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Memory for the frequency of sex-typed versus neutral behaviors: Implications for the maintenance of sex stereotypes

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Abstract

Research has indicated that existing stereotypic beliefs can produce systematic biases in the processing of information. Information which is consistent with stereotypic assumptions appears to be stored and/or retrieved with relative ease, leading to confirmatory biases in memory. The present study tested the hypothesis that behavior which is consistent with sex stereotypes would be judged to have occurred more frequently than nonsex-stereotypic behavior. Subjects were presented with a videotape consisting of behavioral episodes in which male and female actors engaged in sex-typed and neutral activities. Subjects then made frequency judgments and performed a recognition task. Although all activities were actually presented the same number of times, subjects' frequency estimates were significantly higher for sex-typed activity episodes. Implications for the maintenance of beliefs in sex stereotypes are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pitzer College, USA

    Christine Hepburn

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  1. Christine Hepburn
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The research reported in this manuscript was supported by NIH Grant BRSG RR07062 to Anne Locksley. The author was supported by a National Institute of Mental Health graduate student fellowship. Thanks are due to Anne Locksley for her advice throughout the project and to Michael Lenauer for his help in producing the videotape presentation.

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Hepburn, C. Memory for the frequency of sex-typed versus neutral behaviors: Implications for the maintenance of sex stereotypes. Sex Roles 12, 771–776 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00287870

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00287870

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