The Mediating Role of Agency in Positive and Negative Gender Stereotypes

1. The Mediating Role of Agency in Positive and Negative Gender Stereotypes T. William Altermatt Hanover College Jacquelyn Shelton University of Michigan-Flint

2. Introduction Glick and Fiske’s (1996) measure of Benevolent Sexism (BS, a paternalistic and protective orientation toward women) is repeatedly found to be positively correlated with Hostile Sexism (HS, a competitive orientation toward women). Why? At first glance, it may seem unlikely that a protective orientation toward women should be found with a competitive orientation. Glick and Fiske (1996) reconcile the two by pointing out that both share the assumptions that women are the “weaker” sex. Consistent with this view, we propose that the link between BS and HS is the belief that women are less agentic - less competent and less suited to positions of authority - than men are. The agency gender stereotype would support BS by justifying protection and would support HS by justifying the exclusion of women from positions of authority. Kilianski and Rudman (1998) suggest that BS should not be supported because it may lead to HS. If the link between BS and HS is the agency gender stereotype, then criticisms of BS may be misplaced. It may not be Benevolent Sexism itself that is the problem, but rather the stereotype of low female agency that often accompanies it.

3. Procedure • Participants • Introductory psychology students • N=218, 78% White, 10% Black, 71% female, median age 19 • Questionnaire • 96-item online questionnaire, order of items counterbalanced across two forms • Measures of “positive” gender stereotypes • Benevolent Sexism Scale (Glick & Fiske, 1996) • Chivalry Scale (Altermatt, 2001) • Measures of negative gender stereotypes • Attitudes toward Women Scale (Spence, Helmreich, & Stapp, 1973) • Hostile Sexism Scale (Glick & Fiske, 1996) • Gender Authority Measure (Rudman & Kilianski, 2000) • 22-item measure of gender stereotypes of agency

4. “Positive” Gender Stereotypes • Benevolent Sexism Scale (Glick & Fiske, 1996. 11 items, alpha = .68) • Many women have a quality of purity that few men possess. • A good woman should be set on a pedestal by her man. • Chivalry Scale (Altermatt, 2001. 10 items, alpha = .81) • If there is a dangerous job to be done, it is better for a man to do it than a woman. • A man should remain standing until a woman takes her seat.

5. Negative Gender Stereotypes • The Attitudes Toward Women Scale(Spence, Helmreich, & Stapp, 1973. 15 items, alpha = .73) • Women should worry less about their rights and more about becoming good wives and mothers. • The intellectual leadership of a community should be largely in the hands of men. • Hostile Sexism Scale(Glick & Fiske, 1996. 11 items, alpha = .81) • Most women interpret innocent remarks or acts as being sexist. • Women seek to gain power by getting control over men. • Gender Authority Measure (Rudman & Kilianski, 2000, 15 items, alpha = .77) • If I were having a serious operation, I would have more confidence in a male surgeon. • In general, women make better leaders than men do. (reversed)

6. The Agency Gender Stereotype • 22-item scale, alpha = .87 • Sample items • Men are better at handling power than women are. • Women should be more submissive than men. • Male scientists tend to do more reliable research than female scientists. • There really are no meaningful differences in how well men and women do at math. (reversed) • If a female soldier is qualified for combat, she should be allowed to fight in the front lines. (reversed) • A woman should be allowed to compete for any physically demanding job if she is strong enough to do it. (reversed)

7. Agency mediates Chivalry’s relation to negative stereotypes .20* to .02 Hostile Sexism Sobel tests for agency’s mediating role between Chivalry and the negative gender stereotypes .49* .37* .73* Gender Authority Measure Chivalry Agency .25* to -.02 Attitudes toward Women Scale .71* .37* to .11 Note. Values represent standardized regression coefficients. *p < .01.

8. Agency mediates Benevolent Sexism’s relation to negative stereotypes .30* to .14 Hostile Sexism Sobel tests for agency’s mediating role between Benevolent Sexism and the negative gender stereotypes .45* .35* .71* Gender Authority Measure BSS Agency .24* to -.01 Attitudes toward Women Scale .71* .36* to .11 Note. Values represent standardized regression coefficients. *p < .01.

9. Discussion Why are Benevolent Sexism and Hostile Sexism positively correlated? Our results suggest that a large part of the answer is the agency gender stereotype. The tests of mediation indicate that a significant portion (and in some cases all) of the shared variance between positive and negative gender stereotypes is explained by agency. A belief that women have less agency than men (are less competent and less suited to positions of authority) would justify both the protection that is characteristic of Chivalry and Benevolent Sexism and the exclusion from high-status roles that is characteristic of negative gender stereotypes. Although Chivalry and Benevolent Sexism are related to negative gender stereotypes, the mediating role of agency suggests that the link between positive and negative stereotypes is not unbreakable. Of the participants who scored in the top 1/3 of Benevolent Sexism scores, 23% scored in the bottom 1/3 of Hostile Sexism scores. As would be expected, these individuals scored significantly lower on the measure of the agency gender stereotype. Thus, it is not uncommon for individuals to endorse Chivalry and Benevolent Sexism and to not hold negative stereotypes about women. Rather than criticizing Benevolent Sexism (e.g., Kilianski & Rudman, 1998), researchers who wish to reduce negative gender stereotypes may be more effective to the extent that they focus on reducing the agency gender stereotype.

10. References Altermatt, T. W. (2001). Chivalry: The relation between a cultural script and stereotypes about women. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Glick, P., & Fiske, S. (1996). The Ambivalent Sexism Inventory: Differentiating hostile and benevolent sexism. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology,70(3), 491-512. Kilianski, S. E., & Rudman, L. A. (1998). Wanting it both ways: Do women approve of benevolent sexism? Sex Roles, 39(5-6), 333-352. Rudman, L. A., & Kilianski, S. E. (2000). Implicit and explicit attitudes toward female authority. Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin, 26(11), 1315-1328. Spence, J., Helmreich, R., & Stapp, J. (1973). A short version of the Attitudes Toward Women Scale (AWS). Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 2, 219-220.