Abstract
The present study combined two areas of research, occupational perceptions and sex-role stereotypes, in a 2 (Gender of Subject: male, female) × 2 (Gender of Character: male, Paul or David; female, Paula or Susan) × 2 (Gender of Occupation: male, doctor or lawyer; female, nurse or secretary) between-subjects factorial design. High school students rated male and female characters in traditional and nontraditional occupations on the following six personality traits: ambitious, effective, emotional, intelligent, responsible, and traditional. The main finding was that occupational stereotypes were more prevalent than sex-role stereotypes. Reasons for this outcome are discussed and the implications of the study in light of past and future research are considered.
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This article is based on part of a doctoral dissertation submitted by the author to the State University of New York at Stony Brook. The research was supported by U.S. Public Health Service Biomedical Support Grant 5 S07 RR 07067-12 to the State University of New York at Stony Brook during the summer of 1977. The author would like to thank Drs. Robert M. Liebert and Beverly Birns for their comments and the principal and teachers at Ward Melville High School in Setauket, New York, for their cooperation.
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Lifschitz, S. Male and female careers: Sex-role and occupational stereotypes among high school students. Sex Roles 9, 725–735 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00289801
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00289801