My Place or Yours?

A common stereotype holds that men are more preoccupied with sex than women are. To test the validity of this stereotype, and the degree to which women and men conform to sexually restrictive gender roles, we asked participants to describe and rate their beliefs about sex. We then factor analyzed these beliefs and achieved a simple structure of four factors: (a) Personally and Physically Pleasurable, (b) Beneficial to the Self-in-relationship, (c) Personally Costly, and (d) Sex as a Violation of Social Injunctions. We used scores on these subscales to compare women’s and men’s sexual stereotypes and behaviors. Although men showed significantly greater interest in sex on three of the four factors, when we examined sex in an intimate relationship, women and men were more alike than different. The data provide evidence that gender roles are malleable and that women and men are free to choose the degree to which they conform to sexually restrictive gender roles. Limitations and future directions are discussed.     

Gender stereotypes associated with vehicle driving among French preadolescents and adolescents

Gender differences in accidentology, notably on roads, are well documented and current research in social psychology tends to explain these differences by gender stereotypes, notably the association of risk-taking with social expectations concerning masculinity. To date, however, little research has explored gender stereotypes associated with vehicle driving. Beliefs about driving by men and women, as well as the effect of the age and gender of the perceiver, were explored using the free association method with 599 preadolescents and adolescents between 10 and 16 years of age. The results show that gender stereotypes are indeed associated with driving from the age of 10. While the representation of male drivers is already stable at this age, the representation of female drivers appears to develop with age. Furthermore, there is a notable in-group serving bias, but only among girls. The results are discussed in terms of an essentialist representation of genders, in-group/out-group relations, age differences in gender stereotypes associated with driving, and practical consequences on driver’s training and socialization to risk-taking.     

Gender and leadership emergence: A meta‐analysis and explanatory model

Research has shown that men tend to emerge as leaders more frequently than women. However, societal role expectations for both women and leaders have changed in the decades since the last empirical review of the gender gap in leader emergence (Eagly & Karau, 1991). We leverage meta‐analytic evidence to demonstrate that the gender gap has decreased over time, but a contemporary gap remains. To understand why this gap in leader emergence occurs, we draw on social role theory to develop a Gender‐Agency/Communion‐Participation (GAP) Model—an integrative theoretical model that includes both trait and behavioral mechanisms. Specifically, we examine a sequence of effects: from gender to agentic and communal personality traits, from these traits to behavioral participation in group activities, and ultimately from participation to leader emergence. The model is tested using original meta‐analyses of the personality and behavioral mechanisms (coding 1,632 effect sizes total). Gender differences in leadership emergence are predominately explained by agentic traits (positive) and communal traits (negative), both directly and through the mechanism of participation in group discussions. In addition, several paths in the theoretical model are moderated by situational contingencies. Our study enhances knowledge of the mechanisms and boundary conditions underlying the gender gap in leader emergence.     

System‐justifying behaviors: When feeling dependent on a system triggers gender stereotype‐consistent academic performance

Based on system‐justification theory, we hypothesized that men and women would perform in accordance with gender stereotypes mainly when justification of the system is necessary. In this research, system‐justification motivation was triggered using a system‐dependency manipulation. Study 1 shows that when feeling highly (vs. less) dependent on the system, people endorsed system‐justifying beliefs more. In Study 2, men performed better in math than in verbal domains, while women showed the reverse pattern, but only when they felt highly dependent on the system. Similar results were obtained on performance self‐evaluation. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Same‐gender supervisors protect women's leadership aspirations after negative performance feedback

Two studies examined how the gender of a workplace supervisor can affect a woman's response to performance evaluations and also her professional advancement aspirations. In Study 1, employed women reviewed a performance evaluation in which feedback was manipulated to reflect one of two stereotypes of women (high in warmth or low in competence). Findings showed that participants were more likely to attribute negative (i.e., low competence) feedback from men supervisors to gender biases than the same feedback from women supervisors. There was no effect of supervisor gender when the feedback was positive (i.e., high warmth) or neutral. In Study 2, negative feedback from men supervisors, regardless of evaluative dimension (competence or warmth) resulted in women reporting decreased professional aspirations. This relationship was mediated by women's attribution of supervisor feedback to gender biases. Together, these findings suggest that same‐gender supervisors can potentially buffer women's long term professional aspirations after a discouraging performance review.     

Japanese Adults’ Sex Role Attitudes and Judgment Criteria Concerning Gender Equality: The Diversity of Gender Egalitarianism

This study investigated how societal conditions have influenced Japanese gender egalitarianism by analyzing sex and age group differences in attitudes towards sex roles and “gender equality judgment criteria,” the theoretical framework used to capture the diversity of gender egalitarianism. Questionnaire surveys were mailed to 1,000 randomly sampled Japanese adults in their 30s to 60s (501 valid responses). The results show that the most egalitarian sex role attitudes and greatest consideration given to gender equality judgment criteria were seen in women and in the 40s age group. This age group difference could be attributed to societal conditions during adolescence and young adulthood, including the questioning of the homemaker role during the women’s movement in Japan and the passage of laws concerning equal employment opportunities for both sexes in 1985. This article is based on the doctoral dissertation of the first author with some amendments and revisions. A part of this article was presented at the 43rd Annual Convention of the Japanese Society for Social Psychology.     

Gender‐role egalitarianism predicts desirable traits of potential marriage partners: A cross‐cultural comparison

We examined whether gender‐role egalitarianism predicted participants' rank‐order preferences for traits in potential marriage partners of the opposite sex, and whether gender‐role egalitarianism mediated cultural differences between participants from North America, Polynesia and East Asia. Participants completed the Sex‐Role Egalitarianism Scale and ranked the following traits in terms of their importance in choosing a potential marriage partner: kindness, physical attractiveness, social level, athleticism, creativity and liveliness. Parallel analyses for male and female participants reveal that traditional males value physical attractiveness more than egalitarian males, and that traditional females value social level more and kindness less than egalitarian females. Gender‐role egalitarianism fully mediated the effect of culture on kindness rankings, but no others. These results expand upon previous findings by accounting for individual differences regarding beliefs about traditional gender roles.     

Self‐Fulfilling Prophecies: The Influence of Gender Stereotypes on Functional Neuroimaging Research on Emotion

Feminist scholars have shown that research on sex/gender differences in the brain is often used to support gender stereotypes. Scientists use a variety of methodological and interpretive strategies to make their results consistent with these stereotypes. In this paper, I analyze functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) research that examines differences between women and men in brain activity associated with emotion and show that these researchers go to great lengths to make their results consistent with the view that women are more emotional than men.     

Social role effects on gender stereotyping in Germany and Japan

Social role theory postulates that gender stereotypes are restrained for men and women observed in the same social role. Cultural differences in the valuation of communal attributes might moderate this effect. To examine this possibility, 288 participants (144 German, 144 Japanese) estimated the communal and agentic attributes of an average man or woman described in a male‐dominated role, a female‐dominated role, or without role information. We hypothesized and found that in Germany and Japan, participants perceived men as more agentic than women without role information and as similarly agentic in the same role. However, for communion, German and Japanese participants reacted differently. German participants perceived women as more communal than men without role information and in male‐dominated roles and perceived men as more communal than women in female‐dominated roles. Japanese participants perceived all targets as similarly communal, regardless of role or gender, suggesting that communion is generally expected in Japan.     

THE GENDER STEREOTYPING OF EMOTIONS

Three studies documented the gender stereotypes of emotions and the relationship between gender stereotypes and the interpretation of emotionally expressive behavior. Participants believed women experienced and expressed the majority of the 19 emotions studied (e.g., sadness, fear, sympathy) more often than men. Exceptions included anger and pride, which were thought to be experienced and expressed more often by men. In Study 2, participants interpreted photographs of adults'ambiguous anger/sadness facial expressions in a stereotype-consistent manner, such that women were rated as sadder and less angry than men. Even unambiguous anger poses by women were rated as a mixture of anger and sadness. Study 3 revealed that when expectant parents interpreted an infant's ambiguous anger/sadness expression presented on videotape only high-stereotyped men interpreted the expression in a stereotype-consistent manner. Discussion focuses on the role of gender stereotypes in adults'interpretations of emotional expressions and the implications for social relations and the socialization of emotion.     

Healthy Women, Healthy Men, and Healthy Adults: An Evaluation of Gender Role Stereotypes in the Twenty-first Century

An important question often asked when counselors-in-training read textbook discussion of gender role stereotypes, especially of older work such as the classic study by the Brovermans and their colleagues, is “Haven’t these biases been eliminated or at least reduced?” The current study was designed to replicate the work of the Brovermans and their colleagues to answer that specific question and to determine how current counselors-in-training perceive healthy adult women, healthy adult men, and healthy adults. As in the prior research, initial ratings of the social desirability of traditional gender role stereotypes were conducted, and the findings showed many similarities to past research. That investigation was followed by a modified Stereotype Questionnaire, based on the original work of Rosenkrantz, Vogel, Bee, I. Broverman, and D. M. Broverman (1968). Healthy adult women were found to be significantly different from healthy adult men as well as from healthy adults. In addition, the results suggest that there have been changes in counselors’ perceptions of healthy adults. Counselors-in-training were found to hold two standards for mental health—one for women and another for men.     

Gender and relationships: Influences on agentic and communal behaviors

The present research examined the moderating influence of situations involving friends and romantic partners on gender differences in interpersonal behaviors reflecting agency and communion. Behavior was studied in three situations varying in social role and dyadic gender composition: same‐sex friendships, opposite‐sex friendships, and romantic relationships. To obtain multiple events representing each relationship situation, participants recorded information about their interpersonal interactions during a 20‐day period using an event‐contingent recording procedure. Results indicated gender differences consistent with gender stereotypes when men and women were interacting with same‐sex friends; men with men were more dominant and women with women were more agreeable. In interactions with romantic partners, gender differences in communal behavior were opposite to gender stereotypes; women were less agreeable and more quarrelsome than men with their romantic partners. Results are considered in reference to developmental socialization theory, social role theory, and studies of gender differences in marital relationships.     

The Who and When of “Gender-Blind” Attitudes: Predictors of Gender-Role Egalitarianism in Two Different Domains

We compared gender-role egalitarianism in two domains: employment and social roles. We also investigated the influence of four variables—gender, ethnicity (Asian and non-Asian), scores on the Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ), and the perceived importance of men's social privileges—on egalitarianism in each domain. Participants (205 male and female college students of varying ethnicity) were more egalitarian in the employment than in the social domain. Women were more egalitarian than men, but this gender difference was greater in the employment domain. Asian Americans were less egalitarian than non-Asians only in the social domain. Expressiveness score on the PAQ predicted higher egalitarianism, whereas the perceived importance of men's social privileges was negatively related to egalitarianism. Theoretical explanations are discussed.     

印象形成中交叉刻板印象的加工机制

以大学生作为被试,旨在探究：在交叉刻板印象加工过程中,是否存在某一单维刻板印象的加工优势效应？如果存在,靶子熟悉度的差异是否会影响单维刻板印象的加工优势效应？该单维刻板印象加工优势效应是否还会受到其他单维刻板印象加工的调节。研究结果表明：（1）在对具有性别-年龄组合而成的交叉刻板印象的人群进行判断时,通过面孔进行启动,发现在不同的条件下分别存在性别单维刻板印象和年龄单维刻板印象的加工优势效应,即年轻男性或女性面孔的性别特征较年龄特征更容易得到加工和提取,老年男性或女性面孔的年龄特征较性别特征更具有加工优势。而在范畴词汇启动下,老年男性或女性词汇启动下的年龄特征较性别特征更具有加工优势。（2）熟悉性会影响单维刻板印象的加工优势,即在年轻被试感知面孔或范畴词汇时,其对老年男性或女性靶子间击中率的差异要显著大于对年轻男性或女性的靶子间击中率的差异。换言之,年轻被试感知老年人靶子的性别与年龄间的差异要显著大于年轻人靶子,出现自我参照现象。（3）在交叉刻板印象加工中,同时存在的各类单维刻板印象加工是彼此削弱的,具有优势加工效应的刻板印象的加工会受到非优势刻板印象加工的抑制。（4）在交叉刻板印象加工中,优势刻板印象加工会受到其相对刻板印象加工的削弱。     

Antecedents and Consequences of Perceived Personal Gender Discrimination: A Study of Solicitors in Hong Kong

Informed by social identity theory, we developed a model to examine the antecedents and consequences of perceptions of personal gender discrimination. In the model, gender, gender identity, and perceived gender bias against women are considered as salient predictors of perceived personal gender discrimination, and organizational commitment and intentions to leave are considered as the outcome variables. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the data collected from a sample of practicing solicitors in Hong Kong. We found that (a) women perceived more personal gender discrimination and gender bias against women than did men, (b) gender moderated the relationship between perceived gender bias against women and perceived personal gender discrimination, (c) the positive effect of gender bias against women on gender discrimination was more strongly positive for women than for men, and (d) perceived personal gender discrimination affected organizational commitment and intentions to leave. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

A Door to HIV‐Prevention Interventions: How Female‐Targeted Materials Can Enhance Female Participation1

The aim of this study was to examine the influence of gender on exposure to gender‐tailored HIV‐prevention brochures. During an unobtrusive observation of participants' reading of brochures, both men and women were likely to avoid gender‐mismatched brochures. However, women were more likely to selectively approach gender‐matched brochures over gender‐neutral brochures than were men. Furthermore, exposure to the female‐targeted brochure predicted accepting an HIV‐prevention video. This pattern was only the case for females and not for males or for the male‐targeted brochure. This finding implies that the gender‐tailored brochures are more useful for women than for men, and may open the door to other materials designed with preventive objectives.     

Personality and gender differences in global perspective

Men's and women's personalities appear to differ in several respects. Social role theories of development assume gender differences result primarily from perceived gender roles, gender socialization and sociostructural power differentials. As a consequence, social role theorists expect gender differences in personality to be smaller in cultures with more gender egalitarianism. Several large cross‐cultural studies have generated sufficient data for evaluating these global personality predictions. Empirically, evidence suggests gender differences in most aspects of personality—Big Five traits, Dark Triad traits, self‐esteem, subjective well‐being, depression and values—are conspicuously larger in cultures with more egalitarian gender roles, gender socialization and sociopolitical gender equity. Similar patterns are evident when examining objectively measured attributes such as tested cognitive abilities and physical traits such as height and blood pressure. Social role theory appears inadequate for explaining some of the observed cultural variations in men's and women's personalities. Evolutionary theories regarding ecologically‐evoked gender differences are described that may prove more useful in explaining global variation in human personality.