The present research included gender in Person-by-Situation interaction models in the study of interpersonal behavior and affect. An event-contingent recording methodology was used to measure behavior and affect across situations and over time in natural settings for a 20-day period with adult community samples. Three dyadic situations of personal relationships that varied in gender composition and emotional closeness were examined: same-sex friendships, opposite-sex friendships, and romantic relationships. / Traditional investigations of gender, disregarding situational factors, have determined that women are generally less agentic, more communal, and more emotional than men. The present research demonstrated that the interpersonal behavior of agency and communion were influenced by both situation and gender. In same-sex friendships, women and men behaved consistently with their gender-stereotypes: pairs of women were more communal than pairs of men and pairs of men were more agentic than pairs of women. In mixed-sex dyads, individuals did not behave consistently with gender-stereotypes. Women and men behaved similarly on agency and communion with opposite-sex friends. In interactions with a romantic partner, women behaved less communally than men. Personal relationship situations were found to moderate agentic and communal behaviors, demonstrating the plasticity and variability of gender role behaviors. / Pleasant and unpleasant affect intensity was influenced by situation but not gender. The present research demonstrated that women and men reported experiencing similar levels of affect across the relationship situations. As predicted, individuals experienced both greater pleasant and unpleasant affect in romantic relationships than friendships. / The current research confirmed that there is a need to move beyond the conception that the stereotypic characteristics of men and women reside within individuals. Gender should be included in Person-by-Situation interaction models, taking into consideration psychological and social factors that shape the expression of sex-differentiated behaviors and the experience of emotions.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.36840 |
| Date | January 2000 |
| Creators | Suh, Eun Jung, 1968- |
| Contributors | Moskowitz, D. S. (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Doctor of Philosophy (Department of Psychology.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001778332, proquestno: NQ69937, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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