The Psychology of Gender 4th Edition

Gender-Role Attitudes 95

became more masculine and less feminine over

time—especially so in the case of Brazil and

Chile (Diekman et al., 2005). Diekman and

colleagues concluded that the political changes

that had taken place in Brazil and Chile in the

past decade had led to greater participation of

women in the public spheres, which accounts

for the greater increase in masculine traits.

There was little change in stereotypes of men.

All in all, there has been little change in the con-

tent of gender-role stereotypes.

There is also evidence that the differential

status between men and women can account

for gender-role stereotypes (Gerber, 2009). If

status accounts for gender-role stereotypes,

then the stereotype that men are agentic and

women are communal ought to disappear

when men and women are in the same status.

Studies show that high-status people (men and

women) are perceived as more instrumen-

tal and assertive, and that low-status people

(men and women) are perceived as more

expressive and submissive. Status also affects

men’s and women’s perceptions of themselves.

When men and women hold the same high-

status positions in organizations, they rate their

own behavior as more instrumental and asser-

tive than their low-status counterparts; men

and women in low-status positions rate their

behavior as more expressive.

Another way to learn about whether

society’s stereotypes of women and men have

changed is to examine depictions of women

and men on television. Three of the most

popular sitcoms in the 1980s reflected the

emphasis on androgyny:Family Ties, Grow-

ing Pains, andThe Cosby Show. All three de-

picted feminine-looking, dedicated mothers

who were professionals in male-dominated

fields (architect, writer, and lawyer). The

shows also featured devoted fathers who were

professionals in fields that required sensitiv-

ity and concern for others (educational pro-

gram producer for a PBS station, psychiatrist,

“Let’s be fair, there have been worse incidents

in games than that. I think we are somewhat

sexist in our opinion of the sport. I think maybe

people are alarmed to see a woman do that, but

men do a hell of a lot worse things. Was it good

behavior? No, but because it’s coming from a

woman, they made it a headline.”

Behavior that actually differs between

women and men also may appear similar be-

cause of shifting standards. For example, you

might believe men are helpful because they

stop and help someone with a flat tire. You

might also believe women are helpful be-

cause people are more likely to seek support

from a woman than a man. But the behaviors

are different and not necessarily comparable.

Taken collectively, these studies show

it is difficult to assess the accuracy of stereo-

types. We may perceive men and women to

behave differently because sex differences in

behavior truly exist. Or it may be that our

stereotypes about men and women affect our

interpretation of the behavior.

What Is the Status of Stereotypes Today?

Have stereotypes changed over time? Luep-

tow, Garovich-Szabo, and Lueptow (2001)

examined college students’ perceptions of

the typical female and typical male from

seven separate samples collected over 23

years—1974 through 1997. They found little

evidence that stereotyping of women and men

had decreased over time and even found some

evidence of an increase. A study of adolescents

showed that the vast majority assumed that

men and women were clearly different from

one another and specified traits of the typical

woman and typical man that are consistent

with gender-role stereotypes (Nunner-Winkler,

Meyer-Nikele, & Wohlrab, 2007). A study of

young adults from the United States, Brazil,

and Chile showed that stereotypes of women

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