Dynamic Stereotypes about Women and Men in Latin America and the United States

Abstract

To test the hypothesis that a group undergoing social change is believed to adopt traits associated with its new roles, this study examined perceptions of women and men of the past, present, and future in Brazil, Chile, and the United States. These dynamic stereotypes, which are present-day beliefs about a group as changing its characteristics, followed the specific profile of role change in each nation. The perception of men as increasing in masculine characteristics, which was found only in Chile and Brazil, cohered with changes in their roles following industrialization and democratization. The perception of women as increasing in masculine characteristics, which was found in all three nations, cohered with their increasing participation in public roles.

Análisis de los estereotipos de género actuales

“…Asimismo, la mayor variabilidad encontrada en los estereotipos utilizados para definir a las mujeres se relaciona con las conclusiones obtenidas en otros estudios, donde se ha observado una mayor dinámica en el estereotipo femenino (ej., Diekman et al, 2005;García-Retamero et al, 2009;López-Sáez et al, 2008;López-Zafra et al, 2008). La teoría del rol social también permite explicar este resultado, puesto que son los roles sociales femeninos los que han experimentado un mayor cambio en las últimas décadas.…”

“…Los estudios que recientemente han analizado la influencia concreta de diferentes variables socioculturales y sociodemográficas (ej., Castillo-Mayén y Montes-Berges, 2007; Diekman y Diekman et al, 2005;García-Retamero et al, 2009;López-Sáez y Lisbona, 2009;RochaSánchez y Díaz-Loving, 2005;Wilde y Diekman, 2005), indican, por ejemplo, que el tamaño poblacional incide sobre la aplicación de los estereotipos tradicionales (García-Retamero et al, 2009), o que la edad, sexo y nivel educativo influyen sobre la vigencia de la dimensión prescriptiva de los estereotipos de género, pero no sobre la dimensión descriptiva (Ló-pez-Sáez y Lisbona, 2009).…”

Exploring the Dynamics of Incongruent Beliefs about Women and Leaders

“…In line with the social structural perspective, it was found that greater change in women's than men's roles led perceivers to infer stability in attributes of men and dynamism in attributes of women, whereby women were perceived as increasing in agency as a function of their new roles Diekman, et al, 2005;Wilde & Diekman, 2005).…”

“…This unexpected increase of masculine personality traits in leaders and men (and not only in women) from the past to the present might reflect the changing organizational environment, marked by new technology, increased competition and performance-orientation (for changing conditions of work, see Cooper & Burke, 2002; for an increase in Latin-American men's agency over time due to a cultural shift, see Diekman, Eagly, Mladinic, & Ferreira, 2005).…”

Validación de una escala de homofobia creada en México

“…Ello se debe a su distinto procedimiento de desarrollo. La primera surge de la representación social que está teñida por el estereotipo del "joto hombre" y la condena hacia la homosexualidad masculina en la cultura judeocristiana y latina (Diekman, Eagly, Mladinic & Ferreira, 2005;Moral, 2009). La segunda surge de un grupo de trabajo de expertos muy sensible a la problemática social de la homofobia.…”