Kimberly Fairchild

Reactions to counterstereotypic behavior: the role of backlash in cultural stereotype maintenance.

Social and economic sanctions for counterstereotypical behavior have been termed the backlash effect. The authors present a model of the role of backlash in cultural stereotype maintenance from the standpoint of both perceivers and actors. In Experiments 1 and 2, participants lost a competition to either atypical or typical men or women and subsequently showed greater tendency to sabotage deviants. Moreover, undermining deviants was associated with increased self-esteem, suggesting that backlash rewards perceivers psychologically. Experiment 3 showed that gender deviants who feared backlash resorted to strategies designed to avoid it (e.g., hiding, deception, and gender conformity). Further, perceivers who sabotaged deviants (Experiment 2) or deviants who hid their atypicality (Experiment 3) estimated greater stereotyping on the part of future perceivers, in support of the models presumed role for backlash in stereotype maintenance. The implications of the findings for cultural stereotypes are discussed.

Implicit self-esteem compensation : Automatic threat defense

Four experiments demonstrated implicit self-esteem compensation (ISEC) in response to threats involving gender identity (Experiment 1), implicit racism (Experiment 2), and social rejection (Experiments 3-4). Under conditions in which people might be expected to suffer a blow to self-worth, they instead showed high scores on 2 implicit self-esteem measures. There was no comparable effect on explicit self-esteem. However, ISEC was eliminated following self-affirmation (Experiment 3). Furthermore, threat manipulations increased automatic intergroup bias, but ISEC mediated these relationships (Experiments 2-3). Thus, a process that serves as damage control for the self may have negative social consequences. Finally, pretest anxiety mediated the relationship between threat and ISEC (Experiment 3), whereas ISEC negatively predicted anxiety among high-threat participants (Experiment 4), suggesting that ISEC may function to regulate anxiety. The implications of these findings for automatic emotion regulation, intergroup bias, and implicit self-esteem measures are discussed.

THE F WORD: IS FEMINISM INCOMPATIBLE WITH BEAUTY AND ROMANCE?

Three studies examined the predictive utility of heterosexual relationship concerns vis-à-vis support for feminism. Study 1 showed that beauty is perceived to be at odds with feminism, for both genders. The stereotype that feminists are unattractive was robust, but fully accounted for by romance-related attributions. Moreover, more attractive female participants (using self-ratings) showed decreased feminist orientations, compared with less attractive counterparts. Study 2 compared romantic conflict with the lesbian feminist stereotype and found more support for romantic conflict as a negative predictor of support for feminism and womens civil rights. Study 3 showed that beliefs about an incompatibility between feminism and sexual harmony negatively predicted support for feminism and womens civil rights. In concert, the findings indicate that a marriage between research on romantic relationships and the factors underlying sexism is overdue for understanding gender inequities.

Book Review: Self-Objectification in Women: Causes, Consequences, and Counteractions

within our field as to whether it is possible to build on the misogynistic roots of some personality theories and models of psychopathology, and whether largely decontextualized and depoliticized intrapsychic models disempower women. There also continues to be a suggested divide between a science and a praxis of the psychology of women; for example, the Association for Women in Psychology continues to feature a separate Researchers’ Caucus and the program of its annual meeting includes a separate Science Track, differentiating some forms of scholarship from others. It is only by including a more comprehensive look at the breadth of epistemologies and theories that characterize our field that we can appreciate both the most current empirical work that Matlin champions and the important work being done by personality theorists and clinical practitioners to promote women’s well-being. This said, Matlin’s seventh edition makes a significant contribution to the field, and I recommend it highly. Faculty can work with students to understand and appreciate the rigorous science on which our practice is built as well as how we as feminist psychologists are still engaged in important work to make meaning of women’s gendered experiences and to apply this knowledge in service of social justice.

Book Review: Current issues in developmental psychology: Gender and developmentLemanP. J.TenenbaumH. R. (Eds.). (2014). Current issues in developmental psychology: Gender and development. New York, NY: Psychology Press. 160 pp.

theory as a general theory of adult close relationships. All the chapters in this text ask that attachment theory at a minimum be reformulated to take into account cultural considerations in understanding the course and development of relationships across the life span. Attachment Reconsidered emphasizes the need for a culturally sensitive theory, one that will attend to the cultural meanings and practices that shape all forms of attachment. No scholar of attachment, new or seasoned, should ignore the opportunity to explore what this remarkable collection has to offer.