Study shows angry men gain influence and angry women lose influence

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-10/asu-ssa102615.php

Public Release: 26-Oct-2015
Study shows angry men gain influence and angry women lose influence
Arizona State University

Anyone who knows the history of the jury trial or has seen "12 Angry Men" is aware that U.S. juries were originally exclusively white and male. There have been many efforts toward making juries more diverse and representative of the population. Now that we have more women and racial minorities represented on juries the question becomes: Do they have the same opportunity to exert influence over jury decisions as do white men.

In a word, no.

A new study from Arizona State University focused on jury deliberation behaviors demonstrates a distinct gender bias when it comes to expressing anger and influencing people. The study found that men use anger to influence others, but women actually lose influence when they allow anger into an argument.

The research bolsters the idea that a woman making an impassioned argument could actually convince others of that argument - if she were a man. But it goes a step further and shows that angry women actually lose influence.

•••••

"Our study suggests that women might not have the same opportunity for influence when they express anger," Salerno said. "We found that when men expressed their opinion with anger, participants rated them as more credible, which made them less confident in their own opinion. But when women expressed identical arguments and anger, they were perceived as more emotional, which made participants more confident in their own opinion."

"This effect can't be explained by women communicating anger less effectively or looking different when they express anger because we took all of that out of the equation," Salerno explained. "The effect was due to participants thinking that anger came from a man versus a woman."

•••••

"Participants confidence in their own verdict dropped significantly after male holdouts expressed anger," the researchers stated. "Participants became significantly more confident in their original verdicts after female holdouts expressed anger, even though they were expressing the exact same opinion and emotion as the male holdouts."

The influence effect was "evident in both male and female participants," Salerno said.

"What is most disturbing about the findings is that they were produced by anger, specifically," she added. "If you think about when we express anger, it is often when we really care about something, when we are most passionate and most convicted about a decision. Our results suggest that gender gaps in influence are most likely to materialize in these situations--when we are arguing for something we care about most."

For Salerno the study has implications for women in a variety of settings.

"Our results have implications for any woman who is trying to exert influence on a decision in their workplace and everyday lives, including governing bodies, task forces and committees," she said.

"The results from this study suggest that if female political candidates express their opinion with anger, during the debates for example, it is possible that they might have less influence than if they do not express anger," Salerno explained. "This might explain why Bernie Sanders is able to freely express his passion and conviction, while Hilary Clinton clearly regulates her emotions more carefully."

tags: influence