The effects of employment role and motive for employment on the perceptions of mothers

Abstract

This study adds to our knowledge regarding college students' perceptions of employed mothers by examining the effects of their motive for employment on these impressions. Participants were students at a public university with a primarily Caucasian lower middle-class student body. Students read a brief description of a mother of an infant. She was presented as either currently or previously employed, and her motive for employment was personal fulfillment or financial need. Participants rated the stimulus person's communal traits and indicated their approval of her. Analyses of variance showed that the employed, compared to the nonemployed, mother received lower communality and approval ratings. In addition, the devaluation of the employed mother's communality was greater for the stimulus person with a fulfillment than a financial motive. The findings are discussed in the context of A. H. Eagly's [(1987)(M), Sex Differences in Social Behavior: A Social-Role Interpretation, Hillsdale, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum] social role theory of gender stereotypes.