Perception of an adversary as a function of masculinity, sex, and aggression/empathy.

The study was designed to test whether men and women identifying with a masculine stereotype differ in their perception of a confederate (adversary) who displays either an empathetic or aggressive role in resolving a disagreement over social issues. It was hypothesized that masculine individuals would be more perceptually sensitive to aggressive cues of an adversary and make more hostile responses than nonmasculine individuals. Conversely, nonmasculine individuals were hypothesized to be more perceptually sensitive to empathetic cues of an adversary and make fewer hostile responses than masculine individuals. Results of both perceptual measures and the measure of hostility did not support the hypotheses. Nonmasculine individuals perceived the adversary more positively than masculine individuals regardless of strategy of resolution.