Sexual segregation in childhood: a review of evidence for two hypotheses

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2003.07.023

Animal Behaviour

Volume 68, Issue 3, September 2004, Pages 435-443

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2003.07.023 Get rights and content

Abstract

In this paper, I review the evidence associated with two hypotheses, both ultimately derived from sexual selection theory, put forth to explain social sexual segregation in human juveniles. More proximately, I posit that segregation is motivated by sex differences in body size, physical activity and competitiveness. The first hypothesis, the energetic/behavioural hypothesis, suggests that difference in energetics is a way in which males differentiate themselves from females and develop muscle and brain systems implicated in reproductive roles. The second hypothesis, the social roles hypothesis, suggests that segregation is related to learning male and female reproductive roles. The reviewed evidence supports the view that there are differences in energetics in male and female groups. With development, the vigorous behaviours shown by males take the form of specific social roles, related to dominance and competitiveness for males and maternal roles for females.

Section snippets

Origins of social segregation

Two hypotheses have been presented to explain the existence of social segregation (Ruckstuhl 1998). By way of preview, the ‘energetic/behavioural synchrony hypothesis’ assumes that segregation is based on sexual dimorphism in terms of body size. From this view, social segregation can be realized in one of two ways. First, the ‘energetics’ view posits that males and females choose different niches to maximize their physical growth and physical fitness. Males should be more active than females

Discussion

The evidence reviewed supports the claims that energetics and reproductive social roles are proximate causes of sexual segregation. Ultimately, these differences reflect sex differences in the reproductive roles of males and females. Due to the greater variance in male reproductive success, intrasexual competition for mates leads males to be physically larger and, consequently, more active and concerned with social dominance.

Males segregate because their reproductive roles bias them towards

Acknowledgements

A version of this paper was given at the Sexual Segregation Workshop, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, September 2002. I acknowledge comments on various drafts of this paper by J. Altringham, J. Archer, D. Bjorklund, C. Leaper, J. Mitani, S. Pellis, K. Ruckstuhl, P. K. Smith and anonymous referees.

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Sexual segregation in childhood: a review of evidence for two hypotheses

Abstract

Section snippets

Origins of social segregation

Discussion

Acknowledgements

Evolution and Human Behavior

Developmental Review

Animal Behaviour

Journal of Human Evolution

Journal of Adolescence

Journal of Experimental Child Psychology

Animal Behaviour

Animal Behaviour

Animal Behaviour

Gender labels and play styles: their relative contributions to children's selection of playmates

Child Development

Evolution of the human psyche

Sexual dimorphisms and breeding systems in pinnipeds, ungulates, primates and humans

Sex and Gender

Design for a Life: How Behaviour Develops

Early androgens are related to childhood sex-typed toy preferences

Psychological Science

The social context of school playground games: sex and ethnic differences, and changes over time after entry to junior school

British Journal of Developmental Psychology

Culture and the Evolutionary Process

The evolutionary origins of play revisited: lessons from turtles

Refining the motor training hypothesis for the evolution of play

American Naturalist

Staying alive: evolution, culture and women's intra-sexual aggression

Behavioral and Brain Sciences

Infants' visual preference for sex-congruent babies, children, toys, and activities: a longitudinal study

British Journal of Developmental Psychology

Sex differences in the activity level of infants

Infant and Child Development

A preliminary study of the effects of play deprivation on young goats

Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie

Selection in relation to sex

Sexual segregation and density related changes in habitat use in male and female red deer

Journal of Zoology

Measuring the degree of sexual segregation in group-living animals

Journal of Animal Ecology

The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex

Sex differences in human motor activity level

Psychological Bulletin

Are sex differences in child motor activity level a function of sex differences in maturational status?

Child Development

Scheme for observing activity

Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment

Physiological, emotional and behavioral correlates of gender segregation