Prediction of self-actualization in male participants in a group conducted by female leaders
✍ Scribed by Diane R. Follingstad; Peter H. Kilmann; Elizabeth A. Robinson
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1976
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 558 KB
- Volume
- 32
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0021-9762
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
Some evidence indicates that males prefer male over female counselors when asked to state a preference(e.g., (2, 14)). The reasons for this preference vary, but male counselors usually are attributed with greater trust, respect, and admiration (2). The literature on the authoritarian personality suggests that highly authoritarian persons tend to hold more traditional stereotypes with regard to male-female sex role behavior than persons who score lower in authoritarianism(e.g., ( I ) ) . Thus, it follows logically that males who score high in authoritarianism and reflect traditional attitudes toward women might not accept the authority and competence of female counselors and therefore might resist their treatment inputs. This hypothesized reaction should have a negative or no effect on outcome for these persons. By contrast, males who report lower authoritarian scores and greater agreement with profeminist attitudes before treatment should show a more positive treatment outcome when exposed t o female counselors.
This study attempted to predict which male Ss would reflect higher selfactualization scores when exposed to a 16-hour marathon group conducted by female leaders. In this regard, prior studies have found positive changes in selfactualization as a function of a 16-hour marathon group experience (e.g., (', s)).
Furthermore, the "isolated" nature of marathon treatment permits the E to place greater confidence in the assumption that the impact of treatment is not confounded with "therapeutic" inputs from informal contacts with persons outside the group. The three predictor scales measured authoritarianism, attitudes toward women, and need for social approval. An attempt also was made to determine whether males who score low in authoritarianism, reflect greater agreement with profeminist attitudes, and report a high need for social approval would rate the leader and the group experience more positively.