BIOCHEMICALS PARTIALLY IMPACTING MASCULINITY
Biological influences on masculinity.
ChapterDatabase: APA PsycBooks
Citation
Lippa, R. A. (2016). Biological influences on masculinity. In Y. J. Wong & S. R. Wester (Eds.), APA handbook of men and masculinities (pp. 187–209). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/14594-009
Abstract
In this chapter, I present biological perspectives on masculinity. To do so, I define masculinity in two ways that I find scientifically useful: (a) as a set of physical and behavioral traits that are male typical and that therefore distinguish men from women, on average, and (b) as an individual difference dimension (or a set of dimensions) that orders men and boys on their degree of male typicality. I focus more on the first definition than on the second. However, both are intertwined in complex ways, in part because individual differences in masculinity have traditionally been defined in terms of sex differences—that is, masculine traits and behaviors, both across and within the sexes, are those that are male typical. After briefly summarizing research on psychological sex differences (e.g., in aggression, cognitive abilities, interests, sexual behavior), I present evidence suggesting that there are biological contributions to some of these differences. In essence, I argue that sex differences—and the masculine traits and behaviors defined by the male-typical poles of such differences—are likely to result, at least in part, from biological influences to the extent that these differences are (a) large; (b) present early in development; (c) cross-culturally consistent; (d) historically consistent; (e) present in other species, especially in primates closely related to humans; and (f) associated with biological factors such as sex-linked genes and prenatal and postnatal sex steroid levels. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
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- Statement: All rights, including for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies, are reserved.
- Holder: American Psychological Association
- Year: 2016
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