Understanding Women: Implications for Personality Theory and Research

Abstract

This paper addresses the neglect of work on feminine psychology as a symptom of the far broader impoverishment of contemporary work in personality. Bakan's concepts of agency and communion are invoked toward understanding the constraints imposed by current research paradigms. Agentic (masculine) modes of inquiry involving manipulation, quantification, and control need to be complemented by the communal (feminine) research styles (naturalistic, qualitative, open) developed in other disciplines. Three issues are proposed for research in personality: duality in human nature, typology and qualitative patterning and biological bases of personality. These issues are consonant with the nature of feminity, engage the talents of female investigators, and could foster development of the new research paradigms required for serious inquiry in personality. Suggestions for conceptual elaboration and empirical research are proposed.

Customer Loyalty With Fine Dining: The Moderating Role of Gender

“…However, Iacobucci and Ostrom (1993) found that female customers relied more on interpersonal aspects of a service encounter compared with male customers when evaluating service and forming satisfaction. We infer this may be due to the fact that females have more communal concerns and higher needs for affiliation and fostering harmonious relationships with others (Carlson, 1972). Peter and Olson's (1999) study also agreed that females were more sensitive to relational aspects of a service encounter than males.…”

“…According to the American Customer Satisfaction Survey Index (Bryant, 1995), female customers show higher levels of customer satisfaction than male customers in general. This may be due to the fact that females have more communal concerns and a higher need for affiliation and fostering of harmonious relationships with others (Carlson, 1972). Due to these differences, female customers, according to Argyle and Henderson (1984), generally provide higher performance ratings than their male counterparts.…”

Sex-Role Stereotypes: Perceived Childhood Socialization Experiences and the Attitudes and Behavior of Adult Women

“…Downloaded by [Central Michigan University] She suggested a study of socialization factors rather than of inner dynamics if we hope to understand women. Carlson ( 4 ) suggested that the study of women as individuals was a needed first step in developing new models for feminine research.…”

Timing of Psychosocial Changes in Women’s Lives

“…In accord with other scholars who have become concerned about research ap proaches that obscure rather than illuminate female development [Barnett and Baruch, 1978;Carlson, 1975;Hornstein, 1981;Lifton, 1965;McClelland, 1975;Miller. 1976;Parlee, 1975Parlee, , 1979Rubin, 1979;Ruddick andDaniels, 1977, Sangiuliano, 1978;Scarf 1980;Westkotl, 1979] and those who ques tion 'objectivity' in research [Geertz, 1973;Mishler, 1979;Myrdal, 1969;Polanyi, 1958;Riegel, 1976], I chose a phenomenological approach in which the subjects themselves could shape the research.…”