YOUNG SINGLES' SCRIPTS FOR A FIRST DATE

Young single women's and men's cognitive scripts for the event "a first date" were examined to determine their content and to test for hypothesized differences in behavioral expectations. Participants were asked to list 20 expected actions involved in a first date for a woman and for a man. High agreement among participants was found for the content and sequence of actions that hypothetically would occur on a first date. The respondents listed a total of 19 different actions for women, and 27 for men. The scripts for women and men differed significantly. The scripts for women emphasized the private sphere (concern about appearance, conversation, and controlling sexuality); the scripts for men focused on control of the public domain (planning, paying for, and orchestrating the date). Gender roles were more prevalent in experienced daters' scripts. The results indicate that young adults' interpersonal scripts for dating maintain the traditional gender-power ratio.