There are also, as Wilson points out, categorical differences between the two genres, both musically and in terms of presentation: "Mr. Belafonte's consciously precise and rounded diction is the direct opposite of Mr. Presley's mumbled and swallowed syllables," Wilson writes.
Unfortunately, the continuing belief in "categorical differences" — men are aggressive, women are caring — reinforces traditional stereotypes by treating certain behaviors as immutable.
Just to be safe, we repeated our analyses on several dimensions where we did expect categorical differences: physical size, athletic ability and sex-stereotyped hobbies like playing video games and scrapbooking.
When broken down to non-experts and experts, categorical differences varied between the two groups.
Categorical differences in baseline characteristics and outcomes were first evaluated between music and non-music groups incorporating Fishers' exact test, or Mann-Whitney tests where appropriate.
Biologisation occurs when a category is seen as grounded in biology, essentialisation when categorical differences are seen as an essential feature of individuals and populations, rather than as resulting from standards that are part of the categorisation practices.
Evolutionary biology can be a bit of a blunt instrument, especially when it seeks to explain big, categorical differences -- like sex differences.
Of course, some will try and shore up this dissolving sand castle, with assertions about Mars and Venus, or reference to categorical differences in brain chemistry, chromosomal arrangements, or reproductive hormones.
