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Confronting Sexism: Exploring the Effect of Nonsexist Credentials on the Costs of Target Confrontations

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Abstract

The goal of the present study was to examine the effect of nonprejudiced credentialing on men who are confronted for sexism. Specifically, this study explored whether providing a male perpetrator with nonsexist credentials intensifies or ameliorates the negative interpersonal outcomes that female confronters often incur. In this experimental study, 147 male undergraduate participants from a university in southern Louisiana, United States, were given false feedback on a gender IAT indicating that they held nonsexist attitudes towards women (or not) and were subsequently confronted by a female experimenter for making a sexist remark (or not). The findings revealed that men who had nonprejudiced credentials viewed a woman who confronted them as less competent and had a stronger preference to avoid her in the future as compared to men who did not have nonprejudiced credentials. Furthermore, confronting was not effective at lowering men’s expressions of gender prejudice. Theoretical implications and practical implications for confronting sexism are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by a Newcomb College Center for Research on Women (NCCROW) Women’s Studies Research Grant and a National Science Foundation Graduate Student Fellowship awarded to the first author. This research is based on a thesis submitted by Stefanie Simon to Tulane University in partial fulfillment of requirements for the master’s degree. The authors would also like to thank several excellent undergraduate research assistants for their contributions and assistance as confederates and experimenters on this project, as well as Drs. Lisa Molix and Janet Ruscher for their help and guidance.

Compliance with Ethical Standards

The authors report no potential conflict of interest. The reported study was approved by Tulane University’s IRB board. All participants indicated consent before participating in the study.

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  1. Department of Psychology, Tulane University, 2007 Stern Hall, New Orleans, LA, 70118, USA

    Stefanie Simon & Laurie T. O’Brien

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  1. Stefanie Simon
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  2. Laurie T. O’Brien
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Correspondence to Stefanie Simon.

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Simon, S., O’Brien, L.T. Confronting Sexism: Exploring the Effect of Nonsexist Credentials on the Costs of Target Confrontations. Sex Roles 73, 245–257 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-015-0513-x

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