Assessing Explanations for Sex Differences in Emotional Support A Test of the Different Cultures and Skill Specialization Accounts

Research documents sex differences in interpersonal behaviors, such as comforting and emotional support, with women consistently being more likely than men to engage in comforting behavior, to produce sophisticated comforting messages, to value comforting skills, and to select friends based on comforting skills. Explanations for these gender differences include the “different cultures account” and the “skill specialization account.” This research was designed to test these explanations by assessing contrasting predictions derived from each account. Participants completed questionnaires assessing the types of comforting messages perceived as most sensitive and effective, preferences for the sex of comfort providers, and priorities assigned to affective and instrumental goals in comforting contexts. The results indicated that men and women evaluated comforting messages similarly, preferred receiving emotional support from female providers, and had similar priorities in comforting contexts. These results are most consistent with the skill specialization account and provide virtually no support for the different cultures account.

[1]  M. Hoffman,et al.  Sex differences in empathy and related behaviors. , 1977, Psychological bulletin.

[2]  S. Shiffman,et al.  Gender and sex role differences in the perception of social support , 1986 .

[3]  Wendy Samter,et al.  Individual Differences in the Perception of Comforting Messages , 1985 .

[4]  Wendy Samter,et al.  Consistencies in theoretical and naive evaluations of comforting messages , 1985 .

[5]  Wendy Samter,et al.  Comforting conversations: The effects of strategy type on evaluations of messages and message producers , 1987 .

[6]  R. Fivush,et al.  Gender differences in parent-child conversations about past emotions , 1992 .

[7]  J. Delia,et al.  Individuals' preferences for friends' approaches to providing support in distressing situations , 1997 .

[8]  C. Gilligan.  In a Different Voice. Psychological Theory and Women’s Development. Cambridge, MA (Harvard University Press) 1982. , 1982 .

[9]  M. Hoffman,et al.  Empathy and cooperation in 4-year-olds. , 1975 .

[10]  D. Tannen.  You just don't understand: women and men in conversation. morrow , 1990 .

[11]  Brant R. Burleson,et al.  The Development of Comforting Communication Skills in Childhood and Adolescence. , 1982 .

[12]  B. Winstead,et al.  Sex Differences in Same-Sex Friendships , 1986 .

[13]  E. Maccoby,et al.  Gender and relationships. A developmental account. , 1990, The American psychologist.

[14]  John M. Reisman,et al.  Intimacy in same-sex friendships , 1990 .

[15]  Julia T. Wood.  Who Cares? Women, Care, and Culture , 1994 .

[16]  L. Brody,et al.  Gender differences in emotional development: A review of theories and research , 1985 .

[17]  Julia T. Wood.  Gendered Lives: Communication, Gender, and Culture , 1993 .

[18]  J. Dunn,et al.  Conversations about feeling states between mothers and their young children. , 1987 .

[19]  Howard E. Sypher,et al.  Communication by Children and Adults: Social Cognitive and Strategic Processes. Sage Series in Interpersonal Communication, Volume 5. , 1984 .

[20]  Anne Fausto-Sterling,et al.  Myths of Gender: Biological Theories about Women and Men , 1987 .

[21]  P. Wright,et al.  Interpreting Research on Gender Differences in Friendship: A Case for Moderation and a Plea for Caution , 1988 .

[22]  Alan Vaux,et al.  Social Support Resources , 1984 .

[23]  Daniel N. Maltz,et al.  A Cultural Approach to Male-Female Miscommunication , 1983 .

[24]  K. Peiss,et al.  Boundaries, Negotiation, Consciousness: Reconceptualizing Gender Relations , 1985 .

[25]  G. Keppel,et al.  Design and Analysis: A Researcher's Handbook , 1976 .

[26]  Harry T. Reis,et al.  Sex differences in the intimacy of social interaction: Further examination of potential explanations. , 1985 .

[27]  F. F. Strayer,et al.  The Emergence of Same-Sex Affiliative Preferences among Preschool Peers: A Developmental/Ethological Perspective. , 1984 .

[28]  Daniel J. Canary,et al.  Is there any reason to research sex differences in communication , 1993 .

[29]  B. Tabachnick,et al.  Using Multivariate Statistics , 1983 .

[30]  C. Malatesta,et al.  The development of emotion expression during the first two years of life. , 1989, Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development.

[31]  Anita L. Vangelisti,et al.  Gender differences in standards for romantic relationships , 1997 .

[32]  Steven W. Duck,et al.  Reexamining gender differences in same-gender friendships: A close look at two kinds of data , 1993 .

[33]  E. Aries,et al.  Conversational patterns among same-sex pairs of late-adolescent close friends. , 1983 .

[34]  L. Wheeler,et al.  Loneliness, social interaction, and sex roles. , 1983, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[35]  Wendy Samter,et al.  Men's and Women's Evaluations of Communication Skills in Personal Relationships: When Sex Differences Make a Difference and when they don't , 1996 .

[36]  A. Eagly.  On the Advantages of Reporting Sex Comparisons , 1990 .

[37]  K. Deaux,et al.  Putting gender into context: An interactive model of gender-related behavior. , 1987 .

[38]  William A. Ashton,et al.  Effects of gender and gender role identification of participant and type of social support resource on support seeking , 1993 .

[39]  Rebecca L. Collins,et al.  The Role of Emotion in Social Support Provision: Gender, Empathy and Expressions of Distress , 1994 .

[40]  James L. Applegate.  Adaptive Communication in Educational Contexts: A Study of Teachers' Communicative Strategies. , 1980 .

[41]  Kathy E. Ferguson.  The feminist case against bureaucracy , 1984 .

[42]  A. Eagly,et al.  Gender and helping behavior: A meta-analytic review of the social psychological literature. , 1986, Psychological bulletin.

[43]  Brant R. Burleson,et al.  The Impact of Situational Variables on Helpers' Perceptions of Comforting Messages , 1997 .

[44]  Julia T. Wood,et al.  In a different mode: Masculine styles of communicating closeness , 1993 .

[45]  Bryan B. Whaley,et al.  Ethnicity and emotional support in same-sex friendship: A comparison of Asian-Americans, African-Americans, and Euro-Americans , 1997 .

[46]  Steven K. May,et al.  Sex differences in social support in sororities and fraternities , 1996 .

[47]  D. Fuqua,et al.  Sex differences in same- and cross-sex supportive relationships , 1987 .

[48]  E. Aries,et al.  Men and Women in Interaction: Reconsidering the Differences , 1996 .

[49]  F. Cancian.  The Feminization of Love , 1986, Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society.

[50]  B. Thorne,et al.  Gender Play: Girls and Boys in School , 1993 .

[51]  Dorie Giles Williams,et al.  Gender, masculinity-femininity, and emotional intimacy in same-sex friendship , 1985 .

[52]  J. Balswick.  The inexpressive male , 1988 .

[53]  J. Haviland,et al.  Signals, Symbols, and Socialization , 1985 .

[54]  Michael R. Cunningham,et al.  Support Seeking in Personal Relationships , 1990 .