The effect of interpersonal expectancies on men's self-presentation of gender role attitudes to women

Abstract

The degree to which 56 white male participants changed their self-presentation of gender role attitudes to females was investigated as a function of a female partner's desirability and gender role attitudes. It was predicted from previous theory and research that males would be highly motivated to change their self-presentation to appear more similar to a desirable women described as either traditional or nontraditional in her gender role attitudes, but would not be similarly motivated when expecting to interact with an undesirable woman. The results supported the predicted findings and replicated the findings of Zanna and Pack [(1975) “On the Self-Fulfilling Nature of Apparent Sex-Differences in Behavior,” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Vol. 11, pp. 583–591], who studied the behavior of female participants. The role of expectancies and the context in which interactions between men and women occur are important to understanding gender-linked behavior and attitudes.