Eden B. King

The Swimsuit Becomes Us All: Ethnicity, Gender, and Vulnerability to Self-Objectification

Self-objectification theory posits and past research has found that Caucasian women’s body image is negatively affected by a stigma of obesity and sociocultural norm of thinness that leads women to self-focus from a critical external perspective. However, research in this area is limited by its methodology and the restricted demographic composition of its study participants. The current study tested 176 men and 224 women of Caucasian, African American, Hispanic, and Asian American descent in a situation that induced a state of self-objectification (e.g., wearing a one-piece Speedo bathing suit) or that served as a control condition (e.g., wearing a sweater). Contrary to previous research, when put in a self-objectifying situation, men and women of every ethnicity experienced negative outcomes (e.g., lower math performance) that parallel those previously found for Caucasian women.

What do the young (old) people think of me? Content and accuracy of age-based metastereotypes

Increasing age diversity in the workforce points to the need to understand the dynamics of interpersonal relations across age groups. An important element of these interactions involves interpersonal perceptions, including both what an individual believes about members of other age groups (stereotypes) and what individuals believe other age groups think of their own group (metastereotypes). We explore the content and accuracy of the stereotypes and metastereotypes in a sample of 247 younger, middle-aged, and older workers. We compare the stereotypes and metastereotypes of and by different groups in terms of their affective valence (positive/negative) and compare the results produced by open-ended and closed-ended methods. We map out the usefulness of these data for future work towards enhancing cross-aged interactions in the workplace.

Hostile and benevolent reactions toward pregnant women: complementary interpersonal punishments and rewards that maintain traditional roles.

A naturalistic field study investigated behavior toward pregnant (vs. nonpregnant) women in nontraditional (job applicant) and traditional (store customer) roles. Female confederates, who sometimes wore a pregnancy prosthesis, posed as job applicants or customers at retail stores. Store employees exhibited more hostile behavior (e.g., rudeness) toward pregnant (vs. nonpregnant) applicants and more benevolent behavior (e.g., touching, overfriendliness) toward pregnant (vs. nonpregnant) customers. A second experiment revealed that pregnant women are especially likely to encounter hostility (from both men and women) when applying for masculine as compared with feminine jobs. The combination of benevolence toward pregnant women in traditional roles and hostility toward those who seek nontraditional roles suggests a system of complementary interpersonal rewards and punishments that may discourage pregnant women from pursuing work that violates gender norms.

Understanding Tokenism: Antecedents and Consequences of a Psychological Climate of Gender Inequity

Extending tokenism theory, the authors investigate psychological climate of gender inequity as a way to understand how token women experience their work environments. In the first study, responses from a sample of 155 women across varied occupations confirm the expectation that token women tend to perceive their organizational climates to be inequitable for women. The results of a second survey of 196 female managers suggest that the subjective processes of tokenism give rise to inequitable climate perceptions. Finally, the responses of 312 women in the construction industry indicate that the climate of gender inequity is related to job attitudes and behaviors.

Not So Subtle A Meta-Analytic Investigation of the Correlates of Subtle and Overt Discrimination

Extant research suggests subtle, interpersonal forms of discrimination, though often normalized and overlooked, may be just as detrimental to targets as compared to more traditional, overt forms of discrimination. To further examine this question, we meta-analyzed the current literature to estimate the relationship between discrimination and a host of psychological, physical health, and work-related correlates as a function of its form (subtle or overt). Analysis of 90 effect sizes suggested that subtle and overt forms of discrimination hold relationships of comparable magnitude with a host of adverse correlates. By demonstrating that these two forms of discrimination are not differentially related to relevant outcomes, our findings call into serious question the pervasive belief that subtle discrimination is less consequential for targets as compared to overt discrimination (Landy, 2008; McWhorter, 2008). Taken together, our results suggest that subtle discrimination is at least as important to consider and address as its overt counterpart. Implications for organizational scholars and practitioners are discussed.

Benevolent Sexism at Work Gender Differences in the Distribution of Challenging Developmental Experiences

The current research draws from ambivalent sexism theory to examine potential gender differences in the quantity and quality of developmental work experiences. In a sample of managers in the energy industry, men and women reported participating in a similar number of developmental experiences (with comparable levels of support), but men rated these experiences as more challenging and received more negative feedback than did women. Similarly, a sample of female managers in the health care industry reported comparable amounts, but less challenging types, of developmental experiences than their male counterparts’. The results of three complementary experiments suggest that benevolent sexism is negatively related to men’s assignment of challenging experiences to female targets but that men and women were equally likely to express interest in challenging experiences. Taken together, these results suggest that stereotype-based beliefs that women should be protected may limit women’s exposure to challenging assignments, which in turn may partially explain the underrepresentation of women at the highest levels of organizations.

Expectations of Obese Trainees: How Stigmatized Trainee Characteristics Influence Training Effectiveness

This study identifies stigma as a potential precursor to self-fulfilling prophecies in training interactions. Expectations held by leaders often result in actions that elicit expectancy-confirming behaviors from their subordinates. The results of the present study suggest that trainee weight (manipulated with a photograph depicting the trainee as either obese or average weight for height) influenced female trainer expectations and evaluations of the training and trainee. Furthermore, the results suggest that negative expectations held by trainers were related to trainee evaluations of the training and the trainer and, for less flexible trainers, to decrements in trainee performance on the trained task. Overall, the results suggest that trainer expectations can be influenced by stereotypes held about trainee characteristics, thus undermining training effectiveness.

Managing Concealable Stigmas at Work A Review and Multilevel Model

Many employees possess inconspicuous identities that are stigmatized. At work, a context wherein impression management concerns are salient, these individuals face decisions about when, how, and to whom to disclose their concealable stigmas with important consequences for the way individuals experience work. In the following review, we integrate findings from psychological, sociological, and management literatures pertaining to the management of concealable stigmas. We further push the boundaries of this evidence to develop a multilevel model of workplace identity management behavior. That is, we conceptualize identity management as a within- and between-person phenomenon, accounting for the notion that identity management behaviors will vary as a function of the situation but that people will also exhibit identity management behavioral averages, tendencies, and accumulation that facilitate meaningful comparison among employees. Throughout the review, we highlight common themes, clarify inconsistent findings, and call attention to several fruitful areas we see ripe for future research.

The Divide between Diversity Training and Diversity Education: Integrating Best Practices.

The fields of diversity training and diversity education have developed in a disconnected manner. This divide ensures that each field advances slowly and with narrow focus. The authors argue here that the divide should be bridged with attention to the best practices that diversity training and diversity education offer. By integrating the best that each perspective has to offer as outlined here, both fields of inquiry and practice may be enhanced.

Bringing social identity to work: the influence of manifestation and suppression on perceived discrimination, job satisfaction, and turnover intentions.

In the current article, we explored whether manifesting or suppressing an identity (race/ethnicity, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, or disability) at work is related to perceived discrimination, job satisfaction, and turnover intentions. Participants included 211 working adults who completed an online survey. The results showed that efforts to suppress a group identity were positively (and behavioral manifestations of group identity negatively) related to perceived discrimination, which predicted job satisfaction and turnover intentions. These results suggest that diverse employees actively manage their nonwork identities while at work and that these identity management strategies have important consequences.