Interethnic Differences (or Similarities?) in the Relative Individuation of Women and Men

Abstract

What roles do ethnicity, gender, and attitudes play in determining whether a person will be perceived as a unique individual versus a homogenized group member? Attitudes toward women's roles have been found to predict Whites' relative individuation of women and men; however, African Americans were found to individuate women and men equally, regardless of attitude . Using a name-trait matching paradigm, the present research found that when targets were identified as African American, African American participants' (18 male and 35 female college students) attitudes toward women's roles predicted their individuation of men and women. These results suggest that an ethnic out-group homogeneity effect, rather than gender-egalitarian attitudes, contributed to the previous finding of equivalent individuation.

The effect of attitude toward women on the relative individuation of women and men is mediated by perceived gender subgroups

“…However, as in Stewart et al (2000), no significant effects of attitudes toward women on relative memory for men and women were found for African‐American participants. A recent study by Stewart, Jaspers, and Estes (2005) clarified the probable reason for this null effect. Participants may have assumed that the targets, for whom no ethnicity was specified, were White.…”