The power motive and aggression in men and women

Maureen Elizabeth Crowley, Purdue University

Abstract

This research examined the effect of individual need for power, assigned power, and gender on aggression in a laboratory experiment. Derogation against male and female partners was assessed in a simulated organizational situation. Two measures of power motives were used: A projective technique in which a written text is scored for the presence of power images (Winter, 1973), and an objective scale based on these images devised by the author. Validity and reliability tests were performed on the newly created scale, including the collection of data from a second college sample. Other related attitudes, personality characteristics and behaviors were assessed using measures from past research on aggression against women, including partner abuse and sexual aggression, and were included in regression analyses to predict self-reported aggression. Results indicated that, in the laboratory, males were more likely to receive derogation, and for those subjects who were high in $n$ Power, being in a subordinate position and partnered with a male was likely to account for more derogation. More empirical testing is needed for the new scale to determine its relationship with power motivation and it usefulness in this area of research. Also, further study is needed with real life couples in which abuse occurs, both heterosexual and homosexual, to examine the relationship between concomitants of power, gender, and aggression. Various definitions of power have been used in the literature on marital relationships and on relationships between the sexes, but there is a need for consistent, common definitions among disciplines in the scientific community. Implications for future research in the areas of interpersonal and social power and their effects on aggression were discussed.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Tanford, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Social psychology

COinS