Evolved Sex Differences in Modern Context

Abstract

Darwin's (1871) sexual selection “ competition with individuals of the same sex and species for access to mates and discriminative choice of mating partners “ is now widely accepted in the biological sciences as the primary source of evolved sex differences, but remains controversial in psychology and the social sciences. Nevertheless, I have argued that the associated principles of intrasexual competition and intersexual choice provide the unifying framework for not only understanding the biological basis of human sex differences, but also for more fully understanding cultural and historical variation in how these differences are expressed (Geary, 2010). Here, I use sex differences in patterns of academic achievement, behavioral aggression and risk taking, psychological disorders, and occupational achievement to illustrate how sex differences in a variety of evolved traits can manifest in a modern context.