Gender role conformity and aggression: Influence of perpetrator and victim conformity on direct physical aggression in women

Abstract

The wealth of literature indicating that men are more physically aggressive than women may be the reason for the dearth of research on physical aggression in women. However, recent research has found that this discrepancy is better attributed to conformity to gender roles rather than to biological sex. The purpose of the present study was to assess the influence of masculine and feminine gender role conformity on direct physical aggression in women. One-hundred eighty four women were recruited to compete in a sham aggression paradigm against either a hyperfeminine (gender role conforming) or hypofeminine (gender role violating) confederate woman. Results indicated that women evinced more physical aggression toward a hypofeminine woman than toward her hyperfeminine counterpart. Moreover, endorsement of masculine traits by female aggressors was positively correlated with behavioral and self-reports of physical aggression. Femininity was unrelated to behavioral indices of physical aggression but negatively correlated with self-reports of aggression. Findings are discussed in reference to the increased risk of victimization of women who deviate from gender-specific role norms and the impact of perpetrator gender role adherence on aggressive behavior. Future examination of differential effects of general nonconformity on aggression as an alternative explanation of the findings is required.