Gender stereotyping for sociability, dominance, character, and mental health: a meta-analysis of findings from the bogus stranger paradigm.

Abstract

A meta-analysis was conducted of target gender effects on trait attributions from 18 bogus stranger studies that had manipulated target gender and target physical attractiveness. Collapsed over sex of perceivers, female targets were seen as more sociable, happier, and possessing greater character than male targets. However, these effects were small and were often moderated by the perceivers' sex. Male perceivers viewed female targets as more sociable and happier than male targets, whereas female perceivers viewed male targets as more dominant than female targets. There was no moderation of the gender effect on attributions of character, as both sexes viewed females more favorably than males and the effect size was very small for perceivers of both sexes.