Previous findings on people perception show that perceivers are attuned to the social categories of group members, which subsequently influences social judgments. An outstanding question is whether perceivers are also attuned to visual cue variability (e.g., gender typicality). In two studies (n = 165), perceivers viewed 12-person ensembles (500 ms) of varying White men-to-women ratios. Importantly, faces of one gender/sex were morphed to appear either more masculine or more feminine. Consistent with prior work, results indicated that judgments varied by the actual gender/sex ratio. In addition, perceivers' judgments varied as a function of manipulated gender cues. Ensembles composed of masculine, compared to feminine White men, were judged to have more men, higher perceived masculinity, and to be more threatening. Complementary results were found for ensembles composed of feminine, compared to masculine White women. These findings highlight the impact of both social categories and visual phenotypic cue variability on people perception.
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Gender identity and gender presentation of female STEM leaders in the United States
The underrepresentation of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and in leadership is well documented. In this study, participants in the overlap area of women in STEM leadership were asked about their gender identity and their gender presentation/expression. Participants were US women in STEM leadership positions. The women surveyed primarily had feminine gender identities and feminine gender presentations. These data suggest that the women in these positions can honestly present themselves at their workplace.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1938815
- PAR ID:
- 10556651
- Publisher / Repository:
- AIP Conference Proceedings
- Date Published:
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 060010
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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