The persistence of gender stereotypes in the face of changing sex roles: Evidence contrary to the sociocultural model

Prevailing explanations for gender differences rest upon the sociocultural model, which treats personality as a consequence of socialization for social roles. Though sex roles and attitudes toward them have changed dramatically in the United States over the past three decades, a review of 18 longitu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ethology and sociobiology 1995-11, Vol.16 (6), p.509-530
Main Authors: Lueptow, Lloyd B., Garovich, Lori, Lueptow, Margaret B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
College Students
Evolutionary psychology
Femininity
Gender differentiation
Gender stereotypes
Masculinity
Personality Traits
Sex and gender
Sex Differences
Sex Role Attitudes
Sex Roles
Sex Stereotypes
Sociobiological
Sociobiology
Sociocultural
Sociocultural Factors
Stereotypes
United States of America
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Summary:Prevailing explanations for gender differences rest upon the sociocultural model, which treats personality as a consequence of socialization for social roles. Though sex roles and attitudes toward them have changed dramatically in the United States over the past three decades, a review of 18 longitudinal studies of gender stereotypes and self-ratings shows stability in perceptions of sex-typed personality traits. Our study of 3600 students surveyed in six waves from 1974 to 1991 also shows stability and even a slight increase in sex typing. This accumulating evidence is inconsistent with the sociocultural explanation. It is more consistent with the currently emerging sociobiological research that holds gender differences reflect innate differences between the sexes resulting from their different reproductive strategies. We conclude that valid social psychological explanations for gendered personality traits cannot rest upon sociocultural models alone but must include interaction of this unchanging genetic underlay with changeable social structures and processes.
ISSN:0162-3095
DOI:10.1016/0162-3095(95)00072-0