Summary: A new study reveals that adolescent boys react aggressively to perceived threats to their masculinity, especially in environments with rigid gender norms.
Researchers have found that boys whose motivation for masculinity is socially suppressed are more likely to show aggression. Rooted in adolescence, this behavior highlights the impact of social pressure on gender conformity.
The findings call for addressing restrictive norms to prevent harmful behaviors associated with compromised masculinity.
Key facts:
- Social Pressure: Boys socially pressured by masculinity show higher aggression when their masculinity is threatened.
- Impact on Puberty: Aggression in response to threats to masculinity is observed in mid to late pubescent boys.
- Parental influence: Boys with parents who endorse stereotypical gender beliefs are more likely to show aggression.
Source: NYU
It has long been known that some men become aggressive when they see their masculinity threatened. When does this behavior appear during development – and why?
A new study by a team of psychologists shows that adolescent boys may also react aggressively when they believe their masculinity is threatened — especially boys growing up in environments with rigid, stereotypical gender norms.
The findings, reported in the journal Developmental Sciencethey highlight the effects of the social pressure many boys face to be stereotypically masculine.
“We know that not all men respond aggressively to threats to masculinity—we’ve found in past work that it’s primarily men whose stereotypical masculinity is socially pressured who are most aggressive under such threats,” says Adam Stanaland, a postdoctoral researcher at the New York University and lead author of the paper.
“We now have evidence that some adolescent boys respond similarly, pointing to the underpinnings of these potentially harmful processes.”
“In addition to aggression, threats to masculinity are associated with a wide range of negative, anti-social behaviors such as sexism, homophobia, political bigotry and even anti-environmentalism,” adds Stanaland.
“Our findings call for actively challenging the restrictive norms and social pressure boys face to be stereotypically masculine, especially during puberty and coming from their parents and peers.”
Studies have long shown that a perceived threat to men’s “gender-typicality”—matching appearance and behavior with societal expectations for women and men—can cause them to engage in harmful behaviors designed to reaffirm their typicality. Researchers in the new study sought to understand the development of this phenomenon and the social environment in which it occurs.
As a doctoral student at Duke University, Stanaland led the experiment, which involved more than 200 teenage boys in the US and one of their parents. Boys first reported the extent to which their motivation to be masculine was intrinsically motivated or, conversely, driven by a desire to gain other people’s approval or avoid their disapproval.
The boys then played a game in which they answered five stereotypically masculine questions (e.g., “Which of these tools is a Phillips screwdriver?”) and five stereotypically feminine questions (e.g., “Which of these flowers is a poppy fairy?”).
They were randomly told that their scores were either atypical for their gender (ie, more like girls and a “threat” to their masculinity) or typical for their gender (ie, more like other boys and non-threatening).
To measure aggression, the study authors then asked study participants to engage in a cognitive task: completing a series of word stems (e.g., “GU_”) that could be completed either aggressively (e.g., “GUN”) or not (e.g., “ GUY’ or ‘GUY’). In this commonly used task, the proportion of aggressive word completions is a key indicator.
The study also took demographic and other variables into account. In an attempt to determine the life stage at which gender typicality might influence aggression, the boys, with parental consent, answered questions on the Pubertal Development Scale, a standard and validated measure of puberty.
They answered questions about changes in their voice and beard growth, among other things, rated on the following scale: 1=not yet started, 2=barely started, 3=definitely started, or 4=seems to be complete. Because of the sensitivity of this scale, participants could select “I don’t know” or “I don’t want to say” for any item.
Finally, the researchers considered environmental sources that might pressure boys to be motivated to be gender-typical, including pressure they said they felt from peers, parents and themselves. They also asked participating parents about their gender-related beliefs.
Questions and data can be found at the Center for Open Science Website.
Experimental results showed the following:
- Similar to young adult males, adolescent boys in mid- to late puberty (but not earlier) responded with aggression to perceived threats to their gender typicality.
- Aggression was increased in boys whose motivation to be gender-typical came from pressure from others (ie, motivated social expectations) rather than from within themselves.
- Boys whose parents supported stereotypical beliefs about male status and power (eg, that men should have more power than people of the opposite sex) were most likely to exhibit this “motivation under pressure.”
“Male aggression poses challenges for societies around the world, from public safety to intimate personal relationships,” notes Andrei Cimpian, a professor in the Department of Psychology at New York University and lead author of the paper.
“By identifying when and why some boys begin to display aggressive responses to threats to masculinity, this research is a first step in preventing the development of ‘fragile’ masculinities—masculinities that need to be constantly proven and reasserted—and their many negative consequences in adulthood men. .”
Other authors of the paper included Sarah Gaither and Anna Gassman-Pines, professors at Duke University, and Daniela Galvez-Cepeda, a research assistant in Cimpian’s Cognitive Development Lab and a recent graduate of Williams College.
Funding: The research was partially funded by the Charles Lafitte Foundation.
About these neurodevelopment and aggression research reports
Author: James Devitt
Source: NYU
Contact: James Devitt – NYU
Picture: Image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: The findings will be published in Developmental Science