Sex differences in dominance behavior

The effect of the status characteristic of sex on dominance behavior was investigated as a function of a challenger's sex and in relation to one's sex-role orientation. Dyads composed of a student and a confederate recorded individual preferences, then joint decisions, for the more attractive picture of 20 pairs of pictures. The number of challenges a student sustained each time a disagreement occurred regarding the more attractive picture of a pair was recorded. Males withstood significantly more challenges against their preferences than females did (p<.006). However, no differences were found as a function of the sex of one's partner; nor did the Attitudes toward Women Scale (AWS) prove to be a good predictor of dominance. Results were discussed in terms of predictions made by the theory of status characteristics.This report is based on a master's thesis written by the first author under the sponsorship of the second and submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the MA degree at the Graduate School of the University of Alabama. Portions were presented as part of of the paper session Compliance-Conformity/Altruism-Helping Behavior at the annual meeting of the Southeastern Psychological Association, New Orleans, March 1976.The authors would like to express their appreciation those who served as confederates in this study: Jim Dodds, Rochelle Hanan, Eunice Fogarty, and Rex Hall.