ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a theoretically unified explanation of gender behavior in interpersonal task situations. It discusses explanatory accounts of different bodies of gender research in terms of a single set of interrelated theoretical principles. The chapter is concerned with predictions regarding power and prestige behaviors, status cues, gender stereotypes and performance evaluations. It also considers only a representative sample of different areas of gender research; these areas from the standpoint of gender as a status characteristic. The areas include influence and participation, behavioral profiles, the relationship between profiles and stereotyping, behavior and type of task, the implications of other salient status information, expectations for reward, and coping mechanisms as reactions to status differences. The chapter is also concerned with predictions regarding power and prestige behaviors, status cues, gender stereotypes and performance evaluations. It argues for the utility of status characteristics theory in accounting for research concerned with gender differences in interpersonal task behavior.
