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Kim Rubenfeld ’03, who will graduate cum laude with a degree in psychology tomorrow, wrote an article about cutting-edge psychology research that has been published in an academic journal, providing insight into communication between men and women.
Former president of both Psychology Club and the student chapter of Psi Chi, the national psychology honor society, Rubenfeld coauthored “Troubles Talk: Effects of gender and gender typing” with Susan Basow, Charles A. Dana Professor of Psychology, which has been published in the journal Sex Roles.
Basow’s expertise has been covered by television and radio stations, magazines, and newspapers, including the BBC, CBS, CNN, and Canadian CityTV. A widely published leader in her field, Basow is author of Sex-Role Stereotypes: Traditions and Alternatives, printed in three editions, including a Chinese translation. She also has shared her knowledge through many presentations at professional conferences and as a consultant and expert witness. She is consulting editor for Psychology of Women Quarterly and an ad-hoc editor for a dozen other publications. A licensed psychologist in two states, Basow is founder and coordinator of the Feminist Research Group of the Lehigh Valley.
Last year, Rubenfeld presented the research at the annual Eastern Psychological Association Conference in Boston and the Eighth Annual Undergraduate Women’s Studies Conference at DeSales University, Center Valley, Pa.
Rubenfeld conducted her study for a fall semester Advanced Research class under Basow’s supervision. She received about 170 responses from students to a gender role survey that determined the degree to which their gender traits are “androgynous,” “undifferentiated,” “masculine,” or “feminine.” The next step was seeing whether communication differed according to these tendencies.
“Many of the things that I found had never been theorized before,” says Rubenfeld. “We found that ‘androgynous’ people communicated differently than ‘differentiated’ people. For example, one group communicated much more emotionally, or got angry at a response that another found comforting.”
Rubenfeld suspects that differences in how men and women say and hear things cause conflicts in marriages. “I firmly believe that socialization plays a key role in who we are and how we perceive the world, and there is no greater difference in socialization within a culture than gender,” she says.
She hopes to use what she gained from the experience as a therapist as well as a researcher. “I want to learn more about differences in the ways males and females communicate and help fix these problems,” she adds.
Through Lafayette’s Alumni Externship program, Rubenfeld shadowed Michael Hinkle ’73, a teacher at Phillipsburg Middle School in Phillipsburg, N.J. She has served as a psychology lab assistant and was co-president of Association for Lafayette Women and a member of QuEST (Questioning Established Sexual Taboos) and Students for Social Justice. In April, she chaired Lafayette’s annual observance of Take Back the Night, which raises awareness about the issue of sexual violence.
Rubenfeld also coordinated the Adopt-A-Grandparent program for Lafayette’s Landis Community Outreach Center. She served on the 2001-2002 Family Weekend Planning Committee; helped organize blood drives, a walk for charity, Lafayette’s observance of National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, and an annual drive to collect gifts and other necessities for local residents in need; and was president of the Keefe Volunteer Floor. She worked in the summer as a residential counselor for mentally ill and chemically addicted teens at Carrier Clinic in Belle Mead. She also volunteered with the Outreach Center’s Kids in the Community program and served as community affairs chair for Student Government.