Sex and Care: The evolutionary psychological explanations for sex differences in formal care occupations

P.K.C. Tay; Y.Y. Ting; K.Y. Tan

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00867

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Sex and Care: The evolutionary psychological explanations for sex differences in formal care occupations

Journal article

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Peer reviewed

Sex and Care: The evolutionary psychological explanations for sex differences in formal care occupations

P.K.C. Tay, Y.Y. Ting and K.Y. Tan

Frontiers in Psychology, Vol.10

2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00867

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Abstract

Men and women exhibit clear differences in occupational choices. The present article elucidates sex differences in terms of formal care occupational choices and care styles based on evolutionary psychological perspectives. Broadly (1) the motivation to attain social status drives male preference for occupations that signals prestige and the desire to form interpersonal affiliation underlies female preference for occupations that involve psychosocial care for people in need; (2) ancestral sex roles leading to sexually differentiated cognitive and behavioral phenotypic profiles underlie present day sex differences in care styles where men are things-oriented, focusing on disease management while women are people-oriented, focusing on psychosocial management. The implications for healthcare and social care are discussed and recommendations for future studies are presented.

Details

Title: Sex and Care: The evolutionary psychological explanations for sex differences in formal care occupations
Authors/Creators: P.K.C. Tay (Author/Creator) - Duke-NUS Medical School
Y.Y. Ting (Author/Creator) - Duke-NUS Medical School
K.Y. Tan (Author/Creator) - Duke-NUS Medical School
Publication Details: Frontiers in Psychology, Vol.10
Publisher: Frontiers
Identifiers: 991005541180007891
Murdoch Affiliation: Division of Social Sciences, Humanities and Education
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article

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Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration
Citation topics: 6 Social Sciences; 6.73 Social Psychology; 6.73.1369 Evolutionary Psychology
Web Of Science research areas: Psychology, Multidisciplinary
ESI research areas: Psychiatry/Psychology