ABSTRACT
This chapter is to debunk two central myths about sex differences in social and communication behavior. Despite the insensitivity of the PONS, it consistendy reveals sex differences. Meta-analyses of sex differences using a variety of measures of nonverbal sensitivity also demonstrate the superior skill of women in this domain. It has been suggested that sex differences really reflect gender differences in sex role orientation. Hall demonstrated that there is no age effect for sex differences in nonverbal sensitivity. Even in the communication literature, which is normally oblivious to genetics as a field, communication scholars Stewart, Cooper, and Friedley listed male excellence in visuospatial ability as one of only four well-established primary sex differences. Sex hormones influence the development of numerous adaptive sex differences including secondary sexual characteristics at puberty. Humans are a moderately dimorphic species; that is, most human characteristics are possessed by both men and women.
