Effects of sex-linked situations and sex composition on cooperation and style of interaction

One hundred and sixteen undergraduates were randomly assigned to same-sex and mixed-sex dyads. They interacted face-to-face in four different role-playing situations, half of which were female linked and half male linked. These situations were structured to give the participants mixed motives toward each other. Results indicate that sex composition and sex appropriateness of the situations affected the style of interaction more than cooperation. In both the same- and mixed-sex dyads, division of task and maintenance between group members occurred. In mixed-sex dyads, males were task oriented, and females maintenance oriented; presumably, sexual identity was used to make this division. In the same-sex dyads, the distribution of task and maintenance behaviors was worked out in the interaction. Participants rated themselves more knowledgable and were more competitive in female-linked situations than in male-linked ones. Under the conditions of the experiment, sex of the participant and sex composition of the dyad were not found to affect cooperation.     

Difference without dominance: Children's talk in mixed- and same-sex dyads

This study explores whether third graders verbalize gender differences in dominance in mixed- and same-sex interaction. We tape-recorded the conversations of 43 pairs of Caucasian working-class children playing checkers in same- or mixed-sex conditions. Children appear to develop gender-differentiated speech styles. Boys brag and insult their opponents in both mixed- and same-sex conditions more often than do girls. Girls talk off-topic, interrupt, and laugh more in same-sex dyads than do boys or either, boys or girls in mixed-sex dyads. Gender differences in same-sex interaction were reflected in mixed-sex interaction. Although boys account for a larger proportion of direct requests and self-promoting speech in mixed-sex encounters, we failed to uncover substantial asymmetry in mixed-sex interaction, indicating that boys do not conversationally dominate girls in third grade. However, children were less mutually engaged in mixed-sex than in same-sex interactions, and girls especially showed less positive affect in mixed-sex dyads.     

Mother-Child and Father-Child Interactional Synchrony in Dyadic and Triadic Interactions

Patterns of interactional synchrony were compared in mother-child and father-child dyads during dyadic and triadic interactions. Forty-two dual-earner families from the French province of Québec, Canada, participated in the study with their 32 months-old child. Parent?Cchild interactions were coded using a taxonomy including the social partners?? physical proximity, visual and body orientation, and dyadic involvement. Analyses show similar patterns of interactional synchrony in mother-child and father-child dyads in the dyadic context while father-child dyads presented less interactional synchrony than mother-child dyads when interacting in triad. Discussion focuses on the impact of the context and on the factors that could explain the changes in father-child patterns of interaction from one context to another.     

Same-Sex Sexuality and Adolescent Psychological Well-Being: The influence of sexual orientation, early reports of same-sex attraction, and gender

Emerging research has shown that those of sexual-minority (SM) status (i.e., those exhibiting same-sex sexuality) report lower levels of psychological well-being. This study aimed to assess whether this relation is largely in place by the onset of adolescence, as it is for other social statuses, or whether it continues to emerge over the adolescent years, a period when SM youth face numerous challenges. Moreover, the moderating influence of sexual orientation (identification), early (versus later) reports of same-sex attractions, and gender were also examined. Using data from Add Health, multiple-group latent growth curve analyses were conducted to examine growth patterns in depressive affect and self-esteem. Results suggested that psychological well-being disparities between SM and non-SM were generally in place by early adolescence. For many, the remainder of adolescence was a recovery period when disparities narrowed over time. Early and stable reporting of same-sex attractions was associated with a greater initial deficit in psychological well-being, especially among males, but it was also associated with more rapid recovery. Independent of the timing and stability of reported same-sex attractions over time, actual sexual orientation largely failed to moderate the relation between SM status and psychological well-being. Importantly, the sizable yet understudied subgroup that identified as heterosexual but reported same-sex attractions appeared to be at substantial risk.     

Behavioral similarity,confederate strategy,and sex composition of dyad as determinants of interpersonal judgments and behavior in the prisoner's dilemma game

The study was designed to test three distinct theoretical models relating player's attitudes toward a confederate in the prisoner's dilemma game: a reinforcing outcome model, a cultural norm model, and a social comparison model. A secondary concern of the study was to determine if player's sex, confederate's sex, and the confederate's strategy interactively influence player's choice behavior. Forty-eight male and forty-eight female subjects played 100 trials of the prisoner's dilemma game with a confederate who played either a 74% cooperative or 74% competitive predetermined strategy and then filled out the Interpersonal Judgment Scale rating the confederate. Behaviorally similar confederates received more positive evaluations than dissimilar confederates supporting the social comparison hypothesis. Further, the strategy of the confederate did not influence choice behavior in mixed-sex dyads, suggesting that sex roles may inhibit behaviorally based male-female interaction. The generality of previous gaming research which has dealt almost exclusively with same-sex dyads is called into question.     

Females in charge: Effects of sex of subordinate and romantic attachment status upon self-ratings of dominance

Female, male, and mixed-sex dyads in which one member was assigned the leader role interacted and rated their own dominance throughout the interaction. The effects of gender and romantic attachment status (whether one has an exclusive dating partner or is “unattached” and free to go out with someone new) upon these self-ratings of dominance within the interaction were examined. The results showed that both leaders and subordinates perceived female leaders to be less dominant than male leaders. In addition, members of mixed-sex pairs rated themselves as less dominant than did those in same-sex pairs. Female leaders paired with males rated themselves least dominant and unattached female leaders interacting with males rated themselves least dominant of all. Female subordinates rated themselves as less dominant when with male leaders than when with female leaders, while the effect of the gender of the leader was insignificant for male subordinates. The results are discussed as evidence of a role conflict created by the contradictory roles of “dominant” leader and “subordinate” female, roles described by the sex role stereotypes prevalent in our culture.     

Unequal Power Relationships Within a Cooperative or Corn petit ive Context

Sixty undergraduates negotiated an exchange of resources in dyads. They had either high or low power relative to the other and were within a competitive or cooperative context. Results support the hypothesis that these contexts affect unequal power persons' interaction and relationship. Compared to those in the cooperative context, high and lower power participants in the competitive context suspected each other, refused to exchange resources, developed negative attitudes toward each other, and associated power with control. In addition, low power participants in the competitive context indicated considerable insecurity about the interaction. These results highlight that previous literature has tended, often implicitly, to consider power and unequal power relationships within a competitive context. The dynamics proposed by this literature that inequality of power undermines negotiations and that power refers to the control of another were found to be much stronger within a competitive context than a cooperative one. Whereas the emphasis of the literature has been on power equalization, findings suggest that placing power differences in a cooperative con text can contribute to effective working relationships.     

IMPROVING WOMEN'S PERFORMANCE IN MIXED-SEX SITUATIONS BY EFFORT ATTRIBUTIONS

Seventy-two males and 72 females in either mixed-sex, same-sex or alone situations were led to fail on an initial task. Prior to a second task, they were given either a neutral orientation or an ego-involving orientation emphasizing attributions to effort. Without the effort attribution, women in the mixed-sex situation had lower expectations than men, performed worse, rewarded themselves less and attributed their poor performance to a lack of ability more than men did. In the same-sex and alone situations, however, the women's expectations, performance and self-reward did not differ between the effort and neutral conditions, nor did their behaviors differ from the men's. The men's expectations, performance, and preference for task difficulty attributions were not affected by the experimental manipulations. These data demonstrated the benefit of "attribution therapy" for women working in the presence of men.     

Branded Into Submission: Brand Attributes and Hierarchization Behavior in Same-Sex and Mixed-Sex Dyads

In 2 experiments, the role of brand attributes in the process of nonconscious hierarchization in dyadic interactions was examined. Experiment 1 showed that in same-sex dyads, brands that are associated with an agent and that are rated high on the brand personality dimension of competence ( Aaker, 1997 ) induced patterns of nonverbal submissive behavior on the part of the interaction partner. This effect was more pronounced for individuals with a low intrinsic tendency for dominant behavior. Experiment 2 extended these findings to mixed-sex dyads and brands that varied in overall status. Moreover, participant gender moderated the effects, such that the impact of brand status on hierarchization behavior and on agent likability was more pronounced for women than for men.     

Gender Role Self-Concept and Gender-Typed Communication Behavior in Mixed-Sex and Same-Sex Dyads

The focus of this study was the relation between both gender role self-concept and gender role attitudes with gender-related behavior of interacting partners. We observed gender-typed communication behaviors of mixed-sex and same-sex dyads and measured gender role self-concept and gender role attitudes. Thirty mixed-sex dyads, 19 women dyads, and 15 men dyads participated in a behavior observation study. The results revealed that the activation of gender role self-concept varies depending on the gender of the interacting people. Furthermore, we found that context and gender of the interacting persons moderated the relation between self-concept and behavior. Participants' gender role attitudes did not correlate with their own behaviors but did with their partners' behaviors.     

The Development and Sex-Related Use of Interruption Behavior

In this article the authors argue that claims of sex differences in interruption behavior should not be uncritically accepted as there are limitations in previous research that make such acceptance questionable. The frequency of interruption was examined over a portion of the early life span (Grades 4 and 9 and college). Twenty-minute structured conversations of 90 dyads (30 male, 30 female, and 30 mixed sex) were scored for four types of interruption, and both developmental and sex differences in interruption behavior were examined. Interruption frequency did not change over age or across dyads of different sex composition. Males did not interrupt any more than females did and females were interrupted by their partners as frequently as males were interrupted by theirs, with one exception: Grade 9females were interrupted more by their female partners. Interruptions were asymmetrically distributed in same-sex and opposite-sex dyads; however, the asymmetry in opposite-sex dyads was not predictablefrom sex of subject or sex of partner. That is, males did not interrupt females any more than females interrupted males. The authors conclude that wholesale acceptance of sex differences in interruption behavior is not warranted.     

Dominance,sex, and leader emergence

A 3×2×2 incomplete factorial design was employed to test the effects of sex, dominance, and their interaction on leader emergence. The factors included dominance distribution (high/high, high/low, middle/middle), sex (male-female), and dyad composition (mixed sex-same sex). The subjects were all Caucasians and were pretested on the California Psychological Inventory Dominance Scale. The data revealed that dominance was a predictor of leader emergence in same-sex conditions where high-dominant individuals assumed the role of leader in much greater proportions than their low-dominant partners. In mixed-sex dyads, sex appeared to be a more potent predictor with males becoming leaders at levels greater than would be suspected given dominance levels.     

INTRUSIONS UPON SAME-SEX OR DIFFERENT-SEX DYADS IN A TURKISH UNIVERSITY DINING HALL

Latencies for intrusion upon same- and different-sex dyads in a university dining hall were Investigated. Latencies were longer for different-sex dyads than for either of the male-male and female-female dyads. No significant differences were revealed between the two types of same-sex dyads. The results were explained by the assumption of greater affective interdependence for mixed-sex than same-sex dyads.     

INDIAN AND CANADIAN CHOICE BEHAVIOUR IN A MIXED-MOTIVE GAME1

The responses of same-sex dyads of male and female Indian and Canadian students were observed in a two-choice, mixed-motive, maximizing difference game. All of the females and half of the males were aware of both their own and the other's cumulative score. The remainder of the males knew only their own score. It was found that the females in both cultures were more competitive than the males and that the Indians were more competitive than the Canadians. Knowledge only of their own score reduced the competitiveness of all the males but had a greater effect on the Indians. Other differences were found based on comparisons of conditional probabilities of responses and similarities between the behaviour of the Indians and Flemish-Belgians are noted. A critical factor accounting for the results appears to be the greater use of “tit-for-tat” responding by the Canadians. It also was suggested that the motive to avoid success may be related to the similar response patterns of the Indians and the Canadian females.     

Food sharing and perceptions of the status of a relationship

This study examined how individuals may form an impression of the closeness of the relationship between two individuals based on an observation of them sharing food. An opportunity sample of 72 participants watched a video clip of young adults in same-sex or mixed-sex dyads eating a meal together. In the experimental conditions, each member of the dyad also offered or fed a morsel of food to the other person. Analysis showed that food sharing was seen as indicative of familiarity between the members of a dyad. Actually feeding the other person a morsel of food was seen as an indicator of intimacy in male dyads but not in mixed-sex or female dyads. Results are discussed in terms of expectations of intimacy in male and female relationships.     

Male/Female Gaze in Same-Sex and Mixed-Sex Dyads Gender-Linked Differences and Mutual Influence

In this study, 108 university students (54 men and 54 women) were each videotaped in two 8-minute problem-solving dyadic interactions: (1) same-sex, and (2) mixed-sex. Trained observers coded the interactions for simultaneous, moment-to-moment gaze and talk behavior of both interactants. MANOVA results for three dyad types (male/male, female/female, and male/female) measured on 10 dyad gaze/talk variables showed that F/F dyads exhibited more mutual gaze/mutual talk and mutual gaze/mutual silence than either M/M or M/F dyads. F/F dyads exhibited less one gazes/same talks and mutual avert/one talks than either M/M or M/F dyads. No differences were found between M/M and M/F dyads on any variable. Analyses of individual change scores from same-sex to mixed-sex dyads indicated that the women in the M/F dyads converged to the male behavior in that dyad condition, whereas the men remained unchanged. The results are discussed in terms of speech accommodation theory.     

The Effects of Sex of Subject and Sex of Partner on Interruptions

Sex differences in interruption behavior were examined using the Kraemer-Jacklin (1979) procedure to isolate and test the effects of sex of subject, sex of partner, and their interaction while controlling for between partner correlation. The results of the study were three. First, men did not interrupt more than women and women did not get interrupted more than men. Instead, there were more opposite-sex interruptions, both male-female and female-male, than same-sex interruptions, both female-female and male-male. Second, interruptions were asymmetrically distributed in both same-sex and opposite-sex dyads. However, in opposite-sex dyads males did not interrupt females more than females interrupted males. Third, women did not have less assertive behaviors interrupted; they did not interrupt less assertively, nor did they respond less assertively to interruptions.     

Gender and relationships. A developmental account

This article argues that behavioral differentiation of the sexes is minimal when children are observed or tested individually. Sex differences emerge primarily in social situations, and their nature varies with the gender composition of dyads and groups. Children find same-sex play partners more compatible, and they segregate themselves into same-sex groups, in which distinctive interaction styles emerge. These styles are described. As children move into adolescence, the patterns they developed in their childhood same-sex groups are carried over into cross-sex encounters in which girls' styles put them at a disadvantage. Patterns of mutual influence can become more symmetrical in intimate male-female dyads, but the distinctive styles of the two sexes can still be seen in such dyads and are subsequently manifested in the roles and relationships of parenthood. The implications of these continuities are considered.     

GENDER DIFFERENCES IN LEADER EMERGENCE PERSIST EVEN FOR DOMINANT WOMEN: AN UPDATED CONFIRMATION OF ROLE CONGRUITY THEORY

Role congruity theory predicts that women will be less likely than men to emerge as leaders when expectations for the leader role are incongruent with gender stereotypes. A 2 × 2 × 3 design that crossed the sex of the dominant partner, mixed- and same-sex dyads, and masculine, feminine, and neutral tasks involved 120 dyads of unacquainted college students in which one partner scored higher in dominance. In same-sex partnerships, the dominant member consistently emerged as leader. In mixed-sex dyads, the gender typing of the task did not influence dominant male ascendance but it did affect women's. When the task was masculine-typed or neutral, less dominant men were more likely to emerge as the leader of the dyad, frequently being appointed by the dominant woman herself. Thus, even when women possess the agentic quality of dominance consistent with the leader role, the incongruence between masculinized task demands and gender stereotypes mitigate against women's leadership emergence.