Precarious Manhood and Men\u27s Attributional Biases in Partner Conflict

A study investigated men and women\u27s attributions of criticism, rejection, and threats to gender status in a fictitious partner conflict scenario in which the victim was either a man or a woman. The results indicated that in the context of a partner conflict scenario that ends in violence, greater perceived threats to gender status are attributed to a female victim who criticizes a man\u27s manhood more than a male victim who criticizes a woman\u27s womanhood. The results also revealed that women attribute greater amounts of criticism/rejection and gender status threat in a victim\u27s statements toward an abuser than men do, regardless of the gender of the victim. Individual differences in gender role stress, ambivalent sexism, and propensity for abusiveness failed to moderate these effects. These results present preliminary evidence grounded in precarious manhood theory that attributions of intention during domestic conflicts differ along gendered lines