36th Annual Student Research Conference
Women and Men's Reactions to Partner-Directed Insults
Emmanuelle Wilson
Dr. Emily Olsen, Faculty Mentor
Partner-directed insults have been found to be part of mate retention strategies used by both men and women. Inventories of insults that men use against women (Partner-Directed Insult Scale or PDIS) and that women use against men (Women’s Partner-Directed Insult Scale or WPDIS) have been validated, and contain categorical differences. The reactions to these insults, however, have not been studied, nor has it been studied whether men and women truly react differently to insults of the WPDIS and PDIS. Participants reported their reactions to 8 insults of the PDIS and WPDIS each. Men are hypothesized to react more intensely to insults of the WPDIS, and women more intensely to insults of the PDIS. Across genders, it is hypothesized that the intensity of reactions to the insults will be positively correlated to rates of defection from relationships.
Keywords: Mate Retention, Insults, Partner-Directed Insults, Mate Retention Behaviors
Topic(s):Linguistics
Women's and Gender Studies
Presentation Type: Oral Presentation
Session: 206-4
Location: SUB 3202
Time: 11:00