Aggression Sterotypes

            It was found that the gender of the aggressor is not the only variable that influences the perceived levels, causes and acceptability of aggression. Gender of the target of aggression was found to also be an important variable. People tend to perceive greater aggression in acts against women than against men. For example, in one study, participants viewed shoving a neighbor as more aggressive when the neighbor was a woman ( Cretser 1996). In another study, the same physical punishment given by a parent was rated as more severe and abusive when directed toward a daughter than toward a son ( Meyer 1999). The gender of the recipient of aggression was found to influence the casual attribution for an aggressive act. In another study, participants read a vignette the described an incident of domestic violence (Conway 2000). The vignettes read by the different groups in the experiment varied only in whether the husband aggressed against the wife or the wife against the husband. When the target was the husband, the participants rated the target as more blame for the incident than when the target was the wife. Domestic violence, like sexual violence, is an area in which men are generally the perpetrator of the aggression.
             Aggression directed toward a woman is generally judged more negatively than the same aggression directed toward a man. Men aggression is considered less acceptable than women aggression, and aggression against women is considered less acceptable than aggression against men. One reason to adjust why this may be is the strong norm, which proscribe aggression against female, particularly by males. A second reason is because men are generally stronger than women. Like, for example, when we discussed in class how the penis is equalized to a gun.
             Among the most common sterotypes are those based on gender. Sterotypes of women have cast them as submissive, dependent, and easily hurt, whereas sterotypes of men have been more favorable and includes characteristics such as independence and adventureousness.