Transcript Chapter 2 Gender Stereotypes and Other Gender Biases

The Psychology
of Women
Chapter 2
Gender Stereotypes and
Other Gender Biases
Biased Representations
of Women and Men
Terminology
Stereotypes
Prejudice
Discrimination
Gender Bias
Androcentrism
Normative-Male Problem
Biased Representations
of Women and Men
Gender Biases in Religion and Mythology
1. Women are evil.
2. Women are terrifying sorceresses.
3. Women are virtuous.
Biased Representations
of Women and Men
Gender Biases in Language
Terms Used for Women
• non-parallel terms
• negative terms
• infantilizing terms
Biased Representations
of Women and Men
Gender Biases in Language
The Masculine Generic
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masculine generic terms are not gender neutral
Gastil's research on mental images
research on career choices
shifting to gender-neutral language
Biased Representations
of Women and Men
Gender Biases in the Media
Stereotyped Representations
1. Women are relatively invisible.
2. Women are relatively inaudible.
3. Women are seldom shown working outside the
home.
4. Women are shown doing housework.
5. Women and men are represented differently.
Biased Representations
of Women and Men
Gender Biases in the Media
Stereotyped Representations (continued)
6. Women’s bodies are used differently from men’s
bodies.
7. Women of color are underrepresented, and they
are often shown in a particularly biased way.
8. Lower-social-class women are underrepresented,
and they are often shown in a particularly biased
way.
Biased Representations
of Women and Men
Gender Biases in the Media
The Effects of Stereotyped Representations
Reflecting and influencing reality
• Behaviors and beliefs
• Gender-role attitudes
• Cognitive performance
People’s Beliefs About
Women and Men
The Content of Stereotypes
Communion & Agency
Stereotypes About Women and Men From
Different Ethnic Groups
• gender and ethnicity combine to create a variety of
gender stereotypes.
• subtypes within gender-ethnicity categories
People’s Beliefs About
Women and Men
The Content of
Stereotypes
Subject Variables That
Could Influence
Stereotypes
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Gender
Ethnicity
Culture
Class
Ableism
People’s Beliefs About
Women and Men
Implicit Gender Stereotypes
Explicit vs. Implicit Gender
Stereotypes
Implicit Association Test (IAT)
• stereotype-consistent pairings
vs. stereotype-inconsistent
pairings
People’s Beliefs About
Women and Men
Attitudes Toward Women’s
Competence
Women’s competence is likely to be
devalued:
• when males are doing the evaluating
• when the participants have traditional
attitudes
• when little information is available about a
person’s qualifications
• bias may be strongest when a woman is
acting in a stereotypically masculine fashion
• --Victoria Brescoll’s “Double Bind” work
People’s Beliefs About
Women and Men
Attitudes Toward Women’s
“Pleasantness”
Women & men
Women & feminists
Ambivalent Sexism (Glick & Fiske,
1996, 2001)
Hostile sexism
Benevolent sexism
Ambivalent sexism and gender
equality
People’s Beliefs About
Women and Men
Gender Discrimination in Interpersonal
Interactions
Discrimination in North America
Laboratory research
Real-life gender discrimination
• gender-stereotyped remarks
• demeaning comments and behaviors
• sexual comments and behaviors
Other forms of interpersonal gender discrimination
People’s Beliefs About
Women and Men
Heterosexism
Heterosexism: a belief system that devalues
lesbians, gay males, and bisexuals—or any
group that is not exclusively heterosexual
Sexual prejudice: a negative attitude toward
someone because of her or his sexual orientation
People’s Beliefs About
Women and Men
Heterosexism
Examples of Heterosexism
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Lack of family acceptance
Verbal abuse
Physical assault
Institutional discrimination
Factors Correlated with Heterosexism
• Men more negative than women
• More negative attitudes toward gay men than
toward lesbians
The Personal Consequences of
Gender Stereotypes
Gender Stereotypes and Cognitive Errors
Social Cognitive Approach: stereotypes are
belief systems that guide the way we process
information
Categorization
Errors
Exaggerating the Contrast Between Women
and Men
Gender polarization
Personal Consequences
of Gender Stereotypes
Gender Stereotypes and Cognitive Errors
The Normative Male
Making Biased Judgments about Females and
Males
Judgments fall back on stereotypes
Attributions for success
Memory for Personal Characteristics
Gender-consistent and gender-inconsistent
information
Multitasking and strong stereotypes
Personal Consequences
of Gender Stereotypes
Gender Stereotypes and Behavior
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
Stereotype Threat
--Claude Steele
Personal Consequences
of Gender Stereotypes
Internalizing Gender Stereotypes
Assessing Self-Concepts about Gender
Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI)
Androgynous
Problems with androgyny
Internalizing Gender Stereotypes
Variety of gender-related characteristics
Social categories
Social context
Personal Consequences
of Gender Stereotypes
Internalizing Gender Stereotypes
Are Gender Stereotypes Personally
Important?
Conclusions About Internalizing Gender
Stereotypes
• Flexible self-concepts about gender
• Views about gender-related characteristics
• Confronting your "-ISMS"
The Psychology
of Women
Chapter 3
Infancy and Childhood
Background on Gender
Development
People’s Responses to Infant Girls and
Boys
Parental Preferences About Sex of Children
• North America
• Cultural differences
People's Stereotypes About Infant Girls and
Boys
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Parents' ratings of infant sons and daughters
Strangers' judgments
Greeting cards
Social constructionism
Background on Gender
Development
Theories of Gender Development
The Social Learning Approach
• Children are rewarded for "gender-appropriate"
behavior, and they are punished for "genderinappropriate" behavior
• Children watch and imitate the behavior of other
people of their own gender
Background on Gender
Development
Theories of Gender Development
The Cognitive Developmental Approach
• Children develop powerful gender schemas
• Children use gender schemas to evaluate
themselves, other people, and other things
• Gender schemas
• Gender identity
Background on Gender
Development
Theories of Gender Development
General Comments about Theories of Gender
Development
• Children’s behaviors are important
• Children’s thoughts are important
Factors That Shape
Gender Typing
Parents
Infants vs. Toddlers
Gender-Typed Activities
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Chores
Toys
Discouraging “gender-inappropriate” activity
Different messages to girls vs. boys
Messages from male adults
Factors That Shape
Gender Typing
Parents (continued)
Conversations About Emotions
• Daughters vs. sons
• Different emotions discussed
Attitudes About Aggression
• Research inconsistent
• Imitation
• Power dynamics
Attitudes about Independence
Factors That Shape
Gender Typing
Parents (continued)
Individual Differences in Parents' Gender
Typing
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parents vary widely
ethnicity
social class
nontraditional gender beliefs
Factors That Shape
Gender Typing
Peers
• Peer group
Rejection of Nontraditional Behavior
Gender Segregation
• entitlement
Gender Prejudice
• preference for own gender
• verbal harassment
• physical hostility
Factors That Shape
Gender Typing
Peers (continued)
Differential Treatment (for Girls and Boys)
• attractiveness
• prosocial behavior
• physical aggression
Factors That Shape
Gender Typing
School
Teachers' Behavior
• girls as invisible
• provide boys with more positive feedback and
attention
Students' Characteristics and Teachers'
Treatment
• ignore girls of color
• discourage girls' assertiveness and
responsibility
• social class
Factors That Shape
Gender Typing
School (continued)
Encouraging Change in North American
Schools
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teacher training in gender and ethnic diversity
de-emphasize gender schemas
pay equal attention to girls
reduce inappropriate stereotypes about gender
Factors That Shape
Gender Typing
School (continued)
Gender and Education on the International
Level
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schooling
literacy rates
employment
birth rates and infant mortality
Factors That Shape
Gender Typing
The Media
Television and Videogames
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frequency of exposure
gender stereotypes
males more visible
males and females perform different activities
correlation between TV viewing and gender
stereotyping
• parental controls and involvement
Factors That Shape
Gender Typing
The Media (continued)
Books
• main characters
• activities
• stereotyped roles
Children’s Knowledge
About Gender
Infants' Basic Information About Gender
Children's Usage of Gender Labels
Children’s Stereotypes About Activities
and Occupations
Reactions to “Gender Inconsistent” Activities
Choosing Activities & Toys
Gender Schemas & Occupations
Children’s Knowledge
About Gender
Children's Stereotypes About Personality
Factors Related to Children's Gender
Stereotypes
• Sex of the
Child
• Ethnicity
• Social Class
• Family Views
• Age of the Child
• Flexibility
• Individual Differences
Cognitive Abilities
Explaining the Gender Comparisons
Biological Explanations
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1. Genetic explanations
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2. Hormonal explanations
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3. Brain organization explanations
Lateralization
Cognitive Abilities
Explaining the Gender Comparisons
Experience as an Explanation
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1. Different experiences with mathematics
and spatial activities outside school
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2. Parents and teachers may provide
different experiences for males and females
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3. Lack of positive images & role models
Cognitive Abilities
Explaining the Gender Comparisons
Attitudes as an Explanation
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1. Parents’ and teachers’ attitudes and
children’s self-confidence
2. Boys perceive themselves as more
competent in math than girls do, even though
boys may actually receive lower grades
3. Students believe that math, computers,
and science are associated with males
4. Stereotype threat
Attitudes About
Achievement
Confidence in Your Own Achievement and
Ability
Self-Confidence and Evaluation Provided by
Others
• Women’s self-confidence is influenced by
comments from other people; men’s selfconfidence is less likely to change based on
comments from other people.
• Women are more likely than men to use the
information from other people’s evaluations in
assessing their own performance, even when the
evaluations are not accurate
The Psychology
of Women
Chapter 6
Gender Comparisons in
Social and Personality
Characteristics
Introduction
Theoretical Background
Social Constructionist Approach: We construct
or invent our own versions of reality, based on
prior experiences, social interactions, and beliefs.
Introduction
Theoretical Background (continued)
Social-Setting Factors Related to Size of Gender
Differences in Social and Personality
Characteristics
1. Gender differences are usually largest when
other people are present.
• 2. Gender differences are generally largest
when gender is prominent and other shared
roles are minimized.
• 3. Gender differences are usually largest when
the behavior requires specific gender-related
skills.
Communication Patterns
Verbal Communication
Talkativeness
Interruptions
• Status
Language Style
The Content of Language
Communication Patterns
Nonverbal Communication
Personal Space
Body Posture
Gaze
Facial Expression
• Smiling
• Anger
Decoding Ability
• Facial Expressions
• Vocal Cues
Communication Patterns
Nonverbal Communication (continued)
Facial Expression
• Smiling
• Anger
Decoding Ability
• Facial Expressions
• Vocal Cues
Communication Patterns
Potential Explanations for Gender
Differences in Communication
Power and Social Status Explanations
Social Learning Explanations
Conclusions
Characteristics Related
to Helping and Caring
Altruism
Hypothetical Scenarios
Heroism
Social Role
Nurturance
Who finds babies interesting and engaging?
Operational Definitions
Characteristics Related
to Helping and Caring
Empathy
1. Females and males are equally empathic
when the operational definition requires
physiological measures.
2. Females and males are equally empathic
when the operational definition requires
nonverbal measures.
3. Females are more empathic than males when
the operational definition is based on selfreport.
Characteristics Related
to Helping and Caring
Friendship
The Nature of Girls' and Boys' Same-Gender
Friendships
• Individuals
• Groups
• Self-disclosure
Characteristics Related
to Helping and Caring
Friendship
The Nature of Women’s and Men’s
Friendships
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What friends do
Intimacy & self-disclosure
Qualities important for an intimate friendship
How Women and Men Help Their Friends
Characteristics Related
to Aggression and Power
Gender and Aggression: The Social
Constructionist Perspective
The Language of Aggression
Cultural Constructions of Aggression
Characteristics Related
to Aggression and Power
Physical Aggression Versus Relational
Aggression
Physical Aggression
Relational Aggression
Preschoolers
Characteristics Related
to Aggression and Power
Other Factors Related to Gender and
Aggression
1. Gender differences are relatively large when
measuring spontaneous aggression.
2. Gender differences are relatively large when
the individuals know each other.