Gender Final Slides 2024 PDF

GENDER Nathan Heflick, PhD Social Psychology Week 4, Lecture 2 1 This lecture comes with a content warning. If you are likely to find these themes distressing, make sure you look after yourself. Potentially sensitive topics: Gender, Sexuality, Sexual Objectification, Sexua...

GENDER Nathan Heflick, PhD Social Psychology Week 4, Lecture 2 1 This lecture comes with a content warning. If you are likely to find these themes distressing, make sure you look after yourself. Potentially sensitive topics: Gender, Sexuality, Sexual Objectification, Sexual Abuse/Rape/Assault (no images or detailed descriptions; the content just reports studies on how sexualization can impact views of people who were abused), Victim Blaming, Sexism, Mental Health 2  WHAT IS GENDER? Gender: – “socially constructed roles, behaviours, expectations and attributes that a society or culture deems appropriate for men and women” Sex: – “biological and physiological characteristics that historically have been used to define men and women” Gender Identity: – What gender a person characterizes and describes themselves as 3 GENDER “Transitioni ng from a man to a woman was the hardest thing I can imagine” – Caitlyn 4 Jenner  WHO DECIDES WHO IS A WOMAN? The negative media reaction (examples) 1- She is not a woman because she did not have the life experiences of a woman (“she will never know what it is like to have her first period” – The Blaze columnist) 2- She is not a woman because she does not have female body parts Read any comments section on the internet, and it is a bit shocking what some people say about her 5  WHAT DOES THIS SUGGEST? 1- (many) People take gender roles very seriously. And, they get quite worked up about this (people get quite worked up by lots of things that are non-normative) 2- Gender in everyday social perception isn’t just biology, or psychology 3- (many) People think they can prescribe gender to other people that is counter to what those individuals want 4- Some people believe they are living with (and were born with) the wrong body 6  A NOTE ON GENDER RESEARCH Research is just now beginning to accumulate across diverse gender identities. This includes work being conducted at the University of Lincoln e.g., – Kamila Irvine’s work on body image in trans individuals – Ruth Gaunt and I’s (about to start) work on social identity in gender diverse populations and applying the stereotype content model to gender diverse populations – Annemieke van den Tol’s research on how people judge parents across the gender spectrum. 7  ALL THIS IS TO SAY This research is extremely important, but in its infancy relative to research that for more than a century used almost exclusively a gender binary. This is for social-cultural reasons, but also a higher level of difficulty doing studies on gender and sexual minorities (research often relies on stats; stats rely on large numbers of participants; there are fewer people in these groups which make them harder to study). As such, this lecture will focus on research using a gender binary though fortunately the dynamic of gender research is becoming much more inclusive. 8  GENDER STEREOTYPES Alice Eagly’s research: – Men are stereotyped as higher on “agentic” traits Intelligence, physical power, capability, dominance – Women are stereotyped as higher on “communal” traits Other before self, warmth, kindness, cooperation Heilman, M. E., & Eagly, A. H. (2008). Gender stereotypes are alive, well, and busy producing workplace discrimination. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 1(4), 393-398. 9  STEREOTYPES Stereotypes are widely held beliefs. They do not necessarily reflect the beliefs of any one person They certainly do not reflect mine. – I am teaching the general views of others based on research. – I am in no way endorsing these views (nor is anyone else in the module or university) 10 11 12  TYPES OF SEXISM Benevolent sexism: not as directly aversive views of women that promote inequality – “women should be protected by men” – “a good woman should be set on a pedestal by her man” Hostile sexism: More clear, direct, negative views of women – “women exaggerate the problems they have at work” – “Once a woman gets a man to commit to her, she usually puts him on a tight leash” Ambivalent sexism: – Mixed valence stereotypes about women that both serve to promote gender inequality Glick, P., & Fiske, S. T. (1996). The ambivalent sexism inventory: Differentiating hostile and benevolent sexism. Journal of Personality and Social 13 Psychology, 70(3), 491.  HOW ARE POSITIVE BELIEFS A PROBLEM? The problem isn’t the desire, or the willingness, to – for instance – put women on pedestals or try and protect women even. The problem lies in the expectation that it is completely necessary, or that it is a man’s responsibility to do this for a woman because she can’t do this for herself Benevolent sexism is often patronizing Benevolent sexism is also associated with traditional gender role beliefs + with less willingness to hire women for certain occupations 14  STEREOTYPE CONTENT MODEL Groups of people are stereotyped on two primary dimensions: – Warmth and competence Women are evaluated as higher in warmth, and lower on competence than men – (indeed, they usually are rated as more liked than men in studies!) Men are evaluated as lower in warmth, and higher in competence than women Fiske, S. T., Cuddy, A. J., Glick, P., & Xu, J. (2002). A Cuddy, A. J., Fiske, S. T., & model of (often mixed) stereotype content: competence Glick, P. (2008). Warmth and and warmth respectively follow from perceived status and competence as universal competition. Journal of Personality and Social dimensions of social Psychology, 82(6), 878. perception: The stereotype content model and the BIAS map. Advances in Experimental Social 15 Psychology, 40, 61-149.  HIGH WARMTH/LOW(ISH) COMPETENCE This stereotype is associated with: Pity/sympathy Consistent with the idea that views of women are often, unfortunately, a bit patronizing Cuddy, A. J., Fiske, S. T., & Glick, P. (2008). Warmth and competence as universal dimensions of social perception: The stereotype content model and the BIAS map. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 40, 61-149. 16  WOMEN AT WORK Rudman and Glick 2001 – Asked people who they would hire – One woman was described as highly talented and capable in terms of intelligence and skills, and also as friendly – One woman was described as just kind and friendly *when the job called for kindness and friendliness, the woman being described as intelligent and highly skilled was less likely to get the job, even when described as friendly as well* Rudman, L. A., & Glick, P. (2001). Prescriptive gender stereotypes and backlash toward agentic women. Journal of Social Issues, 57(4), 743-762. 17  STEREOTYPES OF Parks-Stamm:WOMEN AT WORK – In this research, women who were described as successful at work were later regarded as less friendly and kind (by other women) – This resulted in the women (the raters, the criticizers) having higher levels of self-esteem Heilman & Okimoto: – In this research, women were described as either very business oriented (with a family) or as just having a family – Women who were described as business oriented were later rated as less friendly Heilman, Similar M. E., & Okimoto, results haveT.not G. been found for men (2007). Why are women penalized Parks-Stamm, E. J., Heilman, M. E., & Hearns, K. A. for success at male tasks?: the (2008). Motivated to penalize: Women's strategic rejection implied communality of successful women. Personality and Social Psychology deficit. Journal of Applied Bulletin, 34(2), 237-247. Psychology, 92(1), 81. 18  PRECARIOUS MANHOOD Vandello + Bosson – Manhood is tenuous, and requires constant social approval – Thus, men are motivated to maintain their sense of masculinity, especially when it comes under question – Masculinity is associated with agentic/power qualities, and with a lack off feminine traits. (the tendency to distance from the traits associated with the opposite gender is much stronger among men than women) Vandello, J. A., Bosson, J. K., Cohen, D., Burnaford, R. M., & Weaver, J. R. (2008). Precarious manhood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95(6), 1325. 19  PRECARIOUS MANHOOD Masculinity is threatened: – Gender knowledge test – Playing with a doll (braiding hair vs. playing with rope) – Chance to affirm heterosexuality or not – Scoring low on a strength test What do these threats do? Vandello, J. A., & Bosson, J. K. (2013). Hard won and easily lost: A review and synthesis of theory and research on precarious manhood. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 14(2), 101. 20  PRECARIOUS MANHO0D Elevated risk taking on a gambling task Increased likelihood of a man choosing to display aggression Increased force with which they show aggression Increased prejudice towards effeminate men Increased anxiety and stress levels – (particularly for men who do not identify as high in masculinity; Caswell, 2013) More discomfort with a hypothetical partner making more money than them – (even if it means making more money total, so men would rather make £20,000 and she make £15,000 than the man make £50000 and she makes £7000, for instance) Vandello, J. A., & Bosson, J. K. (2013). Hard won and easily lost: A review and synthesis of theory and research on precarious manhood. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 14(2), 101. 21  RANDOM LIFE EXAMPLES (OR PRECARIOUS MANHOOD) My friend Kevin Every single time I purchase alcohol Walking my apricot poodle down the street My friend Anthony 22  GENDER NON- CONFORMITY Evidence that homosexuality elicits disgust more readily than heterosexual sex – Particularly towards the guy in the “receiver” role – Particularly towards gay male sex as well Evidence that women with hairy armpits/legs elicit more disgust than women without hair Evidence that transgender people face even more prejudice than homosexual and bisexual people Tebbe, E. N., & Moradi, B. (2012). Anti- *link back to attribution lecture and role of choice* transgender prejudice: A structural equation model of associated constructs. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 59(2), 251. 23  SOCIAL CONSENSUS Heflick + Ferguson, unpublished Men and women saw a woman on the screen with hairy legs They were told the study was gauging British attitudes toward various moral topics As such, they were provided with –actually faked – data that either 73% or 37% of people think that this image is disgusting They then were asked to rate the woman on a variety of things: – How much they think she is warm + competent – How much they would want to hang out with her WHEN PEOPLE THOUGHT THAT OTHERS THOUGHT IT WAS DISGUSTING, THEY RATED THE WOMAN WORSE. Social consensus determined the views of gender non- conformity. (so long as the people identified with British culture) 24  AGGRESSION AND SOCIAL PERCEPTION Vandello: – Asked hundreds of university students to rate men’s behaviour in hypothetical situations in which they displayed various levels of aggression or peacekeeping – Men rated how they thought women would rate the man’s aggression – Women rated their views on the man’s behaviour What do you think happened? Men thought aggression was more attractive to women than it is! Vandello, J. A., Ransom, S., Hettinger, V. E., & Askew, K. (2009). Men’s misperceptions about the acceptability and attractiveness of aggression. Journal of Experimental 25 Social Psychology, 45(6), 1209-1219.  GENDER + AGGRESSION Across all cultures, men are more physically aggressive and violent than women are But, women tend to score higher on indirect aggression (e.g., negative talk about others) 26  GENDER + EMOTIONAL EXPRESSION Anger is perceived of as more masculine than feminine Women (for instance leaders) are evaluated more negatively for expressing anger than men are In identical contexts, anger is also attributed more to internal traits about the woman than it is when men do it – (it is less normative in people’s minds, therefore it is more a trait of the person when it is a woman) Sadness is more socially accepted for women than men, however Overall, in all cultures, men tend to be viewed as less emotional than women Plant, E. A., Hyde, J. S., Keltner, D., & Devine, P. – (anger excluded) Nunn, J. S., & Thomas, S. L. (1999). The angry male and the passive female: The role G. (2000). The gender stereotyping of of gender and self-esteem in anger expression. Social Behavior and Personality: An emotions. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 24, International Journal, 27(2), 145-153. 81-92. 27  WHY SMILE? Women smile more often than men in cross-cultural studies LaFrance & Hecht – Proposed that low status/power groups tend to have stricter rules in how they can be emotionally – Hence, women, as typically having less power/status, are more likely to smile as a social expectation (as opposed to a sign of actual joy) (one) Evolutionary view: – Women smile more because they (as smaller on average) need to signal warmth + cooperation as partLaFrance, M., Hecht, M. A., & Paluck, E. L. (2003). The of their survival contingent smile: a meta-analysis of sex differences in smiling. Psychological Bulletin, 129(2), 305. 28  GENDER + GRIEVING Men tend to grieve the loss of a spouse more intensely and chronically than women – This is due to a lack of social support, as well as norms urging men to be strong and not express emotions associated with a lack of control/dominance Women tend to grieve the loss of a newborn child and miscarriage more intensely than men do Stroebe, M. S. (1998). New directions in bereavement research: Exploration Goldbach, K. R., Dunn, D. S., Toedter, L. J., & Lasker, J. of gender differences. Palliative N. (1991). The effects of gestational age and gender on Medicine, 12(1), 5-12. grief after pregnancy loss. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 61(3), 461. 29  GENDER + ALTRUISM+ READING EMOTION Women tend to be more accurate at interpreting facial cues and emotion in voices: – Possibly evolved as a means of physical protection. When smaller, knowing who will harm/help is more important to survival Women also tend to score higher on empathy Women are more altruistic in private scenarios, and in long term care scenarios Men are more altruistic in situations in which they can be perceived of as Uskul, A. K., Paulmann, S., & Weick, M. (2016). Social Andreoni, J., & Vesterlund, L. (2001). Which is the fair sex? Gender differences in heroic power andofstrong and recognition emotional prosody: High power is altruism. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 116(1), 293-312. associated with lower recognition accuracy than low power. Emotion, 16(1), 11. 30  GENDER + VOICE USAGE Conversation analyses find that: – 1- Men speak more loudly on average than women – 2- Women tend to interrupt less – 3- Women swear less – 4-women use more indirect speech (would you mind turning down the tv vs. turn down the tv) – 5- Men tend to use more assertive language Crawford, M. (1995). Talking difference: On gender and language(Vol. 7). Sage. 31  OBJECTIFICATION Objectification Theory: (Fredrickson & Roberts) – Women are more likely to have their “worth” equated to their physical appearance than men are – Rules regarding female appearance are stricter, and more impossible, than standards for male appearance – As a result, women tend to internalize the importance of their own appearance (to their overall worth) more so than men Eating disorders, low body self-esteem, high body surveillance, more body shame, etc, are all more common among women than men, and girls than Calogero, R. M., Davis, W. N., & Fredrickson, boys B. L., & Roberts, T. A. (1997). Objectification Thompson, J. K. (2005). The role of theory: Toward understanding women's lived experiences self-objectification in the experience of and mental health risks. Psychology of Women women with eating disorders. Sex Quarterly, 21(2), 173-206. Roles, 52(1), 43-50. 32  SELF- OBJECTIFICATION When shown images of women in advertisements, or when focusing on their own appearance, or when imagining men focussing on their appearance, women show: – Reduced cognitive performance – Increased body dissatisfaction – Reduced physical movement – Reduced amount of time talking – Reduced desire to protest for women’s rights Saguy, T., Quinn, D. M., Dovidio, J. F., & Pratto, F. (2010). Interacting like a body: Moradi, B., & Huang, Y. P. (2008). Objectification theory Objectification can lead women to and psychology of women: A decade of advances and narrow their presence in social future directions. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 32(4), interactions. Psychological 377-398. Science, 21(2), 178-182. Calogero, R. M. (2013). Objects don’t object: Evidence that self-objectification disrupts women’s social activism. Psychological Science, 24(3), 312-318. 33  INTERPERSONAL OBJECTIFICATION How people perceive other people, and in particular women, depends on what they are focussing on A large number of studies have looked at how focussing on appearance in others vs. their personality impacts how they are perceived How is appearance focus manipulated? – Swimwear or lingerie or nudity vs. full clothing – Short statement about a person’s looks vs. their personality (using standard dress) – Different focus while watching a video clip (ability or appearance) Heflick, N. A., & Goldenberg, J. L. (2014). Seeing eye to body: The literal objectification of women. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 23(3), 225-229. 34  EARLIEST STUDIES Participants were shown an image of politician Sarah Palin (in a suit in both conditions) They then wrote about Palin’s appearance or her personality They then rated Palin on a series of traits, and how much those traits separated people from objects Palin was rated as higher on the traits perceived to be more “object-like” when people had been assigned to focus on her appearance People were also less likely to intend to vote for her (very ironic given the Republican strategy with her makeover) Heflick, N. A., & Goldenberg, J. L. (2009). Objectifying Sarah Palin: Evidence that objectification causes women to be perceived as less competent and less fully human. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45(3), 598-601. 35  FURTHER RESEARCH Similar design, but using clips instead of images: – Women, but not men, were viewed as less warm, competent and moral when focus was on their physical appearance Attractiveness of the person being focussed on did not matter Michelle Obama, an American newscaster, and several weather personalities were used Loughnan’s work: – Women and men, when dressed more sexually, were perceived as having less emotional and mental traits. – Women are more likely to be blamed for rape and sexual harassment against them when dressed in a more revealing way in the images shown (even when this attire was not worn during the hypothetical crime) Loughnan, S., Pina, A., Vasquez, E. A., & Puvia, E. (2013). Sexual objectification Heflick, N. A., Goldenberg, J. L., Cooper, D. P., & Puvia, E. (2011). increases rape victim blame and decreases perceived suffering. Psychology of From women to objects: Appearance focus, target gender, and Women Quarterly, 37(4), 455-461. perceptions of warmth, morality and competence. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 47(3), 572-581. 36  CIKARA + FISKE Men viewed images of naked women in an fMRI machine Men who scored high in hostile sexism had higher levels of activation in brain areas associated with tool usage and object manipulation when viewing these women than men low in sexism Bernard, P., Loughnan, S., Marchal, C., Godart, A., & Klein, O. (2015). The exonerating effect of sexual objectification: Sexual objectification decreases rapist blame in a stranger rape context. Sex Roles, 72(11-12), 499-508. Cikara, M., Eberhardt, J. L., & Fiske, S. T. (2011). From agents to objects: Sexist attitudes and neural responses to sexualized targets. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 23(3), 540-551. 37  EAGLY + SOCIAL ROLES But, this is way more pronounced in cultures that have huge income inequality between men and women If you look at women who are wealthier, or cultures with less income inequality between genders, this differences weaken greatly (culture/society reduces/shapes the evolved tendencies, or perhaps, these are a product of past cultures more so than evolution) Johannesen–Schmidt, M. C., & Eagly, A. H. (2002). Another look at sex differences in preferred mate characteristics: The effects of endorsing the traditional female gender role. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 26(4), 322-328. 38  SEXUAL ATTRACTION Gerulf Rieger’s work: – He finds (Using pupil dilation and other measurements) that women tend to be attracted to both men and women on a physical level. It doesn’t matter as much (as it does men) what sexual orientation women report – This is not the case for men. Most heterosexually identified men show a strong preference for women in terms of attraction. Most homosexually identified men show a strong preference for men. – Bisexually identified men and women are attracted to both sexes Rieger, G., Cash, B. M., Merrill, S. M., Jones-Rounds, J., Dharmavaram, S. M., & Savin-Williams, R. C. (2015). Sexual arousal: The correspondence of eyes and genitals. Biological Psychology, 104, 56-64. 39  HOMOPHOBIA + AROUSAL Most heterosexually identified men show a stronger attraction to women But, one study found something quite interesting; this differs by anti-gay prejudice – Men were rated on their prejudice towards homosexuals – Then then viewed gay male pornography Men who were the most anti-gay (toward men) in the self-report measure had the most sexual arousal to the gay male pornography Weinstein, N., Ryan, W. S., DeHaan, C. R., Przybylski, A. Adams, H. E., Wright, L. W., & Lohr, K., Legate, N., & Ryan, R. M. (2012). Parental autonomy B. A. (1996). Is homophobia support and discrepancies between implicit and explicit associated with homosexual sexual identities: dynamics of self-acceptance and arousal? Journal of Abnormal defense. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 105, 440–445. Psychology, 102(4), 815. 40 SEE YOU NEXT WEEK! 41