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The current study examined whether congruence with gender stereotypes is associated with support for online feminist campaigns. In Study 1 (Ntweets = 510,000), we investigated how two real-world movements (i.e., #metoo and #sexstrike) were viewed in terms of adhering to the traditional feminine stereotype of high warmth/communion and low competence/agency, as per language used in the tweets posted within each campaign. We found that the #metoo movement was characterised by more communal and less agentic content than #sexstrike. In Study 2 (N = 195), when presented with descriptions of the movements modelled after #metoo and #sexstrike, participants associated the #metoo-like campaign with more feminine (e.g., community orientation) and less masculine concepts (e.g., rebelliousness), which, in turn, translated to greater declared support for the campaign. In Study 3 (N = 446), conducted in a more controlled and context-independent setting, we once again observed the link between the gender stereotypes attached to feminist movements and the support they received. We also found that this effect was independent of the effect of perceiving movements as violating social norms. Controlling for feminist identification, political conservatism, and gender system justification did not affect the pattern of results. Uncovering these stereotype-related effects on support for feminist movements furthers understanding of the strategies that might be used in the fight for gender equality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Role Prioritization Model (RPM; Haines & Stroessner, 2019) proposes that evaluations of gender-incongruent behavior depend on the degree to which actions imply prioritization of earning versus childrearing responsibilities. When behavior indicates prioritization of gender-atypical roles (a family focus for men and a professional focus for women), they will be judged as poor representatives of their gender and low on gender-stereotypical traits (i.e., men as competent and women as warm). Four experiments examined these hypotheses focusing on fathers' perceived prioritization of family versus earning responsibilities. Study 1 verified that men and women are expected to prioritize breadwinning and caregiving roles, respectively, and that subtle context cues (i.e., whether men care for a child on a workday or weekend) affect the perceived prioritization of roles. Studies 2 and 3 demonstrated that gender role incongruency (fathers caring for young children) produces a competence penalty when the context suggests prioritizing family over work (i.e., when men are described as caring for a child on a workday). In contrast, judgments of men are enhanced when the context suggests that expected prioritization is met (i.e., when men are described as caring for a child on the weekend). Study 4 showed that this penalty was attenuated by cues suggesting that men balance work and family responsibilities. These results are considered in terms of perceived role prioritization and consequences of gender incongruent behavior for men and women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study aimed to examine the moderating effects of girls' agency and communion in the links between both fathers' and mothers' corporal punishment and girls' self-esteem in China. Chinese girls (n = 302) enrolled in grades 4–8 were instructed to independently complete the Parent-Child Conflict Tactics Scale (CTSPC), the Children's Sex Role Inventory (CSRI), the Global Self-Worth subscale of Self-Perception Profile for Children (SPPC), and demographic items. Results indicated that both fathers' and mothers' corporal punishment were not directly associated with girls' self-esteem, whereas both agency and communion were positively associated with girls' self-esteem. In addition, both fathers' and mothers' corporal punishment were significantly and negatively associated with self-esteem for girls with lower levels of agency but not for the girls with higher levels of agency. The current results extend the growing evidence against using corporal punishment as a child-rearing practice and highlight that intervention programs need to focus on eliminating, or at least decreasing, both mothers' and fathers' corporal punishment. Additionally, parents and educators need to move from the traditional gender-related attributes to encourage the development of both agency and communion in girls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional gender stereotypes encompass (typically masculine) agency, comprising task-related competence, and (typically feminine) communion or warmth. Both agency and communion are important for successful performance in many jobs. Stereotypes of gay men include the perception that they are less gender-typed than their heterosexual counterparts are (i.e., more gay-stereotypical and less masculine). Using a German sample, Experiment 1 (n = 273) tested whether gay men at the same time appear higher in communion, but lower in agency than heterosexual men and whether a trade-off in hireability impressions results between both groups if jobs require both agency and communion. We measured participants' willingness to work together with applicants, in addition to hireability, as dependent variables, and we assessed as mediators perceived masculinity, how gay-stereotypical male targets were judged, as well as perceived communion and agency. Findings showed that gay men appeared more gay-stereotypical, less masculine, and more communal than heterosexual men, but no difference in agency was observed. The direct effects of sexual orientation on willingness to engage in work-related contact and on hireability were not significant. Instead, both positive and negative indirect effects of sexual orientation on hireability/contact were found. Experiment 2 (n = 32) replicated the findings pertaining to agency, communion, and masculinity and demonstrated that a gay applicant appeared better suited for traditionally feminine jobs, whereas a heterosexual applicant appeared better suited for traditionally masculine jobs. We discuss who is discriminated under which conditions, based on gender-related stereotypes, when men's sexual orientation is revealed in work contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research documents a heightened need for women leaders to be perceived as both agentic and communal and to deal with the incongruity between communal gender-role expectations and agentic leader-role expectations. However, paradoxical tensions exist between agency and communion because they are associated with distinct, and at times conflictual, cognition, behavior, and motivation. How women leaders manage these tensions remains under-explored. To address this gap in the literature, we conducted an inductive study based on interviews with 64 U.S. women executives from various industries. Drawing from a paradox lens, we first identified four pairs of apparently contradictory agentic and communal tendencies that are interwoven in women leaders’ narratives: demanding and caring, authoritative and participative, self-advocating and other-serving, and distant and approachable. We also identified five mechanisms through which women leaders bring together agency and communion: situational accentuating, sequencing, overlapping, complementing, and reframing. Our findings highlight the underlying mechanisms and constructive routes through which women leaders juxtapose agency and communion to cope with role incongruity. They also offer guidance to women leaders and leadership-development practitioners in expanding mental models and behavioral repertoires to deal with the challenges stemming from tensions between agency and communion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research reports the perpetuation of communal traits by transgender women, possibly to affirm their core gender identity. Transgender women in the United States are nearly 6 times more likely than the general population to experience significant depressive symptoms. Studies among non-transgender individuals in the United States demonstrate that agentic traits are associated with less depressive symptoms, while studies on communal traits are more inconsistent in their association with indicators of depression. Our study's central objective was to examine the associations of agency and communion with depression and resilience (i.e., personal competence and acceptance of self and life) among transgender women living part-time and full-time in the female gender role. Participants in the United States were recruited through online and offline purposive sampling. One hundred and twenty-two transgender women (primarily Caucasian; ages ranging from 22 to 75) completed a web-based questionnaire. Results indicated that agentic and communal traits were significantly associated with decreased symptoms of depression and increased levels of resilience. One component of resilience - acceptance of self and life - mediated the relationship between agentic/communal traits and depression, however, for communal traits this pattern was only found for transgender women living in the female role full-time. There were no significant differences on depressive symptoms and one component of resilience - personal competence - among transgender women living full-time compared to transgender women living in the female role part-time. Transgender women living full-time in the female gender role reported higher levels of agentic/communal traits and acceptance of self and life compared to those living part-time in the female gender role. Our findings are discussed in the context of mental health among transgender women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to examine associations between the traits of agency and communion and the severity of premenstrual symptoms in young Japanese women, considering lifestyle habits. The participants were 512 Japanese female undergraduate students in the Kansai area (mean age = 18.5 years, SD = .9). The participants were assigned a self-administered questionnaire. Multiple regression analyses showed that higher levels in unmitigated agency were positively associated with total scores of premenstrual symptoms, as well as subscales of concentration, behavioral change, water retention, negative affect and arousal. Higher levels in communion were also positively associated with water retention. However, these associations were attenuated when lifestyle habits were taken into account, except for communion, which remained positively associated with water retention. A psychological approach for gender-related traits could be effective in treating premenstrual symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although empathic accuracy is considered a stable skill, few individual difference measures consistently predict performance on Ickes’ (e.g., 2001) empathic accuracy measure. Because past work has shown that women are more empathically accurate than men when female gender roles are made salient before an empathic accuracy task, we hypothesized that self-reported communion and related variables might predict empathic accuracy. Participants (194 undergraduates) from a northwestern U.S. university completed an empathic accuracy task and self-report measures of communion and empathy. Communion and empathic concern predicted greater empathic accuracy, but only after controlling for socially desirable responding. The role of communion in empathic inference is discussed, along with the need to include measures of social desirability when examining correlates of empathic accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study we examined how agentic and communal social roles and personality motives were related to the quality (including emotions and agentic and communal themes) and cognitive structure (differentiation and integration) of women's autobiographical memories. One hundred twenty-seven college-aged women were asked to describe a personal memory after being randomly assigned to either agentic or communal task conditions. In the agentic task condition, participants completed a creative building task alone, and in the communal task condition, participants completed the same task with a confederate. Personality motives were measured by both explicit (self-report) and implicit (TAT stories) measures. Following the task, participants wrote about an autobiographical experience in which they were in either agentic or communal social roles. Linear multiple regression analyses indicated that participating in an agentic task, as compared to a communal task, was related to the inclusion of fewer agentic themes as well as to a higher frequency of shame and anger words in autobiographical memories. Congruence between social roles and implicit personality motives (e.g., an agentic task assignment and high agentic motives) yielded less negatively laden autobiographical memories than incongruence between social roles and personality motives (e.g., an agentic task assignment and high communal motives). Furthermore, participants who scored high on both explicit agentic and communal motives included more positive emotion words in their memories than did other groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]