An Experimental Examination of the Effects of Sex and Masculinity/Femininity on Psychological, Physiological, and Behavioral Responses During Communication Situations

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of biological sex and masculinity/femininity on physiological (blink and heart rates), emotional (anxiety and mood), and behavioral responses (behavioral ratings of communication skills) during communication situations. Participants were 46 students in a Japanese university. They were categorized into 3 gender types—androgynous, stereotypical, and cross-gender on the Masculinity–Humanity–Femininity Scale (Ito, 1978) and the Social Skills Inventory (Riggio, 1986). The communication situations consisted of 2 experimental tasks (question-asking and self-introduction in front of a video camera). These two tasks were conducted in both Japanese and English. The results suggested that the cross-gender-type participants (feminine men and masculine women) showed increased blink and heart rates. For the behavioral ratings, the cross-gender type and the androgynous gender type were judged to have better communication skills than the stereotypical gender type. There was no significant difference in emotional responses among groups. The interaction of biological sex and masculinity/femininity may be associated with interpersonal adjustment and its stress responses.