Natasza Kosakowska-Berezecka

Self-Presentation Strategies, Fear of Success and Anticipation of Future Success among University and High School Students

The backlash avoidance model (BAM) suggests women insufficiently self-promote because they fear backlash for behavior which is incongruent with traditional gender roles. Avoiding self-promoting behavior is also potentially related to associating success with negative consequences. In two studies we tested whether self-promotion and fear of success will be predictors of lower salaries and anticipation of lower chances of success in an exam. In study 1, prior to the exam they were about to take, we asked 234 students about their predictions concerning exam results and their future earnings. They also filled scales measuring their associations with success (fear of success) and tendency for self-promotion. The tested model proved that in comparison to men, women expect lower salaries in the future, anticipate lower test performance and associate success with more negative consequences. Both tendency for self-promotion and fear of success are related to anticipation of success in test performance and expectations concerning future earnings. In study 2 we repeated the procedure on a sample of younger female and male high school pupils (N = 100) to verify whether associating success with negative consequences and differences in self-promotion strategies are observable in a younger demographic. Our results show that girls and boys in high school do not differ with regard to fear of success, self-promotion or agency levels. Girls and boys anticipated to obtain similar results in math exam results, but girls expected to have higher results in language exams. Nevertheless, school pupils also differed regarding their future earnings but only in the short term. Fear of success and agency self-ratings were significant predictors of expectations concerning future earnings, but only among high school boys and with regard to earnings expected just after graduation.

Evaluations of Men in Domestic Roles in Canada, Norway, Poland, and India

When a man decides to take a parental leave and become a “stay-at-home dad,” by focusing on domestic duties and parenting, he may risk penalization of stereotype-disconfirming behaviors. However, the degree at which men are allowed to violate gender norms varies from country to country. Our study sought to analyze cross-country differences in perception of men who resign from their professional career and focus on domestic duties. Canadian (N = 120), Norwegian (N = 97), Polish (N = 103), and Indian (N = 109) students were asked to evaluate agency and communality of men and women in domestic roles. The obtained results indicate that in Canada and Norway, men and women in domestic roles were judged similarly, whereas Polish and Indian students favored women over men in domestic roles, thus implying that domestic roles are perceived through the lens of gender stereotypes in these two countries.

Gender Through the Lens of Culture

Cross-cultural research on gender within a psychological framework is still in its infancy as there are few large-scale studies on the subject to date. Furthermore, gender research conducted cross-culturally risks ethnocentrism and androcentrism as the preponderance of contemporary gender theories have been built upon data collected mainly within Western cultural context and until relatively recently conducted mainly by men. In this book, we have made an attempt to show some of the emic aspects of the functioning of women and men in different cultures. The end result is a wide collection of cultural and cross-cultural studies relating to gender issues carried out by researchers from 18 countries presenting empirical data and reviewing gender relations in more than 20 nations and ethnic groups. The chapters include research from less frequently represented parts of the world in terms of gender studies, such as Africa, Latin America, and West Asia. “The psychology of gender through the lens of culture” makes an attempt to capture gender inequality in the chapters written by scholars who live and work in these societies and whose primary line of research is culture, gender, or both. Therefore, the interpretations of gender relations and proposed interventions provided in these chapters are by authors who are familiar with the cultural characteristics of their specific national and ethnic groups. We consider this publication a small step in joining the efforts of feminists, academics, policy makers, and activists who are working toward global gender equality.