Social Information Processing and the Verbal and Physical Abuse of Women

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between personality and the abuse of women. Relatively unexplored variables such as authoritarianism, private self-consciousness, and adversarial sexual beliefs were examined along with sex-role attitudes. It was predicted that personality variables with a social information processing orientation (i.e., private self-consciousness and adversarial sexual beliefs) would be more closely associated with abuse than generalized, attitudinal variables (i.e., sex-role attitudes and authoritarianism). One hundred forty-nine men completed a questionnaire containing the Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS), Right-Wing Authoritarianism Scale, Self-Consciousness Scale, Adversarial Sexual Beliefs Scale (ASB), and the Attitudes Toward Women Scale. The results show that scores on the ASB are most closely associated with the CTS scores. Also, there was a borderline significant effect of private self-consciousness on verbal abuse scores. The results suggest that aspects of social information processing are more closely associated with abuse than are general, attitudinal variables.