Evaluating Competence: Effects of Sex, Marital Status, and Parental Status

Three hundred sixty eight female and male college students read a completed job application and an article written by the applicant. Both the job and the article were in non-sex-typed fields. The applicant was described as either female or male, single or married, and having one or no children. Subjects answered eight evaluative questions concerning the competence of the applicant and the merits of the article. Females were devalued by both male and female subjects, but particularly by males. Applicants of both sexes who were married and childless were evaluated more favorably than applicants who were single and had a child.     

Evaluating competence of women and men: Effects of marital and parental status and occupational sex-typing

A sample of 160 female and male college students read a completed job application and a letter written by the applicant. The job was in either a feminine or a masculine field. The applicant was described as either female or male, single or married, and having one or no children. Subjects answered seven evaluative questions about the competence of the applicant and the merits of the letter. Women, especially single ones, who applied for a sex-typical job generally were evaluated most favorably. Men, especially single ones, and women who applied for sex-atypical jobs were evaluated least favorably.     

Side effects of gender‐fair language: How feminine job titles influence the evaluation of female applicants

In many languages, feminization has been used as a strategy to make language more gender‐fair, because masculine terms, even in a generic function, exhibit a male bias. Up to date, little is known about possible side effects of this language use, for example, in personnel selection. In three studies, conducted in Polish, we analyzed how a female applicant was evaluated in a recruitment process, depending on whether she was introduced with a feminine or masculine job title. To avoid influences from existing occupations and terms, we used fictitious job titles in Studies 1 and 2: diarolo?ka (feminine) and diarolog (masculine). In Study 3, we referred to existing occupations that varied in gender stereotypicality. In all studies, female applicants with a feminine job title were evaluated less favorably than both a male applicant (Study 1) and a female applicant with a masculine job title (Studies 1, 2, and 3). This effect was independent of the gender stereotypicality of the occupation (Study 3). Participants' political attitudes, however, moderated the effect: Conservatives devaluated female applicants with a feminine title more than liberals (Studies 2 and 3). Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effects of sexual and/or aggressive film exposure on helping, hostility, and attitudes about the sexes

After viewing an aggressive, sexually aggressive, erotic heterosexual, or control film, 129 females and 135 males expressed their willingness to help and hostility toward the male or female experimenter. Males extended the least help to the experimenter following the aggressive film and expressed more positive affect than females. Erotophilic males expressed slightly less hostility toward a female than a male experimenter. Erotophiles expressed more positive attitudes toward women and toward men after viewing either the rape film shown by a male experimenter or the erotic film shown by a female experimenter, compared to erotophobes. Among erotophobes, these two experimental conditions generally produced the most negative effects on general attitudes about the sexes. Affective responses to sex variations in dominant status and to aggressivity were employed to provide explanations for these results.     

Male responses to female competence

This study investigated the conditions under which a male would denigrate a female because of her competence. Sixty-four male subjects either cooperated or competed on anagram tasks with high/low competence male or female co-workers in the presence of a male or a female experimenter. Subsequently, these subjects evaluated their co-workers. No evidence was found to support the notion that males rejected a female partner because of her competence. In fact, some measures revealed that competent females were valued over their male counterparts in the cooperative conditions. Unexpectedly, sex of the experimenter interacted significantly with sex of the co-worker to determine the subject's responses to his partner's competence on two of the dependent measures. The discrepancies between these findings and earlier research findings are addressed. The implications for females in a mixed-sex work context are discussed.     

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.     

More alike than meets the eye: Perceived gender differences in subjective experience and its display

This research investigated perceived gender differences in subjective experience and its outward display. Subjects imagined a female friend or a male friend in a series of brief situations, each of which was said to elicit a particular subjective experience in the friend. After each situation, they estimated the extent to which the friend would experience the feeling, and also the extent to which the friend would display the feeling to others. Results confirmed two related predictions, both based on attribution research: First, perceived gender-related differences in the outward display of an experience were generally greater than perceived gender-related differences in the subjective experience itself. Males and females, that is, were generally viewed as more alike in their internal feelings than in their overt behaviors. Second, perceived female/male differences in outward display varied more with the feeling elicited by the situation than perceived female/male differences in subjective experience. Specifically, subjects estimated that females would display communal, socially desirable feelings more than males and self-oriented, less desirable feelings less than males, but that females would experience both categories of feelings somewhat more intensely than males would experience them. In addition to confirming these two predictions, our results also indicated that the sex viewed as having greater hidden feelings—operationalized as the amount by which estimations of subjective experience exceeded estimations of display—also varied with the situation. With communal, highly desirable feelings, males were viewed as having greater hidden feelings, but with self-oriented, less desirable feelings, females were viewed as having greater hidden feelings. This pattern did not interact with gender of perceiver. The data, however, indicated that female perceivers tended to rate both males and females higher on measures of both experience and display than males did, and that male perceivers tended to perceive greater gender differences than females did.     

Sex typing and the perception of body outlines

Does sex typing influence one's direct perception of gender from physical body cues? To answer this question, a study was conducted in which 47 female and 39 male subjects, after filling out the Bem Sex Role Inventory, viewed 24 body outlines varying in waist and shoulder width. Subjects were asked to indicate whether each body was female or male, or whether they were uncertain about its gender. Subjects also selected what they judged to be the most attractive and most typical female and male bodies from among the 24 body outlines. Finally, the actual shoulder, waist, and hip widths of 66 subjects were measured as a normative comparison to subjects' judgments of “typical” and “attractive” body proportions. Analyses indicated that sex-typed subjects used the “uncertain” rating less than did non-sex-typed subjects, and that males used that rating less than females did. Thus, sex-typed subjects and males showed a stronger tendency to classify stimuli by gender. Sex-typed subjects also tended to nominate more physically divergent male and female bodies as attractive than did non-sex-typed subjects; however, there were no effects of assessed masculinity or femininity on nominations of typical male and female bodies. In addition, the data provide evidence that subjects judged there to be greater physical differences between the sexes than actually exist. The results are discussed in terms of recent research on gender schemas and prototypes in person perception.     

Evaluation of a fortuitously reward other

Under the guise of an experiment on gambling decisions, subjects briefly met a confederate of the experimenter, whom they later evaluated. The major hypothesis was that the confederate would be evaluated more favorably by subjects who were told that she had received a fortuitous reward than by control subjects. The hypothesis was confirmed for female subjects only.     

Social Costs of Smoking: Effects of Tobacco Smoke on Hostile Behavior1

Male and female undergraduates interacted with a same-sex experimenter and a same-sex assistant of the experimenter. Either the experimenter or the assistant smoked. Subjects were provoked or not provoked by the experimenter and then smoked. Subjects were provoked or not provided by the experimenter and then provided with an opportunity to treat him or her in a hostile manner. Additionally, subjects were classified as smokers or nonsmokers and as supporting or opposing smoking in public places. Tobacco smoke was found to facilitate hostile behavior whether or not subjects were independently annoyed and whether or not it originated from the annoyer or a bystander. No sex differences were observed in this effect. Also, no appreciable difference was observed in the hostile behavior of smokers and nonsmokers. Persons opposed to public smoking reacted more strongly to the provocation than persons supportive of public smoking, but this effect was independent of the presence or absence of smoke.     

Experimental pain thresholds influenced by sex of experimenter

Thresholds for pressure pain were tested in 64 adult human subjects (age: M=22.0 yr., SD=7.5). The subjects were young adults drawn from a student population. They were divided into two groups of men and two groups of women, with 16 participants in each group. A female experimenter tested one group of men and a male experimenter tested the other group. The women were tested in a similar way by an experimenter of the same sex for one group and the opposite sex for the other group. The two experimenters were dressed in a manner that emphasised their gender roles. The men tested by a female experimenter showed a higher average pain threshold than the men tested by a male experimenter, but there was no difference in the average pain thresholds of the two groups of women.     

Interaction of Recruiter and Applicant Gender in Resume Evaluation: A Field Study

In the present study, we examined the effect of recruiter and applicant gender on recruiters' evaluations of applicants' qualifications as reported on actual applicant resumes. Forty recruiters evaluated applicant resumes that were randomly allocated to them. In total, 388 recruiter evaluations of applicant resumes comprised the sample. Results indicate that recruiter and applicant gender interacted to predict recruiters' perceptions of applicants' qualifications. Male recruiters' perceptions of applicants' work experiences did not differ depending on applicant gender. However, female recruiters perceived male applicants' resumes to report more work experiences than resumes of female applicants. Furthermore, male recruiters perceived female applicants as having more extracurricular interests than male applicants. Female recruiters rated both male and female applicants as having about the same amount of extracurricular activity information on their resumes. Gender role theory provides a possible explanation for the study's findings.     

Gender differences in differentiating terms expressing certainty

Women's and men's understanding of the certainty expressed in mental and modal terms was examined. Subjects were asked to decide on the location of a hidden object when the only clue available was coded in the mental or modal term used in two conflicting assertions made by a male and female experimenter, each specifying a different location. Results showed that both women and men discriminated the degree of certainty expressed in 11 of 12 pairs of terms presented. Gender differences existed in the understanding of terms which were close in pragmatic meaning, with females making the distinctions more equivocally than males. The gender of the speaker had no influence on subjects' responses to contrasts which differentiated certainty, but on the contrast in which no preference for a term was found, subjects chose the location indicated by the male experimenter significantly more often. This study highlights a point of difference in pragmatic understanding between women and men and invites explorations of its origin.This research was supported by grant 410-89-0352 from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada to both authors. We would like to thank Lisa Boudreau, Dana Bryant, Rob Landry, Kiran Pure, and Hal Thompson for help with various aspects of this research.     

Mediators between frustration and aggression in a field experiment

To assess some of the mediators between a frustrating incident and subsequent aggressive behavior in a field situation, 320 male and female subjects were assigned to one of 32 experimental conditions in a 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design. Either a male or female experimenter, saying “Excuse me” or not, dressed in high or low status clothing, cut in line in front of the subject, who was standing near the front or back of the line. Verbal and nonverbal aggressiveness were coded and summed to measure total aggression. Subjects near the front of the line or interacting with a low status experimenter were more aggressive than those at the back of the line or seeing a high status experimenter. Less aggression was directed against the female experimenter or one who said “Excuse me,” and there was a strong tendency for subjects to be more aggressive to a same-sex experimenter. It was suggested that further research on instigators to aggression be carried out in such field situations.     

In-group ratings are affected by who asks and how: interactive effects of experimenter group-membership and response format

In three experiments, participants rated how well a number of adjectives described their in-group (e.g. kind-hearted, helpful, intelligent, efficient, etc.). In Experiment 1, females were found to rate their ingroup (females) more favorably when reporting verbally to female (rather than male) experimenters. This finding was further explored in two subsequent experiments where response format (written vs. verbal) was also manipulated. Both experiments revealed an interaction such that ethnic Swedes rated their in-group (Swedes) the most favorably when reporting verbally to an in-group experimenter and the least favorably when reporting verbally to a Middle Eastern experimenter. Results are discussed in relation to correction and contextual activation of social norms.     

A Prototype Matching Approach to Understanding the Role of Applicant Gender and Age in the Evaluation of Job Applicants1

This research uses a prototype matching approach to understand how job applicant evaluations are made and the role that applicant gender and age play in these evaluations. It is hypothesized that raters represent information about jobs and jobholders in person-in-job prototypes. Raters evaluate applicants by matching information about applicants to the person-in-job prototype associated with the job for which the applicant is applying. Person-in-job prototypes are comprised of features that are more (i.e., central) or less (i.e., peripheral) strongly associated with the prototype. Three laboratory studies examined several hypotheses derived from a prototype matching approach. Results indicated that applicants who matched on more central features were evaluated more favorably than applicants who matched on fewer central features of person-in-job prototypes. In addition, applicants who matched on age were evaluated more favorably than applicants who did not match on age when age was a central but not a peripheral feature of a person-in-job prototype. However, applicants who matched on gender were not evaluated differently from applicants who did not match on gender when gender was a central or a peripheral feature of a person-in-job prototype. Finally, there was some evidence that raters used applicant gender in a complex manner when evaluating applicants. Implications for theory and research on bias in selection are discussed.     

Evaluation of the Performance of Experimenters as a Function of Their Sex and Competence1

A study was conducted to investigate evaluations of experimenters as a function of their sex and competency. It was hypothesized that (a) competent male and female experimenters would be evaluated as equal in competence, but that females acting incompetently would be judged as less competent than would males who were also acting incompetently and (b) competent females would be judged as less feminine relative to incompetent females; whereas incompetent females would be judged as extremely feminine. Undergraduate males and females viewed videotapes of male or female experimenters acting either competently or incompetently and then rated these experimenters on a 20-item semantic differential scale. It was found that when the female experimenters unambiguously displayed competence, they were judged as of equal competence to male experimenters acting in a similar manner; in the incompetent condition, however, female experimenters were judged as less competent than male experimenters. Competent females were perceived as less feminine than incompetent females; incompetent females were perceived as more feminine than females in any other experimenter condition. It was postulated that these findings were due to (a) subjects’expecting incompetency of women and (b) subjects’equating competence with the masculine role and incompetence with the feminine role.     

Hostility and sex guilt: Perceptions of self and others as a function of gender and sex-role orientation

Males and females indicated their perceptions of sex and hostility guilt for themselves and for typical males or typical females. Males were found to be less guilty than females. Both sexes perceived the typical female to be more guilty than the typical male, and both underestimated the actual level of female guilt. Subjects were also classified according to sex-role orientation. Masculine sex-typed people were less guilty than feminine sex-typed individuals, with androgynous groups falling between these two. Also, sex-consistent subjects and androgynous females perceived themselves as similar to others of their gender, while androgynous males perceived themselves as being similar to both males and females. Sex-reversed subjects evidenced conflict and inaccuracies in their perceptions of self versus others. Implications for future research are presented.The author wishes to thank Shari Sparling for her assistance in collecting and scoring the data for this study.     

Perceptions of sexual harassment in an academic context

This study assessed the influence of two subject variables, gender and gender role, and one contextual variable, power of the harasser, on perceptions of sexual harassment in an academic context. Fifty-one white males and 73 white females evaluated a series of vignettes depicting a range of behavioral interactions. When the harasser was a higher power individual, vignettes were more likely to be viewed as examples of sexual harassment, male characters were perceived more negatively, and female characters were perceived more favorably. Female respondents rated the male characters less favorably than did the male respondents, although there were no gender differences in the number of vignettes interpreted as sexual harassment. Subtle differences in the way males and females interpret harassment behaviors are examined and discussed.Portions of this paper were presented at the meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Boston, Massachusetts, April 1992.     

Cognition and affect in evaluations of stereotyped group members

The contribution of cognition and affect to evaluations of stereotyped group members was examined. Subjects were American male undergraduates who evaluated a male homosexual or a male heterosexual applicant to a program in elementary education or fine arts. Cognitive measures used to predict evaluations were the discrepancies between stereotype components for the social category and stereotype components for the occupation; affective measures were four dimensions of mood-affect. Results indicated that negative affect predicted evaluations of homosexuals but not heterosexuals. Homosexuals were evaluated less favorably than heterosexuals for both occupations, despite the fact that homosexuals were perceived as less discrepant from occupational members than heterosexuals.