Figure 1
Overview of the dilemmas facing liberals (left panel) and conservatives (right panel) in the context of gender differences and evolution. Core beliefs are shown in white (liberals) and black (conservatives) to reflect their opposing polarity. Because core beliefs are thought to be inviolable they are connected by chains. Potential explanatory variables for gender differences are shown in gray. Arrows represent presumed conflict between constructs, support, or neutrality.
Table 1
Items with 7-point response scale used in the survey and their short names.
| Item name | Item (R = reverse scored) |
|---|---|
| 1. Free market | |
| FMUnresBest | An economic system based on free markets unrestrained by government interference automatically works best to meet human needs. |
| FMLimitSocial | The free market system may be efficient for resource allocation but it is limited in its capacity to promote social justice. (R) |
| FMMoreImp | The preservation of the free market system is more important than localized environmental concerns. |
| FMThreatEnv | Free and unregulated markets pose important threats to sustainable development. (R) |
| FMUnsustain | The free market system is likely to promote unsustainable consumption. (R) |
| 2. Religiosity | |
| RelComf | Do you agree with the following statement? “Religion gives me a great amount of comfort and security in my life.” |
| RelGod | I believe in God. |
| RelAfterlife | I believe in some kind of afterlife. |
| RelNatWorld | I do not think religion can or should make claims about the natural world. (R) |
| RelRelig | I do not consider myself a religious person. (R) |
| 3. Evolution | |
| EvoAnimals | I believe that animals have changed over time by a process of evolution. |
| EvoSupported | I accept evolution by natural selection as a well-supported scientific theory. |
| EvoSpecies | I believe that all species, including humans, have a common evolutionary origin. |
| EvoCreated | I believe that species were created individually and do not change over time. (R) |
| EvoCrisis | I believe that the theory of evolution by natural selection is in crisis and about to be overturned. (R) |
| 4. Vaccinations | |
| VaxSafe | I believe that vaccines are a safe and reliable way to help avert the spread of preventable diseases. |
| VaxNegSide | I believe that vaccines have negative side effects that outweigh the benefits of vaccination for children. (R) |
| VaxTested | Vaccines are thoroughly tested in the laboratory and wouldn’t be made available to the public unless it was known that they are safe. |
| VaxRisky | The risk of vaccinations to maim and kill children outweighs their health benefits. (R) |
| VaxContrib | Vaccinations are one of the most significant contributions to public health. |
| 5. Rejection of Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) | |
| CAMDanger | Complementary medicine can be dangerous in that it may prevent people getting proper treatment. |
| CAMCure | Complementary medicine builds up the body’s own defenses, so leading to a permanent cure. (R) |
| CAMIneffect | Homeopathy has been shown again and again to be ineffective as a cure for anything. |
| CAMSaves | Complementary medicine has often saved the lives of patients who were already given up by conventional doctors. (R) |
| CAMSuperior | Complementary medicine is superior to conventional medicine in treating chronic ailments such as allergies, headaches, and back pains. (R) |
| 6. Men and women evolved differently | |
| MWEvoDiff | Men and women evolved to be different and these biological differences cannot be overcome by education. |
| MWEvoViol | Evolutionary history has predisposed men more strongly than women towards violence. |
| MWEvoNurture | Evolutionary history has predisposed women more strongly than men towards being helpful and nurturing. |
| MWEvoTraits | All human traits are the product of evolution and therefore resist change. |
| MWEvoDiff2 | Thousands of years of evolution explain why differences between men and women are very difficult to overcome. |
| 7. Men and women are naturally different | |
| MWNatStrong | Men are naturally stronger than women and those differences cannot be overcome by education. |
| MWNatAggress | It is the in the nature of men to be physically aggressive more often than women. |
| MWNatCaring | Women are naturally more caring and socially supportive than men. |
| MWNatTraits | All human traits are part of our natural makeup and therefore very difficult to change. |
| MWNatDiff | Men and women are naturally different from each other and those differences are bound to stay, even if we try hard to overcome them. |
| 8. Men and women are the same | |
| MWEqu | Men and women are equally capable and powerful in all respects. |
| MWEquDiff | All differences between men and women are created by society and can be eliminated if we change society. |
| MWEquCulture | Without the pressures of culture and society women would be as much in control as men. |
| MWEquNoBio | There are no biological or physical reasons that prevent a girl today to achieve as much as a boy. |
| MWEquInvent | The categories “male” and “female” are primarily cultural inventions that have little basis in human nature. |
Figure 2
Frequency distributions of responses for the 14 items of the socio-political conservatism scale. Each histogram shows the distribution across subjects of the slider response which ranged from 0 (strong negativity) to 100 (high positivity).
Table 2
Number of responses (percentages) for each response option for all survey items using a 7-point scale.
| Item name | Strongly disagreed | Disagree | Somewhat disagreed | Neither agree nor disagree | Somewhat agree | Agree | Strongly agree | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Free market | ||||||||||||||
| FMUnresBest | 62 | (6) | 68 | (7) | 107 | (11) | 330 | (32) | 212 | (21) | 132 | (13) | 106 | (10) |
| FMLimitSocial | 20 | (2) | 40 | (4) | 78 | (8) | 376 | (37) | 237 | (23) | 164 | (16) | 102 | (10) |
| FMMoreImp | 94 | (9) | 99 | (10) | 152 | (15) | 346 | (34) | 147 | (14) | 111 | (11) | 68 | (7) |
| FMThreatEnv | 50 | (5) | 66 | (6) | 117 | (12) | 327 | (32) | 212 | (21) | 141 | (14) | 104 | (10) |
| FMUnsustain | 49 | (5) | 78 | (8) | 114 | (11) | 379 | (37) | 179 | (18) | 134 | (13) | 84 | (8) |
| 2. Religiosity | ||||||||||||||
| RelComf | 159 | (16) | 71 | (7) | 56 | (6) | 162 | (16) | 176 | (17) | 164 | (16) | 229 | (23) |
| RelGod | 87 | (9) | 30 | (3) | 29 | (3) | 111 | (11) | 84 | (8) | 150 | (15) | 526 | (52) |
| RelAfterlife | 59 | (6) | 34 | (3) | 28 | (3) | 146 | (14) | 122 | (12) | 231 | (23) | 397 | (39) |
| RelNatWorld | 129 | (13) | 98 | (10) | 90 | (9) | 359 | (35) | 110 | (11) | 88 | (9) | 143 | (14) |
| RelRelig | 228 | (22) | 161 | (16) | 112 | (11) | 115 | (11) | 108 | (11) | 129 | (13) | 164 | (16) |
| 3. Evolution | ||||||||||||||
| EvoAnimals | 56 | (6) | 29 | (3) | 45 | (4) | 137 | (13) | 214 | (21) | 280 | (28) | 256 | (25) |
| EvoSupported | 90 | (9) | 46 | (5) | 55 | (5) | 240 | (24) | 210 | (21) | 193 | (19) | 183 | (18) |
| EvoSpecies | 80 | (8) | 43 | (4) | 54 | (5) | 206 | (20) | 205 | (20) | 240 | (24) | 189 | (19) |
| EvoCreated | 168 | (17) | 168 | (17) | 185 | (18) | 182 | (18) | 110 | (11) | 116 | (11) | 88 | (9) |
| EvoCrisis | 104 | (10) | 94 | (9) | 123 | (12) | 382 | (38) | 152 | (15) | 97 | (10) | 65 | (6) |
| 4. Vaccinations | ||||||||||||||
| VaxSafe | 41 | (4) | 16 | (2) | 44 | (4) | 111 | (11) | 157 | (15) | 252 | (25) | 396 | (39) |
| VaxNegSide | 286 | (28) | 176 | (17) | 120 | (12) | 187 | (18) | 115 | (11) | 59 | (6) | 74 | (7) |
| VaxTested | 44 | (4) | 31 | (3) | 77 | (8) | 183 | (18) | 217 | (21) | 268 | (26) | 197 | (19) |
| VaxRisky | 262 | (26) | 171 | (17) | 116 | (11) | 265 | (26) | 72 | (7) | 63 | (6) | 68 | (7) |
| VaxContrib | 27 | (3) | 10 | (1) | 40 | (4) | 158 | (16) | 195 | (19) | 285 | (28) | 302 | (30) |
| 5. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) | ||||||||||||||
| CAMDanger | 33 | (3) | 41 | (4) | 101 | (10) | 332 | (33) | 249 | (24) | 166 | (16) | 95 | (9) |
| CAMCure | 46 | (5) | 61 | (6) | 129 | (13) | 434 | (43) | 188 | (18) | 94 | (9) | 65 | (6) |
| CAMIneffect | 90 | (9) | 109 | (11) | 159 | (16) | 381 | (37) | 136 | (13) | 77 | (8) | 65 | (6) |
| CAMSaves | 18 | (2) | 17 | (2) | 41 | (4) | 381 | (37) | 264 | (26) | 183 | (18) | 113 | (11) |
| CAMSuperior | 46 | (5) | 64 | (6) | 103 | (10) | 443 | (44) | 177 | (17) | 111 | (11) | 73 | (7) |
| 6. Men and women evolved differently | ||||||||||||||
| MWEvoDiff | 104 | (10) | 103 | (10) | 144 | (14) | 208 | (20) | 176 | (17) | 159 | (16) | 123 | (12) |
| MWEvoViol | 62 | (6) | 57 | (6) | 83 | (8) | 262 | (26) | 256 | (25) | 200 | (20) | 97 | (10) |
| MWEvoNurture | 52 | (5) | 39 | (4) | 64 | (6) | 231 | (23) | 253 | (25) | 240 | (24) | 138 | (14) |
| MWEvoTraits | 104 | (10) | 134 | (13) | 180 | (18) | 271 | (27) | 163 | (16) | 104 | (10) | 61 | (6) |
| MWEvoDiff2 | 86 | (8) | 77 | (8) | 97 | (10) | 282 | (28) | 243 | (24) | 141 | (14) | 91 | (9) |
| 7. Men and women naturally differ | ||||||||||||||
| MWNatStrong | 100 | (10) | 79 | (8) | 126 | (12) | 192 | (19) | 205 | (20) | 178 | (18) | 137 | (13) |
| MWNatAggress | 48 | (5) | 54 | (5) | 85 | (8) | 188 | (18) | 279 | (27) | 218 | (21) | 145 | (14) |
| MWNatCaring | 28 | (3) | 39 | (4) | 67 | (7) | 200 | (20) | 288 | (28) | 221 | (22) | 174 | (17) |
| MWNatTraits | 50 | (5) | 80 | (8) | 144 | (14) | 221 | (22) | 254 | (25) | 170 | (17) | 98 | (10) |
| MWNatDiff | 41 | (4) | 47 | (5) | 75 | (7) | 171 | (17) | 270 | (27) | 223 | (22) | 190 | (19) |
| 8. Men and women are equal | ||||||||||||||
| MWEqu | 40 | (4) | 35 | (3) | 100 | (10) | 115 | (11) | 180 | (18) | 243 | (24) | 304 | (30) |
| MWEquDiff | 108 | (11) | 111 | (11) | 161 | (16) | 199 | (20) | 188 | (18) | 129 | (13) | 121 | (12) |
| MWEquCulture | 32 | (3) | 40 | (4) | 74 | (7) | 211 | (21) | 228 | (22) | 214 | (21) | 218 | (21) |
| MWEquNoBio | 32 | (3) | 36 | (4) | 75 | (7) | 123 | (12) | 151 | (15) | 258 | (25) | 342 | (34) |
| MWEquInvent | 206 | (20) | 170 | (17) | 161 | (16) | 229 | (23) | 116 | (11) | 82 | (8) | 53 | (5) |
Figure 3
Frequency distributions of the composite scores for all constructs excluding socio-political conservatism, formed by averaging responses across items within each construct after reverse scoring. Each histogram shows the distribution across subjects of the composite score. Table 1 provides an overview of the items for each construct. All items were accompanied by a 7-point response scale ranging from “Strongly agree” (coded as 7 for analysis) to “Strongly disagree” (1) with “Neither agree nor disagree” (4) at the midpoint.
Table 3
Model fit indices associated with the measurement models for all uni-dimensional constructs.
| Construct | χ2 | df | SRMR | CFI | RMSEA | 90% CI | Correlated residuals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free market | 10.24 | 4 | 0.019 | 0.994 | 0.039 | 0.009–0.07 | FMUnresBest ↔ FMMoreImp |
| Religiosity | 41.93 | 4 | 0.026 | 0.984 | 0.097 | 0.071–0.124 | RelGod ↔ RelAfterlife |
| Evolution | 70.26 | 4 | 0.044 | 0.952 | 0.128 | 0.102–0.155 | EvoCreated ↔ EvoCrisis |
| Vaccinations | 14.21 | 4 | 0.017 | 0.995 | 0.05 | 0.024–0.079 | VaxNegSide ↔ VaxRisky |
| Rejection of CAM | 6.53 | 4 | 0.017 | 0.996 | 0.025 | 0–0.058 | CAMDanger ↔ CAMIneffect |
| Men & women evolved differently | 3.46 | 4 | 0.012 | 1 | 0 | 0–0.044 | MWEvoViol ↔ MWEvoNurture |
| Men & women naturally different | 9.31 | 4 | 0.018 | 0.993 | 0.036 | 0–0.067 | MWNatAggress ↔ MWNatCaring |
| Men & women are the same | 24.58 | 4 | 0.028 | 0.972 | 0.071 | 0.046–0.099 | MWEquDiff ↔ MWEquInvent |
| Socio-political conservatism | 281.49 | 33 | 0.045 | 0.939 | 0.086 | 0.077–0.095 | TradMarriage ↔ TradValues |
| Military ↔ Patriotism | |||||||
| CRT | 14.39 | 2 | 0.072 | 0.982 | 0.078 | 0.044–0.118 | N/A |
Table 4
Summary statistics of single-indicator latent variable models.
| Construct | sa | ωb | (1-ω) × s2c |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free market | 0.99 | 0.58 | 0.413 |
| Religiosity | 1.57 | 0.85 | 0.364 |
| Evolution | 1.17 | 0.69 | 0.423 |
| Vaccinations | 1.28 | 0.76 | 0.389 |
| Rejection of CAM | 0.76 | 0.4 | 0.344 |
| Men & women evolved differently | 0.94 | 0.56 | 0.394 |
| Men & women naturally different | 1.01 | 0.61 | 0.394 |
| Men & women are the same | 1.04 | 0.63 | 0.4 |
| Socio-political conservatism | 1.2 | 0.87 | 0.19 |
[i] a Standard deviation of composite score.
b √ω corresponds to the loading of a single-indicator manifest variable on its factor.
c Error variance of each single-indicator latent variable.
Table 5
Correlations among latent variables.
| Free market | Evolution | Rejection of CAM | Men/women evolved differently | Men/women naturally different | Men/women are the same | Religiosity | Vaccinations | Socio-political conservatism | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evolution | –0.389 | ||||||||
| Rejection of CAM | –0.182 | 0.185 | |||||||
| Men/women evolved differently | 0.179 | 0.327 | 0.048ns | ||||||
| Men/women naturally different | 0.426 | –0.307 | –0.020ns | 0.822 | |||||
| Men/women are the same | –0.271 | 0.331 | –0.009ns | –0.350 | –0.669 | ||||
| Religiosity | 0.288 | –0.598 | –0.199 | –0.110 | 0.256 | –0.246 | |||
| Vaccinations | –0.243 | 0.352 | 0.409 | –0.043ns | –0.152 | 0.192 | –0.062ns | ||
| Socio-pol conservatism | 0.484 | –0.315 | –0.199 | 0.069ns | 0.400 | –0.351 | 0.563 | –0.008ns | |
| CRT | –0.206 | 0.269 | 0.183 | –0.010ns | –0.035ns | –0.130 | –0.201 | 0.197 | –0.009ns |
[i] Note: Correlations identified with “ns” are non-significant, p > .10. All others are significant at p < .01 or less.
Table 6
Correlations among composite measures for all constructs.
| Free market | Evolution | Rejection of CAM | Men/women evolved differently | Men/women naturally different | Men/women are the same | Religiosity | Vaccinations | Socio-political conservatism | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evolution | –0.251 | ||||||||
| Rejection of CAM | –0.082 | 0.086 | |||||||
| Men/women evolved differently | 0.104 | 0.208 | 0.022ns | ||||||
| Men/women naturally different | 0.249 | –0.185 | –0.006ns | 0.496 | |||||
| Men/women are the same | –0.166 | 0.207 | –0.006ns | –0.209 | –0.407 | ||||
| Religiosity | 0.198 | –0.454 | –0.119 | –0.087 | 0.167 | –0.170 | |||
| Vaccinations | –0.159 | 0.255 | 0.220 | –0.033ns | –0.108 | 0.122 | –0.050ns | ||
| Socio-pol conservatism | 0.418 | –0.319 | –0.101 | 0.091 | 0.350 | –0.338 | 0.520 | –0.053ns | |
| CRT | –0.116 | 0.167 | 0.084 | 0.006ns | –0.008ns | –0.077 | –0.144 | 0.136 | –0.011ns |
[i] Note: Correlations identified with “ns” are non-significant, p > .10. All others are significant at p < .01 or less.
Figure 4
Structural equation model to predict scientific attitudes. Panel a shows the model with the three worldview constructs as predictors. Panel b shows the same model after inclusion of a factor representing CRT performance. All links and correlations shown are standardized and significant; all p ≤ .05. Dashed lines indicate correlations between latent variables. Indicator variables and their loadings, and disturbances on endogenous factors are not shown. Links between latent variables that are not shown are constrained to zero. Loadings and variances of single-indicator latent variables are reported in Tables 3 and 4.
Figure 5
Structural equation model to predict gender attitudes from worldviews. All links and correlations shown are standardized and significant; all p ≤ .05. Dashed lines indicate correlations between latent variables. Indicator variables and their loadings, and disturbances on endogenous factors are not shown. Links between latent variables that are not shown are constrained to zero. Loadings and variances of single-indicator latent variables are reported in Tables 3 and 4.
Figure 6
Relationship between the three gender-related constructs and acceptance of evolution. Liberals are shown on the left and conservatives on the right (median split of socio-political conservatism construct). The top panels show acceptance of evolution (represented by color of plotting symbols) and people’s responses to the constructs probing the origin of gender differences. The bottom panels show belief in gender equality (represented by color of plotting symbols) and people’s responses to the two constructs probing evolution generally (ordinate) and that men and women evolved differently (abscissa). Composite scores are used for all constructs. Dashed horizontal and vertical lines represent marginal means. Points are randomly jittered to reduce over-printing.