Dr Fine, who is a freelance writer based in Melbourne and has a PhD in psychology from University College London, gave two keynote talks at the weekend, at the start of Dunedin's latest New Zealand International Science Festival.
In a talk titled "Sex in the Brain?", on Saturday, Dr Fine warned about the dangers of what she terms "neurosexism". She emphasised she was not being critical of neuroscience research itself and how it was initially presented in the scientific literature.
However, she was concerned that some educationists and writers of popular science were wrongly drawing conclusions - including exaggerated claims about differences between male and female thinking - which were not supported by the research.
In some instances there had been a "careless disregard of scientific accuracy".
"They're drawing conclusions from it which are completely unjustified. We need to double-check these claims."
There was also a lack of appreciation among some writers of the "huge complexity" of the brain and that the interpretation of some brain research was itself "very difficult".
"The concern is that this legitimises gender stereotypes and exaggerates them and makes them seem more inevitable," she said.
Some writers were promoting strongly determinist views, such as that women were mentally "hard-wired" to pursue only their traditional roles. Such statements could have "knock-on psychological effects, such as people starting to think of themselves in more stereotypical ways".
Dr Fine's participation in the nine-day festival, devoted to "Everyday science: It's all in your head", has been supported by the Otago branch of the New Zealand Federation of Graduate Women.
• In another talk yesterday, titled "Who's Messing with my Mind?" Dr Fine highlighted the ethical problems posed by powerfully emotive advertising aimed at children.
