The gendered nature of stereotypes about climate change opinion groups

Abstract

We document the gendered nature and valence of stereotypes about each of the Six Americas climate change opinion groups that represent a continuum of climate change opinions from Dismissive to Alarmed. Results primarily supported predictions. First, the more groups were associated with strong concern about climate change, the more feminine they were perceived to be. Second, groups with strong concern or strong lack of concern were seen the most negatively. However, contrary to expectations, greater concern was also associated with more positive masculine traits. Combining effects, most perceived the Dismissive to have negative masculine traits and not to have positive feminine traits, those with intermediate opinions (especially, those who were Cautious and Concerned) most favorably, and the Alarmed to have both positive masculine and negative feminine traits. Ratings suggest that (a) the Dismissive may be seen as being “bad but bold”, (b) the Cautious and Concerned may be seen as liked but not respected, and (c) the Alarmed may be seen as respected but not liked. Thus, ratings indicate the importance of attending to gendered and ambivalent impressions of group. Third, valence of impressions was moderated by perceivers’ personal concern about climate change in a manner consistent with intergroup biases. Findings lay the groundwork for understanding the influence of impressions of opinion groups on, for example, willingness to endorse opinions, associate with opinion groups, and support or oppose climate change action.

Sustainability and Consumption: What's Gender Got to Do with It?

“…Attitudes and beliefs (including “pro‐environmentalism”) predictive of SC are implicitly and explicitly associated with women (Brough et al., ), and people expect women to be more concerned about environmental issues like climate change while they expect men to be dismissive (Swim & Geiger, ). Research that documents gender differences in forms of SC which follow traditional caretaking roles for women can easily be interpreted as “women are naturally more caring than men.” However, research on the socialization of gender roles and values suggests a more complicated and nuanced explanation for surface‐level findings about gender differences.…”

Gendered Impressions of Issue Publics as Predictors of Climate Activism

“…Emerging avenues of research have signaled the relevance of impressions of issue publics in guiding individuals' engagement with issues (Bashir et al, 2013;Geiger, 2018). Here we build off this previous work by explicitly considering the gendered nature of these impressions based on other work suggesting that gender is a core component of impressions of climate change issue publics (Swim and Geiger, 2018), that these gendered impressions can influence decisionmaking , and more generally, that gender is a core component of how we evaluate others (e.g., Stangor et al, 1992). Thus, these studies suggested that gendered impressions could meaningfully contribute to collective action decisions.…”

“…First, previous research suggests a link between impressions of an issue public and interest in engaging in group-supportive behavior. More specifically, previous research suggests that many hold negative or mixed impressions of activists and the climate concerned (i.e., members of the public who are most concerned about climate change and support action to address the issue), with negativity especially pronounced when considering those who engage in collective action behavior (Bashir et al, 2013;Klas et al, 2018;Swim and Geiger, 2018). Similarly, most hold negative impressions of the climate dismissive (i.e., members of the public who are least concerned about climate change and oppose action to address the issue; Swim and Geiger, 2018).…”

“…More specifically, previous research suggests that many hold negative or mixed impressions of activists and the climate concerned (i.e., members of the public who are most concerned about climate change and support action to address the issue), with negativity especially pronounced when considering those who engage in collective action behavior (Bashir et al, 2013;Klas et al, 2018;Swim and Geiger, 2018). Similarly, most hold negative impressions of the climate dismissive (i.e., members of the public who are least concerned about climate change and oppose action to address the issue; Swim and Geiger, 2018). In turn, ascribing negative traits and not positive traits to an issue public or activist group is associated with reduced interest in affiliating with that group and engaging in behavior associated with that group, including activist behaviors associated with the group (Bashir et al, 2013).…”

“Be Worried, be VERY Worried:” Preferences for and Impacts of Negative Emotional Climate Change Communication

“…When individuals are concerned with how they are perceived by others, they may alter their use or display of negative emotions (Flett et al, 1988). Negative stereotypes about environmentalists include characteristics such as "nagging" or "complaining" (Swim and Geiger, 2018) and being seen as "eccentric, " "over-reactive" and "self-righteous" (Bashir et al, 2013), while "emotional" displays may be perceived as antithetical to logic (Shields, 2013). Thus, those who are concerned about climate change may want to manage the impression they make on others by restricting their use of emotions in climate change communication.…”