What is Male Psychology?

Male Psychology FAQs

What is male psychology?

Male psychology is a new field within the discipline of psychology. It is mainly focused on men and boys, sometimes by comparison with women and girls. Someone working from a male psychology standpoint might study males in various settings e.g the workplace; or study men using different services e.g health services; or study from a different perspectives e.g biological and social; or apply theories e.g social identity theory; or study a specific demographic of men e.g older men. Areas of interest may include a focus on issues where statistics tell us that men are predominately impacted e.g suicide, as well as issues that may impact women more than men but where there is a concern that the impact on men is under-researched e.g male victims of sexual abuse.

Male psychology asks questions such as: what does existing research tell us about masculinity, and how best can we help with the mental health of men? Male psychology involves many different activities, such as conducting research and disseminating findings, some of which may have implications for theory, therapy, policy etc.

Why is it called ‘male psychology’?

Male psychology covers a spectrum of age groups (e.g adults, adolescents etc) and species (e.g humans, chimpanzees etc), so the term ‘male’ is a suitably flexible umbrella term. The term encompasses a focus on biology to a greater degree than subjects that include terms like ‘gender’ in their title. It also helps to differentiate this subject from subjects like men’s studies and gender studies, which although sound similar to male psychology, take a less scientific and more socio-political approach.

Why do we need male psychology when other disciplines already study masculinity?

Masculinity is only one aspect of male psychology. In recent years masculinity has been studied from an excessively socio-political perspective, portraying masculinity in a negative light using terms such as ‘toxic masculinity’ and ‘hegemonic masculinity’. The new field of male psychology brings a more balanced and scientific approach, for example, encouraging the incorporation of a ‘strengths-based’ approach to men in therapeutic interventions. One of the key aspects of this subject is that it recognises the complexity of men’s psychology, and therefore the need to assimilate information from multiple perspectives.  Thus, a researcher focusing on masculinity using only a sociopolitical lens wouldn’t necessarily be classified as working from a male psychology perspective due to an over-reliance on this perspective. A male psychology perspective will recognise social influences, but will also recognise other influences, such as those from biological and evolutionary sources.

Is male psychology a recognised field?

The British Psychological Society has had a Male Psychology Section since 2018. The field is active academically, with several academic papers , two textbooks and since 2020 an undergraduate psychology module.

What is the difference between male psychology, The Male Psychology Network, The Male Psychology Centre and the Male Psychology Section of the British Psychological Society?

Male psychology is the name of the field of study, as described above. The Male Psychology Network (MPN) was the organisation which provided a platform for the field to develop. The Centre for Male Psychology incorporated and succeeds the Male Psychology Network as the new platform from which wider developments in male psychology can be made and shared.

The Male Psychology Section of the British Psychological Society was created through campaigning, predominately from the Male Psychology Network, for more awareness of male psychology within the professional body that is the BPS.

To find out more about the Male Psychology Section of the BPS click here.

To find out more about The Centre for Male Psychology click here.

Do I have to be an academic to be interested in male psychology?

Lots of people from all walks of life are naturally interested in the psychology of how men think and behave, and the differences between men and women. This means there is a lot of interest in male psychology from the general public. In light of this, The Centre for Male Psychology aims to communicate about male psychology in an accessible way, in addition to a specialised academic style. Male psychology is, at its heart, an academic field because of its emphasis on the need for a scientific evidence-base to understand this field.

What are the benefits of learning about male psychology?

Learning about male psychology either as a professional or member of the general public puts you at the forefront of understanding important topics such as the possible causes of the high male suicide rate, male educational underachievement, and male criminality. (This list from the book ‘Perspectives’, gives a sense of the breadth of issues covered in male psychology).  These issues obviously have major social implications, but intriguingly, they are seldom the focus of academic research, education and training.  Learning about male psychology is an excellent way to keep up with this new field, as well as advancing your own knowledge and understanding of these complex issues. 

I am new to male psychology. Where is the best place to start learning about it?

The textbook ‘Perspectives in Male Psychology’ provides the best general introduction to the topic. For those more interested in therapeutic approaches to men’s mental health, the Palgrave Handbook of Male Psychology Mental Health is ideal. In addition, we have lots of free lectures on YouTube , and there are some free academic papers on our website.  To keep up to date with new information, make sure you have signed up to The Centre for Male Psychology newsletter here.