Masculine harps and feminine horns: Timbre and pitch level influence gender ratings of musical instruments

Stronsick, Lisa M.; Tuft, Samantha E.; Incera, Sara; McLennan, Conor T.

doi:10.1177/0305735617734629

Cited by 12 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…English speakers also rated both female conditions positive, independent of the masculine ( M = 28, t (25) = 7.30, p < 0.001) or feminine ( M = 30, t (25) = 7.78, p < 0.001) Spanish grammar. These results replicated previous findings regarding the stability of the gender ratings of musical instruments in English speakers (Abeles, ; Griswold & Chroback, ; Stronsick et al, ).…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 91%

“…After clicking START, the name of an instrument appeared in white on black background in the center of the screen (see Figure ), and participants were instructed to click somewhere along the response bar. The response bar represents the gender continuum, from Male to Female in version 1 and from Female to Male in version 2 (Stronsick et al, ). Half the participants in each group were randomly assigned to each version to counterbalance the position of the responses.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several factors influence gender ratings of musical instruments (Abeles, 2009;Abeles & Porter, 1978;Griswold & Chroback, 1981;Kelly, 1997;Stronsick, Tuft, Incera & M c Lennan, 2017). Tubas and other larger brass instruments may evoke masculine ratings due to the overwhelming majority of boys and men playing them; while flutes and other small woodwind instruments are considered more appropriate for girls because of their small size, delicate nature, and higher note range (Griswold & Chroback, 1981).…”

Section: Gender and Musical Instrumentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Tubas and other larger brass instruments may evoke masculine ratings due to the overwhelming majority of boys and men playing them; while flutes and other small woodwind instruments are considered more appropriate for girls because of their small size, delicate nature, and higher note range (Griswold & Chroback, ). The size (large vs. small), shape (angular vs. curvy), timbre (brass vs. woodwinds), and playable range (lower strings vs. upper woodwinds) are some of the factors that influence gender ratings (Stronsick et al, ). These variables influence participants' conceptual representations of gender in a consistent way, resulting in relatively stable gender ratings for musical instruments.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Our experiment was inspired by how reliable gender associations with musical instruments are across different studies (Abeles, ; Griswold & Chroback, ; Stronsick et al, ). In the present investigation, we used the category of musical instruments, as opposed to previously used concrete nouns (e.g., land animals), to clearly distinguish between conceptual and grammatical forces in the attribution of gender ratings.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Is tuba masculine or feminine? The timing of grammatical gender

et al. 2018

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We used computer mouse tracking to investigate gender ratings of musical instruments in monolingual Spanish and English speakers. Musical instruments are tied to conceptual representations of gender. Consistent with previous research, English speakers rated the instruments male and female following these relatively stable conceptual representations, while Spanish speakers used grammar—in addition to their conceptual representations of gender—to perform their ratings. Interestingly, the responses of the Spanish speakers were influenced first by the grammatical information and 60 ms later by the conceptual representations. Measuring how participants' responses unfold over time provides novel information regarding the timing of grammatical gender.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Gender and Musical Instrumentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Is tuba masculine or feminine? The timing of grammatical gender

et al. 2018

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First impression biases in the performing arts: taste-based discrimination and the value of blind auditioning

Droege

2021

J Cult Econ

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I develop a game-theoretic framework to study the repercussions of an evaluator’s bias against a specific group of applicants. The evaluator decides upfront between holding an informed or a blind audition. In the latter, the evaluator learns neither the applicant’s ability nor the gender. I show that, above a threshold bias, the evaluator prefers a blind audition to provide high effort incentives exclusively for high-ability applicants. Consequently, committing to no information can be beneficial for the evaluator. I also show that a highly biased evaluator’s preferences align with those of a highly able female. I extend the framework to performance uncertainty and gender-blind CVs and compare blind auditions to affirmative action. The framework is relevant for auditory-based applications: my results can explain why blind auditions have increased the probability of a female orchestra musician being hired via taste-based discrimination and challenge explanations grounded in statistical discrimination.

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