Social Psychology: Positive Gender Stereotypes
Louisiana State University Shreveport
POSITIVE GENDER STEREOTYPES AND SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES FOR NOT FULFILLING A MATERNAL IMAGE
Angela Coulter
PSYCH 212: Social Psychology
Dr. Yong Dai
June 23, 2014
Stereotypes are defined as beliefs about social groups in terms of the traits or characteristics that they believed to share. These social frameworks can be either positive or negative, especially when it comes to gender stereotypes. For example, women are traditionally viewed as maternal in nature, and men are strong and assertive providers. Although positive gender stereotypes portray them favorably, it unfortunately sets up those who do not adhere to these social expectations very negatively. …show more content…
When it comes to positive stereotypes, those who do not confirm the stereotype are criticized more than others not a part of the social group. The idea of certain positive stereotypes is that some groups are born with an innate ability. When they do not perpetuate the expected social identity, they are not fulfilling their potential or high expectations. Even though positive stereotypes may encourage those in that social group to attain a high standard, it also leaves a lot of room for social criticism for those who fail to meet those expectations. With gender roles, a women is thought to be born with a nature sense of nurturing and caretaking. Even in the animal kingdom, the females are the primary caretaker of their young. Just like those who do not reinforce a positive stereotype, women were judged more harshly than men when it came to child rearing. They are not being the mother they are born to be. In the study, participants were asked to imagine that they were part of a jury for a case where the parent’s neglect resulted in a death of a child. The group of participants had twice as many women as men, and the group overall found the case with a female parent more culpable than a male parent. The participants, especially the male participants, also believed the mother deserved more jail time than the father. The study confirmed the shifting standard when it came to measuring male and female stereotypes. In this context, the females were held to a different standard as parents than males because of the stereotype that women are more idealized caretakers. (Walzer & Czop
POSITIVE GENDER STEREOTYPES AND SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES FOR NOT FULFILLING A MATERNAL IMAGE
Angela Coulter
PSYCH 212: Social Psychology
Dr. Yong Dai
June 23, 2014
Stereotypes are defined as beliefs about social groups in terms of the traits or characteristics that they believed to share. These social frameworks can be either positive or negative, especially when it comes to gender stereotypes. For example, women are traditionally viewed as maternal in nature, and men are strong and assertive providers. Although positive gender stereotypes portray them favorably, it unfortunately sets up those who do not adhere to these social expectations very negatively. …show more content…
When it comes to positive stereotypes, those who do not confirm the stereotype are criticized more than others not a part of the social group. The idea of certain positive stereotypes is that some groups are born with an innate ability. When they do not perpetuate the expected social identity, they are not fulfilling their potential or high expectations. Even though positive stereotypes may encourage those in that social group to attain a high standard, it also leaves a lot of room for social criticism for those who fail to meet those expectations. With gender roles, a women is thought to be born with a nature sense of nurturing and caretaking. Even in the animal kingdom, the females are the primary caretaker of their young. Just like those who do not reinforce a positive stereotype, women were judged more harshly than men when it came to child rearing. They are not being the mother they are born to be. In the study, participants were asked to imagine that they were part of a jury for a case where the parent’s neglect resulted in a death of a child. The group of participants had twice as many women as men, and the group overall found the case with a female parent more culpable than a male parent. The participants, especially the male participants, also believed the mother deserved more jail time than the father. The study confirmed the shifting standard when it came to measuring male and female stereotypes. In this context, the females were held to a different standard as parents than males because of the stereotype that women are more idealized caretakers. (Walzer & Czop