RETHINKING SEX-DIFFERENCES IN AGGRESSION - AGGRESSIVE-BEHAVIOR IN THEABSENCE OF SOCIAL ROLES

Two studies investigated the influence of social roles on sex differen ces in aggression, the first focusing on expectations and the second o n behavior In both studies, deindividuation was used to remove the inf luence of social roles. In Study 1, implicit theories about sex differ ences in aggression were examined by asking people to predict aggressi on by males and females in individuated and deindividuated conditions. People expected men to be more aggressive than women but did not show an appreciation of the disinhibiting effects of deindividuation. In S tudy 2, deindividuation was manipulated in the laboratory to assess it s effects in an aggression-eliciting situation. As predicted, men aggr essed more than women in the individuated condition, but this differen ce was eliminated in the deindividuated condition. Subjects' perceptio ns of their behavior were more consistent with the implicit theories d ocumented in Study 1 than with how they actually behaved.