Traits Associated with Men and Women

1981

The association of certain psychological traits with men and others with women was studied among 4285- and 8-year-old children in 5 European countries. Subjects were read 32 stories, each representing a particular trait (e.g., aggressive, emotional), and following each story they selected between male and female silhouettes as being "the person the story is about." The findings indicated substantial cross-national similarity in the traits ascribed to men and women. Some evidence of differences between countries was found, with the children's responses in Germany and France being relatively most discrepant. The results were discussed in relation to the findings from studies of adults in Eur…