Selective self-stereotyping

Gendered Self-Views Across 62 Countries: A Test of Competing Models

Social role theory posits that binary gender gaps in agency and communion should be larger in less egalitarian countries, reflecting these countries’ more pronounced sex-based power divisions. Conversely, evolutionary and self-construal theorists suggest that gender gaps in agency and communion should be larger in more egalitarian countries, reflecting the greater autonomy support and flexible self-construction processes present in these countries. Using data from 62 countries ( N = 28,640), we examine binary gender gaps in agentic and communal self-views as a function of country-level objective gender equality (the Global Gender Gap Index) and subjective distributions of social power (the Power Distance Index). Findings show that in more egalitarian countries, gender gaps in agency are smaller and gender gaps in communality are larger. These patterns are driven primarily by cross-country differences in men’s self-views and by the Power Distance Index (PDI) more robustly than the Global Gender Gap Index (GGGI). We consider possible causes and implications of these findings.

The Relationship Between Gender Self-Stereotyping and Life Satisfaction: The Mediation Role of Relational Self-Esteem and Personal Self-Esteem

Individuals voluntarily internalize gender stereotypes and present personality characteristics and behaviors that conform to gender role requirements. The aim of the current study was to explore the reasons people internalize gender stereotypes. We conducted surveys with 317 college students in China to examine the relationship between gender self-stereotyping and life satisfaction. We also analyzed the mediating roles of relational self-esteem (RSE) and personal self-esteem (PSE) and the moderation role of gender. The results of path analysis showed that gender self-stereotyping directly affected life satisfaction and indirectly affected life satisfaction through RSE and PSE in a serial pattern; however, the serial mediation model was only significant in the male sample. Higher gender self-stereotyping was associated with male participants’ higher level of RSE and PSE and further correlated with higher life satisfaction. This study addressed the questions: “What are the benefits of gender self-stereotyping?” and “What are the major barriers to counter-stereotyping?” The results enrich our understanding of these issues, especially relative to the collectivist culture in China, and may be used to create more effective interventions to help people break through the stereotypes.

Hungarian Roma and musical talent: Minority group members' experiences of an apparently positive stereotype

Minorities do not always welcome apparently positive stereotypes of their group. At first sight, this may appear churlish. However, we show that minority group members' theorizing on the production and operation of apparently positive stereotypes helps explain such a negative reaction. Reporting interview data (N = 30) gathered with Hungarian Roma, we differentiated several bases for a negative response to the popular stereotype of Roma as possessing a distinctive musical talent. Although participants recognized the stereotype had instrumental value in easing everyday intergroup encounters, they also reported that the stereotype reflected the majority group's power to define Roma identity; constrained recognition of qualities that they themselves valued; limited their abilities to act on terms that were their own; and could facilitate the reproduction of more negative Roma stereotypes. Taken together, these findings imply our participants saw this apparently positive stereotype as speaking volumes about the majority's power to define Roma identity without reference to how they themselves defined their identity. We conclude with a discussion of the analytic value of the concept of 'misrecognition' in explaining negative responses to a positive stereotype. We also discuss the potential for such an apparently positive stereotype to facilitate improvements in intergroup relations.

The seemingly 'protective' effect of internalised racism on overall health among 780 Black/African Americans: the serial mediation of stigma consciousness and locus of control

OBJECTIVE

Internalised racism (IR) is associated with better and worse health outcomes among racial/ethnic minorities. However, the underlying mechanisms associating IR with either positive or negative health outcomes are not well understood.Design & main outcomes measures: To address this gap, this study investigated two pathways that associate increased IR with better self-reported overall health (OH; i.e. dental, mental, physical and vision health) among 780 Black/African American adults (mean age 37.68 years, 57.6% female): (1) via stigma consciousness and (2) via stigma consciousness and locus of control beliefs.

RESULTS

Consistent with predictions, stigma consciousness mediated the indirect effect of IR on OH, such that higher IR was associated with lower stigma consciousness, which was associated with better self-reported OH. Confirming predictions, this indirect effect was also carried through locus of control beliefs, such that higher IR was associated with lower stigma consciousness; lower stigma consciousness was also associated with internal locus of control beliefs, which were associated with better self-reported OH.

CONCLUSIONS

Although seemingly protective, this adaptive, strategic and short-term response to race-based threat in which group stereotypes are internalised can lead to negative health outcomes over time. These findings have implications for understanding IR and associated health disparities.

Coping With Stigma in the Workplace: Understanding the Role of Threat Regulation, Supportive Factors, and Potential Hidden Costs

Despite changes in their representation and visibility, there are still serious concerns about the inclusion and day-to-day workplace challenges various groups face (e.g., women, ethnic and cultural minorities, LGBTQ+, people as they age, and those dealing with physical or mental disabilities). Men are also underrepresented in specific work fields, in particular those in Health care, Elementary Education, and the Domestic sphere (HEED). Previous literature has shown that group stereotypes play an important role in maintaining these inequalities. We outline how insights from research into stigma, social identity, and self-regulation together increase our understanding of how targets are affected by and regulate negative stereotypes in the workplace. This approach starts from the basis that members of negatively stereotyped groups are not just passive recipients of negative attitudes, stereotypes, and behaviors but are active individuals pursuing multiple goals, such as goals for belonging and achievement. We argue that it is only by understanding stigma from the target’s perspective (e.g., how targets are affected and respond) that we can successfully address workplace inequality. Key in this understanding is that stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination have taken on much more subtle forms, with consequences for the way members of stigmatized groups cope. These insights lead us to propose an approach to understanding barriers to workplace equality that highlights four key aspects: (1) the different (often subtle) potential triggers of identity threat in the workplace for members of stigmatized groups; (2) the ways in which members of stigmatized groups cope with these threats; (3) the role of supportive factors that mitigate potential threats and affect self-regulation; and (4) potential hidden costs for the self or others of what appears at first to be effective self-regulation. The focus on threats, coping, support, and potential hidden costs helps us understand why current diversity efforts are not always successful in increasing and maintaining members of stigmatized groups in organizations and provides insight into how we can aid efforts to effectively lower barriers to workplace equality.

The Multiple Dimensions of Gender Stereotypes: A Current Look at Men's and Women's Characterizations of Others and Themselves

We used a multi-dimensional framework to assess current stereotypes of men and women. Specifically, we sought to determine (1) how men and women are characterized by male and female raters, (2) how men and women characterize themselves, and (3) the degree of convergence between self-characterizations and charcterizations of one's gender group. In an experimental study, 628 U.S. male and female raters described men, women, or themselves on scales representing multiple dimensions of the two defining features of gender stereotypes, agency and communality: assertiveness, independence, instrumental competence, leadership competence (agency dimensions), and concern for others, sociability and emotional sensitivity (communality dimensions). Results indicated that stereotypes about communality persist and were equally prevalent for male and female raters, but agency characterizations were more complex. Male raters generally descibed women as being less agentic than men and as less agentic than female raters described them. However, female raters differentiated among agency dimensions and described women as less assertive than men but as equally independent and leadership competent. Both male and female raters rated men and women equally high on instrumental competence. Gender stereotypes were also evident in self-characterizations, with female raters rating themselves as less agentic than male raters and male raters rating themselves as less communal than female raters, although there were exceptions (no differences in instrumental competence, independence, and sociability self-ratings for men and women). Comparisons of self-ratings and ratings of men and women in general indicated that women tended to characterize themselves in more stereotypic terms - as less assertive and less competent in leadership - than they characterized others in their gender group. Men, in contrast, characterized themselves in less stereotypic terms - as more communal. Overall, our results show that a focus on facets of agency and communality can provide deeper insights about stereotype content than a focus on overall agency and communality.

Disapproved, but Tolerated: The Role of Respect in Outgroup Tolerance

We conducted two studies to test the hypothesis that respect for disapproved outgroups increases tolerance toward them. In Study 1, we employed a panel sample of supporters of the Tea Party movement in the United States and found that Tea Party supporters' respect for homosexuals and Muslims as equal fellow citizens positively predicted Tea Party supporters' tolerance toward these groups. There was no indication that alternative recognition processes (i.e., achievement recognition or need recognition) played a similar role in the development of tolerance. Study 2 replicated the respect-tolerance link with the experimental method and a more comprehensive measure of tolerance. In particular, it demonstrated that the link also holds with regard to tolerance in the public or political sphere. The wider implications of our research for societal pluralism are discussed.

Can Identity Conflicts Impede the Success of Ethnic Minority Students? Consequences of Discrepancies Between Ethnic and Ideal Selves

Because of stigma and underrepresentation, many ethnic minority students may find it difficult to align their ethnicities with their ideal selves. However, these difficulties and their potential consequences have been empirically neglected. To inform this gap in the literature, we propose that the novel concept of ethnic/ideal self-discrepancies (i.e., perceived mismatches between who a person aspires to be and this person's conception of their ethnic self) is associated with the academic outcomes of ethnic minority students. As hypothesized, large ethnic/ideal self-discrepancies predict high academic disengagement, according to cross-sectional data from Study 1 ( n = 147) and Study 2 ( n = 105), as well as high academic disengagement 2 months later according to half-longitudinal data from Study 2 ( n = 78). In Study 3 ( n = 99), ethnic minority students experimentally induced to perceive high ethnic/ideal self-discrepancies reported significantly higher academic disengagement than ethnic minority students in a low discrepancy condition.

Positive stereotypes, negative outcomes: Reminders of the positive components of complementary gender stereotypes impair performance in counter-stereotypical tasks

Gender stereotypes are complementary: Women are perceived to be communal but not agentic, whereas men are perceived to be agentic but not communal. The present research tested whether exposure to reminders of the positive components of these gender stereotypes can lead to stereotype threat and subsequent performance deficits on the complementary dimension. Study 1 (N = 116 female participants) revealed that compared to a control/no-stereotype condition, exposure to reminders of the stereotype about women's communality (but not to reminders of the stereotype about women's beauty) impaired women's math performance. In Study 2 (N = 86 male participants), reminders of the stereotype about men's agency (vs. a control/no-stereotype condition) impaired men's performance in a test of socio-emotional abilities. Consistent with previous research on stereotype threat, in both studies the effect was evident among participants with high domain identification. These findings extend our understanding of the potentially adverse implications of seemingly positive gender stereotypes.

First and second year medical students identify and self-stereotype more as doctors than as students: a questionnaire study

BACKGROUND

The emergence of medical students' professional identity is important. This paper considers this in a snapshot of the early years of undergraduate medical education. From the perspective of social identity theory, it also considers self-stereotyping, the extent to which individuals associate with attributes identified as typical of groups.

METHOD

Paper questionnaires were completed by first and second year medical students following teaching sessions at the beginning (October) and end (April) of the academic year. Questionnaires consisted of scales measuring the strength and importance of identity and self-stereotyping, referent to 'doctors' and 'students'. Linear mixed effects regression considered longitudinal and cross-sectional effects of progress through the course, and differences in responses to 'doctor' and 'student' measures.

RESULTS

In October, responses were received from 99% (n = 102) and 75% (n = 58) of first and second year cohorts respectively, and in April from 81% (n = 83) and 73% (n = 56). Response rates were over 95% of those present. Linear mixed effects regression found that all 'doctor'-referent measures were higher than 'student' measures. Strength of identity and self-stereotyping decreased between beginning and end of the year (across both groups). Men indicated lower importance of identity than women, also across both groups. There were no differences between year groups. Self-stereotyping was predicted more by importance of identification with a group than by strength of identification.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings reinforce observations that medical students identify strongly as doctors from early in their studies, and that this identification is greater than as students. Decreases over time are surprising, but may be explained by changing group salience towards the end of the academic year. The lack of a gender effect on strength of identification contrasts with the literature, but may reflect students' lack of 'performance' of professional identity, while the effect on importance is speculated to be linked to social identity complexity. Identification with professional group may have implications for how medical schools treat students. The findings on self-stereotyping have relevance to recruitment if applicant populations are limited to those already internalising a stereotype. There may be consequences for the wellbeing of those who feel they cannot fulfil stereotypes when in training.

Positive Stereotypes Are Pervasive and Powerful

Stereotypes and their associated category-based processes have traditionally been considered largely within the context of the negativity of their content and consequences, both among the general public and the scientific community. This review summarizes and integrates extant research on positive stereotypes, which are subjectively favorable beliefs about social groups, and examines their implications for individuals and groups directly targeted by such stereotypes. Furthermore, we examine the beneficial and adverse implications of positive stereotypes for interpersonal and intergroup relations, as well as the ways in which positive stereotypes, more so than negative stereotypes, may contribute to and perpetuate systemic differences in power and privilege.

Self-Typicality and Group Identification: Evidence for their Separateness

Two studies demonstrated group identification (affective-evaluative response to in-group membership) and self-typicality (perceived typicality of the self as an in-group member) to be empirically separate. Study 1 showed that these two variables correlated distinctively with age of the participants, and that prior self-typicality but not prior identification correlated with similarity in subsequent self-and in-group ratings. Study 2 examined the latter relationships in a context that presented new, fictitious information about in-group members. Similarity in self-and group judgments, made after presentation of the new information, correlated positively with later self-typicality but negatively with later group identification. Advantages in making conceptual and operational distinctions between self-typicality and group identification are discussed.

Self-Reference Effect and the Group-Reference Effect in the Recall of Shared and Unshared Information in Nominal Groups and Interacting Groups

We investigated how variables that have been studied at the individual level may apply at the group level. Specifically, we examined how the self-reference effect (SRE) and the group-reference effect (GRE) impacted total information recall by examining the difference between interacting groups and nominal groups. Additionally, we also examined how the SRE and GRE might impact upon the recall of shared and unshared information by comparing nominal and interacting groups. Results were supportive for the SRE affecting the total recall of information as well as the recall of shared and unshared information. However, the impact of the GRE on group recall was mixed. Theoretical and applied implications are considered.

Attitudes Toward Women and Tolerance for Sexual Harassment Among Reservists

Women are more likely to experience sexual harassment in some work settings than others; specifically, work settings that have a large proportion of male workers, include a predominance of male supervisors, and represent traditional male occupations may be places in which there is greater tolerance for sexual harassment. The focus of the study was to document attitudes toward women among military personnel, to identify demographic and military characteristics associated with more positive attitudes toward women, and to examine associations between attitudes toward women and tolerance for sexual harassment. The study was based on data from 2,037 male and female former Reservists who reported minimal or no experiences of sexual harassment and no sexual assault in the military. Results suggest that attitudes toward women vary across content domains, are associated with several key demographic and military characteristics, and predict tolerance for sexual harassment. Implications of the findings and future directions are discussed.

An Integrative Model of Social Identification: Self-Stereotyping and Self-Anchoring as Two Cognitive Pathways

Social identification denotes individuals' psychological bond with their ingroup. It is an indispensable construct in research on intragroup and intergroup dynamics. Today's understanding of social identification is firmly grounded in self-stereotyping principles (i.e., assimilation to the ingroup prototype). However, we argue for a more integrative approach to understand social identification, including a more prominent role for the personal self. We present the Integrative Model of Social Identification (IMSI) and postulate that there are two cognitive pathways to self-group overlap that can simultaneously yet distinctly explain social identification: self-stereotyping and self-anchoring (i.e., projection of personal self onto ingroup). We review different theoretical and methodological approaches to both processes and integrate them into one model. Subsequently, we empirically demonstrate the positive relationship between self-stereotyping, self-anchoring, and identification in various group contexts and individuals. In sum, our model highlights the dynamic interplay of personal and social self as cornerstones of social identification.

Expectancy violations and the search for meaning among breast cancer survivors

A number of theoretical perspectives suggest that expectancy violations (EVs) threaten a person's sense of meaning and prompt efforts to reinstate meaning. Yet, little to no research has explicitly examined whether EVs predict actual efforts to search for meaning. The current research redresses this gap in the literature among a sample of breast cancer survivors. The results revealed that EVs, but not life satisfaction, positively predicted the search for meaning. By comparison, the presence of meaning was predicted by both EVs and life satisfaction. Further, EVs predicted an increased search for meaning among participants who simultaneously believed that their life had high levels of meaning. Thus, personal EVs may offer a compelling framework for understanding what prompts searches for meaning.

Self-stereotyping: the central role of an ingroup threatening identity

Self-stereotyping is a process by which people belonging to a stigmatized social group tend to describe themselves more with stereotypical traits as compared with traits irrelevant to the ingroup stereotype. The present work analyzes why especially members of low-status groups are more inclined to self-stereotype compared to members of high-status groups. We tested the hypothesis that belonging to a low-, rather than a high-status group, makes low-status members feel more threatened and motivates them to protect their self-perception by increasing their similarity with the ingroup. Specifically, we investigated the effects of an experimental manipulation that was conceived to either threaten or protect the natural group membership of participants from either a low- or a high-status group on the level of self-stereotyping. The findings supported the idea that only low-status group members protected themselves when their group identity was threatened through increased self-stereotyping.

The Two Faces of Age Identity 1Action editor of this article was Dieter Ferring

As people grow older they develop a sense of a dual age identity, referring to their age group and generation ( Weiss & Lang, 2009 ). Two studies (N1 = 37, 60–85 years and N2 = 104, 65–88 years of age) compared and contrasted older adults’ cognitive representations of two types of age cohort groups (age group vs. generation). Analyses reveal that age-group identity was more frequently associated with loss and decline, whereas generation identity was more frequently associated with positive characteristics and increased levels of agency. Findings also show that generation identity may – especially in later adulthood – serve as a means to compensate for loss. The self-protective function of the dual age identity and the dynamic and flexible nature of identification are further discussed.

Who we were and who we will be: the temporal context of women's in-group stereotype content

Research has elaborated considerably on the dimensions of out-group stereotype content and on the origins and functions of different content combinations. Less attention has been given to the origins and functions of in-group stereotype content. We argue that in-group stereotypes are likely to serve different social identity functions, and thus attract different content, dependent on individual differences in in-group identification and on the temporal perspective of the perceiver. Two studies (Ns = 43 and 93) found that women's in-group stereotype content varied as a function of gender group identification and temporal perspective. When the past was primed, highly identified women generated stereotypes that emphasized the warmth (but not competence) of their group. When the future was primed, highly identified women generated stereotypes that emphasized the competence (as well as warmth) of their group. These results are discussed in terms of the use of stereotypes for social creativity versus social change.

Social identity change: shifts in social identity during adolescence

This study investigated the proposition that adolescence involves significant shifts in social identity as a function of changes in social context and cognitive style. Using an experimental design, we primed either peer or gender identity with a sample of 380 early- (12-13 years), mid- (15-16 years), and late-adolescents (18-20 years) and then measured the effect of the prime on self-stereotyping and ingroup favouritism. The findings showed significant differences in social identity across adolescent groups, in that social identity effects were relatively strong in early- and late-adolescents, particularly when peer group identity rather than gender identity was salient. While these effects were consistent with the experience of change in educational social context, differences in cognitive style were only weakly related to ingroup favouritism. The implications of the findings for theory and future research on social identity during adolescence are discussed.

The Cognitive Representation of Self-Stereotyping

The present work looks at the self-stereotyping process and reveals its underlying cognitive structure. When this process occurs, it is necessarily the result of an overlap between the representation of the ingroup and that of the self. Two studies measured this overlap and showed that it was higher on stereotype-relevant than on stereotype-irrelevant traits, it involved both positive and negative stereotypical traits, and it implied a deduction-to-the-self process of ingroup stereotypical dimensions. Moreover, the status of one’s social group was found to be a key variable in this process, showing that self-stereotyping is limited to low-status group members. Indeed, results of Study 2 showed that the overlap between the self and the ingroup for high-status group members was the result of an induction-to-the-ingroup process of personal characteristics. Implications for research on people’s self-construal are discussed.

Self-focus and stereotyping of the self

A study tested the effects of mirror-induced self-focus on participants tendency to self-stereotype. Americans high and low in identification with their nationality rated themselves and the group “Americans on traits that varied in stereotypicality and valence. Participants made these ratings under one of three conditions: (1) while facing a mirror, (2) while facing a mirror with an American flag visible, and (3) while not facing a mirror. High identifiers were more likely to endorse stereotypic traits and to rate themselves as similar to their national group when self-focused. In contrast, low identifiers were less likely to endorse stereotypic traits and to rate themselves as similar to their national group when self-focused. These patterns were limited to traits negative in valence. Correlational analyses indicated that self/group ratings were most similar when high identifiers were self-focused. Implications for the distinction between personal and social identity are discussed.

Is the pain worth the gain? The advantages and liabilities of agreeing with socially distinct newcomers

The impact of diversity on group functioning is multifaceted. Exploring the impact of having a newcomer join a group, the authors conducted a 2 (social similarity of newcomer to oldtimers; in-group or out-group) x 3 (opinion agreement: newcomer has no opinion ally, one opinion ally, or two opinion allies) interacting group experiment with four-person groups. Groups with out-group newcomers (i.e., diverse groups) reported less confidence in their performance and perceived their interactions as less effective, yet they performed better than groups with in-group newcomers (i.e., homogeneous groups). Moreover, performance gains were not due to newcomers bringing new ideas to the group discussion. Instead, the results demonstrate that the mere presence of socially distinct newcomers and the social concerns their presence stimulates among oldtimers motivates behavior that can convert affective pains into cognitive gains.

Gender Stereotypes and Women's Reports of Liking and Ability in Traditionally Masculine and Feminine Occupations

Gender stereotypes were examined for their causal influence on women's reported liking for and perceived ability to succeed in traditionally masculine and feminine occupations. One hundred twenty-one women were assigned to either a gender-stereotype activation or filler task and then completed measures of liking for, and perceived ability to succeed in, traditionally masculine and feminine occupations. Strongly gender-identified women showed significantly greater liking for feminine occupations in the stereotype-activation condition than in the control condition. However, more weakly identified women did not show the same effect. In contrast, women weak in gender identification reported an increase in perceived ability for feminine occupations when stereotypes were activated than in the control condition. Activating gender stereotypes did not shift reported liking or perceived ability in traditionally masculine occupations. These results demonstrate the theoretical and practical importance of gender stereotypes on women's career-related attitudes.