Question

How do men and women differ in their views about becoming independent from parental authority?

Answer 1

Societal expectations affect men's and women's views on independence, with greater scrutiny on single women. Both single men and women are becoming more independent, with changing attitudes towards marriage and family. Parenting trends also reflect shifts in traditional family structures, with an increase in single fatherhood and same-sex parenting.

Step-by-step explanation:

The differences in how men and women view independence from parental authority are influenced by societal expectations and pressures. While both genders encounter social pressure to get married, single women face greater scrutiny, often being depicted as incomplete without a marital partner. In contrast, single men are sometimes seen as lifetime bachelors who are simply not ready to settle.

As children grow through different life stages, their levels of dependence and independence evolve, with societal and cultural factors determining when an individual is seen as an adult. Traditionally, parents may grant sons more autonomy than daughters, who are expected to adhere to more nurturing and passive roles within the family. In recent times, however, both single men and women are increasingly choosing to live a significant portion of their adult lives without a spouse or partner.

Women today are also embracing independence, with many feeling secure and content with their unmarried status, particularly later in life after achieving success in education and careers. Additionally, the trend of becoming a parent later in life affirms a shift in both men's and women's attitudes towards family and independence. Single fatherhood and same-sex parenting are growing phenomena, challenging traditional notions of parenthood and family structure.

Answer 2

Mars-Venus sex differences appear to be as mythical as the Man in the Moon. A 2005 analysis of 46 meta-analyses that were conducted during the last two decades of the 20th century underscores that men and women are basically alike in terms of personality, cognitive ability and leadership. Psychologist Janet Shibley Hyde, PhD, of the University of Wisconsin in Madison, discovered that males and females from childhood to adulthood are more alike than different on most psychological variables, resulting in what she calls a gender similarities hypothesis. Using meta-analytical techniques that revolutionized the study of gender differences starting in the 1980s, she analyzed how prior research assessed the impact of gender on many psychological traits and abilities, including cognitive abilities, verbal and nonverbal communication, aggression, leadership, self-esteem, moral reasoning and motor behaviors.

Hyde observed that across the dozens of studies, consistent with the gender similarities hypothesis, gender differences had either no or a very small effect on most of the psychological variables examined. Only a few main differences appeared: Compared with women, men could throw farther, were more physically aggressive, masturbated more, and held more positive attitudes about sex in uncommitted relationships.

Furthermore, Hyde found that gender differences seem to depend on the context in which they were measured. In studies designed to eliminate gender norms, researchers demonstrated that gender roles and social context strongly determined a person's actions. For example, after participants in one experiment were told that they would not be identified as male or female, nor did they wear any identification, none conformed to stereotypes about their sex when given the chance to be aggressive. In fact, they did the opposite of what would be expected - women were more aggressive and men were more passive.

Finally, Hyde's 2005 report looked into the developmental course of possible gender differences - how any apparent gap may open or close over time. The analysis presented evidence that gender differences fluctuate with age, growing smaller or larger at different times in the life span. This fluctuation indicates again that any differences are not stable.