Ambivalent Sexism and the Sexual Double Standard

The sexual double standard is the notion that women are evaluated negatively and men positively for engaging in similar sexual behaviors. Because traditional, gender-based stereotypes are reflected in the attitudes that people hold towards men and women, it is likely that sexism plays a part in the manifestation of the double standard. The goal of the present study is to investigate the relationship between sexism (prejudice against individuals based on their gender) and the sexual double standard. There are two types of sexism: hostile (negative prejudice) and benevolent (positive prejudice). We hypothesized that participants displaying high levels of either type of sexism would be most likely to exhibit the sexual double standard. A US-sample of 232 undergraduates from a Southwestern university completed the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI) and the Ambivalence Towards Men Inventory (AMI) and then evaluated a hypothetical target individual who reported having zero, one or 12 sexual partners. Results show that participants’ sexist attitudes towards men and women were related to their exhibition of the sexual double standard. Specifically, men and women’s hostile attitudes towards targets of their own gender were related to negative evaluations of highly sexually active targets of the same gender, while men and women’s benevolent attitudes towards the opposite gender were related to positive evaluation of highly sexually active targets of the opposite gender. Implications of the present results and directions for future research are discussed.     

Ambivalent Sexism and Religion: Connected Through Values

Sexist attitudes do not exist in a limbo; they are embedded in larger belief systems associated with specific hierarchies of values. In particular, manifestations of benevolent sexism (Glick and Fiske 1996, 1997, 2001) can be perceived as a social boon, not a social ill, both because they are experienced as positive, and because they reward behaviors that maintain social stability. One of the strongest social institutions that create and justify specific hierarchies of values is religion. In this paper, we examine how the values inherent in religious beliefs (perhaps inadvertently) propagate an unequal status quo between men and women through endorsement of ideologies linked to benevolent sexism. In a survey with a convenience sample of train passengers in Southern and Eastern Poland (N?=?180), we investigated the relationship between Catholic religiosity and sexist attitudes. In line with previous findings (Gaunt 2012; Glick et al. 2002a; Ta?demir and Sakall?-U?urlu 2010), results suggest that religiosity can be linked to endorsement of benevolent sexism. This relationship was mediated in our study by the values of conservatism and openness to change (Schwartz 1992): religious individuals appear to value the societal status quo, tradition, and conformity, which leads them to perceive women through the lens of traditional social roles. Adhering to the teachings of a religion that promotes family values in general seems to have as its byproduct an espousal of prejudicial attitudes toward specific members of the family.     

Ambivalent Sexism and Relationship Patterns among Women and Men in Ukraine

The present study was designed to examine the ambivalent sexist attitudes toward women and men in a sample of Ukrainian college students and young professionals. Findings support previous theoretical assertions that in reaction to current trends toward cultural remasculinization, Eastern European women may hold attitudes similar to women in other cultures marked by gender inequality (Glick & Fiske, 2001). As predicted, Ukrainian women were found to hold stronger benevolent sexist attitudes about their own gender roles and more hostile attitudes toward men than were their male counterparts. In addition, benevolent and hostile attitudes about the genders held by both women and men were related to negative relationship attitudes such as fear of intimacy, and anxious or avoidant attachments for both genders.     

Ambivalent Sexism and Attitudes Toward Wife Abuse in Turkey and Brazil

Men and women in Turkey and Brazil completed the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (Glick & Fiske, 1996) and measures of attitudes about wife abuse. In both nations hostile sexism (HS) and benevolent sexism (BS) positively correlated with attitudes that legitimize abuse. Regression analyses revealed that HS accounted for unique variance, but BS (once HS was controlled) was unrelated to wife abuse attitudes. These results: (a) add to the evidence for the cross–cultural validity of ambivalent sexism, (b) suggest that HS supports the justification of violence against wives, and (c) imply that the ostensible protectiveness of BS is contingent, failing to shield women from abuse if they are deemed to have challenged a husband's authority or violated conventional gender roles.     

Ambivalent Sexism and Applicant Evaluations: Effects on Ambiguous Applicants

The purpose of the current research was to evaluate how gender stereotypes and sexist attitudes affect responses to hypothetical job applicants. In Study 1 (N?=?93) undergraduate and graduate students in the Southwestern USA evaluated a male, female, or gender-ambiguous resume. They also completed the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI; Glick and Fiske 1996). Hypotheses were tested using ANOVA. Results suggested that participants who expressed more hostile sexist attitudes evaluated the gender-ambiguous applicant more negatively than a male or female applicant. In Study 2 (N?=?117), graduate and undergraduate participants were asked to indicate the gender of the ambiguous applicant. Those who scored high on hostile sexism, and perceived a gender-ambiguous applicant to be male, provided the most favorable evaluations.     

善意和敌意性别偏见及其对社会认知的影响

敌意性别偏见是一种出于对女性敌对情感的性别偏见;善意的性别偏见则是指一种主观上出于爱护女性的正面情感,通过特定角色限制而对女性形成的一种性别偏见态度。二者的具体心理结构分别包括两性权力、性别间能力差异和异性性行为等三个维度。不同类型性别偏见对人们有关女性群体和个体的社会认知及其态度存在重要影响     

Psychological Entitlement and Ambivalent Sexism: Understanding the Role of Entitlement in Predicting Two Forms of Sexism

Recent research has shown that narcissistic men in the United States express more ambivalent sexism than their non-narcissistic counterparts. The present study sought to extend these findings by hypothesizing that psychological entitlement would be a predictor of ambivalent sexism but that that this relationship may vary by gender. Given entitlement’s associations with hostility and aggression and the previously established link between narcissism and sexism in men, we hypothesized that entitlement would predict hostile sexism in men. Given that entitlement is characterized by a pervasive sense of deservingness for special treatment and goods, we expected that entitled women would endorse attitudes of benevolent sexism. These hypotheses were tested using two cross-sectional samples in the U.S.—a sample of undergraduates from a private university in the Midwest (N?=?333) and a web-based sample of adults across the U.S. (N?=?437). Results from regression analyses confirmed that psychological entitlement is a robust predictor of ambivalent sexism, above and beyond known predictors of sexism such as low openness and relevant covariates such as impression management. In addition, entitlement was a consistent predictor of benevolent sexism in women, but not in men, and a consistent predictor of hostile sexism in men, but not in women. These relationships were largely robust, persisting even when relevant covariates (e.g., socially desirable responding, trait openness) were controlled statistically, although in one sample the link between entitlement and hostile sexism in men was reduced to non-significance when benevolent sexism was controlled for statistically. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

How Ambivalent Sexism Toward Women and Men Support Rape Myth Acceptance

The goal of this study was to determine how ambivalent sexism toward women and men are both associated with rape myth acceptance. The Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance scale, Ambivalent Sexism Inventory, and Ambivalence toward Men Inventory were completed by 409 participants. Hostile sexism toward women positively correlated with rape myth acceptance. For benevolent sexism toward women, complementary gender differentiation was positively associated with rape myth acceptance whereas protective paternalism was negatively associated. Benevolent sexism toward men, but not hostile sexism, positively correlated with rape myth acceptance. Further, for female participants higher maternalism toward men corresponded with higher rape myth acceptance. These findings suggest that sexist beliefs toward both women and men are important for understanding the support of rape myths.     

The Relationships between Ambivalent Sexism and Religiosity among Turkish University Students

This study explored the relationships among hostile sexism (HS), benevolent sexism (BS), and religiosity for men and women in Turkey, where Islam is the predominant religion. 73 male and 93 female university students completed measures of ambivalent sexism and religiosity. Replicating previous work with Christians, religiosity was a significant correlate of BS when HS was controlled, for both men and women. As predicted, and in contrast to previous research with Christians, partial correlations indicated that Muslim religiosity was a significant correlate of HS for men, when BS was controlled, but not for women. Women but not men showed a significant difference between religiosity’s partial correlations with HS and BS. The results were discussed in the light of relevant literature.     

The Emotional Impact of Ambivalent Sexism: Forecasts Versus Real Experiences

Research on affective forecasting indicates that people regularly mispredict the emotional impact of negative events. We extended this work by demonstrating several forecasting errors regarding women’s affective reactions to ambivalent sexism. In response to a survey about sexism against women, students at a university in the Central U.S. (N?=?188) overestimated the negative impact of hostile sexism, and underestimated the negative impact of benevolent sexism, relative to women’s reports of their actual experiences. Moreover, people mispredicted both the intensity of women’s initial affective reactions to, and the duration of women’s recovery following, ambivalent sexism. The data supported a model in which inaccurate estimates of initial intensity fully accounted for people’s inaccurate estimates of recovery duration following ambivalent sexism.     

Ambivalent Sexism and the Dumb Blonde: Men's and Women's Reactions to Sexist Jokes

This article examines the relationship between gender, hostile sexism, benevolent sexism and reactions to a seemingly innocuous genre of sexist humor, the dumb blonde joke. After hearing an audiotaped conversation in which two students swapped dumb blonde jokes, participants high in hostile sexism rated the jokes as more amusing and less offensive than those low in hostile sexism. Among individuals low in hostile sexism, however, benevolent sexism interacted with gender. Specifically, men high in benevolent sexism found the jokes significantly more amusing and less offensive than either women in the same group or men low in both hostile and benevolent sexism. This study replicates and extends previous research examining the relationship between hostile sexism and the enjoyment of sexist humor, and underscores the possibility that benevolent sexism may represent qualitatively distinct attitudes for men and women.     

The Role of Ambivalent Sexism and Religiosity in Predicting Attitudes Toward Childlessness in Muslim Undergraduate Students

The aim of the current study was to investigate the relationship between ambivalent sexism, specifically hostile sexism (HS) and benevolent sexism (BS), religiosity, and attitudes toward childlessness in Muslim undergraduate students. The sample consisted of 157 (79 women, 78 men) Turkish Islamic undergraduate students studying in North Cyprus, aged between 17 and 30 years-old and originating from various regions in Turkey. Participants completed measures of ambivalent sexism and attitudes toward childlessness as well as rated their level of religiosity. It was expected that due to its emphasis of traditional gender roles, benevolent sexism and high Islamic religiosity would predict negative attitudes toward childlessness in the Turkish sample. Results showed that in women, higher levels of religiosity and benevolent sexism predicted negative attitudes toward childlessness, whereas in men, benevolent sexism alone was predictive of negative attitudes toward childlessness. The results are discussed in accordance with literature on ambivalent sexism and the religion of Islam.     

Playing the Woman Card: Ambivalent Sexism in the 2016 U.S. Presidential Race

Late in the 2016 U.S. Presidential primary, Donald Trump attacked Hillary Clinton for playing the “woman’s card.” Theories of system justification suggest that attitudes about gender, particularly endorsement of hostile and benevolent sexism, likely shaped reactions to this campaign attack. Using a set of two studies, we find that hostile sexists exposed to the attack showed increased support for Trump and decreased support for Clinton. Benevolent sexists, however, reacted to Trump’s statements with increased support for Clinton, consistent with benevolent sexism’s focus on protecting women (Study 1). We further found that the woman card attack produced distinct emotional reactions among those with low and high levels of hostile and benevolent sexism. The attack also increased political participation among hostile sexists (Study 2). Our results offer new insights into the role of sexism in the 2016 presidential contest and further the discipline’s understanding of the gendered dimension of negative campaigning.     

Another Test of Gender Differences in Assignments to Precarious Leadership Positions: Examining the Moderating Role of Ambivalent Sexism

Women face significant hurdles in the attainment of leadership positions. When they do attain them such positions tend to be riskier than those attained by men, a form of bias called glass cliff. This study investigates ambivalent sexism as an individual difference that influences the occurrence of glass cliff. Little research examines individual differences contributing to glass cliff. It is proposed that individuals with high hostile and benevolent sexism are more likely to perceive women to be suitable for leadership of a poorly‐performing organization and men to be suitable for leadership of a well‐performing organization. The sample of our experimental study consisted of 378 students who rated either a female or a male candidate under a poor or good performance condition. We tested our hypotheses using a moderated regression analysis. Both components of sexism impacted how individuals evaluated male and female leaders under different organizational performance conditions. Hostile sexism was the dimension that led to glass cliff. Benevolent sexism had an unexpected effect on leadership choice. The differences between the two types of sexism and the different role each type plays in preference for masculine and feminine leadership are discussed. Leader gender and perceiver's sexist attitudes influence evaluations for leadership positions.     

Gender-role orientations in older child-free and expectant couples

Psychosocial aspects of variant fertility decisions were investigated to determine factors that differentiate individuals who chose to become parents for the first time after age 30 and their peers who chose to remain child free. Forty women, aged 30 to 38, half of whom were child free and half expecting their first child, and 34 of their husbands were interviewed and completed the Role Questionnaire. The pattern of data suggests that the relatively traditional gender-role orientations of the expectant individuals may be an important factor that discriminates the two groups. The Rapoports' concept of “identity tension line” is used to integrate the results of the study and to explore findings that indicate different degrees of traditionalism in regard to work and family roles.     

Tolerance of Sexual Harassment: An Examination of Gender Differences,Ambivalent Sexism,Social Dominance,and Gender Roles

In this study we examined the effects of gender, gender roles (masculinity and femininity), ambivalent sexism, and social dominance orientation with regard to tolerance of sexual harassment. It was predicted that women would be less tolerant than men of sexual harassment, however, men and women who were tolerant of sexual harassment would share ambivalence and hostility toward women, and they would exhibit higher levels of social dominance and masculinity. Results partially supported the hypotheses. Women were significantly less tolerant of harassment than men were, however, regression analyses showed that ambivalent sexism and hostility toward women accounted for the majority of total variance (35%), followed by gender (5%), social dominance (1%), femininity (0.7%), and nonsexism (0.6%). Masculinity and benevolent sexism were not significant predictors. Results suggest that ambivalence and hostility toward women are much greater predictors of tolerance of sexual harassment than is gender alone.     

Gender-role socialization and discipline processes in one- and two-parent families

Parental discipline and gender-role socialization are two interrelated normative processes that may be affected by family structure, parent gender, and child gender. To investigate these family processes and how they may differ depending on family composition, three groups of families (approximately 90% Caucasian) with 5-year-old children were studied: 67 two-parent families, 32 single-mother families, and 13 single-father families. In the two-parent families, mothers were focused on in 33 of the families and fathers were focused on in 34 of the families. Overall, gender-role socialization processes were affected by family structure and parent gender: Single-parent families and mothers had less traditional gender-role socialization than two-parent families and fathers. Family discipline processes were also affected by family structure, as single-parent families reported more positive behavior from their children and reported using more problem-solving strategies. Regardless of family structure, parents used different discipline strategies depending on the gender of parent and child. No evidence was found to suggest that gender-role socialization mediated the discipline process. Research for this article was sponsored by grants HD 19739 from the Center for Research for Mothers and Children, NICHD, U.S. PHS and MH 37911 from the Behavioral Sciences Research Branch, Family Processes Division, NIMH, U.S. PHS to the second author. Reporting of this research was partially supported by grant MH 46690, Prevention Research Branch, NIMH, U.S. PHS to Dr. John B. Reid. The authors would like to express their sincere appreciation to several reviewers for comments on previous drafts of this article. Additionally, the authors are grateful to Margaret McKean for her editorial assistance. Actual items for any of the constructs used are available upon request.     

A Gender-role Perspective of Coping and Burnout

Cette étude explore la relation entre la dépression, le stress professionnel et les réactions positives chez du personnel scolaire des deux sexes. Les résultats indiquent que les hommes présentent un score significativement plus élevé que celui des femmes à l'échelle de dépersonnalisation du "Mas-lach Burnout Inventory". Alors que les hommes sont plus que les femmes victimes de stress au travail et cela de façon significative, ils ont aussi une plus faible probabilité de faire appel à des techniques de compensation en particulier dans la qualité de Ieur vie quotidienne (les investissements dans les relations amicales et les activités culturelles). D'autres données suggèrent que les femmes sont plus que les hommes capables d'utiliser des stratégies susceptibles de contrecarrer l'effondrement. Chez les hommes, la dépression reléve à la fois du stress professionnel et des enfants: la présence d'enfants élève significativement le niveau de dépression d'un homme.
This study examines the relationship between burnout, work stress, and coping in female and male school personnel. Results indicated that men, compared to women, scored significantly higher on depersonalisation, one of the subscales of the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Men were experiencing significantly greater work stress than women, but were less likely than their female counterparts to employ coping techniques, particularly with regard to their quality of daily life, investment in friends, and cultural activities. Further results suggested that women were better able to use coping strategies to reduce burnout than men. In men, burnout appeared to be a joint function of work stress and children, with the presence of children significantly raising a man's level of burnout.