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Gender
Issues In Psychology (PSY -
512)
VU
Men
and women are not
different, and are similar, in
reciprocity in self-disclosure; if the intimacy of
the
disclosure
is increased by one person, the
other person will be likely
to respond similarly (Cozby,
1973).
GENDER,
AFFILIATION AND FRIENDSHIP
Some
gender differences have been
found in affiliation and
friendship patterns. Robert Hays
and Diana Oxley
(1986)
report that first-year university
resident students' social networks
were different in some
respects; As
compared
to women, men included more
females in their social
network. The exchange of
informational and
emotional
support with friends was higher in
females. In terms of interactions with
family members, males
and
females
were alike, but within
their networks, females interacted
more. The friendship pattern
also varies with
gender.
Verbal communication is an important
element in female friendships; female
friendships depend more
on
verbal exchange. In case of male
friendships, these evolve from shared
activities (Hays, 1985). Some
studies
have
revealed that in interpersonal communication,
males use less touching
than females.
GENDER
AND ALTRUISM
Altruism
is "a special form of helping
behavior that is voluntary, costly,
and motivated by a desire to
improve
another
person's welfare, rather than by the
anticipation of reward" (Deaux,
Dane, and Wrightsman, 1993).
It
is
the "helping behavior that is beneficial
to others but clearly
requires self-sacrifice" (Feldman,
2002). As far as
willingness
to indulge into altruistic behavior or
self-sacrifice, for others' welfare is
concerned, more
females
than
males report this willingness.
However, there is no clear
cut empirical evidence to suggest if
there are any
differences
in the actual performance of altruistic
behavior (Rushton et al.,
1986; Sennecker, and
Hendrick,
1983).
Women are more likely to
provide help and emotional
support in connection with their
traditional role
as
nurturers (Brody, 1990; Eagly, and
Crowley, 1986; Pleck, 1985).
However in situations involving
dangerous
emergencies,
men are more likely to
intervene. In a study reported by Huston
and others (1981), all
people in
their
sample, who intervene to stop
criminals, were men. As part
of their traditional role, males
are expected to
behave
heroically in dangerous situations. Men
and woman both may
consider the consequences of
their
behaviors
in risky situations, but their
perceptions and patterns may
be different. Men may
perceive the costs
of
intervening in risky situations to be
lower than women do,
since men are physically
stronger and more
likely
to
have relevant skills such as
self-defense training (Huston et
al., 1981).
GENDER
SELF CONFIDENCE AND SELF
ESTEEM
When
asked to perform a task,
especially a new one,
females hesitate more than
men. If woman are given a
task
particularly
the one usually associated
with a male role, women tend
to be less self confidence than
men;
whereas
actually they may perform the
same way as men did
(Beyer, 1990; Lenney, 1977).
Although the gender
difference
in self-esteem may not be
huge, men generally score
higher than women; a number of
factors
contribute
to this difference. Women's perception of their
sense of interdependence and connection
with
others
largely influences their
self-esteem. Men's self-esteem on the
other hand has roots in their
assessment of
their
unique characteristics and abilities, traits
that help them distinguish themselves
form other people
(Feingold,
1994; King et al., 1999).
Some studies have reported
gender differences in terms of
how people
make
positive assessments of their abilities,
and their potential for
future success. Women
generally evaluate
themselves
more harshly than men. In
one survey first-year college
students were asked to rate
themselves as
being
above or below average. More
men than women rated
themselves as above average. They
felt they were
above
average in overall academic
and mathematical ability,
competitiveness, an emotional health
(Gabriel,
Critelli,
and Ee, 1994; Orenstein,
2001).
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