Title: Influences of Culture and Gender on Personality
Headings: Influences of Culture and Gender on Personality
Influences of Culture and Gender on Personality
Both culture and gender are important factors that influence the development of personality.
Learning Objective
Key Points
Terms
Full Text
Culture and Personality
Gender and Personality
Influence of gender roles on personality expression
Approaches to Studying Personality in a Cultural Context
Allport's, Cattell's, and Eysenck's Trait Theories of Personality

Content: In contrast, people who live in collectivist cultures tend to value social harmony, respectfulness, and group needs over individual needs. These values influence personality in different but substantial ways; for example, Yang (2006) found that people in individualist cultures displayed more personally-oriented personality traits, whereas people in collectivist cultures displayed more socially-oriented personality traits. Gender and Personality
In much the same manner that cultural norms can influence personality and behavior, gender norms (the behaviors that males and females are expected to conform to in a given society) can also influence personality by emphasizing different traits between different genders. Ideas of appropriate behavior for each gender (masculine and feminine) vary among cultures and tend to change over time. For example, aggression and assertiveness have historically been emphasized as positive masculine personality traits in the United States. Meanwhile, submissiveness and caretaking have historically been held as ideal feminine traits. While many gender roles remain the same, others change over time. In 1938, for example, only 1 out of 5 Americans agreed that a married woman should earn money in industry and business. By 1996, however, 4 out of 5 Americans approved of women working in these fields.