Women's intuition: The effect of subordinate role on interpersonal sensitivity.

Investigated the thesis that the subordinate status of women in Western society may have led to their development of greater interpersonal sensitivity and intuition. The effects of sex and leader/subordinate role on interpersonal sensitivity were examined in 36 same- or mixed-sex dyads (composed predominantly of undergraduates) that interacted for 1 hr. One member of each dyad was randomly assigned to the leader role. Throughout the interaction, Ss completed rating scales describing their feelings. Results show that subordinates were more sensitive than leaders to the feelings of the other dyad member. Women were not more sensitive than men. However, mixed-sex dyads were more sensitive than same-sex dyads, and the sex of the other person had a greater effect on women than on men. A combination of leader expressiveness and subordinate perceptiveness are posited to underlie this role effect. Results support the subordinate role explanation for female superiority in interpersonal sensitivity. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-evaluation effects of interpersonal versus intergroup social comparison.

Two studies tested the prediction that the outcome of social comparison will differ depending on whether interpersonal or intergroup comparison processes have been engaged. Results of an experiment in which college students were assigned to membership in a minority or majority social category confirmed the predicted 3-way interaction effect of in-group salience, target group membership, and upward–downward comparison on self-assessments of academic ability. Majority group members exhibited contrast effects in their self-ratings following exposure to a videotape of an in-group member displaying either very high or very low academic competence. Self-evaluations of minority group members revealed assimilation effects in response to in-group comparisons and contrast effects in response to out-group comparisons. In a 2nd follow-up experiment, this in-group assimilation effect was found to be dependent on intergroup contrast. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Similarity versus social ambition effects in the assessment of interpersonal acceptance in the classroom.

Evaluated the manner in which variations in sociometric formulations highlight differing effects of academic status on social acceptance in the classroom in 2 parallel studies with 619 7th, 8th, and 9th graders. Ss completed alternately worded versions of an interpersonal relationship assessment technique. As expected, versions emphasizing personal desires or willingness to interact led to findings indicating heightened acceptance for targets of higher academic status (social ambition). In contrast, versions leading Ss to consider realistic costs or limitations evoked higher acceptance for targets of similar rather than different social status (similarity). The contingency between sociometric formulation and outcome was consistent with level of aspiration and social exchange theories and points to the distinctive role of both desire and cost–benefit considerations in choice of social relations among adolescents. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Experimental effects of ego-defense preference on interpersonal relations.

The hypothesis that a connection exists between the personality personality defenses of interacting individuals and their attitudes toward and perceptions of their interaction is explored by assessing the defense mechanisms of a group of Ss to psychosexual stimuli, the Blacky Pictures, and evaluating their interaction when pairs of Ss are engaged in a task which arouses a specific psychosexual disturbance. The results indicate that the interaction of two people who project the same psychosexual impulse is more negative than pairs of people who use other defenses. Dissimilar defenses do not seem to adversely affect the interaction; however, when both partners have high conflict, more negative interaction tends to result than when only one is disturbed. The relative hierarchies of defense mechanisms and psychosexual dimensions, with regard to their effect on interpersonal relations are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Inhibiting effects of reciprocation wariness on interpersonal relationships.

Students with high reciprocation wariness, a general fear of exploitation in interpersonal relationships, showed (1) a markedly reduced positive response to cooperative communication in a Prisoner's Dilemma bargaining task, (2) a greater negative response to uncooperative communication, and (3) an increased positive response to the prospect of long-term interaction. Friends and roommates of high-wary students evaluated them as unsympathetic, inconsiderate, and manipulative. Students who were supervised by high-wary dormitory resident assistants evaluated them as unapproachable, hesitant to develop close relationships, and unresponsive to student needs. Wariness was found to be unrelated to social goal orientation and Machiavellianism. Reciprocation wariness appears to inhibit the establishment and strengthening of interpersonal relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Androgyny versus gender schema: A comment on Bem's gender schema theory.

S. L. Bem (see PA, Vol 66:00000) proposes that the Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI) measures individual differences in a unidimensional construct in addition to 2 independent dimensions, global self-concepts of masculinity and femininity. Evidence suggests that the BSRI measures primarily self-images of instrumental and expressive personality traits and that these trait clusters show little or no relationship to global self-images of masculinity and femininity or to unidimensional constructs such as the tendency to utilize gender schemata. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of gender and taste class in the effects of stress on eating.

In a study of the effects of stress on eating, healthy nonsmoking Ss (26 men and 28 women, aged 17–41 yrs) were shown a film about industrial accidents (stress condition) or a pleasant travelog (control condition) and had access to sweet, salty, and bland snack food. Stress markedly and significantly decreased food consumption by men but resulted in some increased food consumption by women. Across the 3 taste categories, men consistently ate less under stress than in the control condition. In contrast, women ate nearly twice as much sweet food and more bland food under stress than in the control condition, but these effects were not statistically significant. Thus, the relationship between stress and eating depends on the sex of the S and may relate to type of food available. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of interpersonal trust on work group performance.

This study explored 2 questions: Does the level of trust within a group affect group performance? If so, how does this relationship operate? An experimental method was used to examine 2 roles through which interpersonal trust could affect group performance: a main effect and a moderating effect. The data do not support the main effect that has dominated the literature on interpersonal trust. The data do support the moderating role: Trust seems to influence how motivation is converted into work group processes and performance. On the basis of these findings, it is suggested that trust may be best understood as a construct that influences group performance indirectly by channeling group members' energy toward reaching alternative goals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Further meta-analytic procedures for assessing cognitive gender differences.

Outlined procedures for assessing the heterogeneity of a set of effect sizes derived from a meta-analysis, testing for trends with contrasts among the effect sizes obtained, and evaluating the practical importance of the average effect size obtained. These procedures were applied to data presented by J. S. Hyde (1981) regarding cognitive gender differences. The authors conclude that (a) for all 4 areas of cognitive skill investigated, effect sizes for gender differences differed significantly across studies; (b) recent studies of gender differences show a substantial gain in cognitive performance by females relative to males; and (c) studies of gender differences show male vs female effect sizes of practical importance equivalent to outcome rates of 60 vs 40%. (6 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential effects of self-disclosing versus self-involving counselor statements across counselor–client gender pairings.

60 male and 60 female undergraduates listened to 1 of 8 audiotaped recordings of a counseling interview between either an experienced male or female counselor and a male client, for male Ss, or a female client, for female Ss. One half of the male and female Ss heard a tape containing counselor self-disclosure statements; the other half heard a tape containing counselor self-involving statements. Ss rated counselors' expertness, attractiveness, and trustworthiness, and generated written responses to each self-disclosing or self-involving counselor statement. Across all counselor–client gender pairings, self-involving counselors were rated as significantly more expert, attractive, and trustworthy than were self-disclosing counselors. Further, client responses to self-disclosing counselor statements contained significantly more questions about the counselors, were significantly longer responses, and were significantly more likely to be phrased in the past or future rather than in the present tense. Finally, client responses to the self-involving counselor statements contained significantly more client self-referents. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of gender, interpersonal orientation, and self-presentation in distributive-justice behavior.

Tested hypotheses derived from 3 explanations of the consistent differences in the ways men and women allocate rewards between themselves and others. 71 male and 71 female introductory psychology students who had scored either high or low on an Interpersonal Orientation (IO) Scale allocated monetary rewards between themselves and a same-sex partner with inferior performance. Allocations were either public or private, and future interaction with the partner either was or was not expected. Contrary to the IO explanation, women allocated rewards more equally than men did despite the fact that men and women were equivalent in their degree of interpersonal orientation. High-IO individuals allocated rewards more equally than did low-IO individuals but only in private. Contrary to the self-presentational explanation, both women and men allocated rewards more equally when allocations were public than when they were private and when future interaction was expected than when it was not. Contrary to the cognitive explanation, few gender differences in performance expectations, evaluations, or attributions were observed, and these factors were unrelated to reward allocations. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Online persuasion: An examination of gender differences in computer-mediated interpersonal influence.

The purpose of this research was to investigate how computer-mediated communication affects persuasion in dyadic interactions. Two studies compared participants' attitudes after hearing a series of arguments from a same-gender communicator via either e-mail or face-to-face interaction. In Study 1, women showed less message agreement in response to e-mail versus face-to-face messages, whereas men showed no difference between communication modes. Study 2 replicated this finding and examined the impact of prior interaction with the communicator. For women, the condition that provided the least social interaction led to the least message agreement. For men, the condition that provided the most social challenge led to the least message agreement. Results are interpreted in terms of gender differences in interaction style. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Coordination success and interpersonal perceptions: Matching versus mismatching.

Coordination is an essential part of social functioning. The authors distinguish 2 types of coordination: matching and mismatching. In matching, coordination is successful if parties choose the same action. In mismatching, coordination is successful if people choose different actions. In 3 studies, the authors investigated the downstream social consequences of tacit coordination for interpersonal perceptions. In all studies, participants repeatedly choose between 2 bets with equivalent expected values, and payoffs increased either when they choose the same bet or when they choose different bets. In the 1st 2 studies, coordination success increased the perceptions of interpersonal similarity and liking when matching was required but not when mismatching was required. The authors' interpretation is that matching responses and coordination success had countervailing effects in the mismatching task. Also, percentage of matched responses did not affect perceptions when coordination was not required (Experiment 2). In 4 person teams, a frequently matching partner was viewed more favorably (smarter, more similar to self, and more liked) than were other teammates, even when mismatching increased payoffs (Experiment 3). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Direct and indirect effects of third-party relationships on interpersonal trust.

Past studies of the determinants of interpersonal trust have focused primarily on how trust forms in isolated dyads. Yet within organizations, trust typically develops between individuals who are embedded in a complex web of existing and potential relationships. In this article, the authors identify 3 alternative ways in which a trustor and trustee may be linked to each other via third parties: network closure (linked via social interactions with third parties), trust transferability (linked via trusted third parties), and structural equivalence (linked via the similarity of their relationships with all potential third parties within the organization). Each of these is argued to influence interpersonal trust via a distinct social mechanism. The authors hypothesized that network closure and structural equivalence would predict interpersonal trust indirectly via their impact on interpersonal organizational citizenship behaviors performed within the interpersonal relationship, whereas trust transferability would predict trust directly. Social network analyses of data gathered from a medium-sized work organization provide substantial support for the hypotheses and also suggest important directions for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of gender role disparity on couples' decision-making processes.

40 male and 40 female undergraduates were paired into 40 heterosexual couples on the basis of their scores on a role preference scale such that 10 traditional-man/traditional-woman, 10 modern-man/modern-woman, 10 modern-man/traditional-woman, and 10 traditional-man/modern-woman couples were formed. Each couple was given 3 decision-making tasks—1 gender role related (domestic duties task) and 2 control tasks (a fund-raiser banquet and a campus activities task)—in which they were instructed to reach a consensus. Findings show that the hypothesis that couples with greater gender role disparity would require significantly more time to reach a consensus on the gender-related task than gender role similar couples was supported for the traditional-man/modern-woman couples. The hypothesis that traditional-man/modern-woman couples would experience significantly greater difficulty in making decisions regarding gender roles, resulting in decreased satisfaction with any consensus reached, was supported. Results suggest that the importance a person attaches to his/her her gender role preferences may be an important variable influencing gender-role-related decisions, as well as gender role disparity per se. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The influence of gender on cough reflex sensitivity

BACKGROUND: The more common occurrence in women of cough due to angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors raises the possibility of gender-related differences in the sensitivity of the cough reflex. Of two recent studies that evaluated cough response to inhaled capsaicin in normal subjects, one demonstrated heightened sensitivity of the cough reflex in women compared with men, while the other revealed no gender-related differences. To further investigate this question, we reviewed our experience with cough challenge testing in normal volunteers. STUDY OBJECTIVE: To compare cough reflex sensitivity in healthy adult female and male subjects. DESIGN: Retrospective data analysis. SETTING: Academic medical center. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred healthy volunteers (50 male, 50 female). Interventions: Subjects inhaled capsaicin in ascending, doubling concentrations until the concentration inducing five or more coughs (C5) was reached. In addition, the concentration inducing two or more coughs (C2; cough threshold) was measured. Results: Mean log C5 was significantly lower in women than in men: 1.02+/-0.09 (SEM) microM vs 1.41+/-0.08 microM, respectively (p=0.002). Log C2 (cough threshold) was also significantly lower in female subjects: 0.534+/-0.068 microM vs 0.870+/-0.065 microM in male subjects (p=0.00058). CONCLUSION: Healthy women have a more sensitive cough reflex than do healthy men. The reasons for this significant gender difference remain to be elucidated, but may involve a heightened sensitivity, in women, of the sensory receptors within the respiratory tract that mediate cough.     

Mediation of interpersonal expectancy effects: 31 meta-analyses.

Reviews 135 studies on mediation and classifies results into 31 behavior categories (e.g., praise, climate, asks questions). Separate meta-analyses for each mediating variable were conducted. Results were also analyzed separately for studies that examined the relation between expectations and emitted behaviors and between mediating behaviors and outcome measures. Additional analyses focused on the influence of internal validity and type of publication on effect sizes. Meta-analyses supported the importance of 16 behaviors in the mediation of expectancy effects (e.g., creating a less negative climate, having longer interactions). The 2nd author's (1973) 4 factor (climate, feedback, input, and output) theory of the mediation of interpersonal expectancy effects proved to be a useful framework for conceptualizing broad classes of behaviors involved in the mediation of teacher-expectancy effects. Mediation references are appended. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of interpersonal perceptions in the prime-to-behavior pathway.

The present research suggests that biased interpersonal perceptions can mediate prime-to-behavior effects and introduces a new moderator for when such mediation will occur. Across 5 experiments, the authors provide evidence that priming effects on behavior in interpersonal contexts are mediated by social perceptions, but only when participants are focused on the other person. These effects occur when other-focus is primed (Experiment 1), when other-focus is high owing to the decision-making situation (Experiment 2), and when other-focus is dispositionally high (Experiment 3). Experiments 4 and 5 bring additional support for a biased perception account by ruling out an alternative behavior-perception link and showing that other-focus can moderate not only the mediating mechanism of prime-to-behavior effects but also the behavioral effects themselves. The implications of these results for increasing understanding of behavioral priming effects in rich social contexts are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self- and interpersonal evaluations: Esteem theories versus consistency theories.

Contrasts and derives different predictions from 2 social psychological theories on the relation between self- and interpersonal evaluation. Self-esteem theory predicts that the higher an individual's self-evaluation, the less his tendency to reciprocate evaluations from others, whereas self-consistency theory predicts that the higher the individual's self-evaluation the greater his tendency to reciprocate evaluations from others. Studies bearing on these predictions are reviewed, and the evidence tends to support self-esteem theory. 2 extensions of the assumptions of self-esteem theory are presented and discussed in terms of accounting for results which apparently support self-consistency theory. Esteem-theory results appear to be distinguished from consistency-theory results by whether or not the experimental S is the direct target of another person's actions. The implications of this distinction for other problems of person perception and social evaluation are discussed. It is concluded that cognitive consistency theories may be somewhat overworked as explanatory frameworks for the study of social evaluations. (59 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)