Drawing from research carried out by Chrisler and McCreary (2010), the relationship between social factors and personality traits is critical to the study of gender and personality. As a consequence, scholars in the field of psychology have come under heavy criticism for considering gender differences as an end product in their research studies. Opponents think that gender differences should be the starting point for any person seeking to understand the source of the differences. While spotting the differences is essential, it is not enough. Rather, efforts must be made by scholars to understand the root cause of noticeable personality differences between men and women.
According to Maestripieri (2012), several differences can be identified in the personality traits of men and women. While women seem to be more sensitive and apprehensive, men are considered to be emotionally stable, vigilant, and particularly concerned about rules. Besides, women are generally warm in comparison to men. Although some studies tend to show that very few differences exist between men and women in some aspects of life, the common understanding is that men and women generally belong to two different worlds as far as personality traits are concerned. Ostensibly, scholars in the field of personality traits base their conclusions on quantitative studies which are quite limited and hence unable to deal with complex interactions between personality traits and social factors (Chrisler & McCreary, 2010). This argument is also supported by Maestripieri (2012,) who noted that earlier research undertakings ignored vital differences between men and women. Presently, however, research findings point to the existence of huge differences between men and women in terms of personality traits.
References
Chrisler, J. C. & McCreary, D. R. (2010). Handbook of Gender Research in Psychology. New York: Springer.
Maestripieri, D. (2012). Gender Differences in Personality Are Larger than Previously Thought. Web.