two of the same-sex chromosomes.

Intersexual competition:

Mate choice, occurs when an...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Adkins-Regan, E. (2012). Hormonal organization and activation: evolutionary implications and questions. General and comparative endocrinology, 176(3), 279–285.

    Google Scholar 

  • Agrawal, A. F. (2001). Sexual selection and the maintenance of sexual reproduction. Nature, 411, 692–695.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Allen, L. S., Hines, M., Shryne, J. E., & Gorski, R. A. (1989). Two sexually dimorphic cell groups in the human brain. The Journal of Neuroscience, 9, 497–506.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Arendash, G. W., & Gorski, R. A. (1983). Effects of discrete lesions of the sexually dimorphic nucleus of the preoptic area or other medial preoptic regions on the sexual behavior of male rats. Brain Research Bulletin, 10, 147–154.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baillet, A., Mandon-Pépin, B., Veitia, R., & Cotinot, C. (2010). Genetics of early ovarian differentiation: Recent data. Biologie Aujourd’hui, 205, 201–221.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bakker, J., & Brock, O. (2010). Early oestrogens in shaping reproductive networks: Evidence for a potential organisational role of oestradiol in female brain development. Journal of Neuroendocrinology, 22, 728–735.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bear, A., & Monteiro, A. (2013). Both cell-autonomous mechanisms and hormones contribute to sexual development in vertebrates and insects. BioEssays, 35, 725–732.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bilde, T., Tuni, C., Elsayed, R., Pekár, S., & Toft, S. (2006). Death feigning in the face of sexual cannibalism. Biology Letters, 2, 23–25.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Buss, D. M. (1989). Sex differences in human mate preferences: Evolutionary hypotheses tested in 37 cultures. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 12, 1–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Christov-Moore, L., Simpson, E. A., Coudé, G., Grigaityte, K., Iacoboni, M., & Ferrari, P. F. (2014). Empathy: Gender effects in brain and behavior. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 46, 604–627.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clutton-Brock, T. H. (1989). Review lecture: mammalian mating systems. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences, 236(1285), 339–372.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clutton-Brock, T. (2007). Sexual selection in males and females. Science, 318(5858), 1882–1885.

    Google Scholar 

  • Darwin, C. (1871). Sexual selection and the descent of man. Murray, London, 589.

    Google Scholar 

  • De Vries, G. J. (2004). Minireview: Sex differences in adult and developing brains: Compensation, compensation, compensation. Endocrinology, 145, 1063–1068.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dewing, P., Chiang, C. W., Sinchak, K., Sim, H., Fernagut, P. O., Kelly, S., Chesselet, M. F., Micevych, P. E., Albrecht, K. H., Harley, V. R., & Vilain, E. (2006). Direct regulation of adult brain function by the male-specific factor SRY. Current Biology, 16, 415–420.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Glickman, S. E., Cunda, G. R., Drea, C. M., Conley, A. J., & Place, N. J. (2006). Mammalian sexual differentiation: Lessons from the spotted hyena. Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism, 17, 349–356.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gwynne, D. T. (2008). Sexual conflict over nuptial gifts in insects. Annual Review of Entomology, 53, 83–101.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hendricks, S. E., & Scheetz, H. A. (1973). Interaction of hypothalamic structures in the mediation of male sexual behavior. Physiology & Behavior, 10, 711–716.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holleley, C. E., Sarre, S. D., O’Meally, D., & Georges, A. (2016). Sex reversal in reptiles: Reproductive oddity or powerful driver of evolutionary change? Sexual Development, 10(5–6), 279–287.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Holmes, M. M., Goldman, B. D., Goldman, S. L., Seney, M. L., & Forger, N. G. (2009). Neuroendocrinology and sexual differentiation in eusocial mammals. Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology, 30, 519–533.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Hörandl, E. (2009). A combinational theory for maintenance of sex. Heredity, 103, 445–457.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Liow, L. H., Van Valen, L., & Stenseth, N. C. (2011). Red Queen: From populations to taxa and communities. Trents in Ecology & Evolution, 26, 349–358.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCarthy, M. M., & Arnold, A. P. (2011). Reframing sexual differentiation of the brain. Nature Neuroscience, 14, 677–683.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • McCarthy, M. M., Arnold, A. P., Ball, G. F., Blaustein, J. D., & De Vries, G. J. (2012). Sex differences in the brain: The not so inconvenient truth. The Journal of Neuroscience, 32, 2241–2247.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • McFadden, D., Pasanen, E. G., Weldele, M. L., Glickman, S. E., & Place, N. J. (2006). Masculinized otoacoustic emissions in female spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta). Hormones and Behavior, 50, 285–292.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Otto, S. P., & Thomas, L. (2002). Resolving the paradox of sex and recombination. Nature Reviews, 3, 252–261.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Puts, D. (2016). Human sexual selection. Current Opinions in Psychology, 7, 28–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Savic, I., Berglund, H., Gulyas, B., & Roland, P. (2001). Smelling of odorous sex hormone-like compounds causes sex-differentiated hypothalamic activations in humans. Neuron, 31, 661–668.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shapiro, L. E., Leonard, C. M., Sessions, C. E., Dewsbury, D. A., & Insel, T. R. (1991). Comparative neuroanatomy of the sexually dimorphic hypothalamus in monogamous and polygamous voles. Brain Research, 541, 232–240.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Swift-Gallant, A., Mo, K., Peragine, D. E., Monks, D. A., & Holmes, M. M. (2015). Removal of reproductive suppression reveals latent sex differences in brain steroid hormone receptors in naked mole-rats, Heterocephalus glaber. Biology of Sex Differences, 6, 1–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trivers, R. (1972). Parental investment and sexual selection (Vol. 136, p. 179). Cambridge, MA: Biological Laboratories, Harvard University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wallen, K. (2009). The organizational hypothesis: Reflections on the 50th anniversary of the publication of Phoenix, Goy, Gerall, and Young (1959). Hormones and Behavior, 55, 561–565.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, Z., Young, L. J., & Insel, T. R. (1999). Voles and vasopressin: A review of molecular, cellular, and behavioral studies of pair bonding and paternal behaviors. Progress in Brain Research, 119, 483–499.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

    Ashlyn Swift-Gallant

  2. University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Lindsay A. Coome

Authors
  1. Ashlyn Swift-Gallant
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Lindsay A. Coome
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ashlyn Swift-Gallant .

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. Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, Canada

    Doug P. VanderLaan

  2. Child, Youth and Family Division, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Doug P. VanderLaan

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Swift-Gallant, A., Coome, L.A. (2018). Development of Sex Differences. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_666-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_666-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • 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

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation