Keynote speaker Simon Baron-Cohen of Cambridge University offered further biological evidence for gender differences. As director of the Autism Research Centre at Cambridge, Baron-Cohen has observed that autism more significantly affects boys than girls. Through studies of prenatal testosterone levels, he found evidence to support Hans Asperger's theory that the "autistic personality is an extreme variant of male intelligence." Baron-Cohen explained that the "physical differences in the brain and neuroanatomy . . . relate to psychological differences" between boys and girls. By correlating testosterone levels with each dominant psychological process--empathy and systemization--one finds that higher levels of prenatal testosterone correspond with a stronger interest in systems, within both genders and across both genders. Lower levels of prenatal testosterone, which are generally found in girls but also in a number of boys, cause a stronger sense of empathy. In-depth, follow-up testing of children from birth to age eight continues to support the hypothesis that "sex differences seem to be associated with fetal testosterone." Baron-Cohen concluded that "culture is important, but there are other reasons" for sex differences--namely, biological ones.

The second panel took on the issue of "stereotype threat"--the danger that one might internalize a stereotype and unconsciously conform to it. Joshua Aronson of New York University offered extensive evidence for the existence of stereotype threat. Through his research of social and psychological influences on motivation and confidence, he determined that "it is not just what you know, but what you know in loaded situations." To counter his argument, University of Pennsylvania law professor Amy Wax stated that Aronson's findings were "vastly exaggerated" in that "there is no basis . . . for identifying stereotype threat as an important, significant, or substantial factor behind gender performance differences." She went on to discuss problems in stereotype research and offered proposals on how to correct them.

AEI's Charles Murray closed the conference by thanking panelists for discussing the issues with data rather than politics. Although the issue often goes unmentioned in the academy, he predicted that further scientific research would unassailably confirm the role of biology in sex differences, but that we need not fear differences in the context of open, honest, and civil intellectual debate.

For a video and transcript of this event, visit www.aei.org/event1536/.