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Are Women Always More Interpersonally Sensitive Than Men? Impact of Goals and Content Domain

Northeastern University, j.hall{at}neu.edu

Marianne Schmid Mast

University of Neuchâtel

Two studies examined motivation and content domain as possible influences on sex differences in interpersonal sensitivity. Although much research has found women to excel on tasks measuring interpersonal sensitivity, most of the tasks have measured accuracy in female-relevant domains such as emotion. The present studies measured interpersonal sensitivity, defined as accurate recall of another person, for both female-relevant and male-relevant content domains and also included motivational manipulations intended to influence men and women differently. Study 1 measured accuracy of recalling information in a written vignette about a person, and Study 2 measured accuracy of recalling details about an interaction partner. Both studies supported hypotheses about domain specificity and gender-relevant motivation. However, even for male-stereotypic content and for tasks framed to favor men's motivation to perform well, men's accuracy never exceeded women's.

Key Words: gender • sex differences • interpersonal sensitivity • motivation • accuracy • appearance • status • dominance

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