Perceptions of Multiple Role Participants

In this research we examined the effects of work, marital, and parental role participation on perceptions of females and of males. The importance of others' perceptions is suggested by Deaux and Major's (1987) model of gender-related behavior and by research on the structure of gender stereotypes. Female and male targets who varied in their participation in work, marital, and parental roles were rated on six dimensions. In keeping with a social roles analysis of gender stereotypes (Eagly 1987), females and males who were engaged in identical roles were perceived as more similar than dissimilar. Differences which did emerge suggested that combining traditional and nontraditional roles enhanced perceptions of competence and of other-gender traits, particularly for females. Results of the discriminant function analyses, together with the correspondence between others' perceptions and self-perceptions, suggested that role participation may be a basis for gender subtyping. Future research to examine this suggestion is discussed.