For decades, popular writers have entertained readers with the
premise that men and women are so psychologically dissimilar
they could hail from entirely different planets. But a new study
shows that it's time for the Mars/Venus theories about the sexes
to come back to Earth. From empathy and sexuality to science
inclination and extroversion, statistical analysis of 122
different characteristics involving 13,301 individuals shows
that men and women, by and large, do not fall into different
groups. In other words, no matter how strange and inscrutable
your partner may seem, their gender is probably only a small
part of the problem. "People think about the sexes as distinct
categories," says Harry Reis, professor of psychology at the
University of Rochester and a co-author on the study to be
published in the February issue of the Journal of Personality
and Social Psychology. "'Boy or girl?' is the first question
parents are asked about their newborn, and sex persists through
life as the most pervasive character