Males and females express aggression differently.
The word "aggression" comes from the Latin word for "attack." Both men and women express aggression and aim to hurt, but the attack takes different forms along predictable gender lines.
Sex Differences in Aggression
Men's expressions of aggression tend to be more direct and physical, while women tend toward indirect, non-physical or "relational" aggression. Think he-man bravado a la World Wrestling Entertainment's "Friday Night SmackDown" versus the 2004 film "Mean Girls."
Male Aggression
Male aggression tends to be more direct.
Words like "hotheaded," "impulsive" and "explosive" come to mind when describing male aggression. In "Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys," the authors, child psychologists Dan Kindlon, Ph.D., and Michael Thompson, Ph.D., refer to the "tyranny of toughness" in boy culture, where macho strength rules. Boys are more likely to react to frustration by pushing, hitting, yelling or punching a wall.
Female Aggression
Female aggression is often indirect or covert.
Though not limited to females, girls and women show hostility by sabotaging relationships, spreading rumors, backbiting, rolling their eyes, glaring and excluding others socially. According to Cheryl Dellasega, Ph.D., author and women's studies professor at The Pennsylvania State University, relational aggression employs "behaviors rather than fists."
Gender Patterns Start Early
Girls are more social from birth, and their aggression patterns remain more socially based throughout their lives. Since women are smaller than men, they developed non-physical expressions of aggression through the ages, while men relied more on brute strength to survive.
Testosterone and Aggression
Testosterone accounts for many sex differences in social behavior. Although testosterone does not necessarily cause aggression, the hormone increases in males---but not in females---when they are aggressive.
Related posts
Pit bulls are good family dogs.American pit bull terriers, or simply pit bulls, are good family dogs known for loyalty and intelligence. When considering a pit bull for your home, take into accoun...
There are many differences between female and male pit bulls.Pit bulls, also known as American pit bull terriers, are known to be loyal, enthusiastic and eager to please. They are loving and intel...
Unneutered male dogs will whine if they smell a female in heat.Female dogs are in heat twice a year, each time for around three weeks. Male dogs get very excited and stimulated during these times...
Calm a Male Dog When a Female Is in HeatMale dogs become sexually mature by nine months of age. Vet4Petz.com explains that intact male dogs have a strong urge to mate when they smell a bitch in he...
German shepherds are among the most well known dog breeds.East German shepherds and west German shepherds represent two types among many types of the German shepherd dog breed (also called the Als...
