Abstract
Analyzing a large international data set generated by a BBC Internet survey, I examined sex differences and sexual orientation differences in six personality traits: extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism, disagreeable assertiveness, masculine versus feminine occupational preferences (MF-Occ), and self-ascribed masculinity-femininity (Self-MF). Consistent with previous research, sex differences and sexual orientation differences were largest for MF-Occ and for Self-MF. In general, heterosexual-homosexual differences mirrored sex differences in personality, with gay men shifted in female-typical and lesbians in male-typical directions. Bisexual men scored intermediate between heterosexual and gay men on MF-Occ; however, they were slightly more feminine than gay men on Self-MF. Bisexual women scored intermediate between heterosexual women and lesbians on both MF-Occ and Self-MF. Sex differences and sexual orientation differences in MF-Occ, Self-MF, and other personality traits were consistent across five nations/world regions (the UK, USA, Canada, Australia/New Zealand, and Western Europe), thereby suggesting a biological component to these differences.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
Because of missing and excluded data for various personality measures, sample sizes varied for men and women and for sexual orientation groups within each sex. As noted before, there were about half as many participants with Self-MF scores as there were participants with other personality scores because of a technical problem with the data submission process in the final module of the BBC survey. For personality traits other that Self-MF, the range of sample sizes for the comparisons listed in Table 2 was as follows: 108,651–117,648 men, 87,765–97,123 women, 94,247–101,781 heterosexual men, 74,135–82,171 heterosexual women, 5,416–5,880 gay men, 2,287–2,522 lesbian women, 4,370–4,786 bisexual men, and 5,752–6,508 bisexual women. For Self-MF sample sizes were as follows: 56,496 men, 50,291 women, 48,968 heterosexual men, 42,994 heterosexual women, 2,977 gay men, 1,283 lesbian women, 2,190 bisexual men, and 3,068 bisexual women. Sample sizes for men in total and women in total were larger than the combined sample sizes of sexual orientation subgroups because some participants were eliminated from the sexual orientation subgroups because of inconsistent responses to sexual orientation questions and others were eliminated because they did not respond to sexual orientation questions.
I deal more explicitly with national differences in mean levels of personality in R. A. Lippa (2007).
References
Bailey, J. M., Kim, P. Y., Hills, A., & Linsenmeier, J. A. W. (2000). Butch, femme, or straight acting? Partner preferences in gay men and lesbians. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 960–973.
Bailey, J. M., & Zucker, K. J. (1995). Childhood sex-typed behavior and sexual orientation: A conceptual analysis and quantitative review. Developmental Psychology, 31, 43–55.
Bem, D. J. (1996). Exotic becomes erotic: A developmental theory of sexual orientation. Psychological Review, 103, 320–335.
Bem, D. J. (2000). Exotic becomes erotic: Interpreting the biological correlates of sexual orientation. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 29, 531–548.
Cattell, R. B., Eber, H. W., Tatsuoka, M. M. (1970). Handbook for the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF). Champaign, IL: IPAT.
Costa, P. T., & McCrae, R. R. (1992). NEO PI-R professional manual: Revised NEO personality inventory (NEO PI-R) and NEO five-factor inventory (NEO-FFI). Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
Costa, P. T., Terracciano, A., & McCrae, R. R. (2001). Gender differences in personality across cultures: Robust and surprising results. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 322–331.
Eagly, A. H., Wood, W., & Diekman, A. B. (2000). Social role theory of sex differences and similarities: A current appraisal. In T. Eckes & H. M Trautner (Eds.), The developmental social psychology of gender (pp. 123–174). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Ellis, L., & Ames, M. A. (1987). Neurohormonal functioning and sexual orientation: A theory of homosexuality–heterosexuality. Psychological Bulletin, 101, 233–258.
Feingold, A. (1994). Gender differences in personality: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 116, 429–456.
Hyde, J. S. (2006). Gender similarities still rule. American Psychologist, 61, 641–642.
John, O. P., & Srivastava, S. (1999). The big five taxonomy: History, measurement, and theoretical perspectives. In L. A. Pervin & O. P. John (Eds.), Handbook of personality: Theory and research (2nd ed., pp. 102–138). New York: Guilford.
Kagan, J. (1964). Acquisition and significance of sex-typing and sex-role identity. In M. L. Hoffman & L. W. Hoffman (Eds.), Review of child development research (Vol. 1, pp. 137–167). New York: Russell Sage.
Lippa, R. (1998). Gender-related individual difference and the structure of vocational interests: The importance of the “People-Things” dimension. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 996–1009.
Lippa, R. A. (2005a). Gender, nature, and nurture (2nd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Lippa, R. A. (2005b). Sexual orientation and personality. Annual Review of Sex Research, 16, 119–153.
Lippa, R. A. (2006). The gender reality hypothesis. American Psychologist, 61, 639–640.
Lippa, R. A. (2007). Men’s and women’s extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism, and gender-related occupational preferences across 53 nations: Probing biological and cultural contributions to sex differences in personality. Unpublished manuscript. California State University, Fullerton, CA.
Lippa, R., & Connelly, S. C. (1990). Gender diagnosticity: A new Bayesian approach to gender-related individual differences. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 1051–1065.
Meyer, I. H. (2003). Prejudice, social stress, and mental health in lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations: Conceptual issues and research evidence. Psychological Bulletin, 129, 674–697.
Patterson, C. A. (1997). Personality correlates of male sexual orientation and recalled childhood sex-typed behaviors. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, American University, Washington, DC.
Pillard, R. C. (1991). Masculinity and femininity in homosexuality: “Inversion” revisited. In: J. C. Gonsiorek & J. D. Weinrich (Eds.), Homosexuality: Research implications for public policy (pp. 32–43). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Prediger, D. J. (1982). Dimensions underlying Holland’s hexagon: Missing link between interests and occupations? Journal of Vocational Behavior, 21, 259–287.
Reimers, S. (2007). The BBC Internet study: General methodology. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 36, 147–161.
Rieger, G., Chivers, M. L., & Bailey, J. M. (2005). Sexual arousal patterns of bisexual men. Psychological Science, 16, 579–584.
Schmitt, D. P., & Buss, D. M. (2000). Sexual dimensions of person description: Beyond or subsumed by the Big Five? Journal of Research in Personality, 34, 141–177.
Twenge, J. M. (2001). Changes in women’s assertiveness in response to status and role: A cross-temporal meta-analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 133–145.
Tracey, T. J. G., & Rounds, J. (1993). Evaluating Holland’s and Gati’s vocational interest models: A structural meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 113, 229–246.
Wilson, G., & Rahman, Q. (2005). Born gay: The psychobiology of sex orientation. London: Peter Owen Publishers.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lippa, R.A. Sex Differences and Sexual Orientation Differences in Personality: Findings from the BBC Internet Survey. Arch Sex Behav 37, 173–187 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-007-9267-z
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-007-9267-z