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Are men therapists soft on empathy? two studies in feminine understanding
Author(s) -
Abramowitz Christine V.,
Abramowitz Stephen I.,
Weitz Lawrence J.
Publication year - 1976
Publication title -
journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.124
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1097-4679
pISSN - 0021-9762
DOI - 10.1002/1097-4679(197604)32:2<434::aid-jclp2270320249>3.0.co;2-5
Subject(s) - empathy , psychology , psychotherapist , clinical psychology , psychoanalysis , social psychology , developmental psychology
A serendipitous finding and a replication among successive populations of clinical-counseling practicum students suggest that the typical female therapist communicates more empathically than her male colleague. In the first study, reactions of 8 women trainees were evaluated as more empathic than those of 10 men counterparts. Despite control for sex-typed handwriting cues in the second study, 8 male novitiates' responses were assessed as less empathic than those of 8 females. The results are consistent with the notion of differential sex-role prescriptions for interpersonal sensitivity.