PY3102 Report: Investigating Gender Differences in Social Inhibition

This report investigates the effects of gender on social inhibition, focusing on the differences in bystander behavior between males and females. Conducted at James Cook University Singapore, the study utilized a convenience sample of 30 psychology students, equally divided by gender. Participants completed a revised Bystander Attitude Scale-Revised (BAS-RR) questionnaire to assess their likelihood of intervening in various scenarios. The research hypothesized significant differences in BAS-RR scores between genders and predicted higher scores (indicating less social inhibition) for males. The results supported both hypotheses, revealing that males exhibited less social inhibition compared to females. The report discusses these findings in relation to existing literature on gender roles and social dynamics, concluding that societal and environmental factors contribute to these behavioral differences. The study highlights how gender influences responses to social situations, emphasizing the roles of social inhibition and the bystander effect.

Jesslyn
Nicholas Seet Wei Kiat
13526993
James Cook University Singapore
PY1102
Dr Aoife McLoughlin
14 September 2017

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Abstract

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Introduction
The research aims at understanding the differences in the attitude of girls and boys
through the assessment of cultural backgrounds and psychologies (Walker & Henderson, 2012).
The research will be evaluating the different responses of girls over boys while placing the same
in identical situations for determining the score (Meyers-Levy & Loken, 2015). The assessment
of the different characteristics in women and men will be helping to understand the roles that are
played by the same in the society. Alvares et al. (2013) stated that men are more prone to be
helpful in nature whereas the women in the society are prone to receive the help. The assessment
of the cultural and the social norms in the respective areas will be helping to strengthen the view
on the social roles that are played by the genders. Social inhibition is one of the primary concerns
that are faced by the people while communicating in a circumstance.
For an instance, DiPrete and Jennings (2012) stated that the women in Arabian countries
are vulnerable as the social norms has restricted the growth f the same in contrast to that of
women in USA. Therefore, the identification of the characteristics and the role that are played by
the genders will be facilitated through the research. The research will be undertaking a BAS-RR
Questionnaire, which will be helping the researcher in understanding the viewpoints of the
genders (Aktar et al., 2013). The utilization of the questionnaire will be helping the researcher in
identifying the different concerns that are faced by the women and men through an assessment of
their viewpoints. Doey, Coplan and Kingsbury (2014) stated that the socio- cultural differences
and environment plays an important role in shaping the mental setup of the genders. The
different circumstances and environments helps that will be assessed during the research will
help in understanding the role of the genders in the social structure. However, Kays, Gathercoal
and Buhrow (2012) opined that the different changes in the genders are specifically based on the

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psychological traits of the people, irrespective of any discriminations. Therefore, the research
aims at providing a detailed understanding of the different approaches that are undertaken by the
people relating to the genders. The research will also identify the different aspects in which the
genders react to similar situations in a different manner (Van der Graaff et al., 2014). The key
aspects that might be discussed as a part of the assessment is based on the differentiations of the
approaches that are reflected through the activities of male and females in a particular social
structure (Chaplin & Aldao, 2013). The research will be helping to identify and distinguish the
different ideas relating to the ganders and thereby anticipate the role that might be played by the
same in a particular situation.
The hypotheses for the research are:
Hypothesis 1: There will be significant differences between male and females in the result of
BAS-RR Questionnaire
Hypothesis 2: Men will score better
The hypotheses in this connection will be helping the researcher in guiding the study towards the
conceived goal of understanding the differences in the approaches.
Method
Participants
This research utilizes convenience sampling to collect the sample population. The sample
populations consisted of thirty undergraduate psychology students at James Cook University
Singapore, who enrolled in Social Psychology module (PY3102). Participants were equally
selected based on the gender, fifteen male students (50%) and fifteen female students (50%) with

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the mean age of 21.73 (SD= 2.57). The participants are varied in nationalities, from local to
international students.This study was conducted in class during tutorials and the experiment was
taken on different days and timings.
Design
This study used within-subject design with the Independent Variable (IV)of genders of
the participants (male and female). The Dependent Variable (DV) would be participant’s
bystander attitude score operationalized by a five-points Likert scale on a questionnaire
ofBystander Attitude Scale-Revised Revised (BAS-RR).The questionnaire consisted of 8
statements. Participants were to indicate how likely are they going to engage a behavior in that
situation with a Likert scale of 1-5. 1 means “Extremely unlikely” and 5 means “Extremely
likely”.
Materials
A revised version of the Bystander Attitude Scale-Revised (BAS-R) will be used to
gather the data (Appendix A). BAS-R wording was changed to a more neutral stance due to the
overtly biased priming against males in the original version.For instance, in the original scale
stated statements such as “Challenge a friend who uses “ho,” “bitch,” or “slut” to describe girls.”
or “Refuse to participate in activities where girls’ appearances are ranked/rated.” while the newly
revised scale includes statements that were less biased such as “Challenge a friend who made an
inappropriate joke in front of others.” BAS-RR consisted of 8 revised items from the original 16
items of statements. These statements were in regard tobehaviours in which participants can
draw in to intervene previously, amid, or after a sexual assault.

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Procedure
Experimenters selected equal amount of gender, 15 males and 15 males from the PY3102
classes, lecture and tutorials. Experimenters briefly explained and seek for consent from the
participants. Distribution of the questionnaire was done in 2 ways, 1) handed personally and 2)
online based questionnaire link sent through a social media platform called Whatsapp.
Participant took approximately 5 minutes to fill in the questionnaire. After completion,
participants were debriefed about the experiment.
Result
The data collected was investigated and it showed that there was a difference in scores
between males and females using a within-subject non-parametric Wilcoxon Signed Ranked test,
n = 30. The median score for males and females were 32.8 and 17.5 respectively, with the
standard deviation of 3.5 for males and 4.5 for females. This indicates that social inhibition was
less likely to occur with males then females. As for the graph, mean total score for males was in
the range of 27 to 39 which means the results were skewed towards a lower trend of social
inhibition. On the contrast, the mean total score for females ranged between 12 to 26, resulting
the graph to be skewed towards a higher trend of social inhibition. This analysis showed
significant difference between males and females, Z = -3.41, p < 0.01.The mean and standard
deviation score for this data can be found in table 1 (below).
Table 1
Comparison of Means and Standard Deviations of male and female

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BAS-RR Score
Groups N M (SD)
Male 15 32.8 (3.5)
Female 15 17.5 (4.5)
Discussion
The current study aims to investigate the effect of gender on the tendency of social
inhibition which was contextualized through bystander attitude scale. The results indicated that
out of two hypotheses, both was proven to be right. The first hypothesis postulated that there will
be a significant different between males and females in the result of BAS-RR questionnaire.
Conclusion
Therefore, from the above research it might be stated that the social circumstances and
the environment contributed to the differences in the behavior and approach of males and
females. The different changes in the behavior and outlook of the genders were identified
through the formulation of BAS-RR Questionnaire. The web based questionnaire will be helping
the researcher in understanding the different approaches of the genders through quantitative
surveys. The research clearly exhibits the different aspects of social inhibition and the manner in
which the gender influence the same. The samples that were collected during the research was
undertaken through the circulation of the web based questionnaire among respondents from the
James Cook University Singapore. The research was undertaken through an assessment of 50%
male and 50% female in order to avoid biasness in the outcome. The expected outcome of the
research is to identify the scores of the male and females during the survey and thereby analyze
their roles in social inhibition.

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The different aspects of change that are undertaken by the researcher are based on the
identification of the diversity in the social structure in order to correlate to the gender differences
and approaches held by the same. The findings of the research depicted that the median score for
males and females were 32.8 and 17.5 respectively, with the standard deviation of 3.5 for males
and 4.5 for females. It indicated that social inhabitation is more likely to occur with females
rather than the males. Therefore, the study portrayed that the results favored in the side of the
males with lesser effect of social inhabitation. The different aspects of changes in the behavior
and outlook of the people are dependent on the socio- political scenario. Moreover, the
differences in the genders are based on the perception and response of the same in different
social situations. The different responses that were recorded during the study have helped the
researcher in understanding the differences in the cultural afflictions. The assessment of the
different characteristics in women and men will be helping to understand the roles that are played
by the same in the society. The key elements that were identified during the research is based on
the assessment of the different responses created by the genders. The utilization of the
questionnaire will be helping the researcher in identifying the different concerns that are faced by
the women and men through an assessment of their viewpoints. The unbiased nature of the
sampling and calculations has helped in supporting the unbiased outcome. The key aspects that
might be discussed as a part of the assessment is based on the differentiations of the approaches
that are reflected through the activities of male and females in a particular social structure. The
identification of the different activities and the systematic approach that are undertaken by the
researcher has helped the same in maintaining the efficacy of the operations. The key changes in
the approach are based on the social and political circumstances that are faced by the genders.

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Therefore, the research clearly exhibited the manner in which the genders influence
social inhibition. The differences in the behavior of the genders more specifically the coy of the
girls and bashful or heroic approach of the boys are being evaluated as a part of the research. On
the other hand, the approach and behavior of the respondents are being recorded as a part of the
study in order to understand the influence of genders on social inhibition. The research also
exhibited the importance of temperament and the manner in which it influence the responses of
the genders in different social situations. The interactions that are undertaken by the genders are
being recorded as a part of the research in order to determine the level of dissimilarity among the
genders.

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References
Aktar, E., Majdandžić, M., de Vente, W., & Bögels, S. M. (2013). The interplay between
expressed parental anxiety and infant behavioural inhibition predicts infant avoidance in
a social referencing paradigm. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 54(2), 144-
156.
Alvares, G. A., Quintana, D. S., Kemp, A. H., Van Zwieten, A., Balleine, B. W., Hickie, I. B., &
Guastella, A. J. (2013). Reduced heart rate variability in social anxiety disorder:
associations with gender and symptom severity. PloS one, 8(7), e70468.
Chaplin, T. M., & Aldao, A. (2013). Gender differences in emotion expression in children: A
meta-analytic review. Psychological bulletin, 139(4), 735.
DiPrete, T. A., & Jennings, J. L. (2012). Social and behavioral skills and the gender gap in early
educational achievement. Social Science Research, 41(1), 1-15.
Doey, L., Coplan, R. J., & Kingsbury, M. (2014). Bashful boys and coy girls: A review of gender
differences in childhood shyness. Sex Roles, 70(7-8), 255-266.
Kays, K., Gathercoal, K., & Buhrow, W. (2012). Does survey format influence self-disclosure on
sensitive question items?. Computers in Human Behavior, 28(1), 251-256.
Meyers-Levy, J., & Loken, B. (2015). Revisiting gender differences: What we know and what
lies ahead. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 25(1), 129-149.
Van der Graaff, J., Branje, S., De Wied, M., Hawk, S., Van Lier, P., & Meeus, W. (2014).
Perspective taking and empathic concern in adolescence: Gender differences in
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Walker, O. L., & Henderson, H. A. (2012). Temperament and social problem solving competence
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