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
• 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
• 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
• 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

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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• schooling
• literacy rates
• employment
• birth rates and infant mortality

Factors That Shape
Gender Typing
The Media
Television and Videogames
• 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
• 1. Genetic explanations
• 2. Hormonal explanations
• 3. Brain organization explanations
Lateralization

Cognitive Abilities
Explaining the Gender Comparisons
Experience as an Explanation
• 1. Different experiences with mathematics and spatial activities outside school
• 2. Parents and teachers may provide different experiences for males and females
• 3. Lack of positive images & role models

Cognitive Abilities
Explaining the Gender Comparisons
Attitudes as an Explanation
• 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

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
• 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.