LACK OF VOICE AS A MANIFESTATION OF FALSE SELF-BEHAVIOR AMONG ADOLESCENTS - THE SCHOOL SETTING AS A STAGE UPON WHICH THE DRAMA OF AUTHENTICITY IS ENACTED

Self-development during adolescence is characterized by increasing dif ferentiation across roles as well as an intensification in displays of false self-behavior. A major manifestation of false self-behavior inv olves not saying what one thinks or believes, not expressing one's tru e opinion. Gilligan has referred to this phenomenon as lack of ''voice .'' It is her contention that this becomes very problematic for girls when they enter adolescence because social factors conspire to cause t hem to lose their voices. In this article we first review Gilligan's a rguments. We then turn to a consideration of factors both within, and outside of, the school environment that might also contribute to lower levels of voice for female adolescents. The educational system has co me under major scrutiny in recent years for shortchanging girls, parti cularly with regard to liabilities that cause them to compromise the s elf. However, there are limitations in the literature on both voice an d gender bias, in that links between the potential causes of lack of v oice have not been documented through conventional research methodolog ies. Nor has the field been sufficiently concerned with individual dif ferences within gender. We review findings from our own laboratory on lack of voice, revealing that marked individual differences within gen der can be explained by gender orientation (rather than gender, per se ) as well as support for voice from significant others. The liabilitie s of not expressing one's opinion are also considered. We conclude wit h cautions against making generalizations about gender differences in voice, and discuss certain educational implications for enhancing the levels of voice for both genders.