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Psychology Sex differences and personality

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Psychology Sex differences and personality
Sex Differences and Personality Traits

Abstract
The aim of the study was to investigate whether there was an association between sex differences and certain personality traits. It was hypothesised that Females would have higher levels of Neuroticism (Personality Trait) than males. A second hypothesis was proposed that Males would have a higher Extraversion (Personality trait) levels than females. A sample size consisting of 263 University of Tasmania students undertaking first year Psychology, voluntarily took part in the study as part of the course requirement, with 166 of the participants being female. The study was a survey which was directed online, analysing each of the five personality traits as measured by the HEXACO-60 (Lee and Ashton, 2009) and anxiety by the DASS-21 (Lovibond and Lovibond, 1995). Consistent with both of the hypothesis, it was found in this study, that males had higher levels of Extroversion than females. It was also found that females had higher levels of Neuroticism than males. These results suggest in order for the previous hypothesises to be consistent, there needs to be more studies conducted on first year psychology students from other universities around the country, participating in the exact surveys in the same conditions.

Introduction
(Weisberg.J.W, DeYoung.G.C, Hirsh.B.J, 2011) stated that males and females have different biological roles when it comes to propagation of the species. How much they differ psychologically is a more controversial question. Whether the underlying causes of psychological gender differences are evolutionary or socio-cultural, understanding how males and females differ in the ways in which they think, feel, and behave can shed light on the human condition. The study of personality in this case is particularly useful in attempting to examine psychological differences between the two sexes. Personality can be defined as the psychological assets



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