Fearfulness in female and male cats

Abstract

Cats were observed in four moderately frightening novel situations. One of 12 response measures indicated that females are more fearful than males, 1 indicated that males are more fearful than females, and the remaining 10 measures revealed no significant difference between males and females. The results thus yield no evidence of any large and consistent difference in fear between female and male cats. Gonadal hormones do not determine any single pattern of sex difference in fearfulness in different species of mammals. Species-specific patterns of social organization may predict sex differences in fear in studied species more accurately than endocrine factors. © 1979 Psychonomic Society, Inc.