Three studies examined the effects of benevolent sexism and gender on support provision and relationship functioning across multiple contexts. Benevolent sexism refers to sexist attitudes towards women that are seemingly positive, but still stereotypical (Glick & Fiske, 1996). Study 1 examined benevolent sexism and dependency-oriented support in friendships by asking participants how they would respond to either a female or male acquaintance in hypothetical helping scenarios. Study 2 examined benevolent sexism and secure base support among individuals in heterosexual romantic relationships using an Internet-based survey. Secure base support differs from other forms of support in that it is not provided in order to help someone cope with adversity, but rather involves supporting a partner’s exploration or personal goal pursuit in non-adverse scenarios. Study 3 used behavioral observation to examine benevolent sexism and secure base support among romantic couples participating in a videotaped exploration task. Multiple regression and dyadic analyses were conducted to test for interactions between gender, benevolent sexism, and support provision. In both men and women in Study 1, benevolent sexism was associated with an increased likelihood of providing dependencyoriented help towards others, suggesting that men are not the only ones providing dependency-oriented support to women. However, men were more likely than women to provide dependency-oriented help towards women, regardless of their degree of benevolent sexism. In Studies 2 and 3, there were no significant main effects of benevolent sexism or gender on secure base support. In Study 2, women higher in benevolent sexism reported being more interfering towards their male partner’s goal pursuit, suggesting that benevolent sexism may be harmful to men as well. In Study 3, women reported lower feelings of competence during the exploration task than men. For individuals with partners high in benevolent sexism, gender moderated their feelings of competence. Women with male partners high in benevolent sexism reported lower feelings of competence, whereas men with female partners high in benevolent sexism reported higher feelings of competence. The mixed results suggest that the effects of benevolent sexism on support exchanges may be more complex than current theoretical perspectives imply. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2018. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Relational/Cultural theory (aka Stone Center Theory; Jordan, Kaplan, Miller, Stiver, & Surrey, 1991) has suggested that mutuality is a bidirectional interpersonal process in which both parties hold empathic consideration for the other, value and encourage the differentness of the other, and have the ability and willingness to impact and be impacted by the other. Separately, attitudes of sexism, racism, and heterosexism have been defined as involving interpersonal attitudes and interaction that are distinctly defined by a lack of empathic consideration, the devaluing of difference and an unwillingness to be impacted. This seemingly inverse relationship leads to speculation about how the absence of mutuality may be an underlying requirement to the maintenance of sexism, racism, and heterosexism.Canonical correlation was used to identify the simple and compound relationships between two predictor variables (mutuality) and six criterion variables (social attitudes). The mutuality variables were assessed using the Mutual Psychological Development Questionnaire (Genero, Miller, & Surrey, 1992), and the attitude variables were assessed using the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (Glick & Fiske, 1996), the Pro-Black/Anti-Black scale (Katz & Hass, 1988), and the Attitudes Towards Lesbians and Gay Men scale (Herek, 1988). Participants were 310 White, heterosexual, women and men undergraduate students at a large midwestern university.A pattern of perceived mutuality in relationships was identified and was found to be related to a mixed pattern of prejudicial attitudes. The expression of perceived mutuality in two types of relationships formed a unipolar pattern. A bipolar pattern of attitudes was characterized by (a) less prejudice towards Blacks, (b) less sympathy towards the condition of Blacks, (c) less prejudice towards gay men, (d) greater sexism towards women, and (e) greater prejudice towards lesbians.Gender roles and values-based Ambivalent Racism Theory (Katz & Hass, 1988) were used to explain the results. The study upheld previous research findings that women express less prejudicial attitudes than do men, and that those who express negative attitudes toward one out-group tend to express negative attitudes towards multiple targets.The results indicate that there is sufficient evidence to retain the concept of a mutual relational orientation as a necessary but insufficient underlying dynamic across multiple forms of oppression.College of Architecture / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

Three hundred and twenty men and women were exposed to five levels of conventional sexism and affirmative action-induced discrimination. No perceptual minimisation of discrimination was found: instead participants linearly maximised the impact of discrimination. New measures of emotional responses to discrimination revealed changes in both internal (depression) and external (anger) negative affect, with varying intensities of anger and depression directed at different targets. Similarly, new measures of behavioural reactions to discrimination revealed more antinormative and collectivistic behavioural intentions than previous research. Minute but consistent effects of frame condition were observed in each sample. Finally, clear differences emerged between the responses of men and women, and between responses in the conventional and affirmative action-induced discrimination conditions.

Over the past forty years, polls have clearly indicated a decrease in expressions of racism and sexism. However, while people appear more tolerant, many social scientists claim that prejudice is still prevalent, although in a more disguised form. Indeed, it may be difficult to distinguish a person who is genuinely nonprejudiced from someone simply conforming to external nonprejudiced norms. This thesis presents three experiments that focus on amen and women in the workplace in order to investigate the extent to which the dilemma of genuine nonsexism exists. Experiment I investigated men's hiring preferences. Men whose nonsexist self-conceptions were threatened with sexist feedback were more likely to choose a less competent female over more competent male worker, than nonthreatened men, especially if they had a well-internalized nonsexist self-conception. Are these men genuinely nonprejudiced? Experiment II investigated the alternative explanation that better-internalized nonsexist men who preferred the less competent woman, may simply have been conforming to nonsexist norms rather than being genuinely nonsexist. Male participants read a scenario wherein sexism was deemed inappropriate and were also required to respond to a romantic attraction between a male manager and female employee that conflicted with the nonsexist workplace norms. Unlike less well-internalized nonsexist men, better-internalized nonsexist men were predicted to avoid potentially sexist expressions of attraction towards a female employee, despite endorsing the workplace romance. Results unexpectedly reveal that better-internalized men, even when threatened, were as likely to express attraction towards the female employee as threatened, less well-internalized men. Better-internalized men therefore responded inconsistently with their nonsexist self-conceptions and instead conformed to a potentially sexist norm of romance in the workplace. Experiment III further explored the influence of romantic norms on men's responses to a female employee. Results reveal that threatened, better-internalized men tended to comply with romantic norms as did threatened, less well-internalized men. Norms appear to encourage compliance with both attraction and nonsexism, even in men apparently motivated by genuinely internalized nonsexism. Thus, apparently "genuine" nonsexist men may instead be viewed conforming to nonsexist norms rather than having authentically internalized a nonsexist self-conception.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--City University of New York, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 277-295).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 1991. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 72-77). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of North Texas, August, 2008. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Santa Cruz, 2003. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 79-89).

Thesis (M.A.)--York University, 2008. Graduate Programme in Psychology. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 41-47). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR51552

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