Citation

Townsend CH, Mishra S, Kray LJ. Psychol. Sci. 2024; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2024, Association for Psychological Science, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1177/09567976241260251

PMID

39110883

Abstract

Across four studies (N = 816 U.S. adults), we uncovered a gender stereotype about dual pathways to social hierarchy: Men were associated with power, and women were associated with status. We detected this pattern both explicitly and implicitly in perceptions of individuals drawn from Forbes magazine's powerful people lists in undergraduate and online samples. We examined social-cognitive implications, including prominent people's degree of recognition by individuals and society, and the formation of men's and women's self-concepts. We found that power (status) ratings predicted greater recognition of men (women) and lesser recognition of women (men). In terms of the self-concept, we found that women internalized the stereotype associating women with status more than power implicitly and explicitly. Although men explicitly reported having less status and more power than women, men implicitly associated the self with status as much as power. No gender differences emerged in the desires for power and status.

Language: en

Keywords

gender; hierarchy; open data; open materials; power; preregistered; status; stereotypes