Challenging gender stereotypes: Theory of mind and peer group dynamics

To investigate the social cognitive skills related to challenging gender stereotypes, children (N = 61, 3–6 years) evaluated a peer who challenged gender stereotypic norms held by the peer's group. Participants with false belief theory of mind (FB ToM) competence were more likely than participants who did not have FB ToM to expect a peer to challenge the group's stereotypes and propose that the group engage in a non‐stereotypic activity. Further, participants with FB ToM rated challenging the peer group more positively. Participants without FB ToM did not differentiate between their own and the group's evaluation of challenges to the group's stereotypic norms, but those with ToM competence asserted that they would be more supportive of challenging the group norm than would the peer group. Results reveal the importance of social‐cognitive competencies for recognizing the legitimacy of challenging stereotypes, and for understanding one's own and other group perspectives.     

Henry the Nurse is a Doctor Too: Implicitly Examining Children’s Gender Stereotypes for Male and Female Occupational Roles

Eagly’s social role theory (Eagly and Steffen 1984) was tested examining children’s gender role stereotypes via implicit information processing and memory measures. We explored whether children’s occupational stereotypes were less restrictive for females who engaged in counterstereotypic occupations (Mary-Doctor) compared to males who engaged in counterstereotypic occupations (Henry-Nurse). Fifty-seven American eight- and nine-year-olds from a southwestern city were orally presented with stereotypic male and female names paired with masculine and feminine occupations and asked to create sentences using the name-occupation pairs. We conducted analyses of the created sentences as well as tested children’s memories for the various pairings. Consistent with social role theory, the findings revealed that children’s gender role stereotypes were more restrictive for males, than for females.     

Memory for the frequency of sex-typed versus neutral behaviors: Implications for the maintenance of sex stereotypes

Research has indicated that existing stereotypic beliefs can produce systematic biases in the processing of information. Information which is consistent with stereotypic assumptions appears to be stored and/or retrieved with relative ease, leading to confirmatory biases in memory. The present study tested the hypothesis that behavior which is consistent with sex stereotypes would be judged to have occurred more frequently than nonsex-stereotypic behavior. Subjects were presented with a videotape consisting of behavioral episodes in which male and female actors engaged in sex-typed and neutral activities. Subjects then made frequency judgments and performed a recognition task. Although all activities were actually presented the same number of times, subjects' frequency estimates were significantly higher for sex-typed activity episodes. Implications for the maintenance of beliefs in sex stereotypes are discussed.     

Television viewing and the learning of sex-role stereotypes

This study was designed to determine the relationship between the amount of time children spend watching television and their knowledge of adult sex-role stereotypes. Males and females in grades 1, 3, 5, and 7 who were classified as heavy television viewers (25 or more hours per week) or light viewers (10 or less hours per week) both at the time of the study and 15 months previously were administered the Sex Stereotype Measure, an instrument designed to determine children's awareness of stereotyped sex-role perceptions held by adults. Heavy viewers were found to have more stereotyped perceptions than light viewers. A significant interaction effect indicated that among low viewers the perception of male stereotypes steadily declines with increasing age; among heavy viewers, stereotypic responses to male items are maintained with increasing age. No comparable interaction effect was obtained for perception of female stereotypes. The role of interaction with live models in breaking down stereotypic perceptions of males is discussed.A modified version of this paper was presented at the meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Denver, April 1975.     

Priming effects of age stereotypes on memory of older adults in Korea

This study examined priming effects of age stereotypes on memory of Korean older adults. Age stereotypes refer to general beliefs about older adults. Through a priming task, older participants were briefly exposed to positive or negative age stereotypes without awareness. Before and after the priming task, free‐recall tasks were given to participants to measure their memory performance. Changes in performance caused by the priming task were estimated as priming effects of age stereotypes. Participants showed better memory performance after they were exposed to positive stereotypes during the priming task (positive priming effects). In contrast, participants showed worse memory performance after they were exposed to negative age stereotypes during the priming task (negative priming effects). The magnitude of priming effects was similar in positive and negative stereotypes. This result suggests that the implicit activation of age stereotypes can change memory of Korean elderly in both positive and negative ways.     

Eliminating national stereotypes: Direct versus indirect disconfirmation of beliefs in covariation

Two modes of disconfirmation of national stereotypes were compared. It was hypo-thesized that stereotypes should be revised either by stereotype-inconsistent cases from the primary target (i.e., direct disconfirmation) or by instances which belong to an alternative target but possess features stereotypic of the primary target (indirect disconfirmation). It was further predicted that politically liberal individuals would show greater change in their national stereotypes than conservatives. Two experiments were conducted in which the salience of directly and indirectly disconfirming information regarding different nations was manipulated. The results indicated that indirect disconfirmation generally had as much impact as direct disconfirmation, but that the effects were particularly visible among liberal participants. Conservatives tended to respond in a reactive manner which preserved or exaggerated their original views. A new theoretical framework for the study of stereotype change and implications for its application were discussed.     

Doing is for thinking! Stereotype activation by stereotypic movements

Three studies demonstrate that stereotypic movements activate the corresponding stereotype. In Study 1, participants who were unobtrusively induced to move in the portly manner that is stereotypic of overweight people subsequently ascribed more overweight-stereotypic characteristics to an ambiguous target person than did control participants. In Study 2, participants who were unobtrusively induced to move in the slow manner that is stereotypic of elderly people subsequently ascribed more elderly-stereotypic characteristics to a target than did control participants. In Study 3, participants who were induced to move slowly were faster than control participants to respond to elderly-stereotypic words in a lexical decision task. Using three different movement inductions, two different stereotypes, and two classic measures of stereotype activation, these studies converge in demonstrating that stereotypes may be activated by stereotypic movements.     

Social stereotypes and judgments of individuals: An instance of the base-rate fallacy

Social stereotypes may be defined as beliefs that various traits or acts are characteristic of particular social groups. As such, stereotypic beliefs represent subjective estimates of the frequencies of attributes within social groups, and so should be expected to “behave like” base-rate information within the context of judgments of individuals: specifically, individuating target case information should induce subjects to disregard their own stereotypic beliefs. Although the results of previous research are consisten with this prediction, no studies have permitted normative evaluation of stereotypic judgments. Because the hypothesis equates base rates and stereotypes, normative evaluation is essential for demonstrating equivalence between the base-rate fallacy and neglect of stereotypes in the presence of individuating case information. Two experiments were conducted, allowing for normative evaluation of effects of stereotypes on judgments of individuals. The results confirmed the hypothesis and established the generalizability of the effect across controversial and uncontroversial, socially desirable and socially underirable stereotypic beliefs. More generally, an examination of the differences between intuitive and normative statistical models of the judgment task suggest that the base-rate fallacy is but one instance of a general characteristic of intuitive judgment processes: namely, the failure to appropriately adjust evaluations of any one cue in the light of concurrent evaluations of other cues.     

Disinhibition of stereotyping: context,prejudice, and target characteristics

The present research examined the moderating influences of individual differences in sexism on the application of gender stereotypes to stereotypic versus nonstereotypic targets as a function of contexts that induced sex stereotypic or counterstereotypic responses. Specifically, participants first received an attribution task in which they were induced to explain a variety of gender relevant situations in gender stereotypic or nonstereotypic ways. Participants were then presented with an ostensibly unrelated person judgment task in which they were asked to judge two women who acted either ambiguously stereotypically or nonstereotypically. The initial opportunity to express stereotypes without censure accentuated stereotype application, but only for highly prejudiced participants rating a woman who acted in an ambiguously stereotypical (i.e. unassertive) manner. We consider the implications of these findings for processes of stereotype disinhibition, and the moderating influences of individual differences in prejudice, target characteristics, and local norms. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

College student stereotypes of female behavior: Maternal professional women and assertive housewives

Traditional gender stereotypes were normative in that it was believed good mental health depended on members of each gender acquiring the appropriate gender role. Current research that describes subcategories of females (housewife, professional woman, Playboy bunny) suggests that the traditional stereotype cannot be normative. Two studies investigated college student's stereotypic expectations about female behavior related to five role characteristics: maternal sensitivities, financial provider responsibilities, interpersonal tendencies, instrumental tendencies, and passivity. Subject stereotypic expectations indicated that women in all subcategories are expected to be maternal and to be more assertive than passive. For the other role characteristics, women representing the different subcategories are expected to vary. The results were inconclusive about which aspects of the stereotypes are normative.Portions of this paper were presented at the Annual Meetings of the American Psychological Association, 1987. This research was completed at Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA 18015, as part of the author's doctoral dissertation.     

Influence of African American elders' age stereotypes on their cardiovascular response to stress

Although it has been shown that White elders are vulnerable to the influence of age stereotypes, it was not known whether this effect applied to African American elders. In the present study, African American elders were randomly assigned to negative or positive implicit-age-stereotype groups. Compared to participants in the positive age-stereotype group, those in the negative age-stereotype group demonstrated significantly more elevated cardiovascular response to stress, as measured by blood pressure and heart rate following mental challenges. These results suggest that negative age stereotypes generate a susceptibility to stress among African American elders, whereas positive age may provide them with a defense against this stress.     

Effect of Exposure to an American Indian Mascot on the Tendency to Stereotype a Different Minority Group

Numerous findings have documented the adverse effects of stereotypes on those negatively portrayed by the stereotypes. Less is known about the ramifications of stereotype exposure on those who are not the objects of the stereotypic depictions. Two studies examined the effect of exposure to an American Indian sports mascot on the stereotype endorsement of a different minority group. Study 1 used an unobtrusive prime, while Study 2 used a more engaged prime. Study 2 also investigated the effect among those unfamiliar with the controversy regarding American Indian sports mascots. Results from both studies show that participants primed with an American Indian sports mascot increased their stereotyping of a different ethnic minority group.     

Fear of the dark: interactive effects of beliefs about danger and ambient darkness on ethnic stereotypes

Two studies examined effects of ambient darkness and chronic beliefs about danger on activation of stereotypes about Blacks. Chronic beliefs were measured by a Belief in a Dangerous World (BDW) questionnaire. In Study, 1, participants in either a dimly lit or dark room saw photos of Black men and rated the extent to which specific traits described the cultural stereotype of Blacks. In Study 2, participants in either a well-lit or dark room completed reaction-time tasks assessing implicit associations between Blacks and evaluative attributes. Separate measures assessed stereotypes connoting danger versus those that are merely derogatory. Results revealed BDW x Darkness interactions on activation of danger-relevant stereotypes: BDW positively predicted activation in dark but not in light conditions. It appears that chronic beliefs about danger can facilitate activation of functionally relevant stereotypes, but this effect occurs primarily under circumstances (such as darkness) that heuristically suggest vulnerability to harm. Conceptual implications are discussed.     

When is a compliment not a compliment? Evaluating expressions of positive stereotypes

Unlike negative stereotypes, positive stereotypes are often perceived as admirable qualities, and expressions of such beliefs may be intended as compliments toward group members. Two experiments were conducted to examine how the targets of positive stereotypes evaluate others who express such stereotypic “compliments.” In Study 1, Black participants evaluated a White student who praised the athletic ability of African Americans more negatively than a control condition. In Study 2, Black and White participants watched an interracial interaction that involved the White actor expressing positive stereotypes or a control interaction with no stereotypes. In the positive stereotype condition, Black participants evaluated the White actor and the interaction as a whole more negatively than did White participants, but there were no differences in the control condition. The implications for the perpetuation of interracial distrust and avoidance are discussed.     

Cultural Stereotypes and the Self: A Closer Examination of Implicit Self-Stereotyping

Recent research and theory on implicit self-stereotyping suggests that individuals nonconsciously incorporate stereotypes about their social groups into the self-concept; however, evidence as to whether this holds true for negative stereotypes remains limited. Using a subliminal priming measure, the current research found that women (Experiment 1) and White Americans (Experiment 2) implicitly associated the self with in-group stereotypic traits but not out-group stereotypic traits. Of importance, both groups implicitly self-stereotyped on negative in-group traits to a similar extent as they did on positive in-group traits. Moreover, exploratory analysis showed that the degree to which White Americans associated positive, but not negative, in-group stereotypes with the self was related to higher self-esteem. Implications of implicit self-stereotyping on self-esteem and stereotype-consistent behavior are discussed.     

Gender stereotypes and assumptions about expertise in transactive memory

This experiment investigated how people use gender stereotypes to infer the relative knowledge of interdependent others, and how those assumptions can affect the division of knowledge responsibilities in transactive memory systems. Participants indicated their expertise relative to the average male and female undergraduate student on six knowledge categories. Two of these were consistent with female stereotypes (soap operas and cosmetics), two were consistent with male stereotypes (sports and cars), and two were neutral (geography and history). Everyone then worked on a collective memorization task with an assumed partner. The design was a 2 × 2 factorial, with the participants’ gender and their assumed partners’ gender (same or different as the participant’s) as factors. The results showed that both male and female participants shared similar gender stereotypes across knowledge domains. Participants with opposite-sex partners were more likely to assign categories based on gender stereotypes than were participants with same-sex partners. As a result, participants with opposite-sex partners learned more information in categories consistent with those stereotypes. These findings suggest that transactive memory systems may perpetuate gender stereotypes.     

Implicit volition and stereotype control

Goals are mental representations that vary in accessibility and operate within goal systems. The implicit nature of goal activation and pursuit is shown here to make goals effective not merely at overturning the influence of an activated stereotype on how people respond to members of stereotyped groups, but effective at implicitly controlling the activation of stereotypes in the first place. In a set of experiments examining chronic egalitarian goals, faces and names of members of stereotyped groups presented as target stimuli led to the inhibition of stereotypes, as well as to the heightened accessibility of egalitarian goals. A separate set of experiments illustrate a similar ability of individuals to control stereotype activation when egalitarian goals are temporarily triggered within a context, rather than being chronically held. Goals that require one to inhibit stereotypic associations to a target can lead to the intended, yet implicit, control of stereotype activation, even when one is not aware the goal is active or being pursued or being regulated.     

The Effect of Mental Practice and Goal Setting as a Transfer of Training Intervention on Supervisors' Self-efficacy and Communication Skills: An Exploratory Study

Mental practice, where goal setting was either implicit or explicit, was investigated in a pulp and paper mill as a post-training intervention with regard to self-efficacy and the transfer of newly taught communication skills to the work setting. Six months after the supervisors had been trained, a 2×2 ANCOVA showed that self-efficacy was significantly higher for the supervisors who engaged in either mental practice or in mental practice combined with goal setting than for those in the goal setting only or control conditions. Self-efficacy correlated significantly with goal commitment and communication skills on the job. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated that the supervisor's imagery skills moderated the effect of mental practice on self-efficacy. Both the supervisors in the mental practice and in the goal setting and mental practice conditions were observed by peers to have improved their communication behaviour on the job. No change in communication behaviour was observed on the part of supervisors who set goals but did not engage in mental practice or were assigned to the control group.