The Stereotypical Nature of Stereotyping

The nature of male and female stereotypes of a sample of American students was examined by employing a matched-guise technique. The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of more versus less obtrusive methods for measuring stereotypes, to study stereotyping effects in the presence of quasi-realistic information about individuals, and to address an assumed positive bias attached to the male stereotype. The traditional stereotypes were elicited in the general case, whereas there were a few differences attributed to individual personality descriptions based on the sex of the persons described. There was some evidence for a small core of adjectives that might form a basis for sex stereotypes. There was no evidence for a positive bias attached to the male stereotype. Male and female respondents differed in their perception of sex stereotypes.