| | |
 |
|
| 03-02-2004 | Previous edition: 03-01-2004 |
        
     |
Printer-friendly version Research shows both sexes act in similar ways
Senior Writer The popular theory that men and women are from two different planets can be harmful to relationships, according to a Purdue professor's research. "I think people are fundamentally similar; some people focus more on the differences," said Erina MacGeorge, assistant professor of communication. MacGeorge's study on the myth of gender cultures consisted of three studies of gender communication. The first study examined whether men and women reacted differently to friends' problems. Mature adults between the ages of 45 and 60 were given scenarios about their friends having a problem such as going through a divorce. The man or woman then spoke into a tape recorder about what he or she would say to a friend. "There were precious few differences to how each sex would handle the situation," said MacGeorge. She said men were a little more likely to offer advice and women were a little more likely to offer encouragement, but they were both equally likely to provide sympathy. "Guys can be equally as supportive but I think that women just show it more," said Chris Tilson, senior in the School of Technology. The second study focused on advice and asked individuals to tell the researchers about a recent time when they had been upset and someone had given them advice. MacGeorge said they found men and women both like receiving advice equally and neither likes advice that sets limitations or has drawbacks. It was previously thought men don't like receiving advice as much because it devalues their individuality. The third study focused on how each sex evaluated emotional support messages. The different support messages ranged from touchy-feely to cold and harsh, such as "Get over it." MacGeorge said women were more likely to like the high-ended sensitive messages and men responded less negatively to the low-ended than women did but it was only a 2 or 3 percent difference. "Not all women want to hear 'oh, it's going to be OK,' and not all men want to hear 'buck-up, guy,'" she said. MacGeorge said books such as John Gray's "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus" are popular because they are simple, tell stories instead of actual research and contribute to stereotypical thinking that most learned at early ages. She said these types of books could be harmful because they give an excuse for bad behavior, such as attributing a man's rudeness to the fact that he's a man. Heather Richmond, junior in the School of Liberal Arts, said she wasn't surprised to hear the results of the studies. "I think that the differences between men and women are things that people imagine because they are taught that things are supposed to be that way, but people are all actually inherently the same," she said. Printer-friendly version |
|
Front Page | Campus | City | Features | Opinions | Sports | Classifieds Advertising | Archive | Links | About us | Letter Submission Form To report any errors with or to give ideas on how we can improve the online edition of The Exponent contact Online Production |
