Conflict in Intimate vs Non-Intimate Relationships: When Gender Role Stereotyping Overrides Biased Self-Other Judgment

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to explore whether bias in self-other judgments pertains to conflict in intimate relationships and is overruled by gender role stereotypes in non-intimate relationships between males and females. It was predicted that when the opponent was one's intimate partner, both male and female participants would rate themselves as intending more cooperative and less competitive behavior than their partner. In non-intimate relationships, females were predicted to rate their male opponent as less cooperative and more competitive, whereas males were predicted to rate their female opponent as more cooperative and less competitive. A sample of 46 male and 46 female participants rated their own intention to cooperative and competitive conflict behaviors, and that of an opposite-sex opponent, in a hypothesized conflict situation. The results supported the hypotheses. Implications for further research, as well as applications in the field of marital counseling, are discussed.