BIOPSYCHOLOGY OF SEX DIFFERENCES

Autumn 2010

Course Number: HUDV 30901 / PYSC 31600 / EVOL 36900

This course will explore the biological basis of mammalian sex differences and reproductive behaviors. We
will consider a variety of species, including humans. We will address the physiological, hormonal, ecological
and social bases of sex differences. To get the most from this course, you should have some background in
biology, preferably from taking an introductory course in biology, animal behavior or biological psychology.

Instructor: Prof. Jill Mateo

Class time: Tuesday & Thursday 1:30-2:50 pm
Location: BSLC 202
Office hours: by appointment only; contact me via email (jmateo@uchicago.edu) or phone (834-9848)
Letter grade; students are welcome to audit the course or take it Pass/Fail (confirm with me by fourth week).

CALENDAR OF DISCUSSION TOPICS

WEEK DATE TOPIC

1 Sept. 28 Introduction, Course Mechanics and Conceptual Issues
1 Sept. 30 Sexual Differentiation in Development

2 Oct. 5 Discussion
2 Oct. 7 Mechanisms of Sex Determination & Developmental Sex Differences

3 Oct. 12 Discussion
3 Oct. 14 Neuroendocrinology of Sexual Behavior & Sexual Orientation

4 Oct. 19 Discussion
4 Oct. 21 Social Influences on Sexual Behavior

5 Oct. 26 Discussion
5 Oct. 28 Sexual Selection Theory

6 Nov. 2 Discussion
6 Nov. 4 Marriage, Mating Systems and Male-Female Conflict

7 Nov. 9 Discussion
7 Nov. 11 Parenting Strategies

8 Nov. 16 Discussion
8 Nov. 18 Sex Differences in Motor Skills and Cognition

9 Nov. 23 Discussion
9 Nov. 30 Sex Differences in Aggression and Cooperation

Finals week Class presentations – to be scheduled during Week 5

 GRADING
Class format: I will be lecturing on Mondays throughout the term, making use of Powerpoint and data from
published articles to illustrate the points I want to make. I encourage you to ask questions or make
comments during the class period, especially, but not only, if what I have said is unclear. I hope you will be
actively involved in the class and will not be afraid to speak up! On Tuesdays we will discuss empirical
journal articles that you have found related to the previous Thursday topic.

Course work. Participants in the course will do two things. First, each Tuesday (except week 2) you will be
expected to bring a summary of an empirical article related to the recent lecture material. In the summary,
provide a complete bibliographic reference, a summary of the study written in your words (not lifting from
the article’s abstract), how it relates to topics presented in class, possible alternative approaches or
explanations, and the most compelling results of the article. It need not be more than 2-3 paragraphs. To find
articles, try searching Psycinfo or Web of Science, using keyword searches. For those of you interested
particularly in humans, specific journals would include Human Nature, Ethology & Sociobiology, and
Evolution & Human Behavior, in addition to the more general science journals (Science, Nature,
Proceedings, etc.). We will likely discuss half of the articles at each class, alternating weeks so everyone
‘presents’ every other week, so be prepared to be asked questions about it, including questions that will be
impossible for you to answer! Each week you will hand in to me a written summary, whether we discussed
your article that week or not.

Second, you are expected to present your own ‘mini-lecture’ of some topic of your choosing, related to
the biopsychology of sex differences. This is an opportunity to 1) delve into specific areas of sex differences
that interest you most, 2) gather theoretical and empirical information about the topic, 3) create a
professional presentation (using overheads or Powerpoint), and 4) give an oral presentation in a friendly,
comfortable atmosphere – something you will have to do in one way or another for the rest of your careers.
You will also submit a 3-5 page paper summarizing your presentation. Additional details to come later.

READINGS We will not use a textbook for this course, as all are too general for what we will be
discussing. We will have 2-3 readings of varying length and detail for each week, related to the topics on
which I will be lecturing. They can be downloaded from Chalk. List is subject to change.

Week 1 Introduction and Conceptual Issues

Kimura, D. 1999. Sex and Cognition. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Chapter 1.
Holekamp, K. E. & Sherman, P. W. 1989. Why male ground squirrels disperse. American Scientist, 77, 232-239.

Week 1 Sexual Differentiation in Development

Wallen, K. 1996. Nature needs nurture: the interaction of hormonal and social influences on the development of
behavioral sex differences in rhesus monkeys. Hormones and Behavior, 30, 364-378.
Alexander, G. M., & Hines, M. 2002. Sex differences in response to children’s toys in nonhuman primates. Evolution &
Human Behavior, 23, 467-479.
Field, E. F., Whishaw, I. Q., Pellis, S. M., Watson, N. V. 2006. Play fighting in androgen-insensitive tfm rats: Evidence
that androgen receptors are necessary for the development of adult playful attack and defense. Developmental
Psychobiology, 48, 111-120.
(optional) Meaney, M. J., & McEwen, B. S. 1986. Testosterone implants into the amygdala during the neonatal period
masculinize the social play of juvenile female rats. Brain Research, 398, 324-328.

Week 2 Mechanisms of Sex Determination & Developmental Sex Differences

Jegalian, K. & Lahn, B. T. 2001. Why the Y is so weird. Scientific American, 284, 56-61.
Lahn, B. T. & Jegalian, K. 1999. The key to masculinity. Scientific American Presents, 10, 20-25.
Goodwin, S. F. 1999. Molecular neurogenetics of sexual differentiation and behaviour. Current Opinion in
Neurobiology, 9, 759-765.
Swaab, D. F., Chung, W. C. J., Kruijver, F. P. M., Hofman, M. A., & Ishunina, T. A. 2001. Structural and functional sex
differences in the human hypothalamus. Hormones and Behavior, 40, 93-98.
Week 3 Neuroendocrinology of Sexual Behavior & Sexual Orientation
Carter, S. C. 2002. Hormonal influences on human sexual behavior. In Becker, J. B., Breedlove, S. M., Crews, D. &
McCarthy, M. M. (Eds.), Behavioral Endocrinology 2nd edition (pp. 205-222). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
(optional; general background for those who need it)
Rogers, L. 2001. Sexing the Brain. NY: Columbia University Press. Chapter 3, “Gay genes?” (pp. 47-69).
LeVay, S. 1991. A difference in hypothalamic structure between heterosexual and homosexual men. Science, 253,
1034-1037.
Rammsayer, T. H. & Troche, S. J. 2007. Sexual dimorphism in second-to-fourth digit ratio and its relation to gender-
role orientation in males and females. Personality and Individual Differences, 42, 911-920.

Week 4 Social Influences on Sexual Behavior

Baker, J. V., Abbott, D. H., & Saltzman, W. 1999. Social determinants of reproductive failure in male common
marmosets housed with their natal family. Animal Behaviour, 58, 501-513.
Frisch, R. 1988. Fatness and fertility. Scientific American, March, 88-95.
McClintock, M. K. & Herdt, G. 1996. Rethinking puberty: The development of sexual attraction. Current Directions in
Psychological Science, 5, 178-183.
Jacob, S., Spencer, N. A., Bullivant, S. B., Sellergren, S. A., Mennella, J. A., McClintock, M. K. 2004. Effects of
breastfeeding chemosignals on the human menstrual cycle. Human Reproduction, 19, 422-429.

Week 5 Sexual Selection Theory

Barash, DP. 1982. How it works: Evolution as a process. In: Sociobiology and Behavior. Elsevier, NY. pp. 11-19.
(optional – basic introduction)
Krebs, JR & Davies, NB. 1993. Sexual conflict. In: An Introduction to Behavioural Ecology (3rd ed.). Blackwell,
Boston. Pp. 183-206.

Week 6 Marriage, Mating Systems and Male-Female Conflict

Emlen, S. T. 1995. An evolutionary theory of the family. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 92, 8092-
8099.
Buss, D. M. 1989. Sex difference in human mate preferences: Evolutionary hypotheses tested in 37 cultures. Behavioral
and Brain Sciences, 12, 1-18. (skim before printing all pages)
(optional) Lummaa, V. & Clutton-Brock, T. 2002. Early development, survival and reproduction in humans. Trends in
Ecology and Evolution, 17, 141-147.

Week 7 Parenting Strategies

Wynne-Edwards, K. E. & Reburn, C. J. 2000. Behavioral endocrinology of mammalian fatherhood. Trends in Ecology
and Evolution, 15, 464-468.
Kozorovitskiy, Y., Maria Hughes, M., Lee, K., Gould, E. 2006. Fatherhood affects dendritic spines and vasopressin V1a
receptors in the primate prefrontal cortex. Nature Neuroscience, 9, 1094-1095.
Bardi, M., French, J. A., Ramirez, S. M., Brent, L. 2004. The role of the endocrine system in baboon maternal behavior.
Biological Psychiatry, 55, 724-732.

Week 8 Sex Differences in Motor Skills and Cognition

Kimura, D. 1999. Sex differences in the brain. Scientific American. 26-31.
Sherry, D. F. & Hampson, E. 1997. Evolution and the hormonal control of sexually-dimorphic spatial abilities in
humans. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 1, 50-56.
(optional) Neave, N., Menaged, M. & Weightman, D. R. 1999. Sex differences in cognition: The role of testosterone
and sexual orientation. Brain and Cognition, 41, 245-262.

Week 9 Sex Differences in Aggression and Cooperation

Mazur, A. & Booth, A. 1998. Testosterone and dominance in men. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 21, 353-363.
Campbell, A. 1999. Staying alive: Evolution, culture, and women's intrasexual aggression. Behavioral and Brain
Sciences, 22, 203-252.