Skip to main content

Gender and Double Standards for Competence

  • Chapter
Gender, Interaction, and Inequality

Abstract

Gender inequality in interaction takes many forms and is maintained by various processes. For example, men and women frequently differ in the amount of competence that is assigned to them and in the emotional reactions they receive when they attempt to occupy leadership positions. Moreover, women who do achieve such positions often have difficulties exerting influence. For instance, they tend to be perceived as aggressive whereas men exhibiting the same behavior are seen as decisive. In addition, there are usually differences in the types of personality characteristics that men and women are expected to exhibit (e.g., women are expected to be more sensitive than men). There are also gender differences in the rules specifying what degree of informality is acceptable in a given situation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Berger, J., Fisek, M.H., Norman, R.Z., & Zelditch, M., Jr. (1977). Status characteristics and social interaction: An expectation-states approach. New York: Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berger, J., Rosenholtz, S.J., & Zelditch, M., Jr. (1980). Status organizing processes. Annual Review of Sociology, 6, 479–508.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berger, J., Wagner, D.G., & Zelditch, M., Jr. (1985). Introduction—expectation states theory: Review and assessment. In J. Berger & M. Zelditch, Jr. (Eds.), Status, rewards, and influence: How expectations organize behavior (pp. 1–72 ). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berger, J., Wagner, D.G., & Zelditch, M., Jr. (1989). Theory growth, social processes, and metatheory. In J.H. Turner (Ed.), Theory building in sociology: Assessing theoretical cumulation (pp. 19–42 ). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blalock, H.M., Jr. (1979). Black-white relations in the 1980’s: Toward a long-term policy. New York: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Calzavara, L. (1988). Trends and policy in employment opportunities for women. In J. Curtis, E. Grabb, N. Guppy and S. Gilbert (Eds.), Social inequality in Canada: Patterns, problems, policies (pp. 287–300 ). Scarborough, Ont.: Prentice-Hall Canada.

    Google Scholar 

  • Colwill, N., & Lips, H.M. (1988). Issues in the workplace. In H.M. Lips (Ed.), Sex and gender: An introduction (pp. 292–315 ). Mountain View, CA: Mayfield.

    Google Scholar 

  • Deaux, K. (1984). From individual differences to social categories: Analysis of a decade’s research on gender. American Psychologist, 39, 105–116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deaux, K. (1985). Sex and gender. Annual Review of Psychology, 36, 49–81. Deschamps, J.C. (1983). Social attribution. In J. Jaspars, F.D. Finchman, & M. Hewstone (Eds.), Attribution theory and research: Conceptual, developmental and social dimensions (pp. 223–240 ). London: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Deutsch, F.M., Zalenski, C.M., & Clark, M.E. (1986). Is there a double standard of aging? Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 16, 771–785.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dornbusch, S.M., & Scott, W.R. (1975). Evaluation and the exercise of authority. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eichler, M. (1977). The double standard as an indicator of sex-status differentials. Atlantis, 3, 1–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eichler, M. (1980). The double standard: A feminist critique of feminist social science. London: Croom Helm.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eichler, M. (1988). Nonsexist research methods: A practical guide. Boston: Allen and Unwin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Epstein, C.F. (1970a). Woman’s place: Options and limits in professional careers. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Epstein, C.F. (1970b). Encountering the male establishment: Sex-status limits on women’s careers in the professions. American Journal of Sociology, 75, 965982.

    Google Scholar 

  • Epstein, C.F. (1973). Bringing women in: Rewards, punishments, and the structure of achievement. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 208, 62–70.

    Google Scholar 

  • Epstein, C.F. (1975). Tracking and careers: The case of women in American society. In E.L. Zuckerman (Ed.), Women and men: Roles, attitudes and power relationships (pp. 26–34 ). New York: Radcliffe Club.

    Google Scholar 

  • Epstein, C.F. (1981). Women in law. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Evan, W.M. (Ed.). (1971). Organizational experiments: Laboratory and field research. New York: Harper and Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foddy, M., & Graham, H. (1987). Sex and double standards in the inference of ability. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Psychological Association, Vancouver, B.C.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foddy, M., & Smithson, M. (1989). Fuzzy sets and double standards: Modeling the process of ability inference. In J. Berger, M. Zelditch, Jr., & B. Anderson (Eds.), Sociological theories in progress: New formulations (pp. 73–99 ). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foschi, M. (1986). Actors, observers, and performance expectations: A Bayesian model and an experimental study. Advances in Group Processes: A Research Annual, 3, 181–208.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foschi, M. (1989). Status characteristics, standards, and attributions. In J. Berger, M. Zelditch, Jr., & B. Anderson (Eds.), Sociological theories in progress: New formulations (pp. 58–72 ). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foschi, M. (1990). Double standards in the evaluation of men and women. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Association, Vancouver, B.C.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foschi, M., & Foddy, M. (1988). Standards, performances, and the formation of self-other expectations. In M. Webster, Jr. & M. Foschi (Eds.), Status generalization: New theory and research (pp. 248–260, 501–503 ). Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foschi, M., & Foschi, R. (1976). Evaluations and expectations: A Bayesian model. Journal of Mathematical Sociology, 4, 279–293.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foschi, M., & Foschi, R. (1979). A Bayesian model for performance expectations: Extension and simulation. Social Psychology Quarterly, 42, 23 2241.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foschi, M., & Freeman, S. (1991). Inferior performance, standards, and influence in same-sex dyads. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 23, 99113.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foschi, M., Lai, L., & Sigerson, K. (1991). Double standards in the assessment of male and female job applicants. Paper presented at the West Coast Conference on Small Group Research, San Jose, CA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foschi, M., & Plecash, J. (1983). Sex differences in the attribution of success and failure: An expectation-states explanation. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Association, Vancouver, B.C.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foschi, M., Warriner, G.K., & Hart, S.D. (1985). Standards, expectations, and interpersonal influence. Social Psychology Quarterly, 48, 108–117.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Giele, J.Z. (1988). Gender and sex roles. In N.J. Smelser (Ed.), Handbook of sociology (pp. 291–323 ). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldberg, P. (1968). Are women prejudiced against women? Transaction, 5, 28–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hansen, R.D., & O’Leary, V.E. (1985). Sex-determined attributions. In V.E. O’Leary, R.K. Unger, & B.S. Wallston (Eds.), Women, gender, and social psychology (pp. 67–99 ). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harvey, J.H., & Weary, G. (1984). Current issues in attribution theory and research. Annual Review of Psychology, 35, 427–459.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Harvey, O.J. (1953). An experimental approach to the study of status relations in informal groups. American Sociological Review, 18, 357–367.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heider, F. (1944). Social perception and phenomenal causality. Psychological Review, 51, 358–374.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hewstone, M., & Jaspars, J. (1982). Intergroup relations and attribution processes. In H. Tajfel (Ed.), Social identity and intergroup relations (pp. 99–133 ). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Higgins, E.T., Strauman, T. & Klein, R. (1986). Standards and the process of self-evaluation: Multiple affects from multiple stages. In R.M. Sorrentino & E.T. Higgins (Eds.), Handbook of motivation and cognition: Foundations of social behavior (pp. 23–63 ). New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Howard, J.A. (1990). A sociological framework for cognition. Advances in Group Processes: A Research Annual, 7, 75–103.

    Google Scholar 

  • Humphrey, R. (1985). How work roles influence perception: Structural-cognitive processes and organizational behavior. American Sociological Review, 50, 24 2252.

    Google Scholar 

  • James, W. (1981). [Originally published in 18901. The principles of psychology, Vol. 1. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kanter, R.M. (1977a). Men and women of the corporation. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kanter, R.M. (1977b). Some effects of proportions on group life: Skewed sex ratios and responses to token women. American Journal of Sociology, 82, 965–990.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kelley, H.H., & Michela, J.L. (1980). Attribution theory and research. Annual Review of Psychology, 31, 457–501.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Latham, G.P., & Yukl, G.A. (1975). A review of research on the application of goal setting in organizations. Academy of Management Journal, 18, 824–845.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, T.W., Locke, E.A, & Latham, G.P. (1989). Goal setting theory and job performance. In L.A. Pervin (Ed.), Goal concepts in personality and social psychology (pp. 291–326 ). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewin, K., Dembo, T., Festinger, L., & Sears, P.S. (1944). Level of aspiration. In J.M. Hunt (Ed.), Personality and the behavior disorders (Vol. 1, pp. 333–378 ). New York: Ronald Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lips, H.M. (1988). Sex and gender: An introduction. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield.

    Google Scholar 

  • Locke, E.A., Shaw, K.N., Saari, L.M., & Latham, G.P. (1981). Goal setting and task performance: 1969–1980. Psychological Bulletin, 90, 125–152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lockheed, M.E. (1985). Sex and social influence: A meta-analysis guided by theory. In J. Berger and M. Zelditch, Jr. (Eds.), Status, rewards, and influence: How expectations organize behavior (pp. 406–429 ). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lockheed, M.E., & Hall, K.P. (1976). Conceptualizing sex as a status characteristic: Applications to leadership training strategies. Journal of Social Issues, 32, 111–124.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lott, B. (1985). The devaluation of women’s competence. Journal of Social Issues, 41, 43–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maslin, A., & Davis, J.L. (1975). Sex role stereotyping as a factor in mental health standards among counselors-in-training. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 22, 87–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McArthur, L.Z. (1985). Social judgment biases in comparable worth analysis. In H.I. Hartmann (Ed.), Comparable worth: New directions for research (pp. 53–70 ). Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • McDill, E.L., Natriello, G., & Pallas, A.M. (1986). A population at risk: Potential consequences of tougher school standards for student dropouts. American Journal of Education, 94, 135–181.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meeker, B.F., & Weitzel-O’Neill, P.A. (1977). Sex roles and interpersonal behavior in task-oriented groups. American Sociological Review, 42, 91–105.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Moore, J.C., Jr. (1968). Status and influence in small group interactions. Sociometry, 31, 47–63.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Moore, J.C., Jr. (1969). Social status and social influence: Process considerations. Sociometry, 32, 145–158.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Natriello, G., & Dornbusch, S.M. (1984). Teacher evaluative standards and student effort. New York: Longman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Natriello, G., & McDill, E.L. (1986). Performance standards, student effort on homework, and academic achievement. Sociology of Education, 59, 18–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen, J.M. (1990). Sex and gender in society: Perspectives on stratification ( 2nd ed. ). Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nieva, V.F., & Gutek, B.A. (1980). Sex effects on evaluation. Academy of Management Review, 5, 267–276.

    Google Scholar 

  • Olson, J.M., & Ross, M. (1985). Attribution research: Past contributions, current trends, and future prospects. In J.H. Harvey & G. Weary (Eds.), Attribution: Basic issues and applications (pp. 281–311 ). Orlando, FL: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paludi, M.A., & Strayer, L.A. (1985). What’s in an author’s name? Differential evaluations of performance as a function of author’s name. Sex Roles, 12, 353–361.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pugh, M.D., & Wahrman, R. (1983). Neutralizing sexism in mixed-sex groups: Do women have to be better than men? American Journal of Sociology, 88, 746–762.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ridgeway, C.L. (1982). Status in groups: The importance of motivation. American Sociological Review, 47, 76–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ridgeway, C.L. (1988). Gender differences in task groups: A status and legitimacy account. In M. Webster, Jr. & M. Foschi (Eds.), Status generalization: New theory and research (pp. 188–206, 495–497 ). Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ross, M., & Fletcher, G.J.O. (1985). Attribution and social perception. In G. Lindzey & E. Aronson (Eds.), Handbook of social psychology (3rd ed., Vol. 2, pp. 73–122 ) New York: Random House.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sears, D.O., Freedman, J.L., & Peplau, L.A. (1985). Social psychology ( 5th ed. ). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sherif, M., White, B.J. & Harvey, O.J. (1955). Status in experimentally produced groups. American Journal of Sociology, 60, 370–379.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sohn, D. (1982). Sex differences in achievement self-attributions: An effect-size analysis. Sex Roles, 8, 345–357.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sontag, S. (1972, September 23). The double standard of aging. Saturday Review, 29–38.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stewart, P. (1988). Women and men in groups: A status characteristics approach to interaction. In M. Webster, Jr. & M. Foschi (Eds.), Status generalization: New theory and research (pp. 69–85, 484–486 ). Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tudor, W., Tudor, J., & Gove, W.R. (1979). The effect of sex role differences on the social reaction to mental retardation. Social Forces, 57, 871–886.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wagner, D.G. (1988). Gender inequalities in groups: A situational approach. In M. Webster, Jr. & M. Foschi (Eds.), Status generalization: New theory and research (pp. 55–68, 480–484 ). Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wagner, D.G., Ford, R.S., & Ford, T.W. (1986). Can gender inequalities be reduced? American Sociological Review, 51, 47–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wallston, B.S., & O’Leary, V.E. (1981). Sex makes a difference: Differential perceptions of women and men. In L. Wheeler (Ed.), Review of personality and social psychology (pp. 9–41 ). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Webster, M., Jr., & Driskell, J.E., Jr. (1978). Status generalization: A review and some new data. American Sociological Review, 43, 220–236.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Webster, M., Jr., & Entwisle, D.R. (1976). Expectation effects on performance evaluations. Social Forces, 55, 493–502.

    Google Scholar 

  • Webster, M., Jr., & Foschi, M. (1988). Overview of status generalization. In M. Webster, Jr. & M. Foschi (Eds.), Status generalization: New theory and research (pp. 1–20, 477–478 ). Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitley, B.E., Jr., McHugh, M.C., & Frieze, I.H. (1986). Assessing the theoretical models for sex differences in causal attributions of success and failure. In J.S. Hyde & M.C. Linn (Eds.), The psychology of gender: Advances through meta-analysis (pp. 102–135 ). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiley, M.G. (1986). How expectation states organize theory construction. Contemporary Sociology, 15, 338–341.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zander, A., & Cohen, A.R. (1955). Attributed social power and group acceptance: A classroom experimental demonstration. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 51, 490–492.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zelditch, M., Jr. (1969). Can you really study an army in the laboratory? In A. Etzioni (Ed.), A sociological reader on complex organizations ( 2nd ed., pp. 528–539 ). New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1992 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Foschi, M. (1992). Gender and Double Standards for Competence. In: Gender, Interaction, and Inequality. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-2199-7_8

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-2199-7_8

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-3098-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-2199-7

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics