No strong evidence for universal gender differences in the development of cooperative behaviour across societies

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B • Vol/Iss. 378 • The Royal Society Publishing • • Published In • Pages: 1-14 •
By House, Bailey, Silk, Joan B., McAuliffe, Katherine

Abstract

The article discusses the role of gender in within-society variation in cooperative behavior, and whether gender differences in cooperation emerge similarly across diverse societies. The authors use cross-cultural datasets of 4- to 15-year-old children's preferences for equality in experimental tasks measuring prosociality and fairness to investigate these questions. They find that gender has little impact on the development of prosociality and fairness within the datasets, and there is not much evidence for substantial societal variation in gender differences. The authors discuss the implications of these findings for understanding the nature and origin of gender differences in cooperation and for future research.

Samples

Sample Used Coded Data Comment
House et al. 2020Other researchersData on children's prosocial behavior
House et al. 2013Other researchersData on children's prosocial behavior
Blake et al. 2015Other researchersData on children's fairness

Hypotheses (2)

HypothesisSupported
There are gender differences in the development of children's behavior (prosociality and fairness) across societies.Not supported
There is cultural variation in how gender shapes the development of prosocial behavior.Not supported
Documents and Hypotheses Filed By: jacob.kalodner