YOU DO WHAT WE THINK:
THE ROLE OF NORMATIVE BELIEFS IN ENACTING GENDER BIAS
Social psychology research study conducted as an advanced research assistant in the SPAC Lab at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville under the mentorship of Dr. Sarah Lamer.
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Team: Jessica Wysor | Dr. Sarah Lamer | Collette Eccleston
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Key Skills: User Research | MATLAB Programming | Stimulus Coding | Data Analysis | Presentation
Overview
Independent of their own beliefs, people hold mental images of the average group member and ideas about what that average person believes. Critically, these descriptive norms can guide behavior regardless of what beliefs an individual personally endorses. Yet, it is unclear when descriptive norms (vs. personal beliefs) guide behavior. Therefore, we manipulated descriptive norms to assess their impact on different kinds of gender-biased behavior.
STUDY DETAILS
Sampling: 400 (determined through power analysis)
Research Design: Quasi-Experiment
Nature of Manipulation: Mixed
Conditions: 2 x 2 x 2
Experimenter will be blind to condition, participants will be randomly assigned
Data Analysis Plan
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P < .05
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Excluded participants who:
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Failed attention check
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Failed manipulation check
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Missing data
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Statistical Tests Used: MLM & Process Dissociation Procedure
Abstract
In this study, participants (N =400) were exposed to one of two graphs depicting descriptive norms of the average university student as gender-egalitarian or traditional. Participants then completed a memory task where they read 48 different business ideas stated by women and men and were later asked to recall these ideas by reporting whether or not they remembered reading a statement and whether it was said by a woman or man.
We hypothesized that gender bias would emerge in item recognition (i.e., participants would be more likely to forget women’s than men’s statements) and source memory (i.e., participants would attribute statements to men more than women). However, cognitive psychology suggests that these two kinds of memory operate via different mechanisms. We therefore expected that traditional (vs. egalitarian) descriptive norms would amplify item recognition, an automatic process, but not source memory, a more controlled process. We expected that these findings will elucidate potential causes of stagnation in gender inequality.
Poster Presentation
Poster presentation prepared and presented at the Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement (EURÄ“CA), Knoxville, TN.
AWARDS
Excellence in Research Award from the UTK College of Arts and Sciences
UTK Office of Research & Engagement Silver Award
FINDINGS
The results showed that in the traditional norms condition, both men and women were more likely to forget men’s statements as opposed to women’s (Graph 1). Both men and women were less likely to forget women’s statements in the traditional norms condition which does not support the initial hypothesis. This is possibly due to the manipulation used in the task; the responses may have been the result of a threat response in which women felt they needed to perform better. Additionally, the findings could suggest that individuals felt a strong group identity with UT (i.e. “I know UT students and they don’t really think that.”).
Regarding correct source attributions, men were more likely to attribute the statements correctly to men in both the egalitarian and traditional norms condition; women were slightly more likely to attribute the statements correctly to men in the traditional norms condition although this was not significant (Graph 2). There didn’t appear to be any meaningful findings (that aligned with the initial hypothesis) when looking specifically at competence, agency, or communality as factors.
