When Searching Hurts: The Role of Information Search in Reactions to Gender Discrimination

Abstract

Two laboratory studies conducted with Dutch students explored women's motivation to search for evidence of gender discrimination and its effects on psychological well-being. Study 1 (N=161) considered situational self-relevance of one's personal outcomes (personal failure or success) on women's motivation to collect information about gender discrimination. Study 2 (N=106) manipulated information search and studied its effects on well-being when information contains evidence of gender discrimination or personal failure. Results revealed that women are motivated to search for evidence of discrimination when outcomes are highly self-relevant (Study 1) or the need to search is high (Study 2). Furthermore women suffer from evidence of prejudice, but only when they are personally affected by this prejudice and evidence suggests it is pervasive.

Detecting and Experiencing Prejudice

“…In turn, the amount of information they sought predicted the likelihood that they realized that the procedure had been gender biased (Stroebe et al, 2010). Thus, this research reveals that the personal significance of specific performance or outcome domains can drive perceptions of prejudice, because individuals are more likely to search for information that might unveil prejudicial treatment when the domain is self-relevant than when it is not.…”

“…A first example of such an effect was observed in a series of studies in which female research participants were subjected to a simulated job selection procedure and were rejected by a male interviewer (Stroebe, Barreto, & Ellemers, 2010). They then received the opportunity to select and read information about the qualifications and outcomes of other male and female participants, which would allow them to discover that the selection decisions were systematically gender biased.…”

“…Because the self-relevance of a particular outcome is crucial in motivating the search for information that might uncover discriminatory treatment (Stroebe et al, 2010), if individuals are not personally rejected, they can easily remain unaware that others in their group are targets of discrimination, which constitutes an additional reason why they may fail to display solidarity toward less fortunate group members.…”

Everyday Confrontation of Discrimination: The Well-Being Costs and Benefits to Women over Time

“…This group is most vulnerable to negative health outcomes (Branscombe et al, 1999;Foster & Dion, 2003;Foster, Jackson, Hartmann & Woulfe, 2004;Schmitt, Branscombe, Kobrynowicz & Owen, 2002;Stroebe, Barreto & Ellemers, 2010), and therefore most in need of positive interventions. Moreover, because perceived pervasiveness is positively related to taking action (Foster, 2000(Foster, , 2001(Foster, , 2009a) the variability in confrontations could be maximized.…”

“What I wanted to do was…” Discrepancies Between College Women’s Desired and Reported Responses to Gender Prejudice

“…While the specific factors that women appraise when deciding how to respond to prejudice may differ given the cultural context, it is likely that the model of examining the situation and considering the potential costs and benefits of various responses will apply in many countries other than the United States. For example, a recent study examined how Dutch college students' search for evidence of gender discrimination was influenced by how self-relevant the outcomes were or how high the need was to know if they had experienced discrimination (Stroebe et al 2010). This study suggests that Dutch women considered the potential benefits and costs of acknowledging and addressing gender discrimination.…”