Abstract
Subjects rated 12 stimulus persons (SPs) on maladjustment in several areas, and on the likelihood of requiring psychiatric help, in a person perception task. Half of the SPs were male and half female. Half of each were sex-role congruent and half sex-role deviant in terms of occupation, life styles, or interests, though “normal” in all other respects. Bias scores were constructed for subjects reflecting the extent to which each was influenced by sex-role deviance. Measures of gender stereotyping and sex-role ideology were also obtained. Results showed that sex-role deviant SPs were rated as significantly more maladjusted than congruent SPs and more likely to require psychiatric help. Sex-role deviance had a much greater effect on male than female SPs. Gender stereotyping and sex-role ideology showed only a moderate relationship, which suggests that these concepts should be distinguished. Measures of evaluative bias showed low to moderate relationships with sex-role ideology and very low correlations with gender stereotyping.
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This research is based on parts of a doctoral dissertation by the first author. It was supported by an Ontario Mental Health Foundation Research Studentship Award to the first author and by Canada Council Grant #S74-0707 to the second author.
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Tilby, P.J., Kalin, R. Effects of sex-role deviant lifestyles in otherwise normal persons on the perception of maladjustment. Sex Roles 6, 581–592 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00287888
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00287888