Temperamental traits of women applying for a type of job that has been characterized historically by male identity The military career as case study

Over the past fifty years in the Western world the professions and activities that were once practised only by males, are now available to females, too. Affective temperaments, in line with their adaptive function, influence career choices. In general, males and females have proved to have different temperamental profiles. In this study we inquire into the question whether gender differences in temperament have continued unchanged in a field, such as the military career, that has been historically characterized by a male identity. 1426 males and 122 females wishing to become a cadet in the Italian Air Force were tested using TEMPS-A[P] (the Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris and San Diego self-questionnaire, Pisan version). Univariate and multivariate analyses failed to distinguish males from females. Both males and females tend to have a high score on the hyperthymic scale (generally, a typical male temperament) and a very low one on the cyclothymic scale (generally, a typical female temperament), with low scores on the depressive and the irritable scales. This study supports the idea that different gender-related temperaments are functional to differences in the roles played by males and females during the biological and social evolutionary process.