Final answer:
Carol Gilligan is the theorist who suggested that women are socially evolved to depend on men, competing for their attention. She introduced the concept of the ethics of care, presenting an alternative to male-dominated moral development theories, and her work has had a significant impact on psychology, feminism, and gender studies.
Step-by-step explanation:
The theorist who posited that women are socially evolved to be dependent on men and therefore compete for their attentions is Carol Gilligan. Gilligan challenged the theories developed by Lawrence Kohlberg, which centered only on males, by illustrating that women have their distinct stages of moral development. She demonstrated that women's ethical reasoning is not inferior to men's but rather operates within a different ethical paradigm, often termed as the ethics of care. Unlike the ethics of justice that favor masculine values such as reason and independence, Gilligan's model recognizes the importance of caring and interdependence in women's moral decision-making.
Gilligan's work is instrumental in understanding the gender dynamics within the context of ethical decision-making and morality, providing an alternative to the previously male-dominated models. Her influence extends beyond psychology to fields such as feminism, sociology, and gender studies.