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Social Cognition Vol No 2 1985 pp 14". 167
KAN DEAUX
Purdue Uni\ ersit)
WARD W1NTON Georgetown University
MAUREEN CROWLEY AND LAURIE L. LEWIS
Purdue Uni\ ersit)
Stereotypic conceptions of gender may be structured, as has typically been assumed,
terms of the general concepts of "man"' and "woman." Alternatively, people may
view males and females in terms of subtypes that offer more specific and detailed information. Three studies were conducted to assess the degree to which these gen eral and specific concepts represent different levels o( categorization, and to de
scribe the content of each conceptual category, These three studies provided no
evidence that the general stereotypes and a variety of subtypes differ in their rich ness, as assessed by number of associations generated by subjects to each concept;
the results thus cast doubt on the validity of a hierarchical model. Additional analyses suggest ( 1 ) that there is considerable overlap among some of the common categories, and (2) that subtypes of males and females differ in homogeneity and their re
semblance to the more general categories. Implications for understanding the struc
ture and process of gender stereotyping are discussed
The human race can be divided rather easilv into the two groups of males and females. A consequence of this fact is the development of cognitive categories to describe and process gender-related information,
a
categorization process that can be termed "gender stereotyping."
Numerous investigators have explored the content of gender stereo
types, attempting to delineate those dimensions used most often to
This paper written while Kay Deaux Fellow at the Center for Advanced Studv in the Behavioral Sciences, with financial support provided by the John D. and Catherine
T. MacArthur Foundation. The research reported here supported in part by grant from the National Science Foundation (BNS-8217313) to Kay Deaux. We grateful to
Eliot Smith for his comments earlier version of this manuscript. Requests for reprints should be sent to Kay Deaux, Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue Univer sity, West Lafayette, IN 47907
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LEVEL OF CATEGORIZATION AND
CONTENT OF GENDER STEREOTYPES
146 DEAUX ET AL. characterize males and females in our society (e.g., Broverman, Vogel,
Broverman, Clarkson, & Rosenkrantz, 1972; Deaux & Lewis, 1983, 1984; Spence, Helmreich, & Stapp, 1974. In addition, investigators have...