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Perceptions of sex-role deviations: An attributional analysis

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Abstract

Perceptions of behavioral deviations from sex roles were examined in light of past research on attributions for in-role and out-of-role behavior. Male and female high school students read descriptions of in-role or out-of-role males and females and described the personality of the actor on a series of bipolar scales. As expected, subjects made corresponding inferences from the actor's behavior to his/her disposition as a consequence of out-of-role, not in-role, behavior. However, this predicted effect appeared only when subjects were making attributions toward a member of their own sex. Possible factors involved in this attributional process are considered.

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Collection of the preliminary data for this study was supported in part by an NIMH Training Grant (2 TO1 MH 12672) to the Department of Psychology, Tufts University.

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Bond, L.A. Perceptions of sex-role deviations: An attributional analysis. Sex Roles 7, 107–115 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00287797

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