Student coping mechanisms in sexist and nonsexist professors’ classes

Abstract

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effects of liking/disliking for a class, professor gender, and students’ perceptions of professor sexism on students’ self‐reported coping mechanisms. Coping behavior was found to distinguish liked from disliked classes for male but not female professors: students in a disliked male professor's class reported daydreaming, not doing what the teacher asks, and hiding their feelings, as their primary coping mechanisms. Also, coping behavior varied with perceived professor sexism for male but not female professors: liked classes with perceived sexist male professors evoked passive coping strategies, and disliked classes with perceived sexist male professors evoked an active coping strategy.