A Social Psychological Examination of Women's Intra-Gender Hostility
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Why can’t we all just get along? A social psychological examination of women’s intra-gender hostility Morgana Lizzio-Wilson Bachelor of Psychological Science (Hons) A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at The University of Queensland in 2017 School of Psychology 2 Abstract Women’s intra-gender hostility has been the focus of attention in both the popular media and scholarly literature. However, important gaps still remain in our understanding of the construct validity, causes of, and contextual factors influencing this process. Thus I investigate the following under-explored questions in this thesis: a) is intra-gender hostility a form of conflict unique to women, or are similar processes also evident among men?; b) do the unique identity pressures women face as a lower status group contribute to their intra-gender hostility?; and c) what contextual factors modify women’s intra-gender hostility? In Chapter 3, I find that men and women report similar levels of attitudinal intra-gender hostility, indicating that it is not a form of intra-group conflict more commonly faced by women. I also demonstrate that the factor structure of men and women’s intra- and inter-gender hostility are distinct, suggesting that intra-gender hostility is a form of intra-group conflict rather than an expression of general negativity. Building on this in Chapter 4, I provide more convincing evidence that women’s intra-gender hostility reflects and potentially reinforces their disadvantaged position. Specifically, I demonstrate that women’s intra-gender hostility is related to the unique identity pressures they face as a lower status group and factors which reflect and potentially reinforce their disadvantaged position (i.e. sexual competitiveness regarding attractiveness, hostile sexism, private collective self-esteem). In contrast, men’s intra-gender hostility was uniquely related to factors which reflect and reinforce their higher status position (i.e. hostility toward men). This suggests that men and women’s intra-gender hostility may function in complementary ways to reinforce the gender-related status hierarchy. In Chapter 5, I further investigate how women’s unique identity pressures contribute to their intra-gender hostility. I replicate findings from previous research that women who more (versus less) strongly endorse hostile and, to a lesser extent, benevolent sexism, demonstrate greater intra-gender hostility toward non-traditional women. However, I extend these findings by demonstrating that collective threat (the concern that the poor behaviour of an ingroup will be generalised to a negative stereotype of the entire group Cohen & Garcia, 2005); partially explains hostile (but not benevolent) sexists’ intra-gender hostility. This provides further evidence that the unique identity pressures women face contribute to their intra-gender hostility, and preliminary evidence to suggest that unique identity pressures related to gender-role appropriate behaviour and maintaining a positive social identity can influence women’s attitudes toward and treatment of other women in certain circumstances. Finally in Chapter 6, I investigate the social psychological factors which may contextually activate or attenuate women’s intra-gender hostility in the face of social identity threat. I replicate findings from previous research that higher gender identifying women demonstrate a greater concern 3 for women as a group; while lower identifiers report greater intra-gender hostility. I also demonstrate that women report greater intra-gender hostility when group boundaries are permeable (versus impermeable) and individual advancement is possible. Contrary to expectations, the extent to which gender discrimination was perceived as legitimate (i.e. fair and deserved) and stable (i.e. enduring or likely to change) did not impact women’s intra-gender hostility. This suggests that women’s intra- gender hostility can also represent an individual mobility response to social identity threat under certain circumstances. In summary, the present thesis advances our understanding of women’s intra-gender hostility by providing more definitive evidence that intra-gender hostility is a form of intra-group conflict among both men and women (Chapter 3) which serves to reinforce the gender-related status hierarchy (Chapters 4 and 5) and can represent multiple motivations, including status maintenance (Chapters 4 and 5) and individual mobility (Chapter 6). 4 Declaration by Author This thesis is composed of my original work, and contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference has been made in the text. I have clearly stated the contribution by others to jointly-authored works that I have included in my thesis. I have clearly stated the contribution of others to my thesis as a whole, including statistical assistance, survey design, data analysis, significant technical procedures, professional editorial advice, and any other original research work used or reported in my thesis. The content of my thesis is the result of work I have carried out since the commencement of my research higher degree candidature and does not include a substantial part of work that has been submitted to qualify for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution. I have clearly stated which parts of my thesis, if any, have been submitted to qualify for another award. I acknowledge that an electronic copy of my thesis must be lodged with the University Library and, subject to the policy and procedures of The University of Queensland, the thesis be made available for research and study in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968 unless a period of embargo has been approved by the Dean of the Graduate School. I acknowledge that copyright of all material contained in my thesis resides with the copyright holder(s) of that material. Where appropriate I have obtained copyright permission from the copyright holder to reproduce material in this thesis. 5 Publications during candidature Peer-reviewed papers No publications. Book chapters No publications. Conference presentations Lizzio-Wilson, M. & Klas, A. (2017, April). Should you call yourself a slut? Examining the effectiveness of reappropriation as a social change strategy. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Australasian Social Psychologists, Melbourne, Australia. Lizzio-Wilson, M., Masser, M., & Iyer, A. (2016, July). You’re such an embarrassment: Collective threat contextually activates traditional women’s intra-gender hostility. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Society for Justice Research, Canterbury, United Kingdom. Lizzio-Wilson, M., Masser, M., & Iyer, A. (2016, June). You’re making us look bad: Collective threat activates traditional women’s intra-gender hostility. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, Minneapolis, United States of America. Lizzio-Wilson, M., Masser, M., & Iyer, A. (2015, April). The mean girl myth? Assessing the construct validity, antecedents, and consequences of men and women’s intra-gender hostility. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Australasian Social Psychologists, Newcastle, Australia. Lizzio-Wilson, M. & Masser, M. (2014, April). Mean girls and bad guys: Examining intra- gender hostility in everyday interactions. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Australasian Social Psychologists, Canberra, Australia. Publications included in this thesis No publications included. 6 Contributions by others to the thesis My primary advisor, Associate Professor Barbara Masser, provided guidance on theory, study design, and data analysis, and commented on all chapters included in this thesis. My secondary advisor, Professor Matthew Hornsey, provided guidance on theory and data analysis, and commented on the general introduction, general discussion, and final two empirical chapters. My former secondary advisor, Associate Professor Aarti Iyer, provided guidance on study design, and commented on the first two empirical chapters. Statement of parts of the thesis submitted to qualify for the award of another degree None. 7 Acknowledgements I would first like to extend my sincere thanks to my supervisors, past and present, Barbara Masser, Matthew Hornsey, and Aarti Iyer. I am so grateful for your guidance, patience, and support. Thank you for reading (and re-reading) drafts, providing stats advice, and helping craft this thesis into a finished product which reflects the intellectual journey I’ve taken over the last four years. You are all wonderful mentors, and I have learned so much from each of you. Barbara – thank you for teaching me strength and independence. You’ve taught me to trust my gut, and take charge of my research and life path. I feel very able to take on the next phase of my life and meet any challenges head on thanks to you. Matthew – thank you for teaching me to strip away unnecessary detail and focus on what’s important. I’ve learned so much from you about the art of crafting arguments, simplifying ideas, and telling a story. I feel more able to express myself eloquently and succinctly thanks to you. Aarti – thank you for teaching me that passion and research can go hand-in-hand. Your dedication to social justice is inspiring, and reminds me of why I became interested in research. I hope to emulate your zeal in whatever I choose to do. I am eternally thankful to my beautiful