Gender and the Recall of
Relational and Overt Aggression
It is no secret that men and women
act differently when it comes to
aggression. Males typically engage in
overt, or physical, aggression while
females typically engage in relational
aggression, also known as covert
bullying.
In a review of their literature, Basow,
Cahill, Phelan, Longshore, & McGillicuddyDeLisi (2007) found that women are most
likely to be both perpetrator and victim of
relational aggression while men are most
likely to be both perpetrator and victim of
overt aggression. They also noted that
women felt that aggression was overall
more hurtful and damaging than men.
Aggression has been found to take shape
early in development too. Giles and Heyman
(2005) found that when children were
asked which behaviors girls and boys would
engage in if they wanted to hurt someone,
children were more likely to choose
relational aggression if the perpetrator was
a girl, and overt aggression if the
perpetrator was a boy.
However, which type of
aggression would be most
MEMORABLE
to each gender?
In a study conducted by Sandu and
Shaffer (2008), recall assessments
showed women focused their attention
on relational aggressive slides while
men focused their attention on overt
aggressive slides. But would this be the
case again?
36 undergraduate participants, 15
men and 21 women, viewed a
PowerPoint presentation showing
aggressive acts.
They viewed 5 overt aggressive
actions…
And 5 relational aggressive
actions…
But which slides would be most
memorable?
Surprisingly, both men and women remembered
overt aggressive slides more than relational
aggressive slides, 70% and 59% respectively for
overt aggression and 30% and 41% respectively
for relational aggression, with no significant
differences between the genders.
With their most memorable slides
being…
Apparently, male or female, the
image of physical, or overt,
aggression stays with us all….
References
• Basow, S., Cahill, K., Phelan, J., Longshore, K., & McGillicuddy-DeLisi, A. (2007).
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Perceptions of relational and physical aggression among college students:
Effects of gender of perpetrator, target, and perceiver. Psychology of Women
Quarterly, 31(1), 85-95. Retrieved April 7, 2009 from Psychology and
Behavioral Sciences Collection database.
Burton, L., Hafetz, J., & Henninger, D. (2007). Gender differences in relational and
physical aggression. Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journal,
35(1), 41-50. Retrieved April 7, 2009 from Psychology and Behavioral Sciences
Collection database.
Giles, J., & Heyman, G. (2005). Young children’s beliefs about the relationship
between gender and aggressive behavior. Child Development, 76(1), 107-121.
Retrieved April 7, 2009 from Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
database.
Murray-Close, D., Crick, N., & Galotti, K. (2006). Children’s moral reasoning regarding
physical and relational aggression. Social Development, 15(3), 345-372.
Retrieved April 7, 2009 from Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
database.
Sandu, A. R., & Shaffer, B.A. (2008). Comparative analysis on the effect of gender on
the recall of overt and relational aggressive acts. Saint Francis University.
Presented as a poster at the 2009 Eastern Psychological Association
Conference.
References for Photos from Slides
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Overt photo 1 – students.usm.maine.edu
Overt photo 2 – blogs.psychologytoday.com/blog/
Overt photo 3 – www.stylishandtrendy.com
Overt photo 4 – psycofgender.pbwiki.com/violencelevels
Overt photo 5 – upload.wikimedia.org
Relational photo 1 – www.theapple.com
Relational photo 2 - www.spsk12.net
Relational photo 3 – www.preteenagerstoday.com
Relational photo 4 – www.spsk12.net
Relational photo 5 – wings.buffalo.edu