Faith in Intuition moderates the effects of positive affect on gender stereotyping

Abstract

This study examined whether individual differences in Faith in Intuition (FI) moderate the effect of PA on gender stereotyping. Participants (N=89) completed a measure of individual differences in FI and were randomly assigned in a 2 (mood, positive or neutral) × 2 (target sex, male or female) factorial design. After reading a description of a college student, identified as male or female, participants rated the likelihood that target would major in engineering (stereotypically male) and education (stereotypically female). A significant intuition×mood condition×target sex interaction emerged: Within the positive mood condition, FI was associated with stereotyping. Implications for research on mood and cognition as well as Cognitive Experiential Self Theory are discussed.