Greater Discomfort as a Proximate Cause of Sex Differences in Competition

Benenson, Joyce F.; Roy, Rosanne; Waite, Angela; Goldbaum, Suzanne; Linders, Lisa; Simpson, Anna

doi:10.1353/mpq.2002.0010

Cited by 41 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Thus, we observed that the boys report using both social comparison and downward contrast to a greater degree than the girls. While these are preliminary results, they could be evidence of the generally more competitive nature of boys (Benenson et al 2002;Maccoby 1990;Maltz and Borker 1983). The reported greater tendency of boys to use social comparison could express their need to gather information about the performance of others in order to see where they stand and if they may subsequently outperform these others.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

Relations between impostor feelings and upward and downward identification and contrast among 10- to 12-year-old students

Chayer

Bouffard

2010

Eur J Psychol Educ

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The first objective of this study was to examine the presence of the impostor phenomenon (IP) among 740 students aged 10 to 12 years old. The second objective was twofold: (1) to examine the link between the impostor feelings and the propensity to use social comparison and (2) to examine whether this feeling is related to the processes of identification with versus contrast to others who are either doing better or worse than oneself. Results showed that, although generally of low intensity, the impostor feelings are indeed present in late elementary school children. A positive link between the impostor feelings and the propensity to use social comparison was also observed. It also appeared that, more than for others, children who feel like impostors were likely to differentiate themselves from their more capable peers while identifying themselves with less capable peers. The discussion focuses on the presence of the IP in late elementary children and on how the upward contrast and the downward identification may contribute to its development and maintenance.Résumé Le premier objectif de cette étude est d'examiner la présence du sentiment d'imposteur chez des élèves de 10-12 ans. Le second objectif est d'examiner le lien entre ce sentiment et la propension à la comparaison sociale, et le troisième de vérifier si ce même sentiment est relié aux processus d'identification et de différenciation avec une cible faisant mieux que soi ou faisant moins bien que soi. L'examen de 740 élèves a permis de constater que, même s'il est généralement de faible intensité, le sentiment d'imposteur est bel et bien présent à cet âge. On observe un lien positif entre le sentiment d'imposteur et la propension à se comparer, et, plus ce sentiment est présent chez un élève, plus il rapporte se juger différent de ses pairs qui réussissent bien et s'identifier à ceux qui réussissent plus difficilement. La discussion s'intéresse à la façon dont la différenciation ascendante Eur

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

Relations between impostor feelings and upward and downward identification and contrast among 10- to 12-year-old students

Chayer

Bouffard

2010

Eur J Psychol Educ

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“…Likewise, when groups of four 6-or 9-year-old same-sex children were asked to choose a leader, no sex differences occurred in length of negotiations. Girls however exhibited more discomfort than boys during negotiations, and for girls, the longer the negotiations, the greater the discomfort [156].…”

Section: (I) Avoid Interference Competitionmentioning

confidence: 87%

The development of human female competition: allies and adversaries

Benenson

2013

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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116

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Throughout their lives, women provide for their own and their children's and grandchildren's needs and thus must minimize their risk of incurring physical harm. Alliances with individuals who will assist them in attaining these goals increase their probability of survival and reproductive success. High status in the community enhances access to physical resources and valuable allies. Kin, a mate, and affines share a mother's genetic interests, whereas unrelated women constitute primary competitors. From early childhood onwards, girls compete using strategies that minimize the risk of retaliation and reduce the strength of other girls. Girls' competitive strategies include avoiding direct interference with another girl's goals, disguising competition, competing overtly only from a position of high status in the community, enforcing equality within the female community and socially excluding other girls.

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“…It is well established that by middle childhood, human females shun overt competition more than males do (Ahlgren and Johnson 1979;Bem 1974;Benenson et al 2002). Competition for any resource or goal increases linearly with group size (Bales and Borgatta 1955).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human Sexual Differences in the Use of Social Ostracism as a Competitive Tactic

et al. 2008

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An aspect of social systems that is similar between chimpanzees and humans is that males form larger groups than females do. Both chimpanzee and human studies suggest that large groups are costlier for females than for males, so females attempt to reduce group size. Social ostracism of female group members occurs in both species and may serve as a mechanism for group size reduction. We formed groups of female and male children to examine directly whether human females would be more likely than males to employ social ostracism. We asked 7 female and 7 male groups of 10-yr-old children to compose and perform a play about a topic of interest to them. Female groups engaged in social ostracism more than male groups did. Further, within female groups, cortisol levels remained higher for female perpetrators of social ostracism than for their victims, suggesting that social ostracism is costly. In contrast, more frequent 1:1 conflictual behavior occurred in male than in female groups, but cortisol was unrelated to frequencies of 1:1 conflicts. Our results support the theory that human females find groups aversive and seek to reduce their size via social ostracism. Coalitions minimize the risk of retaliation but may induce costs.

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Greater Discomfort as a Proximate Cause of Sex Differences in Competition

Cited by 41 publications

References 44 publications

Relations between impostor feelings and upward and downward identification and contrast among 10- to 12-year-old students

Relations between impostor feelings and upward and downward identification and contrast among 10- to 12-year-old students

The development of human female competition: allies and adversaries

Human Sexual Differences in the Use of Social Ostracism as a Competitive Tactic

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