Sex Differences

The term sex differences refers to average differences between males and females. Sex differences so defined are compatible with within-sex variations, meaning that individual male and female scores can overlap. The finding of a sex difference per se is descriptive and does not inform about its cause. The term gender (often defined as the socially constructed aspects of being male or female) has been contrasted with sex (the biological aspects of being male or female). However, multiple influences interact, and it is often difficult to disentangle the various influences that make males and females different, so there is no clear-cut boundary between sex and gender differences. The terms are thus sometimes used interchangeably, although sex differences are more often associated with sexuality and clearly biological ...