Accuracy of attitude stereotypes: The case of inferences based on gender.

Three studies were undertaken to assess the accuracy of people's estimates of the attitudes of men and women. In Exp 1, attitudes of male and female college students were assessed on a broad range of social and political issues. In Exp 2, 30 male and 30 female college students estimated the attitudes of typical males and females on the same statements. These estimates were used to select a set of stereotypic male statements and a set of stereotypic female statements. In Exp 3, 44 male and 53 female college students estimated the attitudes of male and female students on the 2 sets of statements. Results of the 1st 2 studies indicated that both men and women expected larger gender differences in attitudes than actually exist. In the 3rd study, this result was confirmed and it was found that people were least accurate in their estimates of the attitudes of men. Partial support was obtained for the hypothesis that in-group stereotypes would be more accurate than out-group stereotypes. Men were more accurate than women in estimating the attitudes of men but men and women were equally accurate in estimating the attitudes of women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Brain potentials reflect violations of gender stereotypes

Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were recorded while 14 males and 14 females read sentences containing a reflexive pronoun that referred to a definitionally or stereotypically male or female antecedent noun. Pronouns that disagreed with the gender definition or gender stereotype of the antecedent elicited a large-amplitude positive wave. Violations of gender definitions elicited a larger positive wave than did violations of gender stereotypes. Furthermore, the positive wave elicited by stereotype violations persisted even when subjects judged these sentences to be acceptable. Finally, female subjects exhibited larger positivities than did male subjects, regardless of whether the gender mismatch involved a definitional or stereotypical antecedent. These results are taken to indicate that ERPs are sensitive to violations of gender-based occupational stereotypes and that the ERP response to stereotype violations is similar to the P600 effect elicited by a variety of syntactic anomalies.     

Status, communality, and agency: Implications for stereotypes of gender and other groups.

Four studies addressed the hypothesis, based on correspondence bias, that low- relative to high-status individuals are perceived as more communal and less agentic. Study 1 instantiated status in terms of occupations, and findings were as expected. The findings of Study 2 reconciled those of Study 1 and of A. H . Eagly and V. J. Steffen (see record 1984-23015-001) in that they demonstrated that high-status occupations are differentially construed in terms of their interpersonal communal demands. The hypothesis received clear support in Studies 3 and 4, in which a general instantiation of status independent of occupations, social roles, and gender was adopted. The findings are discussed in terms of gender stereotypes and social role theory of gender (A. H. Eagly, 1987) as well as in terms of other stereotypes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceived versus meta-analytic effect sizes: An assessment of the accuracy of gender stereotypes.

Assessed the accuracy of people's stereotypes about gender differences in 2 studies by comparing perceptions of sizes of gender differences with meta-analytic findings. In Study 1, with 184 psychology students, perceptions of variability among men and women and perceptions of mean differences were incorporated into measures of perceived effect sizes. In Study 2, with 145 psychology students, Ss made direct judgments about the size of gender differences. Contrary to previous assertions about people's gender stereotypes, findings indicate that people do not uniformly overestimate gender differences. The results show that Ss are more likely to be accurate or to underestimate gender differences than overestimate them, and perceptions of the size of gender differences are correlated with meta-analytic effect sizes. Furthermore, degree of accuracy is influenced by biases favoring women, in-group favoritism, and the method used to measure perceptions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Girls' math performance under stereotype threat: The moderating role of mothers' gender stereotypes.

Previous research on stereotype threat in children suggests that making gender identity salient disrupts girls' math performance at as early as 5 to 7 years of age. The present study (n = 124) tested the hypothesis that parents' endorsement of gender stereotypes about math moderates girls' susceptibility to stereotype threat. Results confirmed that stereotype threat impaired girls' performance on math tasks among students from kindergarten through 2nd grade. Moreover, mothers' but not fathers' endorsement of gender stereotypes about math moderated girls' vulnerability to stereotype threat: Performance of girls whose mothers strongly rejected the gender stereotype about math did not decrease under stereotype threat. These findings are important because they point to the role of mothers' beliefs in the development of girls' vulnerability to the negative effects of gender stereotypes about math. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interrelationships among measures of job satisfaction and general satisfaction.

For a sample of 41 male and 52 female civil service employees, correlations were determined among 2 measures of job satisfaction (SRA Employee Inventory and Brayfield-Rothe Job Satisfaction Index) and 2 measures of attitudes toward life in general (Weitz General Satisfaction Test and Rundquist-Sletto Morale Scale). All the intercorrelations were moderately positive and significant for the males, but only the intercorrelation between the two general satisfaction measures was significant for the females. 15 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Joan McKay versus John McKay: Do gender stereotypes bias evaluations?

Examines research using a classic, influential experiment conducted by Goldberg (1968), showing that women were likely to rate male authors (e.g., John T. McKay) more favorably than female authors (e.g., Joan T. McKay) of identical articles. Although replications of this study have been inconclusive, Goldberg's research is still frequently cited as demonstrating an evaluative bias against women. A quantitative meta-analysis of research using Goldberg's experimental paradigm shows that the average difference between ratings of men and women is negligible. Furthermore, although the effect sizes are not homogeneous, the difference remains negligible when other factors such as sex of subject or year of publication are taken into consideration. Several explanations for the heterogeneity of effect sizes and the inconsistency of findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Occupational sex role stereotypes and social desirability among counselor trainees.

Reviewers of the literature have concluded that sex bias frequently occurs in career counseling and is operative in both male and female counselors. In order to test whether counselors hold preconceptions about occupations, a study was conducted that incorporated 2 levels of counselor sex with 4 levels of stimulus occupations in a mixed factorial design. The dependent variables were degree and direction of sex role stereotypes and degree of social desirability, as measured by scales of the Bem Sex Role Inventory. 27 male and 27 female graduate students in counselor training completed the Bem Sex Role Inventory for each of the stimulus occupations. ANOVAs and mean comparisons on scores representing the dependent variables led to the following conclusions: (a) Males do not differ from females in degree of occupational stereotypes. (b) Occupations differ in degree of stereotypes elicited. (c) Males do not differ from females in direction of occupational stereotypes. (d) Occupations differ in direction of stereotypes elicited. (e) Males do not differ from females in degree of occupational social desirability perceived. (f) Occupations do not differ in degree of social desirability perceived by counselors. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interrelationships among everyday memory tests: Stability of factor structure with age.

Conducted an experiment in which 158 normal adults (aged 18–77 yrs) completed a battery of tests employing computer and laser-disk technology to simulate learning and memory tasks encountered in daily life. The tests were based on different experimental paradigms and were designed to assess multiple variables related to memory performance across the adult age span. Principal components analyses yielded factors of general memory, attention, and psychomotor speed. The factors remained essentially unchanged when scores were residualized to account for differences in performance related to age. Clinical and research applications of the battery are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mothers' academic gender stereotypes and education-related beliefs about sons and daughters in African American families.

The role of African American mothers' academic gender stereotype endorsement in shaping achievement-related expectations for and perceptions of their own children was examined. Mothers (N = 334) of 7th and 8th graders completed measures of expectations for their children's future educational attainment, perceptions of their children's academic competence, and academic gender stereotypes. Consistent with hypotheses, mothers held less favorable expectations for sons and perceived sons to be less academically competent than daughters. In addition, mothers reported stereotypes favoring girls over boys in academic domains; stereotype endorsement, in turn, was related to mothers' educational expectations for and beliefs about the academic competence of their own children, even with youths' actual achievement controlled. Negative stereotypes about the academic abilities of African American boys may create a negative feedback loop, thereby contributing to the maintenance of the gender gap in African Americans' educational outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Inferred sex differences in status as a determinant of gender stereotypes about social influence.

In 3 experiments, 470 male and 425 female university students read a scenario describing a communicator's attempt to influence a recipient and then judged how much influence would occur. The scenarios in Exp I described a man trying to influence a woman or a woman trying to influence a man. For scenarios in which job titles were omitted, Ss believed that women held lower status jobs than men and that women were more likely to comply behaviorally with men than men were with women. For scenarios in which job titles were included, Ss' beliefs about compliance were based on job status rather than the sex of the stimulus persons. In Exp II, scenarios in which job titles were omitted described an influence attempt between same- or opposite-sex persons. Both the communicator's and the recipient's sex were found to contribute to the greater perceived compliance of women to men (vs men to women). In Exp III, this perceived sex difference in compliance occurred only when the communicator and recipient were employed by the same organization. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Imagining stereotypes away: The moderation of implicit stereotypes through mental imagery.

Research on implicit stereotypes has raised important questions about an individual's ability to moderate and control stereotypic responses. With few strategies shown to be effective in moderating implicit effects, the present research investigates a new strategy based on focused mental imagery. Across 5 experiments, participants who engaged in counterstereotypic mental imagery produced substantially weaker implicit stereotypes compared with participants who engaged in neutral, stereotypic, or no mental imagery. This reduction was demonstrated with a variety of measures, eliminating explanations based on response suppression or shifts in response criterion. Instead, the results suggest that implicit stereotypes are malleable, and that controlled processes, such as mental imagery, may influence the stereotyping process at its early as well as later stages. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessing alexithymia and related emotional ability constructs using multiple methods: Interrelationships among measures.

This study examined relationships among various measures of emotional ability reflecting different methods of assessment: self-report, clinical interview, collateral report, and emotion-relevant performance. On 140 young adults, the authors assessed self-reported alexithymia, emotional approach coping, and trait metamood skills; observer-reported alexithymia; interviewer-rated alexithymia; emotional awareness in response to vignettes; and emotional intelligence test performance. There were moderate magnitude correlations among the self-report measures, but correlations among other measures were relatively low. Confirmatory factor analyses supported a 3-factor model in which explicit self, implicit self, and explicit other measures were differentiated. These emotional ability measures do not form a unitary construct but differ as a function of the person providing the information and whether the measure is explicit or implicit. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ethanol-induced gastrointestinal damage. Influence of endogenous antioxidant components and gender

This study compared the effects of undiluted and 8% ethanol administered orally on gastrointestinal antioxidant components of male and female rats. Eight percent ethanol increased the activities of duodenal glutathione peroxide (29% in males, 14% in females) and superoxide dismutase in female gastric (24%) and male duodenal (15%) mucosa. This dose of ethanol also increased the glutathione content of gastric mucosa (12% in males, 13% in females). Undiluted ethanol decreased glutathione levels in gastric mucosa (22% in males, 11% in females) and increased glutathione peroxide activity in gastric mucosa (14% in males, 9% in females). Undiluted alcohol also produced decreases in the activity of glutathione reductase in stomach (14% in males, 9% in females) and duodenum (16% in males, 12% in females). Undiluted ethanol caused mucosal damage in the body of the stomach in both genders, accompanied by an increase in luminal pH and fluid accumulation in the stomach; these changes were absent in rats given 8% ethanol. The increase in gastrointestinal antioxidant capacity associated with the administration of 8% ethanol may be a factor in the reported cytoprotective effect of lower doses of ethanol.     

Stigma consciousness among Asian Americans: Impact of positive stereotypes in interracial roommate relationships.

The present research examined the intrapersonal consequences that Asian Americans experience as a result of their concerns about appearing highly intelligent, a positive stereotype associated with their racial group. A daily diary study of Asian-American college students (N = 47) revealed that higher levels of stigma consciousness were associated with greater anxiety, contact avoidance, perceived need to change to fit in with a roommate, and concerns about being viewed as intelligent for Asian Americans living with a European-American (vs. racial minority) roommate. Further, among Asian Americans with a European-American roommate, concerns about appearing intelligent partially mediated the relationships between stigma consciousness and the outcomes of anxiety and perceived need to change to fit in. In sum, these findings demonstrate that positive stereotypes about the group—not just negative stereotypes—may lead to undesirable intrapersonal outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interrelationships among measures of field dependence, ability, and personality traits.

This study was devised to test the validity of findings of previous research with regard to the personality correlates of performance on Witkin's (1954) measures of field dependence (FD). The results (with a sample of college Ss) suggest that the Embedded Figure Test (EFT) and the Rod-and-Frame Test (RFT) do not necessarily measure the same cognitive or personality factors. Previous findings were not, to a considerable extent, duplicated; some personality correlates were not found to be related to either EFT or RFT. FD people were characterized by a tendency to react with affective disruption and intellectual deficit to an external situation that lacks clear structure. From Psyc Abstracts 36:04:4HA27E. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Aging free from negative stereotypes: Successful memory in China among the American deaf.

This study explores whether negative stereotypes about aging contribute to memory loss in old age. The research participants consisted of old and young Chinese hearing, American Deaf, and American hearing individuals. Members of the mainland Chinese and the American Deaf cultures were recruited on the basis of the belief that they would be less likely than hearing Americans to be exposed to and accept negative stereotypes about aging. The expected results were (1) an interaction in which the 3 groups of younger Ss would perform similarly on the memory tasks, whereas the older Deaf and older Chinese participants would outperform the older American hearing group and (2) a positive correlation between view toward aging and memory performance among the old Ss. The data supported both hypotheses. The results suggest that cultural beliefs about aging play a role in determining the degree of memory loss people experience in old age. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)