Description: The psychology of gender and gender differences is a vast subject with significant social implications. It has prompted many questions with few concrete answers: To what extent does gender influence one's behaviors, thoughts, and feelings? How does gender affect how we are perceived by others? Which gender differences are most meaningful? How do heredity and environment interact to create gender differences? Although there are myriad perspectives on such questions, most available books on the topic focus on a particular viewpoint, omitting discussion of related ideas. This enlightening volume investigates the psychology of gender from a variety of theoretical perspectives ranging from the evolutionary to the social constructionist account. Providing comprehensive coverage of different gender theories, and compiling these theories in an intelligent and relevant framework for examination, The Psychology of Gender offers the broadest available exploration of the timely and provocative questions involved in gender studies. The Psychology of Gender, in its attempt to understand all of the issues surrounding gender and gender issues, does not give preference to one specific viewpoint or approach. Instead, the chapter authors vary both in how they view gender and in how they support their view: Some address broad sweeping theories, while others focus on a specific issue. The book is divided into three major sections. Chapters in the first section address how gender affects our thoughts and behavior. The second section explores broad theories of why the two genders appear to be different. Finally, the third section illustrates how gender operates in biological and cultural ways. The concludingsection is an integration of all the perspectives discussed in the book. Each of these sections is steeped in both theory and data, with chapters written by distinguished authorities. Together, their contributions provide a uniquely comprehensive, interdisciplinary view of the many controversial issues that surround the topic. Providing a valuable framework for the study of gender, this book illuminates the social and scholarly debates that have profound implications for the way men and women perceive themselves, and how these perceptions affect their relationships at work, with their children, and with each other. It will interest clinicians and researchers, academics, and informed general readers alike. Clearly written and well integrated, it serves as a text for courses in the psychology of gender and as supplementary reading for introductory courses in psychology, social psychology, and sociology.

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