Importance of stereotype consistency of outgroup favoritism among women under varying conditions of perceived legitimacy

Abstract

Scope and Method of Study: In its modern form gender hegemony is based on persuasion rather than conflict (Jackman, 1994) where the inculcation of status beliefs sanctioned by women sustains benevolent sexism (Glick & Fiske, 2001). Systems justification theory (Jost & Banaji, 1994) explains gender outgroup favoritism as females exhibiting a preference for male traits which are markers for status and stereotyping women with less valued status markers that perpetuate inequality (Jost & Kay, 2005). This status value asymmetry effect was examined in the current experiment by exposing female participants to legitimate or illegitimate stereotype consistent information using stimuli from a stereotype threat situation.

Findings and Conclusions: The female participants evidenced a strong tendency to stereotype men differently than women. While women were described as possessing both status relevant and status irrelevant traits men were described using status relevant traits exclusively. The hypothesis of a legitimization effect for outgroup favoritism on status relevant traits was only partially supported and then only when the trait Confident was included. This suggests that being exposed to information which legitimized the stereotype of men as naturally superior to women in math and science may have activated a stereotype threat frame of reference where men would be perceived as more competent and more confident as a result (Smith, 2004). These data suggest that the content of the stereotypes for men and women among females are gender hegemonic and thus highly resistant to change in a manner consistent with the null education environments hypothesis (Betz & Fitzgerald, 1987).