A character's Mental Sex determines how he or she approaches solving a problem. Male mental sexed characters use a linear, cause-and-effect approach (e.g. Jake in Chinatown, and Ripley in Aliens). Female mental sexed characters use a holistic, relativistic approach (e.g. Mulder in The X-Files, and Rose in Titanic). The mental sex of the Main Character frequently mirrors the mental sex of the author (independent of gender), though some authors purposely give the Main Character the opposite of his or her own mental sex in order for the author to explore what it's like being on 'the other side.'