Are there "his" and "hers" types of interdependence? The implications of gender differences in collective versus relational interdependence for affect, behavior, and cognition

In a recent review, S. E. Cross and L. Madson (1997) forwarded that many ge nder differences in social experience and behavior may be better understood through consideration of gender differences in independence and interdepen dence. in the current studies an expansion of the model to include both rel ational and collective aspects of interdependence was investigated (see R. F. Baumeister & K. L. Sommer, 1997). On the basis of the literature regardi ng gender differences in affect, behavior, and cognition, it was hypothesiz ed that women would focus more on the relational aspects of interdependence , whereas men would focus more on the collective aspects of interdependence . Five studies in which gender differences in self-construtals, emotional e xperience, selective memory, and behavioral intentions were examined suppor ted the expansion of the model to include both relational and collective as pects of interdependence.