ETHNICITY, GENDER, AND EVALUATIONS OF AGGRESSION

In order to investigate some of the ways in which ethnicity and gender influence interpretations of aggression, 363 Angle and Hispanic unive rsity students responded to a questionnaire soliciting their evaluatio ns of aggression in three situations. Consistent with previous researc h and with the stereotype of machismo, Hispanics, particularly Hispani c males, were more likely to endorse some aggressive behaviors than An gles. However, the same pattern of gender influences emerged for both ethnic groups. As predicted, males were more aggressive and more suppo rtive of fighting back and punishing an aggressor than females, wherea s females were more likely to show self-control about aggression and t o endorse restraint. Respondents, particularly males, said that they w ould behave more aggressively toward a male, and they encouraged a mal e to behave more aggressively. These results are consistent with the s ocial constructionist view that performance and evaluations of aggress ion are largely influenced by cultural factors. (C) 1995 Wiley-Liss, I nc.