The centerpiece of the attack on her position, however, is a comprehensive review of research on moral development in more than ten thousand subjects by Lawrence Walker. Walker goes on to admit, however, that the moral development scales used for his analyses say very little about the precise norms and social orientations underlying moral judgment. The intuitive appeal of Gilligan's distinction between male and female attitudes should give pause to her critics. Just Don't Understand classified the conversational styles of men and women in terms of a male preoccupation with autonomy and status and a female preoccupation with intimacy, she touched on very much the same issues. Tannen's position, too, struck a chord.
Newborn babies cry in response to the sound of another baby's cry.
It is not just a matter of noise sensitivity, as babies react more intensely to these sounds than to equally loud computer-simulated cries or animal calls. Their reaction is regarded as an expression of emotional contagion, and thought to provide the underpinnings of empathy. Studies consistently demonstrate higher levels of this kind of emotional contagion in female than in male infants. At later ages as well, empathy seems more developed in females. It is possible that boys and girls play different games, build different social networks, and develop different moral outlooks because they are born with psychological differences that are subsequently elaborated and modified by the social environment.