1 Psychology 320: Psychology of Gender and Sex Differences Lecture 31

2 Office Hour Invitations January 4 th, 1:30-2:30, Kenny

1. The grades for the December exam are now available on the course website. The mean score on the December exam was 66% (SD = 18%, range = 0% – 99%). 3 Announcements

2. The TAs are available to meet with students to review their exam: Jacqueline-Marie (A-M): By appointment, Kenny Morag (N-Z): By appointment or during office hour: Wednesday, 11:30-12:30, Kenny

5 3. If you are not achieving your goals in this course, please feel free to meet with me or your TA. We may be able to provide you with assistance in developing your study strategies. You may also find it helpful to visit Learning Commons ( an online resource that provides access to information on exam preparation, tutoring, on-campus learning workshops, study groups, and technical tools.

6 Reminders 1. Students with last names A-M: As noted in the course syllabus, your TA for second term is David King: Office hour: Wednesday, 11:30-12:30, Kenny As noted in the course syllabus, my office hour in second term is on Friday, 1:30-2:30 (vs. Tuesday).

3. CSL students: An orientation session for the CSL component of the course will be held on Thursday, January 10 th, 5:00- 6:30, in Kenny 2510 (the Suedfeld Lounge). 7 David King will act as the TA Coordinator for the CSL component of the course.

8 Friendship 1. Are there sex similarities in same-sex friendship? 2. Are there sex differences in same-sex friendship?

9 1. discuss sex similarities and differences in same-sex friendship. By the end of today’s class, you should be able to: 2. identify desired characteristics and sources of relationship satisfaction in same-sex friendship. 3. identify the age period during which sex differences in self-disclosure emerge.

10 6. review research findings regarding the social desirability of self-disclosure among females and males. 5. discuss the relation between self-disclosure and gender. 4. define the term: co-rumination.

11 Are there sex similarities in same-sex friendship? A number of sex similarities in same-sex friendships have been identified: 1. Friendship network size: Mean = 5 – 8 (Urberg et al., 1995).

12 2. Desired characteristics:  Affective (i.e., emotional) support more important than instrumental (i.e., task-oriented) support (Burleson et al., 1996).  Trust and authenticity most important (Parker & de Vries, 1993).  Seek friends with similar characteristics (Berndt, 1982; Linden-Anderson et al., 2009).

13 3. Sources of relationship satisfaction: Include support, enjoyment, and equal power status (Bank & Hansford, 2000; Fehr, 2000; Reisman, 1990; Veniegas & Peplau, 1997). 4. Knowledge of friends/relationship (Simpkins et al., 2006).

14 Are there sex differences in same-sex friendship? A number of sex differences in same-sex friendships have been identified: 1. Group size during play: Females tend to play in dyads; males tend to play in groups (Baines & Blatchford, 2009; Rose & Rudolph, 2006). 2. Best friends: Females are more likely than males to report having a best friend and to be “clique” members (Urberg et al., 1995).

15 3. Self-disclosure:  Female-female friendships are characterized by greater self-disclosure than male-male friendships (e.g., Buhrmester & Furman, 1987; McNelles & Connolly, 1999; Sheets & Lugar, 2005).  Sex differences in self-disclosure appear in childhood and are consistent across age groups (Buhrmester & Furman, 1987; Swenson & Rose, 2009):

16 Grade 2Grade 5 a Grade 8 b Girls Boys Mean Intimate Disclosure Scores in Same-Sex Friendships for Girls and Boys by Grade (Buhrmester & Furman, 1987) a Marginally significant sex difference (p<.10). b Significant sex difference (p<.01).

17 Mean Intimate Disclosure Scores in Same-Sex Friendships for Women and Men (Sheets & Lugar, 2005) Intimate Disclosure Scores

18  Among females, self-disclosure is not influenced by gender. Among males, masculinity is negatively correlated with self-disclosure and femininity is positively correlated with self-disclosure (Winstead et al., 1984; also see Shaffer et al., 1996).  When self-disclosing, females are more likely than males to engage in “co-rumination” (Rose, 2002; Rose et al., 2007).

19  Research suggests that males are less likely to self- disclose than females because self-disclosure among males is less socially desirable:

20 Derlaga and Chaikin, 1976 (also see Collins and Miller, 1994; Mickelson, Helgeson, & Weiner, 1995) Female and male participants read a case study and evaluated the target’s levels of adjustment and likeability. The stories manipulated the sex of the target and the level of self-disclosure that the target engaged in with respect to a traumatic event.

21 Male Target Female Target Psychological Adjustment as a Function of Level of Disclosure and Sex of Discloser (Derlaga & Chaikin, 1976) Psychological Adjustment

22 Also found that self-disclosure was positively correlated with likeability scores among females but not among males.

23 Friendship 1. Are there sex similarities in same-sex friendship? 2. Are there sex differences in same-sex friendship?