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Psychology 320: Psychology of Gender and Sex Differences

Lecture 39

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Office Hour InvitationsJanuary 20th, 11:30-12:30 Kenny 2517

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Salons are held on the last Wednesday of each month. The next salon is scheduled for: January 25th , 5:30-7:30 PM.Topic: Disability.Location: Mahony & Son’s, UBC Campus. Food and (nonalcoholic) beverages: Free!

An opportunity to take your learning in Psychology 320 outside of the classroom!

Psychology 320 is partnering with the College of Health Disciplines to offer you an opportunity to engage in dialogue with students from other disciplines regarding important social issues.

A Salon, of the type held in Paris during the 18th and 19th centuries, is “a gathering of intellectual, social, political, and cultural elites under the roof of an inspiring … host, partly to amuse one another and partly to refine their taste and increase their knowledge through conversation” (Wood, 2012).

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Romantic Relationships

1. What factors determine relationship satisfaction for females and males? (continued)

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

1. review factors that influence relationship satisfaction among females and males.

2. explain the greater “transmission of affect” from males to females in romantic relationships.

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What factors determine relationship satisfaction for females and males? (continued)

1. Gender roles: (continued)

Antill (1983)

Assessed marital “happiness” as a function of spouses’ scores on the Bem Sex Role Inventory.

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Found that:

(a) Spouses with similar scores on the BSRI (e.g., AA, FF) reported greater marital happiness than

spouses with “complementary” scores (MF, AU) on the BSRI.

(b) MF couples (i.e., traditional couples with a masculine male and feminine female) reported less

marital happiness than most other pairings (exceptions: UM, UA, MU).

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(c) FF couples reported the highest levels of marital happiness.

(d) Among females and males, femininity was positively correlated with marital happiness; masculinity was not correlated with marital happiness:

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r between wife’s femininity and her own marital happiness=.33

r between husband’s femininity and wife’s marital happiness=.31

r between wife’s femininity and husband’s marital happiness=.28

r between husband’s femininity and his own marital happiness=.42

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2. Equity: Research indicates that equity influences relationship satisfaction among males and females:

Males and females who feel that they are “over-benefitted” or “underbenefitted” in their relationship report less satisfaction than those who feel that their

relationship is equitable (Cahn, 1992).

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3. Relationship standards: Research indicates that unfulfilled standards influence relationship satisfaction among females and males.

Identified 7 categories of relationship standards among females and males.

Vangelisti and Daly (1997)

Although sex differences did not emerge with respect to the importance of these standards, females were more likely than males to report that their relationships did not fulfill the standards.

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Relationship Standard Description

Relational identity Spending time together, being known as a couple.

Integration Accepting each other’s weaknesses, recognizing there is conflict in relationships.

Affective accessibility Self-disclosure, expressing feelings.

Trust* Being faithful, committed, honest

Future orientation Sharing similar plans for the future.

Role fulfillment Each person fulfills his or her roles.

Flexibility Adapting to one another.

Relationship Standards (Vangelisti & Daly, 1997)

*Only standard for which females reported greater importance than males. Only standard for which sex difference in fulfillment did not emerge.

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Importance and Fulfillment of Relationship Standards for Males and Females

(Vangelisti & Daly, 1997)

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* No significant sex difference in importance.** Significant sex difference in fulfillment.

**

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4. Male vs. female characteristics: Research indicates that the characteristics of males influence

relationship satisfaction to a greater extent than the characteristics of females:

Husbands’ communication skills predict wives’ marital satisfaction; wives’ communication skills do not

predict husbands’ marital satisfaction (Cordova, Gee, & Warren, 2005).

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Husbands’ knowledge of sexual preferences predicts wives’ sexual satisfaction; wives’ knowledge of

sexual preferences does not predict husbands’ sexual satisfaction (Purnine & Carey, 1997).

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Husbands’ depression scores predict wives’ marital satisfaction; wives’ depression scores do not

predict husbands’ marital satisfaction (Thompson, Whiffen, & Blain, 1995).

Husbands’ emotional states predict wives’ emotion states; wives’ emotional states do not predict

husbands’ emotional states (Larson & Pleck, 1999).

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5. Relationship conflict: Research indicates that conflict influences relationship satisfaction among females and males:

For both sexes, the number of conflicts experienced and the success with which conflicts are resolved influence relationship satisfaction (Cramer, 2002).

Females and males identify similar sources of conflict in romantic relationships (e.g., deception; Helgeson, 1987).

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When conflict occurs, males and females report similar levels of compromise and subordination (Neff

& Harter, 2002).

However, males are more likely than females to attempt to deescalate conflict or withdraw from conflict (Christensen & Heavey, 1990, 1993; Christensen, 2006).

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Attempts to deescalate conflict lead to greater negative affect in one’s partner:

Person A: Let’s talk about why you don’t help out more with the children (confrontation of conflict with negative affect)?

Person B: You do such a good job with the children that it doesn’t seem like this is really an issue of conflict (attempt to deescalate conflict with positive statement).

Person A: You just don’t get it, do you? If you spent more time with the children, you could do a good job too (more negative affect).

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Attempts to withdraw from conflict lead to greater demand (i.e., the “demand/withdrawal” pattern):

Person A: Why don’t you spend a little more time working inside the house?

Person B: What? What do you mean?

Person A: You are never at home and when you are at home, you spend all of your time reading. I have to clean up everything.

Silence

Person A: You could at least read Janie a bedtime story.

Still no response. The sound of a newspaper opening is heard.

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A pattern of wife demand/husband withdraw is associated with lower levels of wife satisfaction; a pattern of husband demand/wife withdraw is associated with higher levels of wife satisfaction.

Both patterns are unrelated to levels of husband satisfaction.

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Romantic Relationships

1. What factors determine relationship satisfaction for females and males? (continued)