In questo articolo analizzeremo come maschi e femmine differiscano per quanto riguarda le caratteristiche di personalità, così come state studiate attraverso i principali questionari di personalità come quelli fondati sui cosiddetti Big Five (anche conosciuti come Five Factors Model, FFM; Goldberg, 1993) e i sedici fattori di personalità di Cattell (1946), al fine di contribuire al dibattito in corso sulle differenze tra uomo e donna, con particolare riferimento al panorama scientifico e culturale italiano. A questo scopo abbiamo effettuato una rassegna e una sintesi delle principali ricerche svolte sulle differenze di personalità, per individuare i risultati più ricorrenti, significativi dal punto di vista statistico e importanti per delle caratteristiche precipue (ad es. la ricorrenza in periodi storici o in culture differenti). Da questa rassegna è emerso che, indubbiamente, esistono delle differenze tra maschi e femmine, con una sovrapposizione tra i profili di personalità tipici che oscilla tra il 10% e il 24% (Del Giudice, 2012). Queste differenze sono presenti in varie epoche e aree culturali e, in particolare, si amplificano in zone del mondo dove le persone hanno maggiore libertà di comportamento rispetto ai tipici ruoli di genere e dove c’è maggior benessere. Utilizzando come dimensioni di riferimento i Big Five, le caratteristiche che sembrano differenziare maggiormente gli uomini e le donne sono il Nevroticismo e l’Amicalità, in modo costante in differenti periodi storici e aree culturali e, quindi, rispetto alle altre caratteristiche, hanno una maggiore probabilità di essere influenzate dalla biologia. Importanti differenze sono emerse anche per una serie di sottodimensioni degli altri fattori di personalità del Big Five o in dimensioni misurate con altri strumenti di valutazione.
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