Perceived A Gentic and Communal Behavior in Mixed-Sex Group Interactions

Twenty-six male and 26 female undergraduates participated in four-person mixed-sex group discussions. After each of three discussions in which a consensus was required, each person in the group rated the other members on their degree of talkativeness, on the quality of their expressed ideas, and on the degree of their concern for other's feelings. Results showed that sex role orientation alone predicted task-orientation; individuals of both sexes who had high masculinity scores on the BSRI were perceived to have talked more and to have had good ideas. Gender and sex role orientation predicted warm socioemotional behavior: Females and individuals with high femininity scores were judged to have been more concerned about group members' feelings. The prediction that androgynous individuals would exhibit the greatest behavioral flexibility (perform both task and socioemotional behaviors) was marginally supported.