The popularity of the argument that there are no personality differences between men and women is at an all-time high. The mainstream media is actively advertising this unscientific idea—from movies to magazines—they are trying hard to make us believe in their lie. Unfortunately, that is exactly what’s happening. Popularized ideas get accepted while the truth dies a silent death. They deliberately camouflage facts in the shade of propaganda.
This is why I felt a need to unravel the scientific invalidity of this idea based on the Big 5 personality test. The research is solid. The gender differences are undeniably obvious. However, if you disagree with my claims, instead of yelling at my face, try reading this essay with an unbiased perspective.
With all that being said, I am not denying the fact that both genders deserve equal opportunities. Also, I do not support any religious oppressive practices against women.
Before getting into the personality differences between the two genders, let's talk a bit about the big five personality test and its credibility.
The Big 5 Personality Test
Many contemporary psychologists believe that there are five basic dimensions of personality, often referred to as the "Big 5" personality traits. These five traits represent broad categories of human behavior which consist of finer facets individually.
Research published in 2007 with a sample size of 17, 837 participants of 56 countries found out that the big 5 personality traits are remarkably universal i.e. the five dimensions could be accurately used to describe personality in different cultures.
Based on this research, many psychologists now believe that the five personality dimensions are not only universal; they also have biological origins. Suggesting that these personality traits represent the most important qualities that shape our social landscape1.
The Big 5 Differences
The Gender differences are wide and broad. The personality of men and women are incomparable and it’s not because of the patriarchal society or something like that. It’s not a social construct.
A study conducted across 55 nations2 found out that gender differences in personality traits are largest in prosperous, healthy, and more gender-egalitarian nations. That means that the more progressive a country becomes with time the more highlighted will be the gender differences.
“That human males and females should have evolved to be psychologically identical…is a theoretical impossibility, and, indeed, turns out to be untrue.”
—Vandermassen
The five broad personality traits described by the big 5 theory are openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism3. Let’s talk about them one by one and look at the gender differences across those five traits.
1. Openness
This trait features characteristics such as imagination and insight. A person with high openness is more curious, more adventurous, and less change aversive. People low in this trait are often more traditional thinkers and struggle with abstract thinking.
Countless researches have reported that women are high on openness while men score a lot less. The former is more creative and open-minded. This is why you might have observed that most females are politically liberal while conservatives are mostly men.
2. Conscientiousness
Conscientiousness is the tendency to display self-discipline, act dutifully, and strive for achievement against measures or outside expectations. It is related to how people control, regulate, and direct their impulses.
High conscientiousness is often perceived as being stubborn, focused, and high self-control. Low conscientiousness is associated with flexibility and spontaneity, but can also appear as sloppiness and lack of reliability.
Women score high on conscientiousness, which means they are more focused, goal-oriented, self-disciplined, and orderly. While men are on the other side of the spectrum being more disorganized and unreserved. Probably this is the reason why men are more likely to abuse illicit drugs and alcohol4 than women.
3. Extraversion
Extraversion reflects sociability, assertiveness, talkativeness, and high amounts of emotional expressiveness.
Whereas gender differences are small on the overall domain level of Extraversion (with women typically scoring higher). The small effect size could be due to the existence of gender differences in different directions at the facet level.
Women tend to score higher than men on Warmth, Gregariousness, and Positive Emotions, whereas men score higher than women on Assertiveness and Excitement Seeking5.
4. Agreeableness
This personality dimension includes attributes such as trust, altruism, kindness, affection, and other prosocial behaviors.
People who are high in agreeableness tend to be more kind and cooperative while those low in this trait tend to be more competitive, critical thinking, and sometimes even manipulative. An agreeable person is usually the one who gives up first in a heated argument.
And you guessed it right, women consistently score higher than men on agreeableness and related measures, such as tender-mindedness. This is why the feminine is associated with a more nurturing core than their sexual counterparts. The gender differences are most pronounced in this personality trait.
5. Neuroticism
Neuroticism is a trait characterized by sadness, moodiness, and emotional instability. Individuals who are high in this trait tend to experience mood swings, anxiety, irritability, and sadness. Those low in this trait tend to be more stable and emotionally resilient.
The gender differences are wide in this trait as well, with women getting substantially higher scores than their male counterparts. This is the reason why women are nearly twice as likely women as men to be diagnosed with depression and anxiety disorders.
That research paper has more than 1400 citations, and if you know a thing or two about research papers you can understand what a remarkable number that is.
You can use the acronym OCEAN to remember the big 5 personality traits.
11.5% of males over 12 have a substance use disorder, compared to 6.4% of females. However, women are more likely to go to the emergency room or fatally overdose due to substance abuse.
Approximately 20% of men have an alcohol use disorder (AUD) compared to between 7% and 12% of women.