Current Gender Stereotypes and Their Evaluative Content

Abstract

A sample of 173 undergraduate students rated 300 attributes to assess current gender stereotypes, and a second independent sample (n = 57) evaluated the favorability of these attributes. Statistical results indicated that the college students ascribed different attributes to men and women. Although the content of gender stereotypes seems to have remained unchanged over the years, the value attached to stereotypic gender traits seems to be changing. More specifically, a greater number of unfavorable attributes were used to describe men than women, thereby creating a more negative masculine stereotype.