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Research Details
Gender gaps: Who needs to be explained?, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Abstract
The hypothesis that explanations for differences between prototypical and nonprototypical members of categories would focus more on attributes of the latter than on those of the former was examined. Explanations for alleged gender differences in the behavior of voters, elementary school teachers, and college professors were elicited. As predicted, explanations for gender differences within the 3 categories emphasized the qualities of the "deviant" member. Ss' explanations of alleged gender gaps in the behavior of voters and college professors focused more on qualities of women than on qualities of men. In contrast, Ss' explanations of an alleged gender gap in the behavior of elementary school teachers focused more on qualities of men than on qualities of women. The results are interpreted in terms of Kahneman and Miller's (1986) norm theory.
Type
Article
Author(s)
Dale T. Miller, Brian Taylor, Michelle L. Buck
Date Published
1991
Citations
Miller, Dale T., Brian Taylor, and Michelle L. Buck. 1991. Gender gaps: Who needs to be explained?. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.(1): 5-12.