Sex role orientation and power motivation as expressed in female sharing behavior

This study was conducted to investigate the influence of power motivation and sex role orientation on sharing behavior in females. One hundred and thirty female college students were administered the dominance scale from the Edwards Personal Preference Schedule, the AS Reaction Study, and the Bern Sex Role Inventory. Scores from the three scales were used to screen subjects according to their level of power motivation and sex role orientation. On the basis of the screening procedure, 40 female subjects were placed in one of four experimental conditions resulting from a factorial combination of power (high or low) and sex role orientation (androgynous or traditional). Then a behavioral measure (i.e. feedback in variation of the Mastermind game) of sharing was recorded. The results showed that sex role orientation affected the frequency of sharing behavior in the power game. However, power motivation per se, as measured by the personality inventories, failed to influence sharing behavior. These results compare favorably with previous findings which have indicated that females exhibit sex role bias in the expression of power motivation.