Abstract
The behavior of 60 male and female students in soliciting volunteer leaders for a series of leadership experiments was studied. The solicitation behavior was consistent with the “vertical dyad linkage” leadership model which predicted that ingroup members would share more responsibilities and benefits with the leader/manager than would outgroup members. Members of the same sex were expected to be more frequently ingroup (operationalized as acquaintances). Results showed that same-sex acquaintances were solicited more often than cross-sex acquaintances. No sex discrimination was found when subjects solicited others who had not been previously known. Acquaintances were most frequently asked to volunteer on highly valued tasks and were more likely than nonacquaintances to agree to participate. The results are interpreted as demonstrating a bias in favor of aiding and promoting members one's own sex in managerial situations.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bass, B. M., Krusell, J., & Alexander, R. A. Male managers' attitudes toward working women. American Behavioral Scientist, 1971, 15, 221–236.
Bowman, G. W., Worthy, N. B., & Greyser, S. A. Are women executives really people? Harvard Business Review, 1965, 43, 52–67+.
Brodsky, A. Women as graduate students. American Psychologist, 1974, 29, 523–526.
Broverman, D. M., Klaiber, E. L., Kobayashi, Y., & Vogel, W. Roles of activation and inhibition in sex differences in cognitive abilities. Psychological Review, 1968, 75, 23–50.
Dansereau, F., Cashman, J., & Graen, G. Instrumentality theory and equity theory as complementary approaches in predicting the relationship of leadership and turnover among managers. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 1973, 10, 184–200.
Dansereau, F., Graen, G., & Haga, W. J. A vertical dyad linkage approach to leadership within formal organizations. A longitudinal investigation of the role making process. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 1975, 13, 46–78.
Fidell, L. S. Empirical verification of sex discrimination in hiring practices in psychology. American Psychologist, 1970, 25, 1094–1098.
Gerard, H. B., & Hoyt, M. F. Distinctiveness of social categorization and attitudes toward ingroup members. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1974, 29, 836–842.
Horner, M. S. Toward and understanding of achievement-related conflicts in women. Journal of Social Issues, 1972, 28, 157–175.
Jackson, J. Structural characteristics of norms. In I. D. Steiner and M. Fishbein (Eds.), Current trends in social psychology. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1965. Pp. 301–309.
Kavanagh, M. J. Expected supervisory behavior, interpersonal trust and environmental preferences. Some relationships based on a dyadic model of leadership. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 1975, 13, 17–30.
Kohlberg, L. A cognitive-developmental analysis of children's sex-role concepts and attitudes. In E. E. Maccoby (Ed.), The development of sex differences. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1966.
Larwood, L., & Legault, J. In defense of psychological territory. Psychological Reports, 1975, 37, 421–422.
Larwood, L., O'Carroll, M., & Logan, J. Sex role as a mediator of achievement in task performance. Sex Roles, 1977, 3, 111–116.
Larwood, L., Zalkind, D., & Legault, J. The bank job: A field study of sexually discriminatory performance on a neutral role task. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 1975, 5, 68–74.
Leonard, R. L., Jr. Self-concept and attraction for similar and dissimilar others. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1975, 31, 926–929.
Levitin, T., Quinn, R. P., & Staines, G. L. Sex discrimination against the American working woman. American Behavioral Scientist, 1971, 15, 237–254.
Megargee, E. I. Influence of sex role in the manifestation of leadership. Journal of Applied Psychology, 1969, 53, 377–382.
Rosen, B., & Jerdee, T. H. Influence of sex-role stereotypes on personnel decisions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 1974, 59, 9–14.
Roussell, C. Relationship of sex of department head to department climate. Administrative Science Quarterly, 1974, 19, 211–220.
Terborg, J. R., & Ilgen, D. R. A theoretical approach to sex discrimination in traditionally masculine occupations. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 1975, 13, 352–376.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Larwood, L., Blackmore, J. Sex discrimination in managerial selection: Testing predictions of the vertical dyad linkage model. Sex Roles 4, 359–367 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00287288
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00287288