Gender defines individuals throughout their lives in multiple ways. This entry reviews the impact of gender on people’s identities, attitudes, temperament and adjustment, sports participation and play, academic achievement and occupations, relationships and family roles, and prosocial and aggressive behavior. Gender-related variations in these areas may be affected by a combination of biological, motivational, interpersonal, and cultural factors. Also, for most of these outcomes, there is usually a high degree of overlap between females and males whereby similarities may be more common than differences.

Gender Identity

Gender refers to one’s assignment or self-categorization as a girl (or a woman) or as a boy (or a man)—or possibly another category. Some people identify as transgender, which means they may identify with a different gender than the one ...

  • Loading...
locked icon

Sign in to access this content

Get a 30 day FREE TRIAL

  • Watch videos from a variety of sources bringing classroom topics to life
  • Read modern, diverse business cases
  • Explore hundreds of books and reference titles