Effects of helper's sex, subjects' androgyny, and self-evaluation on males' and females' willingness to seek and receive help

Abstract

The present study investigated the effects of sex of available helper on the willingness to seek and receive help reported by androgynous and sex-typed males and females who were categorized as being high and low in self-evaluation. Subjects received a questionnaire that included description of situations involving a need for help. For half the subjects the situation described a potential male helper, and for the other half it described a female helper. Subjects were asked to indicate how likely they were to seek help in each situation, and how they expected to feel if they received help. Results indicate that (a) males were more willing to seek and receive help from a female helper; (b) sex-typed males were less receptive, and sex-typed females were more receptive, to help; (c) relative to androgynous individuals, sex-typed individuals indicated greater willingness to seek and receive help from a female than from a male helper; and, finally, (d) these effects were more pronounced for subjects with low self-evaluation. The conceptual and applied implications of these findings are discussed.