Julie E. Phelan

COMPETENT YET OUT IN THE COLD: SHIFTING CRITERIA FOR HIRING REFLECT BACKLASH TOWARD AGENTIC WOMEN

We present evidence that shifting hiring criteria reflects backlash toward agentic (“masterful”) women (Rudman, 1998). Participants (N = 428) evaluated male or female agentic or communal managerial applicants on dimensions of competence, social skills, and hireability. Consistent with past research, agentic women were perceived as highly competent but deficient in social skills, compared with agentic men. New to the present research, social skills predicted hiring decisions more than competence for agentic women; for all other applicants, competence received more weight than social skills. Thus, evaluators shifted the job criteria away from agentic womens strong suit (competence) and toward their perceived deficit (social skills) to justify hiring discrimination. The implications of these findings for womens professional success are discussed.

Reactions to Ethnic Deviance: The Role of Backlash in Racial Stereotype Maintenance

Backlash effects are social and economic penalties for counterstereotypical behavior (Rudman & Phelan, 2008). Five experiments support a model of the role of backlash in racial stereotype maintenance from the standpoint of perceivers and actors (Rudman & Fairchild, 2004). In Experiment 1, perceivers sabotaged Asians and Whites for succeeding in counterstereotypical domains, thereby preventing their future success. In Experiment 2, a White rapper suffered prejudice and economic discrimination, relative to a Black rapper, and prejudice mediated discrimination. Further, actors threatened by backlash for achievement in cross-racial domains responded to success in ways that bolster ethnic stereotypes. For example, Black men and women who feared backlash for academic skill (Experiment 3), and non-Black (Experiment 4) and non-White (Experiment 5) men who experienced backlash for cross-racial achievement, resorted to defensive strategies that preserve racial stereotypes (e.g., refusing to publicize and pursue counterstereotypical talents). Implications for cultural stereotype maintenance are discussed.

Relationship Contingency and Sexual Motivation in Women: Implications for Sexual Satisfaction

Deriving self-worth from romantic relationships (relationship contingency) may have implications for women’s sexual motives in relationships. Because relationship contingency enhances motivation to sustain relationships to maintain positive self-worth, relationship contingent women may engage in sex to maintain and enhance their relationships (relational sex motives). Using structural equation modeling on Internet survey data from a convenience sample of 462 women in heterosexual and lesbian relationships, we found that greater relationship contingency predicted greater relational sex motives, which simultaneously predicted both sexual satisfaction and dissatisfaction via two distinct motivational states. Having sex to improve intimacy with one’s partner was associated with greater sexual satisfaction and autonomy, while having sex to earn partner’s approval was associated with sexual dissatisfaction and inhibition. While some differences exist between lesbian and heterosexual relationships, relationship contingency had sexual costs and benefits, regardless of relationship type.

The Gender Role Motivation Model of Women’s Sexually Submissive Behavior and Satisfaction in Heterosexual Couples

Previous findings suggest that women are more likely than men to take on the submissive role during sexual activities (e.g., waiting for their partner to initiate and orchestrate sexual activities), often to the detriment of their sexual satisfaction. Extending previous research on gender role motivation, the authors recruited 181 heterosexual couples to examine scripted sexual behavior, motivation for such behavior, and relationship outcomes (sexual satisfaction, perceptions of closeness, and relationship satisfaction) for both women and their partners. Using the actor–partner interdependence model, path analyses revealed that women’s submissive behavior had negative links to personal sexual satisfaction and their partner’s sexual satisfaction but only when their submission was inconsistent with their sexual preferences. Moreover, the authors show there are negative downstream consequences of diminished sexual satisfaction on perceptions of closeness and overall relationship satisfaction for both partners in the relationship.

Reactions to Vanguards: Advances in Backlash Theory

Abstract Backlash refers to social and economic penalties for counterstereotypical behavior ( Rudman, 1998 ). By penalizing vanguards (atypical role models), backlash reinforces cultural stereotypes as normative rules. We present the Backlash and Stereotype Maintenance Model (BSMM), supported by studies of gender and racial vanguards ( Phelan and Rudman, 2010a , Phelan and Rudman, 2010b , Rudman and Fairchild, 2004 ). The BSSM illuminates when and why backlash occurs, as well as its effects on potential targets. We provide evidence for the Status Incongruity Hypothesis, which posits that targets who violate status expectations are especially likely to suffer backlash because system-justification motives play a key role in backlash ( Moss-Racusin et al., 2010 , Rudman et al., 2012 ). The Backlash Avoidance Model describes how fear of backlash not only limits peoples aspirations but also undermines their performance in atypical domains ( Moss-Racusin, 2011 , Moss-Racusin and Rudman, 2010 ). Finally, we discuss how advances in backlash theory might guide future research.

Chapter four – Reactions to Vanguards: Advances in Backlash Theory

Abstract Backlash refers to social and economic penalties for counterstereotypical behavior ( Rudman, 1998 ). By penalizing vanguards (atypical role models), backlash reinforces cultural stereotypes as normative rules. We present the Backlash and Stereotype Maintenance Model (BSMM), supported by studies of gender and racial vanguards ( Phelan and Rudman, 2010a , Phelan and Rudman, 2010b , Rudman and Fairchild, 2004 ). The BSSM illuminates when and why backlash occurs, as well as its effects on potential targets. We provide evidence for the Status Incongruity Hypothesis, which posits that targets who violate status expectations are especially likely to suffer backlash because system-justification motives play a key role in backlash ( Moss-Racusin et al., 2010 , Rudman et al., 2012 ). The Backlash Avoidance Model describes how fear of backlash not only limits peoples aspirations but also undermines their performance in atypical domains ( Moss-Racusin, 2011 , Moss-Racusin and Rudman, 2010 ). Finally, we discuss how advances in backlash theory might guide future research.

Sex Differences, Sexism, and Sex: The Social Psychology of Gender from Past to Present

Early research on sexism presumed the traditional model of prejudice as an antipathy. This research focused on negative stereotypes of women as less competent than men and hostility toward gender equality. More recently, sexism has been revealed to have a “benevolent” component; although it reflects positive beliefs about women, it also supports gender inequality by implying that women are weaker than men. In addition, although disconfirming stereotypes should provide women with a means of thwarting sex discrimination, recent research shows that even ambitious and successful women are punished for violating prescriptive stereotypes that assign them to subordinate roles.

Reactions to Vanguards

Abstract Backlash refers to social and economic penalties for counterstereotypical behavior ( Rudman, 1998 ). By penalizing vanguards (atypical role models), backlash reinforces cultural stereotypes as normative rules. We present the Backlash and Stereotype Maintenance Model (BSMM), supported by studies of gender and racial vanguards ( Phelan and Rudman, 2010a , Phelan and Rudman, 2010b , Rudman and Fairchild, 2004 ). The BSSM illuminates when and why backlash occurs, as well as its effects on potential targets. We provide evidence for the Status Incongruity Hypothesis, which posits that targets who violate status expectations are especially likely to suffer backlash because system-justification motives play a key role in backlash ( Moss-Racusin et al., 2010 , Rudman et al., 2012 ). The Backlash Avoidance Model describes how fear of backlash not only limits peoples aspirations but also undermines their performance in atypical domains ( Moss-Racusin, 2011 , Moss-Racusin and Rudman, 2010 ). Finally, we discuss how advances in backlash theory might guide future research.