Diversified
The Diversity Heuristic: How Team Demographic Composition Influences Judgments of Team Creativity
Devon Proudfoot et al.
Management Science, forthcoming
Abstract:
Despite mixed evidence for the relationship between demographic diversity and creativity, we propose that observers hold a lay belief that demographic diversity increases creativity and apply this lay belief in judgments about teams and their creative work. Across eight preregistered studies (n = 5,530), we find that observers judge teams diverse in terms of race and gender to be more creative than teams homogeneous in terms of race and gender, including in incentive-compatible predictions made about real teams competing in a creativity challenge. We also find that products attributed to demographically diverse teams are evaluated as more creative compared with identical products attributed to demographically homogenous teams. Mediation analyses provide evidence consistent with the notion that people perceive demographic diversity (i.e., social category differences) to be correlated with cognitive diversity (i.e., difference of perspectives), and this belief contributes to attributions of greater creativity to diverse teams and the ideas they generate. We can also turn off the perceived association between demographic diversity and creativity by directly manipulating people’s perceptions of team cognitive diversity. Furthermore, we find evidence of a curvilinear relationship between the proportion of racial minorities or women in a group and judgments of the group’s creativity. Together, our results suggest that the popular uptake of the belief that diversity boosts creativity may impact how creativity is identified in organizational contexts.
Uncovering the Roots of Obesity-Based Wage Discrimination: The Role of Job Characteristics
Juan Dolado, Luigi Minale & Airam Guerra
Labour Economics, forthcoming
Abstract:
This paper investigates the roots of potential labour-market discrimination underlying the negative correlation between obesity and hourly wages. Using a panel dataset of white individuals drawn from the U.S. 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY97), we test whether residual wage gaps could be attributed to prejudice (taste-based discrimination) and/or statistical discrimination. To this end, we examine how these two types of discrimination hinge on a wide range of obese individuals’ specific job and occupational characteristics (drawn from the O*Net Online database). In particular, our analysis sheds light on whether discrimination originates from clients’ attitudes, fellow workers or employers. Our findings are consistent with taste-based discrimination against obese females, especially as they become older, in jobs requiring frequent communication with either clients or employers. However, the evidence on this issue is weaker for males. We conjecture that these differences may originate from both an over-representation of males among employers and different image concerns against people of the same gender.
The Help-Seeking Paradox: Gender and the Consequences of Using Career Reentry Assistance
Julia Melin
Social Psychology Quarterly, forthcoming
Abstract:
This article examines how penalizing men who “do gender” in nonstereotypical ways ultimately maintains the gender system. Leveraging data from an online survey experiment conducted with hiring decision-makers, I develop and test a theory of a help-seeking paradox whereby managers are less likely to interview and hire fathers who used career reentry assistance (CRA) relative to fathers who did not. However, this penalty does not emerge for mothers. A second online survey experiment reveals that two years of full-time employment after reentry diminishes the negative effects of CRA for fathers. Nonetheless, lingering stigma from having previously left paid work for childcare continues to disadvantage fathers relative to mothers, with perceptions of competence and commitment mediating long-term effects. These studies demonstrate how the reinforcement of cultural gender rules punishes both mothers and fathers seeking more equitable career coordination while providing novel insight into the boundaries of penalties for men who violate gender stereotypes.
Levelling as a Female-Biased Competitive Tactic
Joyce Benenson & Henry Markovits
Evolutionary Psychological Science, June 2023, Pages 270–282
Abstract:
Direct contests occur more frequently between men than between women. This produces the conclusion that men are more competitive than women. However, no sex differences have been found in other more indirect competitive tactics such as self-promotion and reputation derogation. Qualitative evidence further suggests that one competitive tactic, levelling, may be more commonly used by girls and women than by boys and men. Levelling initially was defined as occurring when several lower-ranked men physically overpowered a higher-ranked man. When institutional support backs equality, however, levelling can be effectively employed by a lower-ranked individual against a higher-ranked individual. Qualitative evidence with humans indicates that beginning in early childhood and continuing through adolescence, individual levelling is used by girls and women more than by boys and men. To empirically test whether individual levelling is more common among women than men, we modified a popular economic game to include a levelling option. In a pre-registered study, we asked 252 women and 258 men from four developed world regions to play the game for monetary compensation three times: with an equal-performing, higher-performing, and lower-performing partner. In each game, participants chose which tactic they wanted to employ: a winner-take-all contest, levelling, or working alone. Rational payoff-maximizing decisions should lead more participants to choose contests with lower-performing partners and to select levelling with higher-performing partners. No sex differences occurred in choice of contests with lower-performing partners, but more women than men employed levelling with higher-performing partners, supporting our hypothesis. Despite sex-biased preferences for competitive tactics, overall no sex differences arose in payoff maximizing decisions.
Does Decision Making for Others Close the Gender Gap in Competition?
John Ifcher & Homa Zarghamee
Management Science, forthcoming
Abstract:
We examine whether the gender gap in competitiveness in stereotypically male tasks persists when the decision to compete is made by someone else. In a within-subject laboratory experiment, decision makers make competition entry decisions for both themselves and a randomly selected other. Although we replicate the standard gender gap in decisions for oneself, we do not find a gender gap when the decision to compete is made by someone else. This is driven by men being significantly more willing to enter themselves than others into competitions. Men’s and women’s willingness to enter others into competitions is statistically indistinguishable from women’s willingness to enter themselves into competitions. Subgroup analyses reveal that competitive preferences are significantly greater for Asian than non-Asian subjects. Our results have implications for the effectiveness of nominations and mentorship to close gender gaps in labor market outcomes that are affected by competitive preferences.
Ego-Boosting Hormone: Self-Reported and Blood-Based Testosterone Are Associated With Higher Narcissism
Marcin Zajenkowski et al.
Psychological Science, forthcoming
Abstract:
Grandiose narcissism is defined as increased motivation for status and viewing oneself as entitled and superior to others. We hypothesized that these tendencies might be associated with basal levels of testosterone because testosterone is considered the most social hormone -- driving dominance and the motivation to achieve social status. We distinguished between two facets of grandiose narcissism: agentic (i.e., the tendency to self-promotion in order to win others’ admiration and social influence) and antagonistic (i.e., a reactive strategy used to restore threatened status). In 283 adult men, we examined the association between these facets of narcissism and blood-tested and self-reported testosterone levels. Agentic narcissism -- the default narcissistic strategy -- was positively associated with both testosterone indicators. Moreover, self-reported and objectively measured testosterone were positively correlated. These findings extend previous work by showing that the facets of narcissism have distinct hormonal underpinnings.
Sexy social media photos disproportionately penalize female candidates' professional outcomes: Evidence of a sexual double standard
Minghui Ni & Vivian Zayas
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
It has become an increasingly popular practice for decision makers to use information available on candidates' social media accounts to make professional selection decisions (e.g., who is given resources or job offer). The present work examines whether there is a sexual double standard in how candidates' “sexy” social media photos shape professional selection decisions. Although extant evidence for sexual double standards is weak or inconsistent, we obtain strong and robust evidence of a sexual double standard in how sexy social media photos bias professional selection decisions. Across four studies (N = 813), participants evaluated candidates for a desirable scholarship or job position and had access to photographs presumably available on candidates' social media accounts. Participants were presented with either self-sexualized or semi-professional photos of candidates, which had been judged by independent samples as differing on sexiness and seductiveness, but comparable in attractiveness and likability. When participants saw self-sexualized photos (vs. semi-professional photos) of the candidates, they were significantly less likely to choose the female candidate (Study 1a). This sexual double standard was replicated in a Chinese sample (Study 1b), and among individuals with hiring experience (Studies 2–3). The penalty against female candidates occurred specifically for sexy photos, but not for other non-sexual photos unrelated to work (Study 2), and even for candidates with unequivocally strong qualifications (Study 3). The effect of sexy social media photos to disproportionately penalize female candidates' professional outcomes was generalizable across participants of different genders, races, and self-reported endorsement of sexual double standards, as well as across different sets of photo stimuli. Our work has implications for individuals seeking professional advancement and organizations seeking to promote equity, diversity, and inclusion.
How Prominent Cases of Sexual Harassment Influence Public Opinion Across Countries: The Cases of Cosby, Trump, and Weinstein
Pragya Arya & Norbert Schwarz
Political Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
In 2017, media coverage of the #MeToo movement brought attention to the pervasive problem of sexual harassment against women, highlighting several prominent American cases including Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby, and Donald Trump. In survey experiments with nationally representative samples in the United States (N = 2,843), the Netherlands (N = 3,770), and Germany (N = 2,357), we tested how thinking about the American cases influences public opinion towards the issue across countries. As predicted, being reminded of the Weinstein, Cosby, and Trump cases increased the evaluation that sexual harassment is a serious problem in the United States. We further tested how thinking about the U.S. cases influences participants' evaluations of sexual harassment in European countries: Does it pale by comparison to the prominent U.S. cases, or do the cases increase the assessment that harassment is a problem everywhere? All samples evaluated sexual harassment in the European countries as a more serious issue when the U.S. cases were brought to mind, which is compatible with the assumption that sexual harassment is seen as a global gender issue rather than a country-specific issue. These results provide experimental evidence that attention-grabbing cases can shift evaluations of a policy issue within and across countries.
Reducing gender bias in the evaluation and selection of future leaders: The role of decision-makers’ mindsets about the universality of leadership potential
Zhi Liu, Aneeta Rattan & Krishna Savani
Journal of Applied Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
Extensive research has documented organizational decision-makers’ preference for men over women when they evaluate and select candidates for leadership positions. We conceptualize a novel construct -- mindsets about the universality of leadership potential -- that can help reduce this bias. People can believe either that only some individuals have high leadership potential (i.e., a nonuniversal mindset) or that most individuals have high leadership potential (i.e., a universal mindset). Five studies investigated the relationship between these mindsets and decision-makers’ gender biases in leader evaluation and selection decisions. The more senior government officials in China held a universal mindset, the less they showed gender bias when rating their subordinates’ leadership capability (Study 1). Working adults in the United Kingdom who held a more universal mindset exhibited less gender bias when evaluating and selecting job candidates for a leadership position (Study 2). In an experiment, Singaporean students exposed to a universal mindset exhibited less gender bias when evaluating and selecting candidates than those exposed to a nonuniversal mindset (Study 3). Another experiment with working adults in China replicated this pattern and added a control condition to confirm the directionality of the effect (Study 4). Last, Study 5 showed that a more universal mindset was associated with less gender bias particularly among decision-makers with stronger gender stereotypes in the domain of leadership. This research demonstrates that, although they are seemingly unrelated to gender, mindsets about the universality of leadership potential can influence the extent to which people express gender bias in the leadership context.
Gender and competitive performance: Closing gaps with smaller competitions
Kathrin Hanek & Stephen Garcia
Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, forthcoming
Abstract:
We examine whether gender gaps in competitive performance are moderated by the size of the competition. We hypothesize that women underperform in large, relative to small, competitions and that smaller competitions close gender performance gaps by enhancing women's performance. Study 1 demonstrates this effect using behavioral data from real marathon competitions. Study 2 experimentally replicates the effect with real behavior. Study 3 provides further experimental support that gender performance gaps are exacerbated under competition and that, in these situations, small groups help bring women's performance up to par with men's. We conclude with a discussion about how making simple structural changes can reduce gender equity gaps in organizations.
Taking the Time: The Implications of Workplace Assessment for Organizational Gender Inequality
Laura Nelson et al.
American Sociological Review, August 2023, Pages 627–655
Abstract:
Gendered differences in workload distribution, in particular who spends time on low-promotability workplace tasks -- tasks that are essential for organizations yet do not typically lead to promotions -- contribute to persistent gender inequalities in workplaces. We examined how gender is implicated in the content, quality, and consequences of one low-promotability workplace task: assessment. By analyzing real-world behavioral data that include 33,456 in-the-moment numerical and textual evaluations of 359 resident physicians (subordinates) by 285 attending physicians (superordinates) in eight U.S. hospitals, and by combining qualitative methods and machine learning, we found that, compared to men, women attendings wrote more words in their comments to residents, used more job-related terms, and were more likely to provide helpful feedback, particularly when residents were struggling. Additionally, we found women residents were less likely to receive substantive evaluations, regardless of attending gender. Our findings suggest that workplace assessment is gendered in three ways: women (superordinates) spend more time on this low-promotability task, they are more cognitively engaged with assessment, and women (subordinates) are less likely to fully benefit from quality assessment. We conclude that workplaces would benefit from addressing pervasive inequalities hidden within workplace assessment, equalizing not only who provides this assessment work, but who does it well and equitably.
The Dilution of Diversity: Ironic Effects of Broadening Diversity
Teri Kirby, Nicole Russell Pascual & Laura Hildebrand
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, forthcoming
Abstract:
Diversity is one of the buzzwords of the 21st century. But who counts as diverse? We coded diversity statements to examine how organizations typically define diversity and whether oppressed-group members perceive some definitions as diluting diversity, or detracting from the original intention of diversity initiatives. Organizations most commonly opted for a broad definition of diversity (38%) that focused on diversity in perspectives and skills, with no mention of demographic group identities (e.g., race; Study 1). In Studies 2 and 3, people of color perceived broad statements as diluting diversity more than other diversity statements. They were also less interested in working at those organizations, and broad statements led sexual minorities to be less willing to disclose their sexual identity (Study 4). Thus, broadening the definition of diversity to include individual characteristics and skills may backfire, unless the importance of demographic diversity is also acknowledged.