This article presents a four-category framework to characterize the contents of prescriptive gender stereotypes. The framework distinguishes between prescriptions and proscriptions that are intensified by virtue of one's gender, and those that are relaxed by virtue of one's gender. Two studies examined the utility of this framework for characterizing prescriptive gender stereotypes in American society (Study 1) and in the highly masculine context of Princeton University (Study 2). The results demonstrated the persistence of traditional gender prescriptions in both contexts, but also revealed distinct areas of societal vigilance and leeway for each gender. In addition, they showed that women are seen more positively, relative to societal standards, than are men. We consider the implications of this framework for research on reactions to gender stereotype deviants and sex discrimination.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AntillJ. K.CunninghamJ. D.RussellG.ThompsonN. L. (1981). An Australian sex-role scale. Australian Journal of Psychology, 33, 169–183.
2.
AusterC. J.OhmS. C. (2000). Masculinity and femininity in contemporary American society: A reevaluation using the Bem Sex-Role Inventory. Sex Roles, 43, 499–528.
3.
BemS. L. (1974). The measurement of psychological androgyny. Journal of Clinical and Consulting Psychology, 42, 155–162.
4.
BemS. L. (1981). Bem Sex-Role Inventory: Professional ManualPalo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press, Inc.
5.
BettencourtB. A.DillK. E.GreathouseS. A.CharltonK.MulhollandA. (1997). Evaluations of ingroup and outgroup members: The role of category-based expectancy violation. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 33, 224–275.
6.
BiernatM.KobrynowiczD. (1997). Gender- and race-based standards for competence: Lower minimum standards but higher ability standards for devalued groups. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72, 544–557.
7.
BrovermanI. K.VogelS. R.BrovermanD. M.ClarksonF. E.RosenkrantzP. S. (1972). Sex-role stereotypes: Acurrent appraisal. Journal of Social Issues, 28, 59–78.
8.
BrysonJ. B.CoreyD. M. (1977). Sex-diagnosticity in 100 personality trait adjectives. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 3, 301–304.
9.
BurgessD.BorgidaE. (1999). Who women are, who women should be: Descriptive and prescriptive gender stereotyping and sex discrimination. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 5, 665–692.
10.
ButlerD.GeisF. (1990). Nonverbal affect responses to male and female leaders: Implications for leadership evaluations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58, 48–59.
11.
CostrichN.FeinsteinJ.KidderL.MarecekJ.PascalL. (1975). When stereotypes hurt: Three studies of penalties for sex-role reversals. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 11, 520–530.
12.
DiekmanA. B.EaglyA. H. (2000). Stereotypes as dynamic constructs: Women and men of the past, present, and future. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 26, 1171–1188.
13.
EaglyA. H. (1987). Sex differences in social behavior: Asocial-role interpretationHillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
14.
FiskeS. T.BersoffD. N.BorgidaE.DeauxK.HeilmanM. (1991). Social science research on trial: Use of sex stereotyping research in Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins. American Psychologist, 46, 1049–1060.
15.
FoschiM. (1996). Double standards in the evaluation of men and women. Social Psychology Quarterly, 59, 237–254.
16.
FoschiM. (2000). Double standards for competence: Theory and research. Annual Review of Sociology, 26, 21–42.
17.
GlickP.FiskeS. T. (1999). Sexism and other “isms”: Interdependence, status, and the ambivalent content of stereotypes. In SwannW. B.LangloisJ. H.GilbertL. A. (Eds.), Sexism and stereotypes in modern society (pp. 193–221. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
18.
HarrisA. C. (1994). Ethnicity as a determinant of sex role identity: A replication study of item selection for the Bem Sex Role Inventory. Sex Roles, 31, 241–273.
19.
HoffmanC.HurstN. (1990). Gender stereotypes: Perception or rationalization?Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58, 197–208.
20.
HoltC. L.EllisJ. B. (1998). Assessing the current validity of the Bem Sex-Role Inventory. Sex Roles, 39, 929–941.
21.
JostJ. T.BanajiM. R. (1994). The role of stereotyping in system-justification and the production of false consciousness. British Journal of Social Psychology, 33, 1–27.
22.
JussimL.ColemanL.LerchL. (1987). The nature of stereotypes: A comparison and integration of three theories. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 536–546.
23.
KellyJ. A.CaudillM. S.HathornS.O'BrienC. G. (1977). Socially undesirable sex-correlated characteristics: Implications for androgyny and adjustment. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 45, 1185–1186.
24.
KundaZ.Sherman-WilliamsB. (1993). Stereotypes and the construal of individuating information. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 19, 90–99.
25.
MadonS.JussimL.KeiperS.EcclesJ.SmithA.PalumboP. (1998). The accuracy and power of sex, social class, and ethnic stereotypes: A naturalistic study in person perception. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 24, 1307–1318.
26.
McHughM. C.FriezeI. H. (1997). The measurement of gender-role attitudes: A review and commentary. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21, 1–16.
27.
OlsonJ. M.RoeseN. J.ZannaM. P. (1996). Expectancies. In HigginsE. T.KruglanskiA. R. (Eds.), Social psychology: Handbook of basic principles (pp. 211–238. New York: Guilford.
28.
PrenticeD. A.CarranzaE. (in press). Sustaining cultural beliefs in the face of their violation: The case of gender stereotypes. In SchallerM.CrandallC. S. (Eds.), Psychological foundations of cultureMahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
29.
RudmanL. A. (1998). Self-promotion as a risk factor for women: The costs and benefits of counterstereotypical impression management. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 629–645.
30.
RudmanL. A.GlickP. (1999). Implicit gender stereotypes and backlash toward agentic women: The hidden costs to women of a kinder, gentler image of managers. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77, 1004–1010.
31.
SidaniusJ.PrattoF. (1999). Social dominanceNew York: Cambridge.
32.
SpenceJ. T.HelmreichR. L.HolahanC. K. (1979). Negative and positive components of psychological masculinity and femininity and theory relationships to self-reports of neurotic and acting out behaviors. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 1673–82.
33.
SpenceJ. T.HelmreichR. L.StappJ. (1975). Ratings of self and peers on sex role attributes and their relation to self-esteem and conceptions of masculinity and femininity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 32, 29–39.
34.
StoppardJ. M.KalinR. (1978). Can gender stereotypes and sex-role conceptions be distinguished?British Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 17, 211–217.
35.
StrickerG. (1977). Implications of research for psychotherapeutic treatment of women. American Psychologist, 32, 14–22.
36.
TepperB. J.BrownS. J.HuntM. D. (1993). Strength of subordinates' upward influence tactics and gender congruency effects. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 23, 1903–1919.
