Evidence of gender stereotypes about psychology and their impact on perceptions of male and female conformity in the field Open Data Open Materials

https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.2021.1921682

Commentary

This study investigated gender stereotypes about psychology and their impact on people's perceptions of conformity to the field.

Across the six studies (N = 1,516), results indicated that participants believed that women represented the majority of people in both the psychology major and profession. Participants also strongly associated psychology with femininity rather than masculinity and assigned more feminine and less masculine characteristics to those studying psychology than to those studying typically masculine careers.

In terms of fit with the field, we rated psychology as less likely to meet the needs of men compared to women, especially after learning that the field is predominantly female.

Overall, the study provides evidence of an association between femininity and psychology and suggests that stereotypes influence perceptions of male and female conformity in the field.