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FinneganGarnhamOakhill_DiscourseProcesses2015.pdf (25.03 MB)

Social-consensus feedback as a strategy to overcome spontaneous gender stereotypes

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posted on 2023-06-08, 20:59 authored by Eimear Finnegan, Alan GarnhamAlan Garnham, Jane OakhillJane Oakhill
Across two experiments the present research examined the use of social-consensus feedback as a strategy for overcoming spontaneous gender stereotyping when certain social role nouns and professional terms are read. Participants were presented with word pairs comprising a role noun (e.g. surgeon) and a kinship term (e.g. mother), and asked to decide whether both terms could refer to the same person. In the absence of training, participants responded more slowly and less accurately to stereotype incongruent pairings (e.g. surgeon/mother) than stereotype congruent pairings (e.g. surgeon/father). When participants were provided with (fictitious) social consensus feedback, constructed so as to suggest that past participants did not succumb to stereotypes, performance to incongruent pairings improved significantly (Experiment 1). The mechanism(s) through which the social feedback operated were then investigated (Experiment 2), with results suggesting that success was owing to social compliance processes. Implications of findings for the field of discourse processing are discussed.

Funding

ITN LCG: Initial Training Network - Language, Cognition and Gender; G0178; EU Marie Curie; 237907

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Accepted version

Journal

Discourse Processes

ISSN

0163-853X

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

Issue

5-6

Volume

52

Page range

434-462

Department affiliated with

  • Psychology Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2015-06-03

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2016-09-24

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2015-06-03

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