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Psychology 320: Psychology of Gender and Sex Differences

Lecture 33

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Office Hour InvitationsJanuary 6th, 11:30-12:30 Kenny 2517

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Friendship:

1. Are there sex differences in same-sex friendship? (continued)

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1. discuss sex differences in same-sex friendship.

By the end of today’s class, you should be able to:

2. review research findings regarding the social desirability of self-disclosure among females and males.

3. review research findings regarding sex differences in shared activity and the perceived closeness of same-sex friendships.

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4. identify barriers to closeness in same-sex friendships associated with the male gender role.

5. distinguish between types of competition and their impact on same-sex friendships.

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Are there sex differences in same-sex friendship? (continued)

3. Self-disclosure: (continued)

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Among females, self-disclosure is not influenced by gender.

Among males, masculinity is negatively correlated with self-disclosure and femininity is positively correlated with self-disclosure (Winstead et al., 1984; see also Shaffer et al., 1996).

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Research suggests that males are less likely to self-disclose than females because self-disclosure

among males is less socially desirable:

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Derlaga and Chaikin, 1976 (also see Collins and Miller, 1994)

• Female and male participants read a case study and evaluated the target’s levels of adjustment and

likeability.

• The stories manipulated the sex of the target and the level of self-disclosure that the target engaged in with respect to a traumatic event.

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4.3

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5.1

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Nondisclosure

Disclosure

Male Target

Female Target

Psychological Adjustment as a Function of Level of Disclosure and Sex of Discloser

(Derlaga & Chaikin, 1976)

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• Also found that self-disclosure was positively correlated with likeability scores among females but

not among males.

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Collins and Miller, 1994

• Conducted a meta-analysis of studies examining the relation between self-disclosure and likeability.

• Found a stronger relation between self-disclosure and likeability for females (female disclosers vs. female nondisclosers, d=+.30) than males (male

disclosers vs. male nondisclosers, d=+.01).

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Other variables that influence self-disclosure in same-sex friendships:

Marital status: Married males are less likely to self-disclose than married females and unmarried individuals (Tschann, 1988).

Culture of origin: Sex differences are greater in individualistic cultures than collectivistic cultures (Berman et al., 1988).

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Sexual orientation: Sex differences in self-disclosure in same-sex friendships are not observed among individuals who identify as lesbian or gay (Nardi & Sherrod, 1994).

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4. Shared activity:

Males engage in a greater number of shared activities (playing games, fantasy play, telling jokes, playing a sport, playing cards) with friends than females (e.g., Aukett et al., 1988; McNelles & Connolly, 1999; Sheets & Lugar, 2005).

Sex differences in shared activity appear in adolescence and are consistent across age groups (Helgeson, 2009).

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Mean Shared Activity Scores in Same-Sex Friendships for Women and Men

(Sheets and Lugar, 2005)

3.6

3.8

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Women

Men

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5. Perceived closeness:

The relative closeness of same-sex friendships among males and females has been hotly debated:

“Woman is an eminently unsociable being and refrains from forming unions on the basis of like interest, remaining centered in the kinship group based on sexual relations and the reproductive function. Associations created or even joined by women on equal terms with men are rare and must be considered weak imitations of the exclusively male associations” (Schurtz, cited in Tiger, 1969, p. 128).

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Friendship closeness in same-sex friendships has been assessed using the Rochester Interaction

Record (RIR).

The RIR requires that participants record details related to social interactions of 10 minutes or more.

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Sample Copy of a Rochester Interaction Record

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Wheeler et al., 1983

• Asked female and male participants to complete the RIR for 2 weeks.

• Assessed “meaningfulness” of interactions with same-sex friends and same-sex best friend by summing the intimacy, self-disclosure, other-disclosure, quality, and satisfaction scores of participants’ interactions.

Subjective interaction index Friends Best friend

Intimacy Males Females

3.344.19

3.684.57

Self-disclosure Males Females

3.033.74

3.384.05

Other-disclosure Males Females

3.193.93

3.534.30

Quality (i.e. pleasantness) Males Females

4.774.97

4.995.25

Satisfaction Males Females

4.174.45

4.194.53

Overall meaningfulness Males Females

18.5021.28

19.7722.70

21Note: All sex differences significant at p < .01

Sex Differences in Interaction Indices for Same-Sex Friendships (Wheeler et al., 1983)

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• Also found that:

females and males did not differ in levels of loneliness.

among females and males:

(b) masculinity was not correlated with loneliness.

(a) femininity was negatively correlated with loneliness.

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Friendship closeness in same-sex friendships has also been assessed using the Relationship Grid (RG).

The RG requires that participants evaluate up to 10 relationships on several “affective” dimensions

assessing relationship closeness.

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Parker and de Vries, 1993

• Asked female and male participants to complete the RG for up to 10 close friendships.

• Found that male same-sex friendships scored:

(b) higher than female same-sex friendships on control and shared activity.

(a) lower than female same-sex friendships on appreciation, authenticity, connectedness, empathic understanding, responsibility, and self-disclosure.

Dimension Definition

Appreciation Highly valuing characteristics of the other; feeling affection, enjoyment or warmth toward the other.

Authenticity Being real, genuine, honest and spontaneous with the other; feeling free to be oneself with the other, rather than feeling required to play a role, wear a mask or inhibit expression of personal characteristics.

Connectedness Feeling an active, outgoing care and concern for the other; feeling connected and involved with the other; a motivation for more involvement with the other.

Empathic understanding

Accurately interpreting the feelings of the other; really listening to what the other has to say.

Responsibility Being accountable or responsible for what happens or how things turn out when you are with the other.

Self-disclosure Feeling free to express and reveal intimate information to the other; sharing personal thoughts and feelings with the other.

Control Having influence or control over what happens or how things turn when you are with the other.

Shared activity Initiating shared activity with the other; trying to do things together with the other (other than or in addition to talking).

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Affective Dimensions of the RG (Parker & de Vries, 1993)

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• Male same-sex friendships and female same-sex friendships do not differ in their scores on assistance, deepening other’s self-awareness, empowerment of other, trust, and satisfaction.

Dimension Definition

Assistance Being willing to use time and/or resources to help the other.

Deepening other’s self-awareness

Behaving in ways that facilitate the recognition and expression of the other’s self-attributes

Empowerment of other

Behaving in ways that increase the other’s capabilities, resources, feelings of effectiveness, and ability to act.

Trust Feeling confident that the other will not embarrass or take advantage of you, or draw attention to your points of weakness or self-doubt.

Satisfaction Feeling that the relationship is rewarding and satisfying; a feeling of zest and vitality in the relationship.

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Affective Dimensions of the RG (Parker & de Vries, 1993)

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• These findings have been replicated across numerous studies using distinct methodologies (e.g., Barry et al., 2009; Bauminger et al., 2008; Johnson, 2004; Linden-Anderson et al., 2009).

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Friendship:

1. Are there sex differences in same-sex friendship? (continued)