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Power, gender stereotypes and perceptions of heterosexual couples
Author(s) -
Smoreda Zbigniew
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
british journal of social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.855
H-Index - 98
eISSN - 2044-8309
pISSN - 0144-6665
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-8309.1995.tb01075.x
Subject(s) - psychology , perception , social psychology , attribution , dominance (genetics) , personality psychology , social perception , personality , big five personality traits , power (physics) , developmental psychology , gender role , gender psychology , bem sex role inventory , gender identity , biochemistry , chemistry , physics , quantum mechanics , neuroscience , gene
This paper examines the relation between power attributed to members of heterosexual couples and the perception of their personalities in terms of gender stereotyped traits. Three‐hundred and fifty adult, native French subjects (women and men) participated in the study. They attributed daily family tasks and decisions to the target persons; then, they described them on the Bem Sex‐Role Inventory. The results indicated strong correlations between observers' representations of power distribution in the couple and the gender related personality descriptions of the couple. The attribution of ‘instrumental’ traits increased (and ‘expressive’ traits decreased) according to the degree of power assigned to the target person of either sex. On the ‘instrumentality’ dimension, accentuation of perceptions of people in gender role inconsistent positions was also observed. The simultaneous influences of general gender stereotypes and specific relations between the gender roles in dyads on the perception of individuals are discussed. It is proposed that social relations of dominance provide a model for the construction of gender stereotypes and their contextual applications.