Gender Differences in Extraversion

The following is an observation lab I completed with a partner for third year Research in my Psychology B.A. Personal information and details have been excluded; if you require this information for referential purposes, please contact me for use.

Extraversion and Gender Differences in College Males and Females
October 2005

Extraversion affects the public’s perception of a person and their wages, social status and level of personal fulfillment. If levels of extraversion differ among males and females, can it not be said that gender has some greater bearing on one’s personal life than being simply their sex? That is, men or women may be treated differently in certain social circles due to their extraverted or introverted tendencies.

Recent research by Nyhus and Pons (2005) states that wages and types of employment can be directly affected by the Big Five personality types. This includes extraversion, which they define as a preference for human contact and awareness, along with the want to encourage others (Nyhus & Pons, 2005). Their study discusses interesting information not pertinent to their topic; for instance, there was found to be a strong gender difference with test subjects of the age of 10 when specific traits were compared to their wages at age 26 (Feinstein, 2000, as cited in Nyhus & Pons, 2005). It has also been documented that men in the workplace are punished for withdrawal, whereas women are punished for aggression (Osborne, 2000, as cited in Nyhus & Pons, 2005). These two traits are closely related to extraversion.

Further research by Rubinstein (2005) suggests there is no significant difference between males and females with regards to extraversion. However, some of the behaviours measured were associated more strongly with men than women and vice versa (Rubinstein, 2005). This suggests that there is either no relationship between gender and extraversion, or that different methods of research are required.

In the present study, natural observation will be used on a frequency-event scale. Trace behaviours were measured due to the difficulty in finding strong behaviours associated with personality (Salgado, 1997, as cited in Rubinstein, 2005). The hypothesis proposed is that males will score higher on a scale of trace extraversion than females.

Disconfirming this hypothesis will require that there are no differences observed, or that females will score higher in extraversion. Extraversion is defined in terms of scoring two or more on an event sampling scale that measures three behaviours: smiling, gesticulation (“hand-talkers”), and clarity of speech. A smile is defined as upper molar (teeth showing). Gesticulation includes leaning toward the assistant (demonstrating outgoing body language), using visual representation to clarify needs (i.e. pointing), and hand-talking. Clarity of speech is determined on the basis of whether the observers are able to hear the library patron from their position (see Appendix B for photograph).

Method

Participants

Observed participants were 40 patrons of the _____ _______ Library (21 males and 19 females) who approached the Access Desk, where most questions are directed and check-outs are processed. Most of these patrons ranged in age from approximately 18-24 and were students of ______ University, though a few adults (estimated in their mid-40’s) were included in the observations. Results cannot be generalized to certain groups that were excluded from observations, including: friends or acquaintances of the observers, people who appeared to know the desk assistant personally, people who had flamboyant style (such as bright pink hair), or people who had a friend present. The purpose of this was to control for extraneous variables to our data; specifically, experimenter bias (preconceived notions or formed judgments), friendliness due to familiarity, and peer pressure that might create changes in interaction.

Materials

The data was collected by means of event sampling and frequency coding on the basis of nominal categories (extraverted or not). Coding sheets were developed that recorded gender, the three events (behaviours) being observed, whether the patron qualified as ‘extraverted’, and comments, if necessary (see Appendix C). Inter-rater reliability was calculated using percent agreement and Cohen’s Kappa (calculations can be found on Appendix D).

Procedure

The observers were positioned in the waiting area at the entrance of _______ Library, with a direct view of the Access Desk. All observations were recorded over two days, tracking patrons served by one particular assistant. This controlled for differences in observed behaviour due to potential differing interaction styles of library employees. It also ensured that observations were recorded in the same order for reliability purposes. The coding sheet used can be found in Appendix C.

Results

All calculations were completed by hand and Figures 1 through 4 were drawn with Microsoft Excel (see Appendix A).

The results indicate that, according to the created measure, 40% of the overall sample was extraverted, thus the mode of the sample itself was ‘not extraverted’. This is illustrated in Figure 1. Out of the total amount of extraverted samples that were taken, 56% were female, with the remaining 44% being male. This is illustrated in Figure 2. The sample proportion of female (p_f=.48) and male (p_m=.33) extraverts further points out the differences in each respective group. This is illustrated in Figure 3. Through gathering information on the coding sheet, observed differences in the amount of time females and males “upper molar smiled,” “spoke clearly,” and “gesticulated” were recorded. Females smiled and spoke more clearly while males were observed to gesticulate more often. These differences are demonstrated in Figure 4.

Discussion

The present experiment observed and compared the prevalence of extraversion among males and females. It was hypothesized that men would demonstrate more of the extraverted behaviours, as measured by a frequency event-sampling scale, than women.

Previous research on the relationship between gender and extraversion has generally been inconclusive with insignificant results. Rubinstein (2005) found that, while there were no significant differences, certain behaviours scored differently between the genders. With similar results, the present study’s hypothesis was not supported.

An interesting finding that we could expand upon was how many more females smiled than males. This suggests some differing characteristics that full under the label of extraversion. To a lesser degree, females tended to speak more clearly than their male counterparts. Males, on the other hand, gesticulated more often then females, though the difference is negligible.

Some of the reasons why our sample proportion of extraverts was so low (p_E=.40) could be attributed to the need-based atmosphere of the library, as opposed to a more social environment such as the ____, ______ University’s on-campus bar. Students with a higher need for academic success might spend less time engaging in social, extraverted activities and more time at the library, therefore our sample may not be representational of the overall student population.

References

Nyhus, E. K., & Pons, E. (2005). The effects of personality on earnings. Journal of Economic Psychology, 26(3), 363-384.

Rubinstein, G. (2005). The big five among male and female students of different faculties. Personality & Individual Differences, 38(7), 1495-1503.

Appendix A

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4