This study investigated the impact of television commercials on women's selfconfidence and independence of judgment. Two matched series of commercials served as stimuli. One series consisted of four replicas of current network commercials. The other series consisted of the same four commercials, identical in every respect except that each of the roles in the scenario was portrayed by a person of the opposite sex. Subjects (N = 52 college women) viewed either the traditional or reversed-role series. Those exposed to the nontraditional versions showed more independence of judgment in an Asch-type conformity test and displayed greater self-confidence when delivering a speech, thus supporting the hypothesis that commercials function as social cues to trigger and reinforce sex role stereotypes. The findings suggest that repeated exposure to nonstereotypic commercials might help produce positive and lasting behavioral changes in women.The greater power of the male to control his own destiny is part of the cultural stereotype of maleness and is inherent in the images of the two sexes portrayed on television and in print. (Maccoby & Jacklin, 1974, p. 157) Requests for reprints should be sent to Joyce

No abstract