Maybe you have observed that boys in your class tend to argue differently than girls. Perhaps they get more physical, while girls tend to express their anger verbally. And indeed, this observation has been observed in science. There are gender differences in aggression, which we will explore in this explanation.
- First, we will discuss gender and aggression in psychology.
- Then, we will explore the relationship between gender and aggression.
- Moving along, we will review the gender differences in aggression.
- Further, we will explain the gender differences in aggression.
- Finally, we will explain the different causes of aggression.
Fig. 1 - Gender differences may exist in aggression.
Gender and Aggression Psychology
Gender is a term that refers to the scale between masculinity and femininity. Where one lands on this scale can determine their gender, as some people lean more towards the feminine side of gender, whilst others lean more towards the masculine side.
Social and cultural norms affect gender, unlike biological sex. Until recently, gender seemed more confined to the idea of one or the other, much like the sexes, male or female. Nowadays, this is not the case. Gender and aggression have been suggested to be intertwined. What is the relationship between gender and aggression in psychology?
Gender differs and can cover a broad range of identities.
Björkqvist (2018), in their review of the gender differences in aggression, found the following to be consistently true:
Boys use more physical aggression.
In proportion to their overall aggression scores, girls used more indirect aggression.
Both genders use direct verbal aggression equally.
It's important to establish the different styles of aggression.
Differences between Aggression and Genders and Aggression
Indirect aggression is the type of aggression that the person subjected to may not easily identify, sometimes referred to as relational or social aggression.
According to Björkqvist (2018), indirect aggression is a form of social manipulation intended to harm the person psychologically and/or socially. This aggression can be through gossip, manipulating social standings within a group, or even excluding a person altogether.
Lagerspetz et al. (1988) investigated gender differences and aggressive behaviour.
- One hundred sixty-seven schoolchildren aged 11 to 12 years participated in the study. Overall, researchers found that girls used more indirect aggressive behaviour means than boys who used different means.
- Verbal aggression differences between the genders were less pronounced. Social hierarchy was ‘tighter’ amongst girls, making it easier for them to manipulate relationships and harm those subject to indirect aggression.
This study suggests that girls use more indirect means of aggression, as stated above, compared to boys, a difference established in the genders.
Following Lagerspetz's study, Björkqvist et al. (1992) investigated these differences, looking at different ages.
- They designed a cohort study investigating 8-, 11- and 15-year-olds. Considering social hierarchy, they measured aggressive behaviours through peer nomination techniques and self-ratings.
- The results suggested that older girls had greater overall use of indirect aggression. Further, boys use more direct means of aggression. This was thought to be physical, differing from the girl’s preference for verbal aggression.
- Indirect aggression wasn’t as present in 8-year-old girls but was prominent in 11-year-old girls.
Overall, these findings support the idea that boys use more direct aggression and girls tend to use more indirect methods, although this seems to develop more with age.
Indirect aggression refers to passive-aggressive behaviour that indirectly expresses negative feelings rather than openly talking about them.
Building on Björkqvist's results, Österman et al. (1998) designed a study to test whether the results obtained by Björkqvist applied across cultures.
- Testing this, they compared the same age groups (8, 11, and 15-year-olds) in four different countries: Finland, Italy, Israel, and Poland.
- In line with previous studies, the results indicated that girls primarily used indirect aggression, followed by verbal aggression. Girls least used physical aggression.
- In boys, indirect aggression was the least used style in all ages, whilst physical and verbal aggression was used almost equally, and verbal surpassed physical by age 15.
These results, in turn, suggest that these gender differences in aggression occur across cultures and ethnicities.
The above studies show boys had a higher total aggression score than girls. Thus, their indirect aggression may have been equal to girls but less than their preferred method of aggression, such as physical or verbal. Incidentally, it implies they are indirectly less aggressive, which may not be the case.
It is just that when compared to girls, when the levels are altered to be comparable, it suggests girls are more indirectly aggressive. Girls overall are less aggressive but prefer to use indirect aggression regardless.
Relationship between Gender and Aggression
According to a meta-analysis by Card et al. (2008), as mentioned above, boys are more aggressive than girls, even when considering the above indirect aggression phenomenon.
Boys had similar levels of indirect aggression to girls and tended to prefer more direct means of aggression: verbal and physical.
This finding can unfairly suggest girls are ‘indirectly aggressive’, inferring this is what their gender is known for, when in reality, boys are just as indirectly aggressive and are more aggressive overall.
It would be better to say that indirect aggression is more ‘typical’ for girls, but it would be incorrect to say that girls are more aggressive indirectly than boys.
Explanations for Gender Differences in Aggression
Some studies have shown that men are more likely to commit crimes and violent, aggressive acts than women. This could be due to how each gender has developed social cognition and coping skills. Exposure to stressful events and certain risk factors that may lead to future problems depends on the cognitive processing abilities of both sexes.
When their social cognitive abilities are tested, studies show that men in this category are likelier to fail when finding an appropriate response to a triggering situation.
- This usually occurs because of a misperceived threat risk, usually to themselves on personal, social, and environmental levels.
- Appropriate social cognitive skills are believed to contribute to the reduced development of criminal behaviours.
For example, Bennett et al. (2005) argue that women develop social-cognitive skills earlier than men and are, therefore, better able to deal with triggering situations, reducing the likelihood of engaging in criminal and violent/aggressive behaviours.
This is because the situations that could lead to a ‘life of crime’ are appropriately managed. Men are more inclined to not deal with them properly and are, therefore more likely to react aggressively.
Fig. 2 - Men and women tend to differ in aggressive behaviour.
Causes of Aggression
The studies above demonstrate a genetic difference between male and female aggression, suggesting that girls are more prone to indirect aggression than boys. Aside from these studies, there may be other things to consider regarding genetic differences.
Typically, a male will have XY chromosomes, and a female will have XX.
In a study by Hauschka et al. (1962), a male was found to have XYY chromosomes and dubbed the super-male. They then suggested that this XYY phenomenon could cause aggression, as the super-male tended to be more aggressive and less intelligent. They had physical abnormalities, standing at six feet tall and growing to be obese towards later life.
Interestingly, Hauschka et al. (1962) stated:
Were it not for mongolism and other anomalies among his progeny he would have escaped the cytologist's curiosity.
As phenotypic abnormalities should be minimalised in the double Y man due to the lack of genetic contribution the Y component offers.
However, this does not mean that the above conclusion can be applied to the general population. The above condition is extremely rare, and, thus, does not explain the gender differences in aggression in the population.
Fig. 3 - Human Male Karyotype
Something else to consider is the prenatal hormone environment of the person; as Hines (2005) established, this stage of life appears to be a powerful determinant of behavioural differences, which can be ascribed to gender.
Overall, gender studies into aggression have similar problems to other genetic studies focused on aggression, namely:
- Reductionist: a gender-focused outlook into the origins and behaviours of aggression (i.e., boys vs girls) causes de-individuation issues and ignores the impact of societal influences.
- If a boy is encouraged to be more ‘masculine’ and engage in ‘masculine’ behaviours, which some may interpret as aggressive behaviours, it would not be fair to say genes exclusively cause these behaviours. Similarly, the opposite can be said for the lack of aggressive behaviours. If boys or girls are discouraged from engaging in any behaviours deemed aggressive by society, it would be unfair to say their genes are the cause.
- Deterministic: Gender views tend to ignore the concept of free will in humans. People make their own decisions and have control over their behaviours. Suggesting gender differences are the sole cause of aggressive behaviours is inaccurate and ignores daily life nuances. It ignores individual differences.
Gender and Aggression - Key takeaways
- Gender is a term that refers to the scale between masculinity and femininity. Gender, unlike biological sex, is affected by social and cultural norms.
- Research has identified that girls tend to be more indirectly aggressive in their behaviours, which is manifested across cultures and ethnicities.
- Boys, however, are more aggressive overall. They tend to prefer more direct methods of aggression (physical and verbal). Boys were indirectly aggressive to a similar extent to girls, so they are equally likely to be indirectly aggressive.
- The XYY chromosome may suggest that the ‘super-male’ alludes to boys being more aggressive. However, it is a rare condition and therefore is not generalisable.
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