ERIC Number: ED260337
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1985-Apr
Pages: 17
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Intimacy and Dominance Gestures in the Work Place.
Der-Karabetian, Aghop; Angel, Debbie
Efforts to explain the harassment of women in the work place have focused on sex role socialization and cultural norms conditioning men to be dominant and initiators of sexual interactions. New work relationships, however, may bring new value to intimacy which may be differentiated from dominance gestures. To test the relationship of intimacy and dominance gestures reported by women in the corporate work place, 375 female workers were surveyed. The sample of 200 respondents was divided by age and marital status into four subgroups of comparable size: under 30 years of age, single; over 30 years of age, single; under 30, married; over 30, married. The subjects completed measures of intimacy and dominance gestures and sex-role liberation, and provided demographic information on age, marital status, education level, religious affiliation, and length of service with the company. Analysis of results showed a low positive correlation between the reported instances of the two types of gestures explaining only 11 percent of the variance. This finding suggests the relative independence of the occurrence of intimacy and dominance gestures. On the average, about three times more dominance than intimacy gestures were reported. Age, marital status, length of employment, religious affiliation, and sex role liberation were not related to experiences of intimacy and dominance. There was, however, a weak positive correlation between education and reports of intimacy gestures, probably due to more educated women's heightened awareness. The results support the contention that intimacy and dominance are separate dimensions. (MCF)
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Researchers
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A