Gender stereotypes and the attribution of leadership traits. A cross-cultural comparison

In this study, we analyzed cultural variations of managerial gender typing, that is, that managers are perceived as possessing traits that are part of the masculine stereotype. Management students of both sexes from three different countries—Australia, Germany, and India—estimated the percentage to which one of three stimulus groups, that is, executives-in-general (no gender specification), male executives, or female executives, possesses person-orientedand task-oriented leadership traits. Participants also rated the importance of these characteristics for the respective group. Furthermore, another group of participants described themselves regarding the two types of traits and their importance for themselves. Altogether, the results indicate a less traditional view of leadership compared to previous findings, which is very similar in all three countries. Nevertheless, there exists an interculturally shared view of a female-specific leadership competence according to which women possess a higher person orientation than men. The self-descriptions of the female and male management students regarding person- and task-oriented traits were found to be very similar.

A closer look beneath the surface: Various facets of the think-manager-think-male stereotype

Previous research has indicated that successful managers are perceived as possessing characteristics that belong to a global masculine stereotype. This study was designed to compare the gender-stereotypical perception of leadership by investigating global and leadership-specific gender stereotypes and contrasting self-perception and the perceptionby others. Descriptive and prescriptive norms were analyzed and abilities studied in a leadership context. The sample consists of 215 management students, and the results indicate an impact of gender stereotypes on the perception of leadership by women and men. Ratings of the importance of leadership characteristics yielded a less gender-stereotypic view, especially by female participants. In their self-evaluations women and men did not differ in the degree in which they possess person- and task-oriented skills. They also did not differ in their ratings of the importance of possessing these skills themselves. Finally, women reported that they possess task-oriented abilities more seldom than such abilities were attributed to leaders-in-general.

Distinct roles of estrogen receptors alpha and beta mediating acute vasodilation of epicardial coronary arteries.

This study investigated the contribution of estrogen receptors (ERs) alpha and beta for epicardial coronary artery function, vascular NO bioactivity, and superoxide (O(2)(-)) formation. Porcine coronary rings were suspended in organ chambers and precontracted with prostaglandin F(2alpha) to determine direct effects of the selective ER agonists 4,4',4''-(4-propyl-[(1)H]pyrazole-1,3,5-triyl)tris-phenol (PPT) or 2,3-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)-propionitrile (DPN) or the nonselective ER agonist 17beta-estradiol. Indirect effects on contractility to U46619 and relaxation to bradykinin were assessed and effects on NO, nitrite, and O(2)(-) formation were measured in cultured cells. Within 5 minutes, selective ERalpha activation by PPT, but not 17beta-estradiol or the ERbeta agonist DPN, caused rapid, NO-dependent, and endothelium-dependent relaxation (49+/-5%; P<0.001 versus ethanol). PPT also caused sustained endothelium- and NO-independent vasodilation similar to 17beta-estradiol after 60 minutes (72+/-3%; P<0.001 versus ethanol). DPN induced endothelium-dependent NO-independent relaxation via endothelium-dependent hyperpolarization (40+/-4%; P<0.01 versus ethanol). 17beta-Estradiol and PPT, but not DPN, attenuated the responses to U46619 and bradykinin. All of the ER agonists increased NO and nitrite formation in vascular endothelial but not smooth muscle cells and attenuated vascular smooth muscle cell O(2)(-) formation (P<0.001). ERalpha activation had the most potent effects on both nitrite formation and inhibiting O(2)(-) (P<0.05). These data demonstrate novel and differential mechanisms by which ERalpha and ERbeta activation control coronary artery vasoreactivity in males and females and regulate vascular NO and O(2)(-) formation. The findings indicate that coronary vascular effects of sex hormones differ with regard to affinity to ERalpha and ERbeta, which will contribute to beneficial and adverse effects of hormone replacement therapy.

The additive and interactive roles of aggression, prosocial behavior, and social preference in predicting resource control in young children

Distinguishing between physical and social aggression, this study examined whether the predictive effect of aggression on resource control a) is moderated by prosocial behavior and b) corresponds to a linear or a curvilinear trend. Moderating effects of children’s social preference among peers and child sex in this context were also tested. Based on a sample of 682 kindergarten children (348 girls; average age 72.7 months, 3.6 SD), multilevel regressions revealed additive linear effects of social preference and prosociality on resource control. Moderate (but not high) levels of social aggression also facilitated resource control for disliked children. There was no such threshold effect for well liked children, who increasingly controlled the resource the more socially aggressive they were. In contrast, physical aggression hampered resource control unless used very modestly. The present study has a number of positive features. First, the distinction between physical and social aggression improves our understanding of the relation between aggression and social competence and sketches a more differentiated picture of the role of different forms of aggression in resource control. Second, this study combines the concept of resource control with the concept of social preference and investigates curvilinear effects of aggression. Third, the direct observation of resource control in the Movie Viewer increases the internal validity of this study.

The impact of social roles on trait judgments: a critical reexamination

Consistent with social role theory's assumption that the role behavior of men and women shapes gender stereotypes, earlier experiments have found that men's and women's occupancy of the same role eliminated gender-stereotypical judgments of greater agency and lower communion in men than women. The shifting standards model raises the question of whether a shift to within-sex standards in judgments of men and women in roles could have masked underlying gender stereotypes. To examine this possibility, two experiments obtained judgments of men and women using measures that do or do not restrain shifts to within-sex standards. This measure variation did not affect the social role pattern of smaller perceived sex differences in the presence of role information. These findings thus support the social role theory claim that designations of identical roles for subgroups of men and women eliminate or reduce perceived sex differences.