Meta-Analytic Use of Balanced Identity Theory to Validate the Implicit Association Test

This meta-analysis evaluated theoretical predictions from balanced identity theory (BIT) and evaluated the validity of zero points of Implicit Association Test (IAT) and self-report measures used to test these predictions. Twenty-one researchers contributed individual subject data from 36 experiments (total N = 12,773) that used both explicit and implicit measures of the social-cognitive constructs. The meta-analysis confirmed predictions of BIT's balance-congruity principle and simultaneously validated interpretation of the IAT's zero point as indicating absence of preference between two attitude objects. Statistical power afforded by the sample size enabled the first confirmations of balance-congruity predictions with self-report measures. Beyond these empirical results, the meta-analysis introduced a within-study statistical test of the balance-congruity principle, finding that it had greater efficiency than the previous best method. The meta-analysis's full data set has been publicly archived to enable further studies of interrelations among attitudes, stereotypes, and identities.

Justifying Social Inequalities: The Role of Social Darwinism

Three studies supported a model whereby associations between ideologies that share roots in biological determinism and outcomes that reinforce inequality (based on gender, race, or class) were mediated by system justification beliefs (SJB). Outcomes included support for Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton as president (Study 1), justifying police brutality (Study 2), and support for a White House budget that slashed the social safety net to endow the wealthy with tax cuts (Study 3). These findings provoke a vital question: How do people deem unequal systems worthy of defense? Each study compared social Darwinism, social dominance orientation (SDO), and biological essentialism. We expected social Darwinism to account for the most variance in SJB because it provides both the rationale for social hierarchies (natural selection) and defends them as required for human welfare. This prediction was supported in each study. Implications for the psychology of legitimacy are discussed.

Myths of Sexual Economics Theory

The authors of sexual economics theory (Baumeister & Twenge, 2002; Baumeister & Vohs, 2004) argue that sex is a female commodity that women exchange for men’s resources; therefore, women (not men) are responsible for the cultural suppression of sexuality, ostensibly to preserve the value of sex. In this article, I describe the central tenets of sexual economics theory and summarize a growing body of research contradicting them. I also explain the negative implications of the claims of sexual economics theory for gender equality and heterosexual relationships. Researchers, clinicians, and educators engaged in understanding human sexuality may use the arguments provided in this article to counteract gender myths. This article also serves as a case study of how feminist scholars can employ empirical evidence to weaken a popularized, patriarchal theory.

The F Word: Is Feminism Incompatible with Beauty and Romance?

Three studies examined the predictive utility of heterosexual relationship concerns vis-à-vis support for feminism. Study 1 showed that beauty is perceived to be at odds with feminism, for both genders. The stereotype that feminists are unattractive was robust, but fully accounted for by romance-related attributions. Moreover, more attractive female participants (using self-ratings) showed decreased feminist orientations, compared with less attractive counterparts. Study 2 compared romantic conflict with the lesbian feminist stereotype and found more support for romantic conflict as a negative predictor of support for feminism and women's civil rights. Study 3 showed that beliefs about an incompatibility between feminism and sexual harmony negatively predicted support for feminism and women's civil rights. In concert, the findings indicate that a marriage between research on romantic relationships and the factors underlying sexism is overdue for understanding gender inequities.

Exposure to Sexual Economics Theory Promotes a Hostile View of Heterosexual Relationships

Proponents of sexual economics theory argue that women exchange sex for men’s resources. This idea is likely to promote a competitive view of gender relationships that undermines gender equality by characterizing women as manipulative and financially dependent on men. Heterosexual college students ( N = 474) who were randomly exposed to a popular YouTube video describing sexual economics theory increased their (1) behavioral support for sexual exchange concepts, (2) endorsement of the theory, and (3) adversarial views of heterosexual relationships, compared with a control group of students. Sexual exchange theory endorsement and adversarial heterosexual beliefs positively covaried, and both attitudes were related to participants’ sexism. Reading a critique of sexual exchange theory, that emphasized mutual respect and affection as precursors to heterosexual intimacy, counteracted the consequences of exposure to the theory. The findings provide evidence that disseminating sexual exchange theory via video on the Internet negatively affects young adults’ views of gender relationships. Educators, and others who wish to explore sexual economics theory through the use of this video, should also include a discussion of the countervailing evidence available. Online slides for instructors who want to use this article for teaching are available on PWQ's website at http://journals.sagepub.com/page/pwq/suppl/index .

Implicit and Explicit Consequences of Exposure to Violent and Misogynous Rap Music

In two experiments, primed subjects were exposed to violent and misogynistic rap music and control subjects were exposed to popular music. Experiment 1 showed that violent and misogynistic rap music increased the automatic associations underlying evaluative racial stereotypes in high and low prejudiced subjects alike. By contrast, explicit stereotyping was dependent on priming and subjects’ prejudice level. In Experiment 2, the priming manipulation was followed by a seemingly unrelated person perception task in which subjects rated Black or White targets described as behaving ambiguously. As expected, primed subjects judged a Black target less favorably than a White target. By contrast, control subjects rated Black and White targets similarly. Subjects’ level of prejudice did not moderate these findings, suggesting the robustness of priming effects on social judgments.

Discrimination and the Implicit Association Test

Prejudice researchers have been criticized for failing to assess behaviors that reflect overtly hostile actions (i.e. racial animus; Arkes & Tetlock, 2004; Mackie & Smith, 1998). Two studies sought to begin to fill this gap in the implicit literature by showing that scores on the Implicit Association Test (IAT; Greenwald, McGhee, & Schwartz, 1998) are linked to harmful intergroup behaviors. In Study 1, the IAT predicted self-reported racial discrimination, including verbal slurs, exclusion, and physical harm. In Study 2, the IAT predicted recommended budget cuts for Jewish, Asian, and Black student organizations (i.e. economic discrimination). In each study, evaluative stereotype (but not attitude) IATs predicted behaviors even after controlling for explicit attitudes. In concert, the findings suggest that implicit stereotypes are more predictive of overtly harmful actions than implicit attitudes in the intergroup relations domain.

Implicit Romantic Fantasies and Women's Interest in Personal Power: A Glass Slipper Effect?

Three experiments investigated the relationship between women's romantic fantasies and their interest in personal power. Romantic fantasies (associating partners with chivalry and heroism) were assessed using the Implicit Association Test and self-reports. In each experiment, women's implicit romantic fantasies were dissociated with their conscious beliefs. More important, implicit (but not explicit) romantic fantasies negatively predicted women's interest in personal power, including projected income, education goal, interest in high-status jobs, and group leadership appeal. By contrast, men's implicit romantic fantasies were not routinely linked to their interest in personal power. In concert, the findings are consistent with positing a “glass slipper” effect for women that may be an implicit barrier to gender equity.

Implicit Self-Concept and Evaluative Implicit Gender Stereotypes: Self and Ingroup Share Desirable Traits

Experiment 1 unexpectedly found sex differences in evaluative gender stereotypes (only men associated male with potency and only women associated female with warmth). Experiment 2 dramatically reduced sex differences in gender-potency judgments when measures were redesigned to avoid implying that potency was positive (the concepts, strong and weak, were represented by evaluatively matched words; e.g., destroy vs. feeble, loud vs. quiet, and mighty vs. gentle). Experiment 3 tested the hypothesis that these sex differences were in the service of self-esteem but found no correlation between own-gender-favorable stereotyping and implicit self-esteem. Rather, participants showed a correlation between linking self to the favorable potency trait and linking own gender to that trait. Experiment 4 confirmed the correlation between implicit self-concept and gender stereotype using the contrast between potency and warmth for the implicit stereotype measure. In concert, results suggest that people possess implicit gender stereotypes in self-favorable form because of the tendency to associate self with desirable traits.

Developmental Sources of Implicit Attitudes

Explanations for implicit and explicit attitude dissociation have largely focused on causes of explicit attitudes. By contrast, this article examines developmental experiences as potential sources of implicit (more than explicit) attitudes, using attitudes toward smoking and body weight, which have shown dissociation with self-reports. In Study 1, smokers' implicit and explicit attitudes toward smoking were uniquely predicted by their early and recent experiences with smoking, respectively. In Study 2, participants' childhood and current weight uniquely predicted implicit and explicit body weight attitudes, respectively. Furthermore, being raised primarily by a beloved, heavyweight mother predicted proheavy implicit (but not explicit) attitudes. In Study 3, people's reports of pleasant dreams in childhood (but not currently) predicted their implicit attitudes toward dreams. In concert, results provide support for theorizing that implicit and explicit attitudes may stem from different sources of information and are, therefore, conceptually distinct.

My Transplant is My Life: Compliance Status as a Moderator of Differential Susceptibility to Item Context Effects

A context effect experiment was embedded in a structured telephone survey of renal transplant recipients. Respondents received a specific question, "How satisfied are you with your transplant?," and a global assessment question, "How satisfied are you with life in general?.," under either contrast, assimilation, or control conditions. Importantly, context effects interacted with the treatment adherence status of respondents such that noncompliant recipients were less susceptible to the context manipulations. Results point to the importance of considering respondents' characteristics as potential moderators of item context effects and have implications for intervention strategies.

Implicit and Explicit Attitudes Toward Female Authority

Attitudes toward female authority and their relationship to gender beliefs were examined using implicit and explicit measures of each. Implicit attitudes covaried with implicit gender authority beliefs (i.e., linking men to high-authority and women to low-authority roles). Explicit attitudes covaried with explicit gender authority beliefs, feminist identification, and hostile sexism. Thus, gender authority beliefs may influence both conscious and unconscious prejudice against female authorities. Although women showed less explicit prejudice than did men, their implicit attitudes were similarly negative. Finally, the relationship found between two different response latency methods (a priming task for attitudes, a categorization task for beliefs) supports the assumption that implicit measures assess similar constructs (i.e., automatic associations in long-term memory).

Sources of Implicit Attitudes

Response latency measures have yielded an explosion of interest in implicit attitudes. Less forthcoming have been theoretical explanations for why they often differ from explicit (self-reported) attitudes. Theorized differences in the sources of implicit and explicit attitudes are discussed, and evidence consistent with each theory is presented. The hypothesized causal influences on attitudes include early (even preverbal) experiences, affective experiences, cultural biases, and cognitive consistency principles. Each may influence implicit attitudes more than explicit attitudes, underscoring their conceptual distinction.

The role of appearance stigma in implicit racial ingroup bias

Minority groups who show implicit outgroup preference (African Americans, the elderly, and the overweight) are also likely to suffer from appearance stigma (for deviating from cultural aesthetic norms; Goffman, 1963). Three studies showed that people who automatically preferred Whites using the attitude Implicit Association Test (IAT) also associated Whites more than Blacks with attractiveness using the aesthetic IAT. In Study 1, the aesthetic IAT covaried with Black American’s preference for Black women with chemically treated versus natural hair, and rating products that purchase “racial capital” (e.g., skin whiteners) as important and useful. In Study 2, Black American’s pro-White bias was only eliminated when the attitude IAT represented their group as more attractive than Whites (i.e., when appearance stigma was reversed). Further, the aesthetic IAT predicted the attitude IAT more uniquely than outgroup contact. In concert, the findings suggest that appearance stigma is an overlooked factor influencing racial asymmetries in automatic ingroup esteem.

Sex as a source of power? Backlash against self-sexualizing women

Although women are thought to possess sexual power, they risk social and economic penalties (i.e., backlash; Rudman, 1998) when they self-sexualize (i.e., assert their power; Cahoon & Edmonds, 1989; Glick, Larsen, Johnson, & Branstiter, 2005). Why? Drawing on the status incongruity hypothesis (SIH), which predicts backlash against powerful women because they challenge the gender hierarchy, we expected prejudice against self-sexualizing women to be explained by a dominance penalty rather than a communality deficit (Rudman, Moss-Racusin, Phelan, & Nauts, 2012). Two experiments supported this hypothesis, and Experiment 3 further showed that the dominance penalty was explained by ascribing power motives to self-sexualized women. These findings extend the SIH’s utility to the domain of self-sexualization and illuminate the scope of people’s discomfort with female power. Implications for the advancement of gender equality are discussed.

Gender and Sexual Economics

In the study reported here, data from implicit and behavioral choice measures did not support sexual economics theory’s (SET’s) central tenet that women view female sexuality as a commodity. Instead, men endorsed sexual exchange more than women did, which supports the idea that SET is a vestige of patriarchy. Further, men’s sexual advice, more than women’s, enforced the sexual double standard (i.e., men encouraged men more than women to have casual sex)—a gender difference that was mediated by hostile sexism, but also by men’s greater implicit investment in sexual economics. That is, men were more likely to suppress female sexuality because they resisted female empowerment and automatically associated sex with money more than women did. It appears that women are not invested in sexual economics, but rather, men are invested in patriarchy, even when it means raising the price of sexual relations.

Men in the Mirror: The Role of Men's Body Shame in Sexual Aggression

Because research on body shame has predominantly focused on women, the consequences of male body shame for gender relations have been under-investigated. Following up on preliminary findings suggesting that men high on body shame were hostile toward women, in two experiments, we uniquely observed that body shame predisposes men to sexual aggression when they react negatively to masculinity threats. In Experiment 1, men rejected by a female confederate for being unattractive showed rape proclivity to the extent they were high on both body shame and post-rejection negative affect. In Experiment 2, the same pattern emerged on the part of men rejected by a female (but not a male) confederate for ostensibly being gay. In concert, the findings suggest that men's body shame is an overlooked factor in sexual aggression, which has implications for extant rape theories and precarious manhood theory.

How accurate are metaperceptions of sexism? Evidence for the illusion of antagonism between hostile and benevolent sexism

In the first examination of the accuracy of metaperceptions of sexism among White, Asian, and Black women and men ( N = 308), results showed that regardless of ethnicity, both genders were similarly inaccurate, but in opposing ways. Women overestimated men’s hostile sexism (HS) and underestimated men’s benevolent sexism (BS), whereas men overestimated women’s BS and underestimated women’s HS. Further, metaperceptions of HS were negatively related to metaperceptions of BS, for both genders. Individual differences in sexism informed metaperceptions only for men (not women). In concert, the findings support an illusion of antagonism between HS and BS. Viewing HS and BS as oppositional is an illusion because, cross-culturally, they are positively correlated in men and women alike (e.g., Glick et al., 2000), and both forms of sexism reinforce the gender hierarchy (Rudman & Glick, 2008). Therefore, disarming the illusion of antagonism is an overlooked key to advancing gender equality.

When truth is personally inconvenient, attitudes change: the impact of extreme weather on implicit support for green politicians and explicit climate-change beliefs

A naturalistic investigation of New Jersey residents, both before and after they experienced Hurricanes Irene and Sandy, examined support for politicians committed or opposed to policies designed to combat climate change. At Time 1, before both hurricanes, participants showed negative implicit attitudes toward a green politician, but at Time 2, after the hurricanes, participants drawn from the same cohort showed a reversed automatic preference. Moreover, those who were significantly affected by Hurricane Sandy were especially likely to implicitly prefer the green politician, and implicit attitudes were the best predictor of voting after the storms, whereas explicit climate-change beliefs was the best predictor before the storms. In concert, the results suggest that direct experience with extreme weather can increase pro-environmentalism, and further support conceptualizing affective experiences as a source of implicit attitudes.

What motivates the sexual double standard? More support for male versus female control theory

The present research uniquely compared male control theory (MCT) versus female control theory (FCT) to illuminate motives for the sexual double standard (SDS), whereby men gain status from engaging in casual sex or having many sexual partners, but women are stigmatized for it. Consistent with MCT, men were more likely than women to endorse the SDS and to give sexual advice in ways that reinforce it-gender differences that were mediated by hostile sexism (HS) and endorsing the SDS, respectively. The data did not support FCT's argument that women are motivated by sexual economics to restrict female sexuality (Baumeister & Twenge, 2002). Both genders discouraged women from having casual sex to protect women from social stigma and rape myths that justify violence against sexual women. In concert, the findings support MCT more than FCT and suggest that sexism, stigma, and rape myths are primary obstacles to sexual equality.

Reactions to gender egalitarian men: Perceived feminization due to stigma-by-association

Gender egalitarian men are vital for women’s progress, yet attitudes toward and beliefs about them are underinvestigated. In three experiments, women liked gender egalitarian men more so than men did, but both genders stigmatized them as more feminine, weak, and likely to be gay, compared with control male targets. This was true even when the gender egalitarian was an actual presidential candidate for the American Psychological Association (Experiment 3). We examined whether stigmatization was due to (a) gender egalitarians’ presumed affiliations with women and/or gay men (stigma-by-association); (b) the gay male feminist stereotype; or (c) a threat to men’s gender identity. Results supported stigma-by-association, but only for affiliations with women (not gay men). The gay male feminist stereotype was robust, but did not account for stigmatization, and men’s reactions to male gender egalitarians were independent of their gender identity. Implications of these findings for gender equality are discussed.

Of animals and objects: men's implicit dehumanization of women and likelihood of sexual aggression

Although dehumanizing women and male sexual aggression are theoretically aligned, the present research provides the first direct support for this assumption, using the Implicit Association Test to assess two forms of female dehumanization: animalization and objectification. In Study 1, men who automatically associated women more than men with primitive constructs (e.g., animals, instinct, nature) were more willing to rape and sexually harass women, and to report negative attitudes toward female rape victims. In Study 2, men who automatically associated women with animals (e.g., animals, paw, snout) more than with humans scored higher on a rape-behavioral analogue, as well as rape proclivity. Automatically objectifying women by associating them with objects, tools, and things was also positively correlated with men's rape proclivity. In concert, the research demonstrates that men who implicitly dehumanize women (as either animals or objects) are also likely to sexually victimize them.

Eroticizing inequality in the United States: the consequences and determinants of traditional gender role adherence in intimate relationships

This article reviews the research on traditional gender-role adherence and sexuality for heterosexual men and women. Specifically, the consequences and predictors of following traditional gender roles of female submissiveness and male dominance in sexual relationships is examined. Despite evidence that men and women's sexual roles are becoming more egalitarian over time, empirical evidence suggests that the traditional sexual roles continue to dominate heterosexual relations. This article explores whether the sexual context is one in which both men and women feel particularly compelled to engage in gender stereotypic behavior, and why. In addition, this article reports on research that finds that men and women have automatic associations between sexuality and power that reinforce their gender stereotypic behavior in sexual contexts. The negative effects of traditional gender-role adherence for women's sexual problems and satisfaction is demonstrated. This article concludes that traditional sexual scripts are harmful for both women's and men's ability to engage in authentic, rewarding sexual expression, although the female submissive role may be particularly debilitating. Future directions of research are suggested, including interventions to reduce women's adherence to the sexually submissive female script.

Disruptions in Women's Self-Promotion: The Backlash Avoidance Model

Women experience social and economic penalties (i.e., backlash) for self-promotion, a behavior that violates female gender stereotypes yet is necessary for professional success. However, it is unknown whether and how the threat of backlash interferes with women's ability to self-promote. The present research examined the effects of fear of backlash and self-regulatory mode on women's self-promotion success by testing the backlash avoidance model (BAM), a model designed to account for disruptions in women's self-promotion. Two studies employing U.S. undergraduate samples examined self-promotion both in a live interview and written context. Results supported the BAM's predictions that self-promoting women's fear of backlash inhibits activation of a goal-focused, locomotive regulatory mode, which subsequently interferes with self-promotion success. This process was not evident for self-promoting men (Study 1) or peer-promoting women (Study 2), groups who demonstrated reliably more promotion success than self-promoting women. The influence of women's endorsement of communal stereotypes and their perceived entitlement were also investigated. Implications for women's self-promotion, gender stereotyping, and workplace parity are discussed.

The Effect of Priming Gender Roles on Women’s Implicit Gender Beliefs and Career Aspirations

We investigated the effect of priming gender roles on women’s implicit gender stereotypes, implicit leadership self-concept, and interest in masculine and feminine careers. Women primed with traditional gender roles (e.g., a male surgeon and a female nurse) showed increased automatic gender stereotypes relative to controls; this effect mediated their reduced interest in masculine occupations. By contrast, exposure to nontraditional roles (e.g., a female surgeon and a male nurse) decreased women’s leadership self-concept and lowered their interest in masculine occupations, suggesting that female vanguards (i.e., successful women in male-dominated careers) can provoke upward comparison threat, rather than inspire self-empowerment. Thus, priming either traditional or nontraditional gender roles can threaten progress toward gender equality, albeit through different mechanisms (stereotypes or self-concept, respectively).

Competent Yet Out in the Cold: Shifting Criteria for Hiring Reflect Backlash Toward Agentic Women

We present evidence that shifting hiring criteria reflects backlash toward agentic (“masterful”) women ( Rudman, 1998 ). Participants ( N = 428) evaluated male or female agentic or communal managerial applicants on dimensions of competence, social skills, and hireability. Consistent with past research, agentic women were perceived as highly competent but deficient in social skills, compared with agentic men. New to the present research, social skills predicted hiring decisions more than competence for agentic women; for all other applicants, competence received more weight than social skills. Thus, evaluators shifted the job criteria away from agentic women's strong suit (competence) and toward their perceived deficit (social skills) to justify hiring discrimination. The implications of these findings for women's professional success are discussed.

Reactions to counterstereotypic behavior: the role of backlash in cultural stereotype maintenance

Social and economic sanctions for counterstereotypical behavior have been termed the backlash effect. The authors present a model of the role of backlash in cultural stereotype maintenance from the standpoint of both perceivers and actors. In Experiments 1 and 2, participants lost a competition to either atypical or typical men or women and subsequently showed greater tendency to sabotage deviants. Moreover, undermining deviants was associated with increased self-esteem, suggesting that backlash rewards perceivers psychologically. Experiment 3 showed that gender deviants who feared backlash resorted to strategies designed to avoid it (e.g., hiding, deception, and gender conformity). Further, perceivers who sabotaged deviants (Experiment 2) or deviants who hid their atypicality (Experiment 3) estimated greater stereotyping on the part of future perceivers, in support of the model's presumed role for backlash in stereotype maintenance. The implications of the findings for cultural stereotypes are discussed.

Gender Differences in Automatic In-Group Bias: Why Do Women Like Women More Than Men Like Men?

Four experiments confirmed that women's automatic in-group bias is remarkably stronger than men's and investigated explanations for this sex difference, derived from potential sources of implicit attitudes (L. A. Rudman, 2004). In Experiment 1, only women (not men) showed cognitive balance among in-group bias, identity, and self-esteem (A. G. Greenwald et al., 2002), revealing that men lack a mechanism that bolsters automatic own group preference. Experiments 2 and 3 found pro-female bias to the extent that participants automatically favored their mothers over their fathers or associated male gender with violence, suggesting that maternal bonding and male intimidation influence gender attitudes. Experiment 4 showed that for sexually experienced men, the more positive their attitude was toward sex, the more they implicitly favored women. In concert, the findings help to explain sex differences in automatic in-group bias and underscore the uniqueness of gender for intergroup relations theorists.

"Unlearning" automatic biases: the malleability of implicit prejudice and stereotypes

The present research suggests that automatic and controlled intergroup biases can be modified through diversity education. In 2 experiments, students enrolled in a prejudice and conflict seminar showed significantly reduced implicit and explicit anti-Black biases, compared with control students. The authors explored correlates of prejudice and stereotype reduction. In each experiment, seminar students' implicit and explicit change scores positively covaried with factors suggestive of affective and cognitive processes, respectively. The findings show the malleability of implicit prejudice and stereotypes and suggest that these may effectively be changed through affective processes.

A unified theory of implicit attitudes, stereotypes, self-esteem, and self-concept

This theoretical integration of social psychology's main cognitive and affective constructs was shaped by 3 influences: (a) recent widespread interest in automatic and implicit cognition, (b) development of the Implicit Association Test (IAT; A. G. Greenwald, D. E. McGhee, & J. L. K. Schwartz. 1998), and (c) social psychology's consistency theories of the 1950s, especially F. Heider's (1958) balance theory. The balanced identity design is introduced as a method to test correlational predictions of the theory. Data obtained with this method revealed that predicted consistency patterns were strongly apparent in the data for implicit (IAT) measures but not in those for parallel explicit (self-report) measures. Two additional not-yet-tested predictions of the theory are described.

A unified theory of implicit attitudes, stereotypes, self-esteem, and self-concept

This theoretical integration of social psychology's main cognitive and affective constructs was shaped by 3 influences: (a) recent widespread interest in automatic and implicit cognition, (b) development of the Implicit Association Test (IAT; A. G. Greenwald, D. E. McGhee, & J. L. K. Schwartz. 1998), and (c) social psychology's consistency theories of the 1950s, especially F. Heider's (1958) balance theory. The balanced identity design is introduced as a method to test correlational predictions of the theory. Data obtained with this method revealed that predicted consistency patterns were strongly apparent in the data for implicit (IAT) measures but not in those for parallel explicit (self-report) measures. Two additional not-yet-tested predictions of the theory are described.