The Psychology of Gender 4th Edition

100 Chapter 3

1. In what areas have attitudes toward
   men’s and women’s roles become
   less traditional over time, and in
   what areas have they remained
   unchanged?


2. What is the difference between
   hostile and benevolent sexism?


3. Who is most likely to hold
   benevolent sexist beliefs?


4. What demographic and personality
   variables would you expect to
   be related to homophobia and
   transphobia?


5. How do gender-role stereotypes
   relate to self-perceptions of gender
   role discussed in Chapter 2?
   6. Why is it difficult to change
   gender-role stereotypes? How would
   you go about trying to change
   someone’s gender-role stereotype?
   7. A majority of studies on gender-role
   stereotypes have been conducted
   on Caucasian, middle-class adults,
   typically college students. In what
   ways have these samples limited our
   research?
   8. In what ways does it seem that
   stereotypes of women and men have
   changed? In what ways, are they the
   same?
   9. How can gender-role stereotypes be
   harmful? Can they ever be helpful?

Discussion Questions

attitudes toward LGBT persons, in the form of

homophobia and transphobia. I presented the

components of gender-role stereotypes and

how those components are influenced by race

and ethnicity, sexual orientation, and age. I

presented data on the problems with gender-

role stereotypes, including how they affect

perception and behavior. There are difficulties

in changing gender-role stereotypes, in

particular because stereotype-inconsistent

behavior is often unnoticed, attributed

to situational causes, or viewed as

more extreme. Sexism and gender-

role stereotyping are antecedents to sex

discrimination, which I discussed in the

context of a Supreme Court ruling that

utilized data on gender-role stereotyping

in reaching its decision.

Biernat, M. (2003). Toward a broader

view of social stereotyping.American

Psychologist, 58, 1019–1027.

Fiske, S. T., Bersoff, D. N., Borgida, E., Deaux,

K., & Heilman, M. E. (1991). Social science

research on trial: Use of sex stereotyping

research inPrice Waterhouse v. Hopkins.

American Psychologist, 46, 1049–1060.

Glick, P., & Fiske, S. T. (2001). An

ambivalent alliance: Hostile and

benevolent sexism as complementary

justifications for gender inequality.

American Psychologist, 56, 109–118.

Horn, S. S., Kosciw, J. G., & Russell, S. T.

(2009). Special issue introduction: New

research on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and

transgender youth: Studying lives in

context.Journal of Youth and Adolescence,

38 , 863–866.

Martin, C. L., & Ruble, D. N. (2010).

Patterns of gender development.Annual

Review of Psychology, 61, 353–381.

Suggested Reading

M03_HELG0185_04_SE_C03.indd 100 6/21/11 12:22 PM