Beginning in adolescence, boys usually outperform girls on tests of spatial ability which assess skills such as mentally rotating figures in space and finding figures embedded within larger designs. Although Eleanor Maccoby and Carol Nagy Jacklin concluded that there are no cognitive differences between males and females, they did conclude there is quite a difference in aggressive behavior, with males showing more aggression than females. This was a showing well established in all cultures where aggression had been studied, actually. Their study involved the play of children at about 4.5 years old. Additionally, it is shown that both men and women equally are involved in child abuse, but men are far more often involved in the aggressive portions.
Women report being more guilty, and feel more stress over danger to themselves than males.
Yet, the overall effect is not always as large as common stereotypes may suggest. Males, for example, are generally more likely than females to report physical aggression in their behavior, intentions, and dreams. Males do not feel guilty about aggressive behavior, but females do tend to feel anxious or guilty about behaving aggressively. These feelings do lead to the inhibition of aggression. Consequently, females behave just as aggressively as males when they think that their behavior is justified.