An interdependence account of sexism and power: Men’s hostile sexism, biased perceptions of low power, and relationship aggression.

Abstract

Protecting men's power is fundamental to understanding the origin, expression, and targets of hostile sexism, yet no prior theoretical or empirical work has specified how hostile sexism is related to experiences of power. In the current studies, we propose that the interdependence inherent in heterosexual relationships will lead men who more strongly endorse hostile sexism to perceive they have lower power in their relationship, and that these perceptions will be biased. We also predicted that lower perceptions of power would in turn promote aggression toward intimate partners. Across 4 studies, men who more strongly endorsed hostile sexism perceived lower power in their relationships. Comparisons across partners supported that these lower perceptions of power were biased; men who more strongly endorsed hostile sexism underestimated the power they had compared with their partners' reports of that power (Studies 1 and 2). These lower perceptions of power, in turn, predicted greater aggression toward female partners during couples' daily interactions (Study 1), observed during couples' video-recorded conflict discussions (Study 2), and reported over the last year (Studies 3 and 4). Moreover, the associations between hostile sexism, power, and aggression were specific to men perceiving lower relationship power rather than desiring greater power in their relationships (Studies 3 and 4), and they were not the result of generally being more dominant and aggressive (Studies 3 and 4), or more negative relationship evaluations from either partner (Studies 1-4). The findings demonstrate the importance of an interdependence perspective in understanding the experiences, aggressive expressions, and broader consequences associated with hostile sexism.

Women experience more serious relationship problems when male partners endorse hostile sexism

“…In particular, consistent with recent examples examining why and when hostile sexism is associated with aggression, these specific problems align with concerns about women gaining power over men (and thus power struggles; see Cross et al, 2018) and suspicions that women will manipulate men by exploiting their relational dependence (and thus jealousy and interference with other relationships; see Cross et al, 2017). Moreover, analyses exploring specific types and categories of problems revealed that male partners' hostile sexism was specifically associated with women experiencing problems that are theoretically linked to the power and dependence-related concerns underlying men's hostile sexism, including power dynamics and jealousy and managing other relationships.…”

“…Given that men who more strongly endorse hostile sexism have negatively biased perceptions of their partners' relationship behavior (Hammond & Overall, 2013a), and their own relationship power (Cross, Overall, Low, & McNulty, 2018), they may fail to accurately report the types of problems that occur in their relationship, and/or they may simply fail to perceive the impact they have on their female partner and relationship. First, examining the degree to which men's hostile sexism predicts relationship problems as experienced by their female partners provides the first test of whether the effects of men's hostile sexism found in prior research actually impact women's reported relationship experiences.…”

“…As outlined in the introduction, men's hostile sexism is associated with greater reports of aggression within intimate relationships (Cross et al, 2017(Cross et al, , 2018Forbes et al, 2004;Hammond & Overall, 2015;Renzetti, Lynch, & DeWall, 2015). As outlined in the introduction, men's hostile sexism is associated with greater reports of aggression within intimate relationships (Cross et al, 2017(Cross et al, , 2018Forbes et al, 2004;Hammond & Overall, 2015;Renzetti, Lynch, & DeWall, 2015).…”

“…Indeed, women who more strongly endorse hostile sexism support men's power and dominance (Chen et al, 2009;Glick & Fiske, 1996;Glick et al, 2000) and desire less power in their relationships (Cross et al, 2018), which appears to reduce power struggles in relationships. Furthermore, the links between hostile sexism, relationship problems and lower relationship evaluations occurred primarily for men's and not women's endorsement of hostile sexism.…”

Relationship (in)security is central to the sources and outcomes of sexist attitudes

“…Understanding that relationship insecurities involve simultaneous motives of intimacy and fears of rejection make sense of this ambivalence. Needs for love and intimacy are experienced as a vulnerability by men who endorse hostile sexism, prompting derogation of women (Cross et al, ; Hammond & Overall, ). Our perspective also advances theoretical understanding by expanding upon the established sociocultural processes underpinning sexism.…”