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Sex and social representations of aggression: A communal‐agentic analysis
Author(s) -
Campbell Anne,
Muncer Steven,
Gorman Bernard
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
aggressive behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.223
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 1098-2337
pISSN - 0096-140X
DOI - 10.1002/1098-2337(1993)19:2<125::aid-ab2480190205>3.0.co;2-1
Subject(s) - aggression , psychology , anger , personality , social psychology , hostility , developmental psychology , interpersonal relationship , interpersonal communication , identity (music) , poison control , social relation , medicine , physics , environmental health , acoustics
Previous research [Campbell and Muncer: Journal for the Theory of Social Behavior 17: 489–512, 1987; Campbell et al.: Aggressive Behavior 18: 95–108, 1992] suggests that men and women hold different social representations or implicit theories of their own aggression. Men view it is an instrumental act (a means of obtaining and exercising power to gain social rewards), while women view it an expressive act (a cathartic discharge of anger). In the present study, communal/agentic personality styles and gender identity are examined as possible mediators of the relation between sex and Expaag–a psychometric measure of adherence to an expressive representation of aggression. In addition a measure of self‐reported aggression is included. The highest correlation appeared between sex and Expaag. Gender identity and interpersonal style made no significant improvement in explained variance in a multiple regression analysis after sex had been entered. An instrumental social representation of aggression was significantly and positively correlated with number of reported aggressive acts. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.