Self-schemas and gender.

Examined the information processing consequences of self-schemas about gender in 2 studies (467 undergraduates). Systematic differences in cognitive performance were observed among Ss identified as masculine schematics, feminine schematics, low androgynous, and high androgynous (Bem Sex-Role Inventory). Feminine schematics remembered more feminine than masculine attributes, endorsed more feminine qualities, required shorter processing times for "me" judgments to these attributes, were more confident of their judgments, and were able to supply relatively more examples of past feminine than masculine behavior. A parallel pattern of results was found for masculine stimuli in masculine schematics. Androgynous Ss recalled as many masculine as feminine attributes and did not differentiate between masculine and feminine attributes with respect to latency or confidence. Comparison of the 2 groups of androgynous Ss shows that only low androgynous Ss should be considered aschematic with respect to gender. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex role stereotyping of college professors: Bias in students' ratings of instructors.

We investigated the impact of three variables on students' ratings of instruction (SRIs): social contact between instructor and students (present vs. absent), the instructor's facial expression (smiling vs. neutral), and the instructor's sex. Subjects were presented with hypothetical scenarios in which these factors varied while behaviors directly related to teaching were held constant. Results revealed an interaction between instructor sex and both of the other two factors: Behaviors indicative of friendliness toward students elevated SRIs for female instructors but not for male instructors. In addition, subjects rated the male professors as more effective than female professors. These findings are consistent with other reports that students expect female instructors to excel in both stereotypically masculine (e.g., competence) and feminine (e.g., warmth) domains. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Student perceptions of and expectations for male and female instructors: Evidence relating to the question of gender bias in teaching evaluation.

253 undergraduates completed a course evaluation questionnaire that included formal teaching performance ratings, perceptual orientation scales, and indicators of degree and context of student–instructor contact. Ss represented 11 female-instructed courses and 28 male-instructed courses. Male and female instructors were found to be placed within a unitary perceptual frame of reference. Female instructors were perceived as warmer and more potent individuals, but were required by the Ss to offer greater interpersonal support and were judged more closely than male instructors in providing it. Results suggest that although direct gender bias may not be observed in formal student evaluations of their instructors, female faculty members are nonetheless subject to culturally conditioned gender stereotypes. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognition-correlation indices of gender schema: tests of validity

Four-hundred and seventy-seven subjects evaluated a set of traits and behaviors in terms of how masculine and feminine they were and in terms of how well they represented their real and ideal self-images. Within-individual correlation coefficients between these evaluations were proposed as measures of psychological gender schemata, because they would represent the degree of matching between the subjects' gender-image and ideal/real self-images of gender-related attributes. The present study aims at examining the construct validity of these measures, by testing them to psychological variables that are known to reflect gender identity. The individual difference variables used as criteria were (a) satisfaction with one's own sex, (b) general happiness, (c) self-esteem (d) gender-conflict, and (e) school and occupational achievement need. Correlations between the gender-schema indices and the criteria variables supported the construct validity of those measures. Advantages of the present measurement over the conventional simple trait approach, such as BSRI, or PAQ are discussed.     

Leniency, learning, and evaluations.

Comments that previous studies have yielded mixed results concerning the relationships between the amount students learn, instructor leniency, and student evaluations of instructors. One reason for the conflicting results is that grades and learning are highly correlated, and the effect of leniency and learning have not yet been separated precisely. A 3-equation model is presented that disentangles learning from leniency and relates the results to evaluations. The 1st equation measures the impact of each instructor on the amount of knowledge students have acquired; the 2nd measures the leniency of the instructor; the 3rd relates these 2 measures to student evaluations of instructors. For a sample of 617 undergraduates in 14 sections of a course, there was no significant relationship between either leniency or learning and evaluations. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex typing and the social perception of gender stereotypic and nonstereotypic behavior: The uniqueness of feminine males.

Examined the social perception of masculine, feminine, androgynous, and undifferentiated males. 251 preadolescent boys were shown a video film portraying a male target playing either a masculine game with boys, a feminine game with girls, a neutral game with boys, or a neutral game with girls and were required to make a variety of inferences about him. All 4 groups made similar cognitive stereotypic inferences that varied in accordance with the gender stereotypic nature of the target's behavior. However, for the affective judgments (e.g., liking the target and wanting to engage in activities with him), the feminine males showed a pattern of inferences that was not only different from other sex role orientations, but often the reverse. The implications of these results for S. L. Bem's gender schema theory (see record 1981-25685-001) and H. Markus's self schema theory (H. Markus et al; 1982) are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stereotypic and nonstereotypic sex role trait and behavior orientations, gender identity, and psychological adjustment.

This study examines the relations among sex role traits and behavior orientations, gender identity, and psychological adjustment in order to test traditional and contemporary perspectives regarding the adjustment implications of stereotypic and nonstereotypic sex role trait and behavior orientations. Measures of sex role personality traits and behaviors and scales assessing depression, anxiety, and social maladjustment were administered to 235 college men and women. In addition, subjects completed measures of gender identity and gender adequacy. Contrary to traditional perspectives, androgynous men and women and cross-sex-typed women were no less well adjusted than sex-typed individuals. However, consistent with traditional perspectives, men who were low in masculine characteristics (and men and women low in both masculine and feminine characteristics) did appear less well adjusted on measures of depression, anxiety, and social maladjustment. Furthermore, low masculinity men had less secure gender identities. No such gender identity disturbances were found in women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Validity and usefulness of student evaluations of instructional quality.

The average of a total of 720 undergraduates' evaluations for each section of a computer programing course correlated positively with the average of student performance on a standardized final examination. Since alternative explanations were ruled out, results support the validity of the student evaluations. Half of the 18 instructors (feedback) were also given the results of student evaluations conducted during the term. Students in the feedback sections later rated their instructors as better teachers, but performed no better on the standardized final examination. Findings suggest student evaluations are valid measures of instructional quality and provide useful feedback to the instructor. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of teacher, student, and class characteristics on the evaluation of college instructors.

Investigated whether student evaluations of faculty would be affected by the characteristics of the teacher, the student, and the class. Each instructor at a single university was asked to answer questions indicating personal warmth, professorial rank, years of teaching experience, sex, and class size. Students in 174 classes were asked to complete the Instructional Improvement Questionnaire (IIQ). The 20 questions on the IIQ that directly evaluate instructor performance were analyzed. Only the results for the 1st set of canonical functions are presented. An instructor who received high scores on this canonical function would be rated as encouraging student participation in the course, showing an interest in students, knowing when students understood her or him, being available to students, increasing appreciation for the course, and accepting criticism and suggestions. The classes that received high values on this function were small in size, were taught by instructors who rated themselves as warm, and had students that expected high grades. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex and gender in the college classroom: A quantitative analysis of faculty–student interactions and perceptions.

Students and instructors from 24 classrooms across 8 departments at a major university were observed in this study to (a) assess for sex differences in faculty–student interactions and in students' perceptions of their college classroom environment, (b) compare student perceptions of their college classroom interaction patterns with observed faculty–student interactions, and (c) assess a variety of demographic characteristics together to determine their singular and/or interactive effects on faculty–student interaction patterns and student perceptions. Male and female students did not differ in their classroom participation or perceptions, and instructors did not interact differently with the male and female students. Student perceptions strongly correlated with their own behaviors and with instructor behaviors. Classroom interactions and student perceptions varied on the basis of different demographic characteristics including instructor sex, class size, instructor monitoring of gender–race equity in the classroom, gender relevance of the course, and the sex ratio of the class. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Masculine Girls and Feminine Boys: Genetic and Environmental Contributions to Atypical Gender Development in Early Childhood.

In this genetic study of atypical gender role development, parents of 5,799 twin pairs, ages 3 and 4, rated their twin children's masculinity and femininity. Boys were selected as gender atypical if they were highly feminine (top 5%, 10%, or 15%) relative to other boys, and girls were selected if they were highly masculine relative to other girls. Gender-atypical boys and girls were each divided into 2 groups: fully gender atypical (e.g., feminine boys also low on masculinity) and partially gender atypical (e.g., feminine boys who are not low on masculinity). DeFries-Fulker (DF; J. C. DeFries & D. W. Fulker, 1985, 1988) extremes analysis yielded moderate group heritability and substantial shared environment effects for atypical gender role behavior. However, for fully gender-atypical girls, group heritability accounted for most of the variance, and shared environment had no effect. The results are discussed in light of past studies and potential implications for atypical gender development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of sex, gender roles, and attraction in predicting emergent leaders.

Examined the influence of sex, gender role characteristics, and interpersonal attractiveness on the selection of emergent leaders. Data were collected on 2 occasions from 122 subjects in 28 task groups performing "sex neutral" tasks for valued rewards over many weeks of interaction. Results showed no significant difference in the proportion of men and women to emerge as leaders through intragroup sociometric choice. Regardless of sex, group members with masculine gender role characteristics emerged as leaders significantly more than those with feminine, androgynous, or undifferentiated gender role characteristics. Emergent leaders received significantly higher interpersonal attractiveness ratings than nonleaders within groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teacher orientations toward masculine and feminine: Role of sex of teacher and sex composition of school.

296 teachers from both coeducational and single-sex high schools rated the acceptability of stereotypically feminine and masculine traits, indicated their preferences for teaching boys or girls, and completed a measure of their beliefs about teaching. Male and female Ss from both types of schools perceived feminine traits as more acceptable than masculine traits, although male and coeducational school teachers tended to be more tolerant of masculine characteristics than their respective counterparts. Despite the positive valuation of feminine traits, with the exception of female single-sex teachers, Ss tended to prefer male students over female students. Also, compared to females, males expressed a stronger belief in the value of student autonomy and a weaker belief in the need for empathy in teaching. Coeducational teachers believed in the value of emphasizing course content more than did single-sex teachers. Findings are seen as consistent with both the feminized environment conception of schools and the evidence that masculine traits are more highly valued in the wider society than are feminine traits. (French summary) (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evidence that gendered wording in job advertisements exists and sustains gender inequality.

Social dominance theory (Sidanius & Pratto, 1999) contends that institutional-level mechanisms exist that reinforce and perpetuate existing group-based inequalities, but very few such mechanisms have been empirically demonstrated. We propose that gendered wording (i.e., masculine- and feminine-themed words, such as those associated with gender stereotypes) may be a heretofore unacknowledged, institutional-level mechanism of inequality maintenance. Employing both archival and experimental analyses, the present research demonstrates that gendered wording commonly employed in job recruitment materials can maintain gender inequality in traditionally male-dominated occupations. Studies 1 and 2 demonstrated the existence of subtle but systematic wording differences within a randomly sampled set of job advertisements. Results indicated that job advertisements for male-dominated areas employed greater masculine wording (i.e., words associated with male stereotypes, such as leader, competitive, dominant) than advertisements within female-dominated areas. No difference in the presence of feminine wording (i.e., words associated with female stereotypes, such as support, understand, interpersonal) emerged across male- and female-dominated areas. Next, the consequences of highly masculine wording were tested across 3 experimental studies. When job advertisements were constructed to include more masculine than feminine wording, participants perceived more men within these occupations (Study 3), and importantly, women found these jobs less appealing (Studies 4 and 5). Results confirmed that perceptions of belongingness (but not perceived skills) mediated the effect of gendered wording on job appeal (Study 5). The function of gendered wording in maintaining traditional gender divisions, implications for gender parity, and theoretical models of inequality are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Men and psychotherapy: An investigation of alexithymia, intimacy, and masculine gender roles.

Psychological theories have long emphasized the roles of emotions in healthy functioning and in psychotherapy. However, the masculine socialization process has been hypothesized to encourage men to devalue and restrict much of their emotional experiencing (e.g., Brannon, 1976; Levant, 1992; O'Neil, 1981). This study of 208 men used two operationalizations of traditional masculine gender role socialization and found evidence that men reporting greater gender role conflict also acknowledged greater levels of alexithymia and fear of intimacy, even after controlling for socially desirable responding. Implications for psychotherapy and for future theory and research are noted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Student written comments: Dimensions of instructional quality.

Students' written comments to 4 open-ended questions used in end-of-semester student evaluations of 60 courses from 10 different fields, taught by instructors of different ranks, were content analyzed and classified into 22 categories. Approximately 50% of the comments were about the instructor, with 1 of 4 comments pertaining to the instructor's pedogogical skills. The degree of favorableness of written comments about the instructor and course was sufficiently convergent with ratings based on fixed alternative items measuring overall instructor performance and course quality. Students provided similar evaluations of course and instructor quality on both open-ended and fixed alternative items; nevertheless, each type of item provides useful and different information. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessing gender role of partner-violent men using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2): Comparing abuser types.

This study investigated traditional masculine gender role differences between male partner abuser types using the Masculinity/Femininity subsection scales of Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) Structural Summary. We examined differences between four groups of partner-violent men (borderline, antisocial, psychotic features, and nonpathological partner violent) and one group of nonpartner-violent men on five MMPI-2 subscales: Masculinity-Femininity, Gender Role-Feminine, Gender Role-Masculine, Ego Inflation, and Low Self-esteem. Results indicated that the borderline group reported the most consistent traditional feminine gender role orientation of all the groups, whereas the antisocial group reported the most consistent traditional masculine gender role orientation of all the groups. The psychotic features group reported characteristics associated with both traditional masculinity and traditional feminine gender role making it distinct among all the groups. The nonpathological intimately violent group and the nonpartner-violent group reported no extreme scores when compared with the other three groups. The borderline and antisocial groups reported significantly more exposure to family of origin violence and use of more severe forms of partner abuse than the other three partner abuse groups. Treatment implications are addressed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)