Female Inhibition in Mixed-Sex Competition Among Young Adolescents Carol Cronin Weisfeld Mercy College of Detroit Glenn E. Weisfeld Wayne State University John W. Callaghan Health and Environment Department, State of New Mexico zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZY PreViOUS zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA research shows that female adolescents and young zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA adults tend to be inhibited in competition with males, performing below their usual levels. Thirty-two young adolescent girls were observed competing in same- sex and mixed-sex competition in two cultural groups, Hopi Indian and Afro-American. Fii of the compe- titions (dodgeball games) were viewed in slow motion in order to evaluate competitiveness in terms of posture and movement. In both cultural groups highly skilled girls were less compe# .itive with opposite-sex opponents, especially when those male opponents were themselves poor players. Culture seemed to inlluence not so much the strength of female inhibition as the form that that inhibition took. Responses to questionnaires indicated that the girls were not conscious of changing their be- havior in the presence of boy opponents. Key Words: Adolescents; Competition; Female inhi- bition; Sex differences. INTRODUCTION In his analysis of sexual selection, Darwin (1871) proposed two types: the first, the process by Received June 24, 1981; revised January 4, 1982. Address reprint requests to: Carol C. Weisfeld, Depart- ment of Psychology, Mercy College of Detroit, 8200 West Outer Drive, Detroit, MI 48219, USA. which members of one sex compete for members of the other sex; and the second, the process by which members of one sex differentially choose members of the other sex. Sexual selection is usually operationally defined as males compet- ing for females and females accepting the ad- vances of only certain males. Seen within this framework, competition between males and fe- males is unnecessary, if not counterproductive. As one would predict, male-female compe- tition occurs rarely in nature (Callan, 1970; Hoy- enga and Hoyenga, 1979). Sexual dimorphism in size, coloration, and other characteristics tends to reduce the likelihood of mixed-sex com- petition. In some species of birds the beaks of males and females differ so that different foods are sought by each sex (Selander, 1972). In tree frogs there is a sex difference in auditory sen- sitivity such that the female does not perceive the aggressive call of the male (Narins and Ca- pranica, 1976). Kummer (1971) has speculated that the sex difference in weight in adult ham- adryas baboons prevents food competition be- tween the sexes, since the lighter female can climb out on delicate tree limbs to find food, while the heavier male is safer on the ground. Callan has further suggested that in species such as humans, in which the sexes must co- operate in pairs for long periods to insure the survival of the young, open competition between males and females is “wasteful and inefficient” 29 Ethology and Sociobiology 3: 29-42 (1982) 0 Elsevier Science Publishing Co., Inc., 1982 52 Vanderbilt Ave., New York, New York 10017 0162s3095/82/010029-14SO2.75