Sex differences in interpersonal sensitivities across acquaintances, friends, and romantic relationships

Previous research suggests that women generally tend to be warmer and more submissive whereas men tend to be colder and more dominant. In comparison to work on sex differences in individual behaviors, there has been relatively less focus on sex differences in the experience of others' aversive behavior, particularly across different kinds of relationships. The purpose of this study was to investigate sex differences with respect to a range of interpersonal sensitivities across acquaintances, friends, and romantic relationships in a sample of 235 undergraduates. Results suggested that women were significantly more sensitive than men, in general, to others' aversive behavior. Consistent with our predictions, women were also found to be relatively more sensitive to coldness whereas men were relatively more sensitive to warmth across different kinds of relationships. No significant differences were found with respect to dominance, nor were there systematic differences across relationships that vary in their emotional closeness.