The Effect of Intergroup Contact on Attitudes Toward the Role of Women in the Army
Abstract
This paper describes a secondary analysis of data collected by the Army Research Institute (ARI) on the performance of male and female soldiers during an 11-day field training exercise (FTX). The purpose of the present research was to investigate the relationship of intergroup contact (specifically, the proportion of women in a work group and the size of the work group) to attitudes toward women in the Army. At the conclusion of the 11-day field training exercise, male and female enlisted personnel completed a questionnaire which contained a scale designed to measure attitudes toward the role of women in the Army. An analysis of variance revealed that the proportion of women in the work group was significantly related to male attitudes, with attitudes becoming less positive as the proportion of women in the work group increased. The size of the work group was unrelated to the attitude scale scores of either make or female subjects. The implications of the findings for the enhanced utilization of women in the Army are discussed.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1981
- Accession Number
- ADA138993
Entities
People
- L. W. Oliver
Organizations
- U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences