Age and Gender Stereotypes: New Challenges in a Changing Workplace and Workforce

The current research investigated age and gender stereotypes in relation to adaptive performance. Using methods similar to those used in Schein's studies (1973, 1975) , 496 undergraduate students rated 1 of 7 targets on 6 dimensions of adaptive performance. All of the targets varied in age (25, 40, or 55 years) and gender, except one that was age and gender neutral. The 7^th served as a reference group and was an age- and gender-neutral target. Results showed that older targets were perceived as less adaptable across most of the dimensions of adaptability. Further, men and women were perceived differently, but differences were consistent with many prevalent gender stereotypes. Finally, female participants tended to rate all targets more favorably than male participants. Implications for human resources management and future research on stereotypes at work are discussed.     

电视广告中性别角色定型研究述评

文章首先介绍了性别角色定型的相关概念和广告中性别角色定型研究的理论基础,然后从内容分析和受众反应两个角度回顾并总结了有关电视广告中性别角色定型的研究。内容分析的结果表明：虽然经过了20多年的女权运动,电视广告中的性别角色定型并没有减弱;电视广告中的性别角色定型具有国际普遍性。受众反应的结果表明：受众对电视广告中的性别角色定型的反应是一个复杂的过程,会受到多种因素,比如性别、年龄、受教育程度和女性主义意识等的影响     

Gender Stereotypes in Japanese Television Advertisements

The aim of this study was to reveal gender portrayal types in Japanese television advertisements through content analysis. Five hundred and thirty-one adult main characters were coded for sex, age, ethnic background, credibility, role, place, dress, background, persuasion type, camera work, camera angle, product type, target, and sex of voice-over. Five types were found by performing quick cluster analysis: beautiful and wise housewives, young ladies attracting people's attention, young celebrities, middle- and old-aged people enjoying private time, and middle-aged worker bee. The first three were mainly women and the latter two were mainly men. The results indicate that in Japanese television advertisements men and women are portrayed differently, and the differences correspond with traditional gender stereotypes.     

Gender Stereotypes in Portuguese Television Advertisements

This study examined the portrayal of men andwomen in a sample of Portuguese television commercials,attempting to replicate and extend past investigationsdone in America, Australia, Britain, and Italy. The aim was to update Portuguese research andto compare findings across cultures. Three hundred andfour evening commercials were content analyzed by tworaters, one male and the other female, to check reliability. The attributes of each of theircentral figures were classified into 11 categories:gender, mode of presentation, credibility, role,location, age, argument, reward type, product type,background, and end comment. Strong evidence of differencesin the presentation of male and female characteristicswas obtained. The implications of results for thedevelopment and maintenance of gender roles arediscussed.     

Gender Stereotypes in Spanish Television Commercials

The objective of the present study was an analysis of gender stereotypes in television advertisements in Spain. For this purpose the content analysis method was used to analyze 400 advertisements broadcast during prime time over the three national television channels with the largest audience. A series of variables common to similar investigations were coded in order to allow comparisons with other countries. The data show significant gender differences for all variables. Comparison of results with those of other researchers shows that television advertising in Spain reveals gender stereotypes very similar to those found in advertising from countries with a geographic or cultural proximity.     

The Trials of Women Leaders in the Workforce: How a Need for Cognitive Closure can Influence Acceptance of Harmful Gender Stereotypes

Sex Roles - Women leaders in the workforce are adversely affected by two sets of stereotypes: women are warm and communal but leaders are assertive and competent. This mismatch of stereotypes can...     

Gender Stereotypes of Emotional Reactions: How We Judge an Emotion as Valid

In this paper we report a partial replication of the finding that women face a double-bind with respect to emotional expression (Kelly & Hutson-Comeaux, 2000) and explore the hypothesis that gender-inconsistent emotional reactions are perceived to be more valid indicators of one's underlying emotional experience than gender-consistent emotional reactions. Men and women evaluated the appropriateness and sincerity of women's and men's overreactions to happy and angry events in both interpersonal and achievement contexts. Women's overreactions to happy events were judged as less appropriate and their emotional reactions were perceived as less sincere than were men's, particularly in an interpersonal context. In addition, men's overreactions to angry events in the interpersonal context were judged as less appropriate and less sincere than were women's. Implications of the findings for other types of social judgments are discussed.     

Gender Stereotypes in Educational Software for Young Children

Children are increasingly being exposed to educational technology at school. In response to this, the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) drafted a set of technology standards for teachers (ISTE, 2002) that specifically states that teachers should empower all students and support diversity. This content analysis of educational software for preschoolers was designed to look at gender representations and stereotyping. The results demonstrated significantly more male characters than female characters in preschool educational software, which makes it difficult for teachers to address gender diversity and suggests that girls are not as valued as boys are. Male characters were also more likely than female characters to exhibit several masculine-stereotypical traits. In addition, female characters more than male characters exhibited counterstereotypical behaviors, yet were more gender stereotyped in appearance.     

Reducing the Effects of Gender Stereotypes on Performance Evaluations

The purpose of this research was to extend previous work on gender bias in performance evaluation. Specifically, we examined whether a structured free recall intervention could decrease the influence of traditional gender-stereotypes on the performance evaluations of women. Two hundred and forty-seven college students provided performance ratings for vignettes that described the performance of male or female college professors. Results indicated that without the intervention, raters who have traditional stereotypes evaluated women less accurately and more negatively. Conversely, the structured free recall intervention successfully eliminated these effects. The usefulness of the structured free recall intervention as a tool for decreasing the influence of gender stereotypes on performance ratings is discussed.     

受众对广告中性别角色定型反应的研究

为了了解广告中性别角色定型对受众产生的影响,通过问卷调查,探讨了个体性别角色、性别、年龄和受教育程度对广告中性别角色定型反应的影响过程。结果发现:性别、个体性别角色(分为传统性别角色和非传统性别角色)、年龄和受教育程度可以通过女性自主性意识间接影响受众对广告中女性模特被冒犯性描述的知觉,进而影响受众对企业的负面评价和购买欲望;研究同时发现年龄可以直接预测受众的购买欲望。     

Coloring Within the Lines: Gender Stereotypes in Contemporary Coloring Books

Extensive research on print media for children such as storybooks reveals that gender stereotypes are prevalent; however, no systematic analysis of coloring books has been conducted since 1974. We analyzed 889 characters in 56 contemporary coloring books published in the United States and selected through stratified random sampling from one region of California, coding for prevalence of each gender, stereotypic gender roles, activity level, type, and age of character. As hypothesized, males were more active; gender stereotypes were common. Gender neutral behaviors were more likely to be done by males. Females were more likely to be depicted as children and humans; whereas males were mostly depicted as animals, adults, and superheroes. Results are discussed in terms of gender schema theory.     

Individual Differences in Religious Motivation Influence How People Think

Motives matter and may have implications for how people cognitively experience meaning through religion and spirituality. Specifically, intrinsically motivated people perceive religion and spirituality are more central to meaning in life, which should promote a tendency to adopt more coherent, expansive cognitive representations. In contrast, extrinsically motivated people may adopt narrower cognitive representations since their motivation is more proximally oriented. The present study tests these possibilities by examining how religious motivation relates to action identification (tendency to use coherent, higher‐level cognitive representations). Results from 630 participants revealed that among religious people, intrinsic and extrinsic‐personal religious motivations indirectly influence higher‐level action identification through strength of spiritual beliefs. These relationships were not evident among nonreligious people. Furthermore, extrinsic‐social religious motivation and religious service attendance did not relate to action identification. These findings demonstrate that religious motivation differences are consequential for the action identities people rely upon to form a sense of meaning.     

Stereotypes on Campus: How Contact and Liking Influence Perceptions of Group Distinctiveness

In two studies, subjects' stereotypes of various campus groups were assessed using a content-free, cognitive methodology in which stereotypes are defined as "generalizations about a class of people that distinguish that class from others" (McCauley, Stitt, & Segal, 1980, p. 197). In an effort to predict strength of stereotypes, four main findings emerged: (a) contact with a group's members was associated with increased liking of the group; (b) contact predicted increased stereotype strength; (c) liking a group was associated with decreased stereotype strength; and (d) over time, the strength of stereotypes tended to decrease. These data are discussed in regard to the contact hypothesis (Airport, 1954; Amir, 1969; Cook, 1978,1984), the role of positive affect in altering cognitive organization, and more generally, to the issue of stereotype development.     

Teachers' Gender Stereotypes in South Africa: A Case Study

The study investigated Teachers' gender stereotypes in the Eastern Province of South Africa. Participants were 65 Junior Secondary school teachers (females= 40 and males = 25) who assembled together at a seminar organized by the Department of Education. They completed a ten-statement questionnaire on gender stereotypes that would apply to school boys and girls. Data were analysed by means for differences in proportions endorsing stereotypes in relation to school activities. Gender stereotypes were apparent in the pattern of activities endorsed for males and females.     

Risk,Uncertainty, and Gender Stereotypes in Healthcare Decisions

Disparities in healthcare access, treatment, and outcomes are widely prevalent for women and minorities. At the same time, healthcare choices have become increasingly intricate and correspondingly uncertain. We review contemporary issues in healthcare for women, with emphasis on access to care and on healthcare disparities. In the belief that forewarned is forearmed, we review the role of sexism and the psychology of decision making in producing health disparities. In the face of this complexity, therapists can help women seek sound healthcare and make informed choices. Implications for feminist therapy are suggested that emphasize client empowerment and agency.     

Reconsidering the Impact of Gender Stereotypes on the Advancement of Women in Organizations

Over the last 30 years, gender issues in the workplace have received much attention. A review of this literature, however, reveals limited investigation of the impact of gender stereotypes on personnel decisions and the demographic differences present in upper management. In fact, this issue has rarely received serious attention. A misinterpretation of the small effect size typically reported when describing the relationship between stereotypes and evaluations of performance is a likely reason, and a hypothetical demonstration elucidates the more severe impact of stereotypes on women's advancement. Considered cumulatively, stereotypes are a certain and meaningful contributor to the limited presence of women in high-level positions. Renewed consideration of the role of stereotypes in organizational decision making is required, and recommendations for researchers are presented. Other applied issues for which the misinterpretation of gender-based effect sizes has hindered research are discussed.     

Implicit Science Stereotypes Mediate the Relationship between Gender and Academic Participation

While the gender gap in mathematics and science has narrowed, men pursue these fields at a higher rate than women. In this study, 165 men and women at a university in the northeastern United States completed implicit and explicit measures of science stereotypes (association between male and science, relative to female and humanities), and gender identity (association between the concept “self” and one’s own gender, relative to the concept “other” and the other gender), and reported plans to pursue science-oriented and humanities-oriented academic programs and careers. Although men were more likely than women to plan to pursue science, this gap in students’ intentions was completely accounted for by implicit stereotypes. Moreover, implicit gender identity moderated the relationship between women’s stereotypes and their academic plans, such that implicit stereotypes only predicted plans for women who strongly implicitly identified as female. These findings illustrate how an understanding of implicit cognitions can illuminate between-group disparities as well as within-group variability in science pursuit.