Sex Differences in Antisocial Behavior: Does Research Methodology Produce or Abolish Them?

The literature on sex differences in antisocial behavior is classified into two categories: those studies which demonstrate boys to be more antisocial and those which show no difference. It is pointed out that both a failure experience and the presence of an adult during the dependent measure are conducive to the first type of outcome, whereas success or no-failure experiences and the absence of an adult are conducive to the second type. These elements of the experiments may play a greater role in producing or abolishing sex-differential behavior than do sex differences in personality that are alleged to be pervasive or even innate; a mechanism for that is explicated.