Explain the observed differences in the emotional sensitivity of girls and boys
What will be an ideal response?
Females are more emotional sensitive than males, a difference that appears early. Beginning in the preschool years, girls perform slightly better when asked to infer others' emotional states and the causes of those states. Relative to boys, girls are especially adept at understanding the more complex, self-conscious emotions—an advantage that extends into adulthood. Except for anger, girls also express their feelings more freely and intensely in everyday interaction. And girls are better at identifying their feelings.
When children are observed for behavioral signs, however, the gender difference in emotional sensitivity is less consistent. Girls show a slight advantage in prosocial responding that is mostly evident in kindness and considerateness, less apparent in helping behavior. Prosocial acts that require self-confidence and assertiveness are especially common among boys, including helping others develop skills (giving tips on how to play basketball), providing physical assistance (volunteering to mow a neighbor's lawn), and confronting others for harmful or otherwise inappropriate behavior.
As with other attributes, both biological and environmental explanations for sex differences in emotional sensitivity exist. Yet research suggests that girls are not naturally more nurturant. Cultural expectations that girls be warm and expressive and boys be distant and self-controlled seem largely responsible for the gender gap in emotional sensitivity.
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