80 Chapter 3may rely more on this individuating infor-
mation than the gender-role stereotype. That
is,category-based expectanciesoccur when
you do not know much about a person except
the category to which he or she belongs—in
this case, sex. In the absence of any other in-
formation aside from sex, you might assume
sex-related traits and sex-related preferences.
Target-based expectanciesare the percep-
tions you have about a person based on in-
dividuating information. Once you acquire
more information about a specific target, be-
sides the person’s sex, you will use that infor-
mation to make judgments. As evidence of
this, Chang and Hitchon (2004) had college
students read about either a male or a female
political candidate in which information on
competence about traditionally masculine is-
sues (e.g., economy, national security) or tradi-
tionally feminine issues (e.g., education, health
care) was present or absent. In the absence of
information, people relied on category-based
expectancies and judged the female candidate
as more competent on feminine issues and
the male candidate as more competent onthe same person is that the first description fits
our male gender-role stereotype and the sec-
ond fits our female gender-role stereotype.
Stereotypes have descriptive and pre-
scriptive components (Fiske & Stevens, 1993).
The descriptive component identifies the fea-
tures of the stereotype. The trait features of
the female and male stereotypes are likely to
be those found on the PAQ (Personal Attri-
butes Questionnaire) and BSRI (Bem Sex Role
Inventory) femininity and masculinity inven-
tories. The descriptive aspect of stereotypes is
limiting, as we judge feminine women as less
competent for leadership positions and mascu-
line men as less capable of nurturing children.
The prescriptive component of a ste-
reotype is how we think peopleoughtto
behave due to their sex. The prescriptive
component of gender-role stereotypes says
that men should be masculine and women
should be feminine. Other people enforce
the prescriptive component of a stereotype.
If you are a man who does not want a career
but would prefer to stay home and take care
of a family, how will other people react? If
you are a female who wants a career and does
not want to have children, how will others
react? There is a great deal of pressure from
other people to adhere to gender roles.
Gender-role stereotypes differ from many
other stereotypes because gender is a category
that is activated immediately upon meeting
someone. One of the first things that you notice
about a person is her or his sex. Imagine you see
a baby, such as the one in Figure 3.6. The baby
has long hair, so it must be a she. If the baby is
dressed in blue (as the caption says), it must be
a he. You might become extremely uncomfort-
able because you do not know which pronoun
to use. Most people are greatly concerned about
referring to a baby by the wrong sex.
However, once you acquire information
about a person other than his or her sex, youFIGURE 3.6 Photograph of a baby dressed in
blue with a lot of hair. Is it a boy or a girl?M03_HELG0185_04_SE_C03.indd 80 6/21/11 12:22 PM