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Gender differences in the perception of women in magazine advertising

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Abstract

Male and female college students (N=137) rated 10 control and 10 target magazine advertisements for appeal and for the perceived sexism displayed in the ads. Males did not differ in their ratings of target and control ad appeal. Females rated target ads as less appealing than control ads, and gave target ads lower appeal ratings than did males. Females also rated target ads as more sexist than did males, although both sexes rated target ads as more sexist than control ads. All subjects also completed the Attitudes Toward Women Scale, on which females displayed more liberal attitudes than males.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Chafee Social Science Center, University of Rhode Island, 02881, Kingston, Rhode Island

    Susan R. Rossi & Joseph S. Rossi

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  1. Susan R. Rossi
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  2. Joseph S. Rossi
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Additional information

Portions of this article were presented in a paper at the 52nd annual meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, New York, April 1981. The authors' sincere thanks go to our expert raters: Claire Pedrick Cornell, Albert Lott, and Mary Ellen Reilly. Thanks for helpful advice also go to Bernice Lott and especially to Kathryn Quina.

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Rossi, S.R., Rossi, J.S. Gender differences in the perception of women in magazine advertising. Sex Roles 12, 1033–1039 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00288103

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00288103

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