Sex-Role Orientation, Defensiveness, and Competitiveness in Women

Abstract

Women of differing sex-role orientations and levels of defensiveness played a PDG with a woman identified as either traditionally or career-oriented, but who was actually a confederate using a nonresponsive 60% cooperative strategy. To facilitate avoidance of competition, matrix values minimized the pull toward defection, and a third self-protective choice was provided as an alternative to unilateral cooperative sacrifice. Women rejecting the traditional feminine role consistently avoided competition, regardless of their level of defensiveness, and particularly when the other was similar in orientation. For women endorsing both traditional and career values, low defensiveness corresponded with avoidance of competition, while high defensiveness corresponded with competitive behavior, similar to that of traditionally oriented women. Both sex-role orientation and defensiveness demonstrated their usefulness as individual difference dimensions affecting the behavior of women in the PDG.