Sex‐Role Stereotypes: A Current Appraisal¹

Abstract

Consensus about the differing characteristics of men and women exists across groups differing in sex, age, marital status, and education. Masculine characteristics are positively valued more often than feminine characteristics. Positively‐valued masculine traits form a cluster entailing competence; positively‐valued feminine traits reflect warmth‐expressiveness. Sex‐role definitions are incorporated into the self‐concepts of both men and women; moreover, these sex‐role differences are considered desirable by college students and healthy by mental health professionals. Individual differences in sex related self‐concepts are related to sex‐role relevant behaviors such as achieved and ideal family size. Sex‐role perceptions also vary as a function of maternal employment.

Role congruity theory of prejudice toward female leaders.

“…However, essentially similar descriptive beliefs about the communal and agentic qualities of the sexes are apparently held by men and women, students and older adults, people who differ in social class and income, and citizens of many nations (e.g., Broverman et al, 1972;Jackman, 1994;Survey Research Consultants International, 1998; J. E. Williams & Best, 1990a). Research thus suggests more constancy in the stereotypes that people hold about women and men than the stereotypes they hold about leaders.…”

“…Evidence that descriptive norms-or stereotypes-are associated with women and men is abundant: People believe that each sex has typical-and divergent-traits and behaviors (e.g., Broverman, Vogel, Broverman, Clarkson, & Rosenkrantz, 1972;Newport, 2001; J. E. Williams & Best, 1990a). A key proposition of social role theory is that the majority of these beliefs about the sexes pertain to communal and agentic attributes (Bakan, 1966;Eagly, 1987).…”

Implicit social cognition: Attitudes, self-esteem, and stereotypes.

“…Banaji, Hardin, and Rothman (1993) used a variant of Higgins et al's procedure to extend the concept of implicit stereotyping. On the basis of documented stereotypes that link males to the trait of aggressiveness and females to the trait of dependence (see Basow, 1986;Broverman, Vogel, Broverman, Clarkson, & Rosenkrantz, 1972), Banaji et al (1993) asked whether activating one of these traits would differentially influence judgments about male and female target persons. The prediction was that the activated trait might influence judgments only for the category (male or female) for which the trait was stereotypically appropriate, thereby demonstrating implicit operation of the stereotype.…”

Estereotipos de género, maternidad y empleo: un análisis psicosociológico

“…Sin entrar aquí en la cuestión de si estas diferencias existen realmente o no, lo cual sería objeto de la psicología diferencial, lo que la psicología social ha demostrado es que la gente cree que existen y utiliza dicotomías muy similares a la de Simmel para describir a hombres y mujeres. Las primeras investigaciones en las que se analizó el contenido de los estereotipos de género (Broverman, Vogel, Broverman, Clarkson y Rosenkrantz, 1972;Rosenkrantz, Vogel, Bee, Broverman y Broverman, 1968) establecieron una distinción entre los rasgos relacionados con la competencia y los asociados a la expresividad emocional, dicotomía que es conceptualmente similar a la que estudios posteriores utilizaron para distinguir entre instrumentalidad y expresividad (Spence, Helmrecih y Stapp, 1975), o entre agencia y comunalidad (Deaux y Lewis, 1984;Eagly y Steffen, 1984;Williams y Best, 1982). En todas estas dicotomías los hombres se perciben como competentes, asertivos, independientes y orientados hacia el poder y el logro, mientras que las mujeres se perciben como afectivas, dependientes, sociables, poco preocupadas por ellas mismas y orientadas hacia los demás.…”