Page 286 - The Social Animal

268 The Social Animal

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there is a parallel finding: James Dabbs and his colleagues found
that naturally occurring testosterone levels are significantly higher
among prisoners convicted of violent crimes than among those con-
victed of nonviolent crimes. Also, once incarcerated, prisoners with
higher testosterone levels violated more prison rules—especially
those involving overt confrontation. Dabbs and his colleagues also
found that juvenile delinquents have higher testosterone levels than
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college students. When fraternities within a given college were
compared, those generally considered more rambunctious, less so-
cially responsible, and more crude were found to have the highest av-
erage testosterone levels. 38 It is clear that testosterone affects
aggressiveness. The reverse also seems to be true: Behaving aggres-
sively increases the release of testosterone. 39
If the testosterone level affects aggressiveness, does that mean
men are more aggressive than women? When it comes to physical
aggression, the answer appears to be yes. In a wide-ranging survey of
research on children, Eleanor Maccoby and Carol Jacklin found
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that boys are consistently more aggressive than girls. For example, in
one study, the investigators closely observed children at play in a va-
riety of different countries, including the United States, Switzerland,
and Ethiopia. Among boys, there was far more nonplayful pushing,
shoving, and hitting than among girls. Similarly, among adults
worldwide, the overwhelming majority of persons arrested for vio-
lent crimes are men. When women are arrested, it is usually for prop-
erty crimes (like shoplifting, forgery, fraud, and larceny) rather than
for violent crimes (like murder and aggravated assault).
But when we consider nonphysical forms of aggression, the pic-
ture gets more complicated. Although research suggests that boys
tend to be more physically aggressive, girls are more prone to engag-
ing in a more social form of aggression, which Nikki Crick and her
associates 41 call relational aggression. Specifically, girls are more
likely to engage in activity aimed at hurting others by sabotaging
their relationships with peers. Exclusion, spreading false rumors, and
malicious gossip are prime examples, and their effects can have dev-
astating consequences, as we shall soon see.
Is the gender difference in physical aggression biological or so-
cial in origin? We cannot be sure, but some evidence points to biol-
ogy. Specifically, in our own country, the enormous social changes
affecting women during the past 40 years have not produced in-