Sex differences in aggression: social representation and social roles

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Sociology
• Gender Studies

Background:

• Men often view aggression instrumentally (for control), while women see it expressively (loss of anger control).
• Gendered personality traits (communality-agency) and occupational roles may explain these differing perceptions of aggression.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the relative contributions of gendered personality differences and occupational roles in shaping social representations of aggression.
• To investigate the interplay between personality, occupation, and sex in the understanding of aggression.

Main Methods:

• Participants from the armed forces and nursing professions completed the Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ) and a measure of expressive aggression (Expagg).
• Statistical analyses examined the correlations between occupational role, sex, personality traits (agency), and aggression representations.

Main Results:

• Both occupational role and sex were significant correlates of individuals' representations of aggression.
• While agency (a personality trait) negatively correlated with expressive aggression, its impact lessened when occupation and sex were considered.
• Occupational factors played a more substantial role than personality traits in explaining sex differences in aggression perception.

Conclusions:

• Social role theory, emphasizing contemporaneous occupational factors, is strongly supported in explaining sex differences in aggression understanding.
• The influence of traditional masculine and feminine personality traits on aggression perception is less significant compared to occupational influences.