The Psychology of Gender 4th Edition

244 Chapter 7

five students were assembled to work on

a decision-making task (Thomas-Hunt &

Phillips, 2004)—a task that was determined to

be masculine in nature. Each group contained

a female or a male expert; expertise was estab-

lished by individual performance on the task

prior to group discussion. Women and men

were equally likely to be defined as experts in

these groups, meaning there was no sex differ-

ence on individual performance. How did the

groups respond when there was a female or a

male expert in their midst? First, the female

experts were judged as having less knowledge

about the task than the male experts. Sec-

ond, female experts had less influence on the

group’s overall performance. Finally, groups

that contained a female expert had a poorer

outcome compared to groups that contained

a male expert. How can we explain these

findings? When an expert disagrees with the

group or offers an opinion that differs from

that of the group, it is possible that the con-

sequences are more negative for women than

men. To the extent women are aware of this

possibility, the female experts may have been

less likely to assert themselves. Thus as shown

in Figure 7.7, the minimal contribution of

the female expert could have accounted for

the poor outcomes. Negative stereotypes of

assertive females may lead female experts to

be more tentative, to minimize their contri-

butions, and to censor their remarks. The cu-

mulative effect of these behaviors is that the

group perceives the female expert to have less

expertise than the male expert and the female

expert ultimately has less influence on the

group outcome. In the end, the group is not

able to take advantage of the expertise of the

female compared to the male expert.

One reason that women who display

agentic qualities face difficulties as leaders

is that they are presumed to lack communal

qualities. Displays of agency seem to imply a

lack of communion. When students viewed a

masked person on a video, those who inferred

the leader was female rated her as more domi-

nant, more assertive, and less warm compared

to those who inferred that the leader was male

(Koch, 2004). A study of college students

showed that a high-agency man was viewed

as more qualified for a job that required social

skills than a high-agency woman (Rudman

& Glick, 2001), presumably because the high-

agency woman is thought to lack social skills.

Thus, it is not so much that masculine char-

acteristics harm women as it is that masculine

FIGURE 7.7 Model of how groups are not able to take advantage of female expertise.

Source: Adapted from Thomas-Hunt and Phillips (2004).

The Lack of Female Experts’ Influence of Groups

Negative

Stereotypes

of Assertive

Women

Female

Expert

Concern

with

Negative

Reaction

Female

Perceived

as Lacking

Expertise

Low Female

Influence

Poor

Group

Outcome

Self-Censorship

Decreased Self-Confidence

Tentative Language

Decreased Contributions

to Group

M07_HELG0185_04_SE_C07.indd 244 6/21/11 8:11 AM