Are women always less aggressive than men? a review of the experimental literature

This analysis attempts a systematic synthesis of the rather large body of research on college students' views on teaching and their assessment of the effectiveness of various attitudes, behaviors, and pedagogical practices of instructors. Across studies, the following characteristics are consistently associated with superior college teachers or teaching (as determined in a variety of ways): stimulation of interest; clarity and understandableness; knowledge of subject matter; preparation for, and organization of, the course; and enthusiasm for the subject matter and for teaching. Friendliness (concern and respect for students), helpfulness (availability), and openness to others' opinions (encouragement of class questions and discussion) are characteristics that students say they prefer in teachers (especially when they freely describe their ideal or best teacher and the characteristics they see as important to good teaching). However, a teacher's standing on these characteristics appears not to be particularly important to students' global assessment of their actual teachers on teacher-evaluation questionnaires. Finally, relative to other characteristics, certain regulative activities of the instructor are typically and consistently lower in importance for superior teaching, at least by the several indicators used in the studies under review. The analysis concludes with interpretations and cautions.

The superior college teacher from the students' view

Operant-interpersonal treatment for marital discord.

Thirty-one studies were located in each of which students and faculty specified the instructional characteristics they considered particularly important to good teaching and effective instruction. Students and faculty were generally similar, though not identical, in their views, as indicated by an average correlation of +.71 between them in their valuation of various aspects of teaching. In those studies with relevant data, the differences that did exist between the two groups showed a pattern of students placing more importance than faculty on teachers being interesting, having good elocutionary skills, and being available and helpful. Students also emphasized the outcomes of instruction more than faculty did. Faculty placed more importance than did students on teachers being intellectually challenging, motivating students and setting high standards for them, and encouraging self-initiated learning. The results of the present analysis were compared with those of an earlier analysis of the importance of various specific aspects of instruction in terms of their correlations with students' overall evaluations of teachers in actual rating situations.

Effective College Teaching from the Students' and Faculty's View: Matched or Mismatched Priorities?.

John W. CondonMichigan State UniversityWilliam D. CranoTexas AM holding inferred evaluation constant strongly attenuated thesimilarity-attraction association. Moreover, the inferred evaluation-attraction relation was un-affected when attitude similarity was partialed from it. The correlational pattern is contrary to thatput forward by Byrne (1971) and suggests a reconsideration of the conventional interpretation of thesimilarity-attraction relation.The study of factors that influence people's attraction to oth-ers is a major and continuing preoccupation of social psychol-ogy (Byrne, 1971; Byrne, Clore, & Smeaton, 1986; Newcomb,1961, 1968;Rosenbaum, 1986a, 1986b). Over the past two de-cades, researchers have identified a number of variables associ-ated with attraction. Propinquity, similarity or difference onvarious dimensions, physical attractiveness, cooperativeness,exposure, fear, intelligence, and other variables too numerousto mention do, under specified circumstances, enhance one'sattraction to another (Crano & Messe, 1982). Of all the attrac-tion-inducing variables, attitude similarity has received perhapsthe greatest attention. The similarity-attraction link has beenstudied in a wide variety of contexts involving interactions be-tween naive subjects (Brewer & Brewer, 1968), naive subjectsand experimental confederates (Aronson & Worchel, 1966;Byrne & Griffitt, 1966; McWhirter & Jecker, 1967), and naivesubjects with a hypothetical other whose opinions are presentedvia experimenter-provided (bogus) feedback (Byrne, 1971).These studies have consistently demonstrated a positive associa-tion between attitude similarity and attraction. The ubiquity ofthis result, and the wide range of research settings in which ithas been found, render the similarity-attraction link one of so-cial psychology's most dependable research findings (Berscheid& Walster, 1978). Whereas the existence of the similarity-at-traction association is no longer questioned (although the spe-cific role of similarity or dissimilarity is the focus of currentThis research was supported in part by NSF Grant BNS-8517416 toWilliam D. Crano.We gratefully acknowledge this support, and that of Lawrence A.Messe, Norbert Kerr, and Eileen G. Thompson for their helpful com-ments on an earlier version of this article.Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Wil-liam D. Crano, Department of Psychology, Texas AM see Byrne et al., 1986;Rosenbaum, 1986a, 1986b),its functional basis has been the source of considerable theoreti-cal debate.Interpretations of the Similarity-Attraction RelationEffectance MotiveWe begin with a consideration of the position of Byrne andassociates (Byrne, 1971; Byrne & Clore, 1967, 1970; Byrne L see also Byrne et al., 1986) proposedthat agreement with another provides a person with consensualvalidation for his or her own beliefs and helps to satisfy "alearned drive to be logical, to interpret the environment cor-rectly, and to function effectively in understanding and predict-ing events" (Byrne & Clore, 1970, p. 118). They labeled thisdrive the effectance motive (after White, 1959) and suggestedthat agreement, in satisfying this motive, took on the propertiesof a higher-order conditioned stimulus. The satisfaction of thisdrive results in the attachment of positive affect (attraction orliking) to the source of the satisfaction: the agreeing other.

Inferred evaluation and the relation between attitude similarity and interpersonal attraction.

Attraction and accuracy of perception in dyads.

Summary Previous research on the relationship between humor and aggression produced contradictory and inconclusive results. The present study differentiated effects of threatening, aggressive humor from those of non-threatening, aggressive humor, and determined that humor preferences are affected by conditions of aggression arousal. One hundred twenty female university students participated in the experiment proper, and 30 provided data on the effectiveness of the Aggressiveness Induction Procedure (AIP). Two groups were exposed to the AIP, and two were exposed to a Neutral Procedure (NP). One group in each condition (AIP and NP) rated aggressive, threatening jokes, and the other group rated aggressive, nonthreatening jokes, for their humor. All Ss then completed a mood adjective checklist. The AIP was successful in arousing aggression. Results showed that aggressive, nonthreatening humor was more effective in reducing induced aggressive mood-states than was aggressive, threatening humor. Further, AIP Ss ...

Humor Content Preferences and the Relief of Experimentally Aroused Aggression

Using the pair comparison method, ten teacher traits were rated in three studies: 627 students and 54 faculty members, in Studies I and II, respectively, rated the traits by their importance for good college teaching. In Study III, 120 students rated the traits as they were characteristic of a specific teacher the student regarded as excellent. Scale values for each trait were obtained in each study; these values were compared across year-levels and schools, and across studies. There was substantial agreement among the ratings by student groups and between the students and faculty. Implications for teacher evaluation are discussed.

Relative Importance of Ten Qualities for College Teaching Determined by Pair Comparisons.

. Freud (1960) theorized that aggressively aroused individuals would tend to prefer aggressive humor, consequently satisfying this mood state. In a study of this theorized preference, Prerost and Brewer (1973) demonstrated that individuals in an aggressive mood state do prefer aggressive humor if they do not feel threatened by the aggressive content. Other forms of humor, not generally classified as aggressive, may also be preferred when in an aggressive state if it satisfies or fits the aggressive mood. Freud(1960) postulated that there exists a strong connection between the aggressive and sexual moods. This connection was explored by Barclay and Haber (1965) who found increased sexual imagery in projective test material after their subjects were aggressively aroused. Further, Barclay (1970) found a strong linkage between the arousal of aggression and the expression of sexual motivation in both males and females, again using projective instruments. In a study of the effects of sexually arousing reading passages, Lamb (1968) found that subjects significantly preferred sexual humor. If the connection between sexual and aggressive motives does exist, a preference for sexual humor may also be demonstrated among aggressively aroused subjects. The present study investigated preferences among non-sexual, sexual, and aggressive humor of subjects under conditions of induced aggressive mood. Because of the numerous social role overtones and sex ual identity inherent in the humor employed in the present study, the data for males and females were analyzed separately. The hypotheses tested in the present study are as follows: Aggressively aroused males and females (a) will prefer sexual humor over non-sexual humor; (b) will prefer aggressive humor over sexual humor._.;Non-aroused ~~e5 and females (c) will prefer non-sexual humor over sexual humor. There is no basis in Freudian theory,, or in previous research results, for expecting non-aroused subjects to prefer either sexual or aggressive humor over the other. The dependent variable was humor ratings; mood adjective checklist ratings were used to test the effectiveness of the experimental treatment conditions.

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The Common Elements of Sex and Aggression as Reflected in Humor Preferences

(1968). Attitude Change, Interpersonal Attraction, and Communication in a Dyadic Situation. The Journal of Social Psychology: Vol. 75, No. 1, pp. 127-134.

Robert E. Brewer

Papers

Attraction and accuracy of perception in dyads.

Humor Content Preferences and the Relief of Experimentally Aroused Aggression

Relative Importance of Ten Qualities for College Teaching Determined by Pair Comparisons.

The Common Elements of Sex and Aggression as Reflected in Humor Preferences

Attitude Change, Interpersonal Attraction, and Communication in a Dyadic Situation