Personal vs Relationship Orientation as a Dimension of Sex-Role Differentiation

Abstract

Previous theory and research suggest that orientation toward self vs others is one aspect of sex-role differentiation: males tend to focus on personal issues; females, upon relationship issues. An important question is whether such differentials are due to long-term socialization or to situation-based factors, such as status and power. The present research is designed to examine this topic within the context of group therapy. Two groups, with varying status differentials between males and females, were selected for comparative purposes. One was composed of five marital dyads, in which husbands presumably had higher status; the other, of 10 unrelated male and female teachers from the same junior high school, all of whom were of equivalent occupational status. Personal vs relationship orientation was assessed on the basis of interactional behavior, as well as through self-evaluation and, for the married couples, evaluation by spouse. Intergroup differences and changes over time suggest that sex-related orientations are related to situational factors rather than to relatively immutable sex-based personality patterns.