Chivalry, Gender Roles, and Sex Stereotypes of Agency and Virtue

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Chivalry, Gender Roles, and Sex Stereotypes of
Agency and Virtue

• T. William Altermatt Bettina Johnson
• University of Michigan-Flint Rapp
  Collins Worldwide
• Dov CohenUniversity of Illinois at
  Urbana-Champaign
• C. Nathan DeWall Emily LeskinenUniversity of
  Chicago St. Olaf College

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Abstract
In Study 1, structural equation modeling of
questionnaire responses (N 201) revealed a
significant positive relation between chivalry
a set of norms for the protection and provision
of women by men and sexist beliefs. However,
this relation was completely mediated by the
stereotype that women are less competent and
powerful than men, suggesting that chivalry is
related to sexist beliefs because it presumes
that women are less competent and less suited to
positions of authority. In Study 2, participants
evaluated three female subgroups previously found
to differ in their perceived virtue and agency.
Compared to low-chivalry participants,
high-chivalry participants granted significantly
more favorable ratings to "homemakers"
(high-virtue, low-agency) and significantly less
favorable ratings to "career women" (high-agency)
and "sexually permissive women (low-virtue).
These results extend Study 1s findings by
suggesting that chivalrous men not only endorse
the low-agency stereotype but also disapprove of
women who violate this stereotype.
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Study 1 Chivalry and Sexist Beliefs

• Participants
• 201 intro psych students at Univ. Illinois
• 66 male, 82 white
• Mean age was 19 years.
• Materials
• Attitudes Toward Women Scale (AWS)
• Chivalry Scale
• Hostile Sexism Scale (HSS)
• Sex stereotypes about virtue and agency

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The Attitudes Toward Women Scale(Spence,
Helmreich, Stapp, 1973. 15 items, a .84)

• Women should worry less about their rights and
  more about becoming good wives and mothers.
• The intellectual leadership of a community should
  be largely in the hands of men.

Chivalry Scale (Altermatt, 2001. 10 items, a
.87)

• If there is a dangerous job to be done, it is
  better for a man to do it than a woman.
• A man should remain standing until a woman takes
  her seat.

Hostile Sexism Scale (Glick Fiske, 1996. 11
items, a .88)

• Most women interpret innocent remarks or acts as
  being sexist.
• Women seek to gain power by getting control over
  men.

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Moral virtue (4 items, a .55)

• Women have a finer moral sense than men do.
• Men have more of an animal side than women do.

Sexual virtue (6 items, a .67)

• Women arent as interested in sex as men are.
• Compared to men, womens romantic feelings are
  less likely to include lust.

Agency (11 items, a .92)

• Men are better at handling power than women are.
• Men are better leaders than women are.
• Women should be more submissive than men.

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Study 1 Results
.03 (from .58 without stereotypes)
Moral Virtue
.76
Attitudes toward Women Scale
.95
Chivalry
Agency
.57
.78
HostileSexism
Sexual Virtue
.40
-.03 (from .44 without stereotypes)
CFI .95, RMSEA .067. plt.001, plt.01.
Paths from virtue to sexism, blt.13, pgt.09.
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Study 1 Discussion

• Participants who endorse chivalry are also likely
  to believe that women are more morally and
  sexually virtuous but less agentic (competent and
  powerful) than men.
• The stereotype that women are less agentic than
  men explains both chivalry (women must be
  protected and provided for) and some sexist
  beliefs (women are not qualified for high-power
  positions).

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Study 2 Evaluating Subgroups

• Participants
• N185, 62 male, 85 white, mean age 19
• Materials Procedure
• Previous research (Clifton et al., 1976 Deaux,
  et al., 1985 Noseworthy Lott, 1984 Six
  Eckes, 1991) has identified three subgroups of
  the stereotype for women career woman,
  homemaker, and sex object (labeled here as
  sexually permissive women to reduce ambiguity).
• Participants were presented with subgroup labels
  and asked to evaluate members of each group
• Global feeling thermometer (1-100), possesses
  positive traits / negative traits, evokes
  pos./neg. emotional response.
• Converted to z-scores and averaged (a .82 to
  .89)

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Study 2 Male Participants (N 40)
Chivalry x Subgroup, p lt .004
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Study 2 Female Participants (N 43)
Chivalry x Subgroup, p lt .02
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Study 2 Test of Contrast
The pattern of high-chivalry participants rating
homemakers higher than professional and sexually
permissive women (and low-chivalry participants
showing the opposite pattern) was tested using
the contrast weights shown above. Contrasts were
significant for both males and females, p lt .01.
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Discussion

• Chivalrous individuals tend to believe that women
  are more virtuous than men but also less suited
  to positions of authority than men are.
• This belief is related to an endorsement of
  traditional gender roles (AWS) and a belief that
  women are manipulative and untrustworthy (HSS).
• Chivalry is related to approval of women high in
  virtue and low in agency (homemakers) and
  disapproval of women low in virtue or high in
  agency.