Abstract
First dates represent an important event in the early development of dating relationships. Commonly, date initiation is a behavior in which men take control in heterosexual relationships; however, more women are conducting this task. Women initiating dates, as opposed to men, has traditionally been viewed as a deviation from American cultural norms for expected behavior. The deviation in behavior could have negative repercussions for women, which was investigated for the current study. College-aged participants (n = 232) completed an online survey regarding their perceptions of two hypothetical women who initiated dates (i.e., one where her assertiveness was high and one where it was low). Informed by Expectancy Violations Theory, expectedness and valence of the women's date initiation behavior were examined to test how they varied with their levels of assertiveness. The majority of the participants reported that the woman's behavior was expected and positive in both scenarios; however, men reported perceiving the behaviors as more positive than women. This study's results reflect current perceptions of dating trends and provide insight into possible shifts away from traditional gender roles in dating situations.
Journal Title
Iowa Journal of Communication
Volume
47
Issue
2
First Page
177
Last Page
196
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Odom, Lindsey K.; Parcell, Erin Sahlstein; Baker, Benjamin M. A.; and Cronin-Fisher, Valerie
(2015)
"Communication and Female Date Initiation: Differences in Perceptions Based on Asesertiveness of Initiator,"
Iowa Journal of Communication: Vol. 47:
No.
2, Article 5.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/ijc/vol47/iss2/5
Copyright
©2015 Iowa Communication Association
