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Gender and gender-role identity influences upon self- and other-reports of communicative competence

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Abstract

This study examines the influence of gender-role identity on interpersonal perceptions of “communicative competence” in a natural setting over an extended period of time. After working in small task-oriented groups for 15 weeks, 146 students (74 females, 72 males) completed a questionnaire containing measures of gender-role identity (Bem Sex Role Inventory) and “communicative competence” [J. M. Wieman, Explication and test of a model of communicative competence. Human Communication Research, 1977, 3, 195–213]. A three-way ANOVA (masculinity, femininity, gender) was used for analysis. Predictions based on prior models were only partially supported. Findings suggest that gender-role identity functions in more complex ways than prior models suggest. For all dimensions of “communicative competence,” gender-role identity resulted in different patterns for males and females. Furthermore, comparisons of self- vs other-perceptions indicate the possibility that one model may hold for self-perceptions and another for other-perceptions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina

    Christa Reiser

  2. North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina

    Kay Michael Troost

Authors
  1. Christa Reiser
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  2. Kay Michael Troost
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The authors gratefully acknowledge the helpful comments contributed by Kenneth R. Wilson and Kristina Troost.

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Reiser, C., Troost, K.M. Gender and gender-role identity influences upon self- and other-reports of communicative competence. Sex Roles 14, 431–443 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00288425

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00288425

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