The purpose of this study was to investigate the willingness of people to consider nontraditional sex roles, and to determine whether males and females were more prone to consider nontraditional sex roles when the person attempting to influence them was male or female. It was hypothesized that individuals can be influenced to consider nontraditional sex roles, and that male presenters would have greater impact than female presenters. It was also hypothesized that male presenters would be perceived as more credible and more adequate.The subjects were 93 undergraduate students, 42 males and 51 females, who volunteered to participate in the study, and were told that they would be "helping us to evaluate what and who should be included in a presentation for a national convention as well as a seminar on campus." They were divided into two groups on the basis of sex and then were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: one of two female speakers, one of two male speakers, and the control or music group.Subjects were given written explanations of the "project'' and written background information about the audiotapes to which they listened. Treatment groups listened to a tape containing either a male or a female advocating nontraditional sex roles while control subjects listened to a tape of music. After listening to the tapes, the treatment subjects responded to two semantic differential instruments (Quality of Presentation, and Person), and a generalized reaction questionnaire (which was essentially part of the deception). They then responded (by raising their hands to indicate yes or no) to three verbal questions concerning their commitment to their attitudes. They were then administered the final questionnaire, the Attitudes Toward Women Scale (AWS).After listening to the tape of music, the control subjects completed one semantic differential instrument (Quality of Performance), a generalized reaction questionnaire, and the AWS. They were given no verbal questions. All of the subjects were immediately debriefed together.Three analyses of variance and a series of univariate contrasts were performed on the primary dependent measure, the AWS, with significance being sought at the .05 level. Results indicated that the treatment was not effective. However, female subjects scored significantly higher (more liberal) than male subjects (F = 23.77, p < .001), and the male presenters as a group were more effective than the female presenters (F = 4.18, p < .05), and by extrapolation, more effective than the control condition.Multivariate analyses of variance and multivariate contrasts were performed on the secondary dependent measures, the semantic differential instruments (which were equally divided into three factors: activity, evaluation, and potency). There were no significant differences in the ratings given to male and female presenters. There was, however, a significant difference between the two female presenters on the activity factor (F = 8.49, p < .05). In addition, it appears that female subjects rated the presenters significantly higher (F = 7.29, p G .05) on the activity factor than did male subjects, and by contrast, male subjects gave higher ratings (F = 6.91, p < .05) on the evaluation factor than did female subjects.Two secondary analyses were performed on supplemental data that had been collected. The first analysis indicated that subjects' scores on the AWS were significantly correlated (r = -.1828, p < .05) with how close they said the presenters' views were to their own. The closer they perceived the views to be, the higher their AWS score. In the second analysis the subjects' answersto the three public commitment questions were compared with (1) the sex of the subjects, and (2) the individual presenters. There was a significant difference in the subsects' desires to meet the various speakers (X2 = 11.412, p < .05), emphasizing earlier trends indicating differences among the individual presenters.The recommendation was made for additional research in the area of influencing people to consider more flexible, nontraditional sex roles, and how responses are affected by the gender of the people involved. Investigations using a larger number of presenters, and more impactfully devised modes of treatment were suggested.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/180005 |
| Date | 03 June 2011 |
| Creators | Rhoades, Mary Jo Roseberry |
| Contributors | Zimmerman, Jay S. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | 4, vii, 141 leaves ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
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