Date of Award

Fall 2017

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Clinical Psychology

First Advisor

Oswald, Debra L.

Second Advisor

Howard, Simon

Third Advisor

Heck, Nicholas

Abstract

Sexism is a common problem in the U.S. A major component of addressing this problem is determining the circumstances in which sexism is identified. One particular characteristic relevant to the perception of sexism is the race of the perpetrator of sexist behaviors. Using a vignette design, the current project explored whether sexism was identified at different rates or perceived as more or less sexist depending on the race of the man perpetrating sexist behaviors and whether it was hostile or benevolent sexism (Glick & Fiske, 1996). When a Black man engaged in sexist behavior, he was perceived as more sexist that White men when engaging in benevolent sexism – paternalistic, superficially positive sexist behaviors – and non-sexist behaviors. There were no differences based on the race of the perpetrator in the perception of hostile sexism – overtly negative and hostile forms of sexism. Women identified sexism more often and viewed it as more sexist than men did, especially in the context of hostile sexism. These findings suggest there are significant effects of perceiver gender and perpetrator race in the perception of sexism. This demonstrates the importance of examining both race- and gender-based discrimination together.

COinS