Problem:
This is the first large-scale study assessing sex differences and gender roles in empathy and moral cognition. Given that our sample size is representative of individuals in our a priori defined population, and that our results are hence generalizable to the population addressed in the study, the latter may be considered as population-based research [93]. Despite their contributions, our studies feature some limitations. First, we assessed a population-based sample with the EPT task, but only a subsample of these participants completed the self-report questionnaire. Further studies should assess larger representative samples with self-report instruments to determine the actual impact of sex differences and their significance. Second, most responses came from Latin American countries. Although previous studies [15-19, 54, 62, 94, 95] have assessed Latin American populations with similar versions of the instruments employed here, future studies with representative samples from all over the world are needed to determine the generalizability of the present results. Third, though our findings suggest that sex differences in self-reported empathy may be explained by the participants' identification with gender-role stereotypes, here we did not provide empirical support for this explanation. Further experimental studies on empathy and its relationship with gender-role stereotypes are needed to test this hypothesis. Need Assignment Help?