Reports an error in "Why can't a man be more like a woman?
Sex differences in Big Five personality traits across 55 cultures" by
David P. Schmitt,
Anu Realo, Martin Voracek and J端ri Allik (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2008[Jan], Vol 94[1], 168-182). Some of the
sample sizes presented in Table 1 were incorrectly reported. The correct
sample sizes are presented in the erratum. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2007-19165-013.) Previous research suggested that
sex differences in personality traits are larger in prosperous, healthy, and egalitarian cultures in which women have more opportunities equal with those of men. In this article, the authors report cross-cultural findings in which this unintuitive result was replicated across samples from 55 nations (N = 17,637). On responses to the Big Five
Inventory, women reported higher levels of neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness than did men across most nations. These findings converge with previous studies in which different Big Five measures and more limited samples of nations were used. Overall, higher levels of human development--including long and healthy life, equal access to knowledge and education, and economic wealth--were the main nation-level predictors of larger
sex differences in personality. Changes in men's personality traits appeared to be the primary cause of
sex difference variation across cultures. It is proposed that heightened levels of
sexual dimorphism result from personality traits of men and women being less constrained and more able to naturally diverge in developed nations. In less fortunate social and economic conditions, innate personality differences between men and women may be
attenuated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved).
