Attributed motivations for feminism as a function of occupation, marital status, and age

M & F undergraduates were presented with color slides of 12 women who varied in age, level of attractiveness (independently judged), & occupational category. Occupational categories were homemaker, professional, & nonprofessional, & were artificially imposed by the experimenter. Ss were told that the woman in the picture was a feminist & were given a list of possible reasons why she was a feminist. They were asked to evaluate the strength of each of these reasons as a motivation on a 7-point scale. Factor analysis of the Ss' responses revealed two separate factors, which were labeled "positive" & "negative" motivations. Analyses of the Ss' responses on each of the two separate factors showed a main effect for occupational category indicating that the professional woman's motivations for becoming a feminist are generally perceived as "better" than are those of homemakers or nonprofessionals. A main effect for attractiveness showed that attractive women's motivations were seen as more positive than those of unattractive ones. Significant interactions between age & attractiveness were obtained. Overall, the fewest positive reasons were attributed to older women while the fewest negative reasons were attributed to younger, attractive women. 2 Tables, 1 Figure. AA.