The Psychology of Gender 4th Edition

266 Chapter 8

involved in the interaction as well as rating

scales of the quality of the interaction. Al-

though the RIR was initially administered via

paper, today similar types of instruments have

been developed for electronic devices.

In a now classic study, college students

completed the RIR for every 10-minute in-

teraction they had every day for 2 consecu-

tive weeks (Wheeler et al., 1983). As shown

in Figure 8.5a, researchers found a consistent

sex difference in the meaningfulness of in-

teractions, measured as the average of each

interaction’s intimacy, self-disclosure, other

disclosure, pleasantness, and satisfaction (i.e.,

the first five ratings scales shown in Figure 8.4).

Men’s same-sex interactions were significantly

less meaningful than women’s, even when in-

teractions with a best friend were examined.

All interactions involving at least one female

(female-female, male-female) were equally

meaningful and were more meaningful than

those involving only males. This study showed

men (Barry et al., 2009). Women even receive

more supportive comments from friends on

their personal Web pages compared to men

(Mikami et al., 2010).

Most of these studies arrive at these con-

clusions via self-report surveys. One way that

researchers have been able to get a better sense

of the closeness of women’s and men’s friend-

ships is with a method called the Rochester

Interaction Record (RIR). Researchers from

the University of Rochester developed the RIR

to describe the nature of social interactions

on a day-to-day or moment-to-moment basis

(Wheeler, Reis, & Nezlek, 1983). Participants

complete an RIR for every 10-minute interac-

tion they have over the course of a day. This

may seem quite cumbersome, but many of

our daily interactions are much briefer, lasting

only a minute or two. People typically report

about seven or eight 10-minute interactions

during an average day. The RIR, shown in

Figure 8.4, contains questions about who was

FIGURE 8.4 Rochester Interaction Record.

Source: L. Wheeler, H. Reis, and J. Nezlek (1983). Loneliness, social interaction,

and sex roles. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 45, 943–953.

Date

Initials If More Than 3 Others:

Sex # Of Females # Of Males

Intimacy: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

I Disclosed: Very Little A Great Deal

Other Disclosed: Very Little A Great Deal

Quality: Unpleasant Pleasant

Satisfaction: Less Than Expected More Than Expected

Initiation: I Initiated Other Initiated

Influence:

Nature: Work Task Pastime

LONELINESS

Conversation Date

I Influenced More Other Influenced More

Time AM

PM

Length Hrs Mins

Superficial Meaningful

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