Sex Categorization in Computer Mediated Communication (CMC): Exploring the Utopian Promise

Cue-lean media lack the physical information people traditionally rely on for social status attributions. It is possible the absence of this visible physical information reduces the influence of categorizations such as biological sex. If this were true, then cue-lean media may facilitate more egalitarian participation in interactions where all voices are equal (Hert, 1997; Lea & Spears, 1992; Rice & Love, 1987; Siegel, Dubrovsky, Kiesler, & McGuier, 1986). These predictions are part of what has been called the utopian promise of cue-lean media. At the same time, these social status attributions are mentally salient, perceived to provide useful information, and frequently used in the person perception process (Bodenhausen & Macrae, 1998). It is possible that the mental salience of these categories sustains people's reliance on them whether the physical indicators are visible or not. These contrasting predictions were tested using a between-subjects experimental design. Forty-two undergraduates at a large Midwestern university took part in this experiment. Participants engaged in the desert survival task across networked computers using text. Following the interactions, more than 1/3 of participants did not assign their partner to a sex category. The majority of those who made an attribution of their partner's biological sex were inaccurate. Those who did not assign their partner to a sex category felt more immediacy and credibility as compared to those who did. Female participants reported the medium as being able to provide more social presence than did male participants. Implications for the utopian predictions in computer-mediated interactions are discussed.     

No Doubt About It: When Doubtful Role Models Undermine Men's and Women's Math Performance Under Threat

ABSTRACT

Past work has shown that female role models are effective buffers against stereotype threat. The present research examines the boundary conditions of this role model effect. Specifically, we argue that female role models should avoid expressing doubt about their math abilities; otherwise they may cease to buffer women from stereotype threat. For men, a non-doubtful male role model should be seen as threatening, thus harming performance. A doubtful male role model, however, should be seen as non-threatening, thus allowing men to perform up to their ability in math. To test this reasoning, men and women were exposed to either an outgroup or ingroup role model who either expressed doubt or did not. Participants then took a math exam under stereotype threat conditions. As expected, doubtful ingroup role models hurt women, but helped men's performance. Outgroup role models' expressed doubt had no differential effect on performance. We also show that expressions of doubt take on a different meaning when expressed by a female rather than a male role model.     

Childbirth pain,attachment orientations,and romantic partner support during labor and delivery

Attachment anxiety is associated with greater perceived physical pain, whereas social support is associated with lower pain perceptions. Few studies, however, have examined the joint effects of attachment and support on acute physical pain in a dyadic context. In this study, first‐time expectant mothers (N = 140) and their male partners completed romantic attachment measures (prenatally) and postnatal assessments of women's pain and men's emotional support during labor and delivery. More securely attached women benefited from emotional support in terms of reduced pain, more avoidantly attached women reported greater pain when given more support, and more anxiously attached women reported greater pain, regardless of their partners' support. These results advance our understanding of which women are most vulnerable to painful childbirth.     

An evolutionary analysis of psychological pain following rape. III: Effects of force and violence

Mental pain has been hypothesized to reflect psychological adaptation designed by selection to detect and cope with the occurrence of social problems that reduced individuals inclusive fitness in human evolutionary history. According to the hypothesis, mental pain is brought about by social tragedies in the lives of individuals and focuses an individual's attention on the events surrounding the pain, promoting correction of the pain-causing events and their avoidance in the future. The hypothesis applied to rape victims argues that in human evolutionary history raped females had increased fitness as a result of mental pain, because the pain forced them to focus their attention on the fitness-reducing circumstances surrounding rape, which are discussed. Some of the hypothesis' predictions about the psychological pain of rape victims are examined using a data set of 790 rape victims who were interviewed about their psychological traumatization within five days after the assault. Earlier analyses of these data have indicated that, as predicted, both a victim's age and marital status are proximate causes of the magnitude of psychological pain following rape: Reproductive-aged women appear to have been more severely traumatized by rape than older women or girls and married women more than unmarried women. The analyses herein indicate that, as predicted, reproductive-aged women are more likely to be victims of force and/or violence during rape than are older women or young girls. When force and/or violence was controlled, reproductive-aged women were still more psychologically traumatized by rape than were either older women or young girls. The results suggest that the psychology that regulates mental pain processes information about age and mateship status in the event of a woman's rape. The analyses reported here indicate that stranger rapes are more forceful and violent than either friend or family-member rapes.     

The moderating role of attachment insecurities in the association between social and physical pain

We examined the effects of social exclusion and attachment insecurities (anxiety, avoidance) on physical pain sensitivity, hypothesizing that anxiety would predict greater physical pain sensitivity only following social exclusion. Participants were either included in or excluded from a computer-based ball-tossing game and then completed a coldpressor task. Anxious men showed greater physical pain sensitivity when excluded, but not when included. Moreover, individuals (men and women) high on both anxiety and avoidance showed greater physical pain sensitivity when excluded, but not when included. Conclusions: Anxious individuals’ heightened physical pain sensitivity following exclusion is a manifestation of hyperactivation of their attachment systems, and when threatened, avoidant individuals who are also high in anxiety are less successful in deactivating their attachment systems.     

Once hurt,twice hurtful: how perceived regard regulates daily marital interactions

A daily diary study examined how chronic perceptions of a partner's regard affect how intimates interpret and respond to daily relationship stresses. Spouses each completed a diary for 21 days. Multilevel analyses revealed that people who felt less positively regarded read more into stressful events than did people who felt highly regarded, feeling more hurt on days after acute threats, such as those posed by a moody or ill-behaved partner. Intimates who felt less valued responded to feeling hurt by behaving badly toward their partner on subsequent days. In contrast, intimates who felt more valued responded to feeling hurt by drawing closer to their partner. Ironically, chronically activated needs for belongingness might lead people who are trying to find acceptance to undermine their marriage.     

Sex differences and personality factors in responsivity to pain

This study investigated the relationship between measured levels of masculinity-femininity, social desirability, and responsivity to pain in men and women. The literature suggests that the two personality variables might provide an explanation for the common findings of higher pain thresholds and tolerances in men than in women. A significant interaction was found between masculinity-femininity and sex for pain thresholds. Analysis of this interaction indicated that for men, but not women, there was a significant correlation between masculinity-femininity and pain, where higher masculinity was associated with higher pain thresholds. However, this finding did not account for the sex difference in pain threshold. The sex of the subject remained a significant predictor of both pain thresholds and tolerances after allowing for the influence of masculinity-femininity, social desirability, and their associated interactions.     

Linking Job Work Hours to Women’s Physical Health: The Role of Perceived Unfairness and Household Work Hours

Although the relationship between job work hours and women’s physical health has been examined, limited empirical research examines the family demand conditions that explain this relationship. Given the challenge of integrating work and family demands, we examine the boundary conditions under which job hours relate to women’s physical health by integrating the influences of household work hours, perceived unfairness of division of household labor, and traditional gender ideology. Using a large, multi-national archival dataset, our results show that women working long job hours are more likely to report decreased physical health and that this relationship is moderated by the hours and fairness perceptions of household labor: The lowest physical health was observed at high job hours and high household hours and also when women felt that they did less than their fair share of household labor. However, looking at the slopes of these relationships, the negative relationship between job hours and physical health was stronger when women worked lower household hours or felt that they contributed less than their fair share of household labor—suggesting that maintaining a contribution to household labor might be important for working women. Furthermore, these results suggest that policy and organizational interventions aimed at supporting women’s physical health could take their household labor contributions and fairness perceptions into account when assessing the negative impact of high job work hours.     

When the sexes need not differ: Emotional responses to the sexual and emotional aspects of infidelity

This study assessed whether previously reported sex differences in jealousy could be accounted for by other related emotions. Participants were presented with hypothetical scenarios involving both a sexual and an emotional infidelity, then were asked how jealous, angry, hurt, and disgusted they would be (using continuous scales). The results replicate the sex difference in response to sexual and emotional infidelity, demonstrate that it is robust when continuous measures are used, and confirm that it is unique to jealousy. Sex differences did not emerge for anger, hurt, or disgust. Instead, sexual infidelity elicited greater anger and disgust, and less hurt, than emotional infidelity, for both women and men. The results also suggest that it is the jealous response to an emotional infidelity that best discriminates women from men, and that both women and those participants in a serious, committed relationship reported significantly greater intensity in their emotional reactions, as compared to men and those not in a committed relationship.     

Perceived and Actual Discrimination in the Salaries of Male and Female Managers1

This study uses a sample of over 1000 MBA graduates from a Middle Atlantic University to test for sex differences in perceived discrimination and for the actual effects of various physical characteristics and background factors on the starting salaries and later (1983) salaries of these men and women managers. Women more often reported experiencing discrimination, and they typically identified this as general discrimination against women. Fewer men perceived any discrimination. Those men who did claimed to be the victims of affirmative action programs favoring women and blacks over them. Salary data indicated that women did earn less than men, even when controlling for work experience. Evidence for other forms of discrimination was also found. Controlling for prior work experience and year of first professional employment, age and height had a positive effect on men's starting salaries and being overweight, a negative effect. For women, starting salaries were significantly and positively affected by social class. For 1983 income, taller, non-overweight, and older men earned more, as did those who grew up in a higher social class. For women, a positive salary correlate was again being from a higher social class. Areas for future research are discussed.     

Sex differences in reasoning and emotion about altruism

This study examined sex differences in the resolution of prosocial dilemmas involving self-sacrifice. Women and men between 17 and 68 years of age were presented with hypothetical situations necessitating a choice between self and other, and asked to decide what they would choose to do. In addition, participants were asked why they made the choices they did and how they felt about them. Participants usually made the self-sacrificing choice, with no differences found between women and men in the distribution of self and other choices. Choices were justified on the basis of the respondents' own needs or those of the other person, conflict was minimized, or reasons were offered that involved stereotyped statements, interpersonal concerns, empathy, internalized affects and values, or a judgment about the capacity to help. Modes of reasoning differed somewhat between the sexes, with women using more empathic reasoning than men with other choces, and attributing their self choices more to minimal conflict and less to concern for the other's interests. There were also sex differences in participants' self-reported feelings about the choices they made. Specifically, there was evidence that women experienced more conflict than men about other choices and had more positive feelings than men did about their self choices. Several interpretations of these findings were discussed.     

Co-morbid pain conditions and feelings of invalidation and isolation among women with vulvodynia

Many women with vulvodynia also suffer from other chronic co-morbid pain conditions. Alone, these pain conditions are associated with feeling invalidated by others and feeling socially isolated. It is unclear, however, how the presence of additional pain co-morbidities are associated with the psychosocial wellbeing of women with vulvodynia. We used data from a survey administered by the National Vulvodynia Association. Women reported clinician-diagnosed vulvodynia, presence of co-morbid pain, and how often they felt that they felt no one believed their pain existed (invalidated) and isolated. Analyses determined prevalence of feeling invalidated or isolated, and the difference in prevalence when co-morbidities existed. Forty-five percent of these 1847 women with vulvodynia reported having at least one of the following five chronic pain conditions, chronic fatigue syndrome, endometriosis, fibromyalgia, interstitial cystitis, or irritable bowel syndrome. Adjusted baseline prevalence among all women of feeling invalidated was 9% and of feeling isolated was 14%. Having a co-morbid condition with vulvodynia, as well as having an increasing number of co-morbid conditions with vulvodynia, was significantly associated with the presence of feeling both invalidated and isolated. Chronic fatigue syndrome was the co-morbidity most strongly associated with feelings invalidation and isolation. One or more co-morbid pain conditions in addition to vulvodynia were significantly associated with psychosocial wellbeing. However, the temporality of the association could not be elucidated and therefore we cannot conclude that these pain conditions cause poor psychosocial wellbeing. Despite this, future studies should explore the utility of promoting validation of women's pain conditions and reducing social isolation for women with chronic pain.     

Nonverbal Behaviors and Perceptions of Sexual Intentions: Effects of Sexual Connotativeness,Verbal response,and Rape Outcome

Through the exchange of nonverbal and verbal behaviors, a man and a woman on a date negotiate situated identities. However, a woman's nonverbal and verbal behaviors may reflect an identity discrepant from the one she intended to project, leading to miscommunication between men and women regarding the woman's desire for sexual activity. In Experiment 1, subjects read scenarios in which a woman, Mary, engaged in behaviors that were low, moderate, or high in the degree to which they connotated a desire for sex. In addition, they learned that Mary responded to her date's sexual advances either by saying "no," or by slapping him, or they received no information regarding Mary's verbal response. Subjects were also informed that Mary's date either did or did not force her to have sexual intercourse. Subjects perceived Mary more sexually as her behaviors increased in sexual connotation. In addition, they perceived that Mary desired sex more when no information about her verbal response was provided than when she resisted her date's sexual advances. Subjects also rated the woman more negatively when her nonverbal behaviors were incongruent with her responses to her dale's sexual advances. Contrary to previous research, little evidence of victim derogation was obtained. Results from Experiment 2 showed that men and women agreed in their perceptions of a woman whose behaviors connoted a high interest in sex, but that men perceived behaviors low in sexual connotation ore sexually than women. Implications of the data for understanding sexual miscommunication between men and women as well as reactions to rape victims are examined.     

Social Identity versus Reference Frame Comparisons: The Moderating Role of Stereotype Endorsement

Two studies tested the prediction that belief in a negative stereotype about an in-group will cause members to shift from viewing their in-group as a social identity to viewing it as a frame of reference. The stereotype that was the focus of inquiry was the belief that women have less aptitude at math and spatial tasks than do men. In both studies, female participants took a test of math and spatial ability and then received social comparison information about their abilities relative to a male and a female confederate. In Study 1, participants felt enhanced when the two women outperformed the male confederate, even when this meant that the participants themselves performed worse than the other woman. If participants were first reminded of the negative stereotype, however, they felt best when they outperformed the other woman, even if this meant that the two women performed worse than the man. Study 2 showed that the effects of stereotype activation were especially pronounced among female participants who showed moderate to high levels of stereotype endorsement. These findings suggest that belief in stereotypes about the in-group can lead to in-group comparison and contrast, even in contexts in which a group member's ability level challenges the validity of the stereotype.     

Physical pain induces negative person perception

We examined the hypothesis that pain increases negative person perception of irrelevant others in both medical and laboratory settings in three studies. Patients perceived a nurse as more negative if the injection they received from the nurse produced more pain (Pilot Study). Patients rated neutral faces as more negative after receiving an injection than before it (Study 1). Participants who performed a painful cold pressor task rated neutral faces as more negative than a control group, but this effect only appeared for those with low perceived social support (Study 2). These findings suggest that one's experience of physical pain may be metaphorically transferred to perceptions of completely irrelevant others, inducing negative interpersonal perception. And perceived social support can ameliorate the negative effect.     

The norm of self-interest and its effects on social action

Four studies investigated whether people feel inhibited from engaging in social action incongruent with their apparent self-interest. Participants in Study 1 predicted that they would be evaluated negatively were they to take action on behalf of a cause in which they had no stake or in which they had a stake but held stake-incongruent attitudes. Participants in Study 2 reported both surprise and anger when a target person took action on behalf of a cause in which he or she had no stake or in which he or she held stake-incongruent attitudes. In Study 3, individuals felt more comfortable engaging in social action and expected others to respond more favorably toward their actions if the issue was described as more relevant to their own sex than to the opposite sex. In Study 4, the authors found that providing nonvested individuals with psychological standing rendered them as likely as vested individuals to undertake social action. The authors discuss the implications of these results for the relationship between vested interest, social action, and attitude-behavior consistency.     

How do generic statements impact performance? Evidence for entity beliefs

Generic statements about the abilities of children's social groups (e.g. ‘Girls/Boys are good at this game’) negatively impact children's performance – even if the statements are favorable towards children's own social groups. We explored the mechanism by which generic language impairs children's performance. Across three studies, our findings suggest that generic statements influence children's performance by creating an entity belief (i.e. a belief that a fixed ability determines performance). Children who were exposed to a generic statement about their social group's ability performed worse than children in control conditions. This effect hurt children's performance even when the person who made the generic statement was no longer present and a new person not privy to the statement replaced them. However, when children heard a generic statement paired with an effort explanation (i.e. ‘Girls/Boys are good at this game because they try really hard when they draw’) they performed better than children who heard the generic statement with no explanation (i.e. just ‘Girls/Boys are good at this game’) and children who heard the generic statement paired with a trait explanation (i.e. ‘Girls/Boys are good at this game because they are smart and really good at drawing’). This work uncovers when and how generic statements that refer to the ability of one's social group hinder performance, informing the development of practices to improve student motivation and learning.     

Spousal understanding and marital satisfaction in pain patients and their spouses

The current study tested the hypotheses that knee osteoarthritis (OA) patients and spouses who report more spousal understanding of patient's pain would report greater marital satisfaction. A total of 124 couples completed interviews at three time points across 18 months. Results from dyadic analyses showed that patients who felt more understood by their spouse report, and have spouses who report, higher marital satisfaction concurrently. In addition, patients who felt more understood by their spouse reported higher marital satisfaction over time. Spouses' reports of understanding also had a significant influence on the patients' and their own marital satisfaction concurrently. Results highlight the importance of spouses understanding knee OA patients' pain for both dyad members' marital satisfaction.     

How provoking! what makes men and women angry?

This study looked at differences in anger-provoking behaviors and in verbal insults as a function of the gender of the aggressor and the target of the provocation. Responses of 416 college students revealed that males were more likely to consider a female exhibiting physical aggression or a male hurting another person as anger-provoking, whereas females were more likely to mention condescending or insensitive behaviors from either sex, verbal aggression from a female, and physical aggression from a male. Physical aggression and hurting another provoked more anger when they came from a male, whereas dishonesty from a female evoked more anger. Females also felt that insensitive and condescending behaviors were worse when they came from a male. Most of the verbal insults were sexual in nature, with few sex of subject differences. However, it was considered worse for women to be called promiscuous; for men to be called sexually inadequate, worthless, or cowardly; for women to call men an obscene name; and for people to be called homosexual by a same sex speaker. These results are consistent both with previous research and with traditional gender role beliefs suggesting that women are more upset by condescending behaviors and that women's promiscuity, as well as men's aggression toward women, hurting another, sexual inadequacy, and cowardice, are viewed particularly negatively. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

On feeling understood and feeling well: The role of interdependence

The present research examined whether people feel happier and healthier when they feel more understood in daily social interactions. A two-week diary study showed that people reported greater life satisfaction and fewer physical symptoms on days in which they felt more understood by others. Moreover, we found that individuals who tend to see themselves in relations to others (i.e., women or those scored high on interdependent self-construal measure) showed a stronger association between daily felt understanding and daily life satisfaction or physical symptoms. These findings demonstrate that daily social experiences, such as felt understanding, are associated with daily well-being, particularly for individuals with greater interdependent self-construal.