Lay Beliefs About Gender and Sexual Behavior: First Evidence for a Pervasive, Robust (but Seemingly Unfounded) Stereotype

2021 ◽  
pp. 095679762098382
Author(s):  
Jaimie Arona Krems ◽  
Ahra Ko ◽  
Jordan W. Moon ◽  
Michael E. W. Varnum
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Behavior ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Casual Sex ◽  
Mating Strategy ◽  
Negative Stereotypes ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Lay Beliefs ◽  
Television Film

Although casual sex is increasingly socially acceptable, negative stereotypes toward women who pursue casual sex remain pervasive. For example, a common trope in television, film, and other media is that women who engage in casual sex have low self-esteem. Despite robust work on prejudice against women who engage in casual sex, little empirical work has focused on the lay theories individuals hold about them. Across six experiments with U.S. adults ( N = 1,469), we found that both men and women stereotype women (but not men) who engage in casual sex as having low self-esteem. This stereotype is held explicitly and semi-implicitly; is not driven by individual differences in religiosity, conservatism, or sexism; and is mediated by inferences that women who have casual sex are unsatisfied with their mating strategy—yet the stereotype persists when women are explicitly described as choosing to have casual sex. Finally, the stereotype appears to be unfounded; across experiments, the same participants’ sexual behavior was not significantly correlated with their self-esteem.

Lay beliefs about gender and sexual behavior: First evidence for a pervasive, robust (but seemingly unfounded) stereotype

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaimie Krems ◽  
Ahra Ko ◽  
Jordan W Moon ◽  
Michael E. W. Varnum
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Behavior ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Casual Sex ◽  
Mating Strategy ◽  
Negative Stereotypes ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Lay Beliefs ◽  
Television Film

Although casual sex is increasingly socially acceptable, negative stereotypes toward women pursuing casual sex appear to remain pervasive. Specifically, a common trope in media (e.g., television, film) is that such women have low self-esteem. Despite robust work on prejudice against women who engage in casual sex, little empirical work investigates the lay theories individuals hold about such women. Across six experiments with US participants (N = 1,469), we find that both men and women stereotype women (but not men) who have casual sex as having low self-esteem. This stereotype is held explicitly and semi-implicitly, not driven by individual differences in religiosity, conservatism, or sexism, is mediated by inferences that women having casual sex are unsatisfied with their mating strategy, yet persists when these women are explicitly described as choosing to have casual sex. Finally, it appears unfounded; across experiments, these same participants’ sexual behavior is uncorrelated with their own self-esteem.

Extraversion, sexual experience, and sexual emotions

1999 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 537-537 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Marshall Townsend
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Sexual Behavior ◽  
Sensation Seeking ◽  
Sexual Experience ◽  
Emotional Reactions ◽  
Casual Sex ◽  
Sex Partners ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
The Creation

Sex differences in motivation and emotional reactions to casual sex suggest that the links to extraversion, constraint, impulsivity-sensation seeking, and sexual behavior differ for men and women. Because both testosterone and dominance, and dominance and number of sex partners appear to correlate in men but not in women, it is plausible that testosterone is involved in the creation and maintenance of these sex differences in linkage among the behavioral subsystems involved in sexuality and extraversion.

A population-based twin study of self-esteem and gender

1998 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 1403-1409 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. S. KENDLER ◽  
C. O. GARDNER ◽  
C. A. PRESCOTT
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Gender Effects ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Symptoms Of Depression ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Mean ◽  
And Gender

Background. Self-esteem (SE), a widely used construct in the social sciences, is usually conceptualized as a reflection of socialization and interpersonal experiences that may differ considerably between the genders.Methods. The Rosenberg self-esteem scale was assessed at personal interview in both members of 3793 unselected twin pairs (1517 male–male, 856 female–female and 1420 male–female) from the population-based Virginia Twin Registry. Gender effects on SE were assessed by both analysis of variance and biometrical twin modelling.Results. The mean SE score was slightly but significantly lower in women v. men, and in women who grew up with a male v. a female co-twin. Twin modelling suggested that: (i) individual differences in self-esteem in both men and women were best explained by genetic and individual-specific environment factors; (ii) heritability estimates were similar in women (32%) and in men (29%); and (iii) the same genetic factors that influenced SE in women also influenced SE in men. Analyses supported the validity of the equal environment assumption for SE. The heritability of SE cannot be explained by the moderate correlation between SE and symptoms of depression.Conclusions. These results are inconsistent with prominent gender-related aetiological models for SE, which postulate that individual differences arise from socialization experiences both within and outside the home of origin which differ widely for the two genders. Instead, a significant proportion of the population variance in SE is due to genetically-influenced temperamental variables that are the same in men and women.

The Relationship of Compliance with Coping Strategies and Self-Esteem

2003 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gisli H. Gudjonsson ◽  
Jon Fridrik Sigurdsson
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Multiple Regression ◽  
Sex Difference ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Stressful Situation ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

Summary: The Gudjonsson Compliance Scale (GCS), the COPE Scale, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale were administered to 212 men and 212 women. Multiple regression of the test scores showed that low self-esteem and denial coping were the best predictors of compliance in both men and women. Significant sex differences emerged on all three scales, with women having lower self-esteem than men, being more compliant, and using different coping strategies when confronted with a stressful situation. The sex difference in compliance was mediated by differences in self-esteem between men and women.

Sex Differences in Time Production Revisited

2012 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Glicksohn ◽  
Yamit Hadad
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Sex Difference ◽  
Absolute Error ◽  
Internal Clock ◽  
Target Duration ◽  
Log P ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Time Production ◽  
T Score

Individual differences in time production should indicate differences in the rate of functioning of an internal clock, assuming the existence of such a clock. And sex differences in time production should reflect a difference in the rate of functioning of that clock between men and women. One way of approaching the data is to compute individual regressions of produced duration (P) on target duration (T), after log transformation, and to derive estimates for the intercept and the slope. One could investigate a sex difference by comparing these estimates for men and women; one could also contrast them by looking at mean log(P). Using such indices, we found a sex difference in time production, female participants having a relatively faster internal clock, making shorter time productions, and having a smaller exponent. The question is whether a sex difference in time production would be found using other methods for analyzing the data: (1) the P/T ratio; (2) an absolute discrepancy (|P-T|) score; and (3) an absolute error (|P-T|/T) score. For the P/T ratio, female participants have a lower mean ratio in comparison to the male participants. In contrast, the |P-T| and |P-T|/T indices seem to be seriously compromised by wide individual differences.

Within-Subject Variability in Ingratiation as a Function of Self-Esteem and Time

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 216-226
Author(s):  
Katharina Schmitte ◽  
Bert Schreurs ◽  
Mien Segers ◽  
I. M. “Jim” Jawahar
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Small Group ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Random Coefficient ◽  
Person Perspective ◽  
Authority Figure ◽  
Subject Variability ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Within Subject Variability

Abstract. Adopting a within-person perspective, we theorize why ingratiation use directed toward an authority figure increases over time and for whom. We posit that as the appraisal event draws closer, the salience of achieving good evaluations increases, leading to an increasing use of ingratiation. We further propose that the increase will be stronger for individuals with low relative to high self-esteem. Participants were 349 students enrolled in a small-group, tutor-led management course. Data were collected in three bi-weekly waves and analyzed using random coefficient modeling. Results show that ingratiation use increased as time to the evaluation decreased, and low self-esteem students ingratiated more as time progressed. We conclude that ingratiation use varies as a function of contextual and inter-individual differences.

Impulsive/Compulsive Sexual Behavior: Assessment and Treatment

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eli Coleman
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Behavior ◽  
Diagnostic Criteria ◽  
Treatment Approach ◽  
Assessment Methods ◽  
Compulsive Sexual Behavior ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Assessment And Treatment ◽  
Controversial Area ◽  
The Many ◽  
New Research

There is a growing recognition among clinicians that any type of sexual behavior can become pathologically impulsive or compulsive. There is quite a bit of debate about terminology for this condition, the diagnostic criteria, assessment methods and treatment approaches. In the absence of clear consensus, clinicians are struggling with how to help the many men and women who suffer and seek help from this type of problem. This chapter will review the author’s assessment and treatment approach. Clinicians will need to keep abreast of the literature as new research evolves and follow the continued debate around this controversial area.

Greater Right Hemisphericity is Associated with Lower Self-Esteem in Adults

1991 ◽  
Vol 73 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1244-1246 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Persinger ◽  
Katherine Makarec
Keyword(s):  
Negative Affect ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
The Self ◽  
Self Concept ◽  
Developmental History ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
History Of

28 men and 32 women were given Vingiano's Hemisphericity Questionnaire and the Coopersmith Self-esteem Inventory. People who reported the greatest numbers of right hemispheric indicators displayed the lowest self-esteem; the correlations were moderately strong ( r>.50) for both men and women. These results support the hypothesis that the sense of self is primarily a linguistic, left-hemispheric phenomenon and that a developmental history of frequent intrusion from right-hemispheric processes can infuse the self-concept with negative affect.

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