Sex Composition of Groups and Member Motivation III: Motivational Losses at a Feminine Task

This study examined the effects of group sex composition on individual effort at a feminine task. A simple sewing task was used. Effort was operationalized as the proportion of trials exceeding median practice performance. It was predicted that subjects would work less hard with a female partner when their partner's gender was congruent with traditional sex roles. As predicted, men performed significantly better with a male partner than with a female partner. Contrary to prediction, women performed significantly better with a female partner than with a male partner. Discussion focused on the likelihood of different motivational mechanisms operating for men and women, and on the implications of the findings.