In mixed-sex discussion groups males tend to dominant conversation, focusing the discussion on task-oriented topics. In order to investigate the effect of the sex-role orientation of the speaker on verbal participation in group discussions, 54 college students (28 male, 26 female) participated in three 15-minute, four person group discussions. Subjects completed three personality measures: the Personality Attribute Questionnaire, the Bem Sex Role Inventory, and the Activation-Deactivation Adjective Checklist. After the discussions, participants secretly ranked each other according to talkativeness, quality of ideas, and expressed feelings for the group. An analysis of the results showed that sex-role orientation explained more of the variation in subjects' ratings than did subjects' gender. As in previous studies, males tended to talk more and to discuss task-oriented topics, whereas females tended to talk more about group feelings. No sex orientation was found for quality of ideas. Females with masculine sex role orientations, rather than androgynous individuals, exhibited greater behavioral flexibility. (BL)