Neuroscience
From Profumo to Boris and now Ken, the politician's knack of hitting the headlines for the wrong reasons shows no sign of abating. Their political survival then depends on the public's reaction. So, as women gradually increase their presence in political life, Elizabeth Smith (Furman University, USA) and Ashleigh Powers (University of North Carolina) ask whether people are less forgiving of female misdemeanours.
Two hundred and forty participants (average age 30 years) read two fictional newspaper stories about politicians who were in trouble for some errant behaviour. To gauge their reaction, the participants then evaluated the politicians on things like their competence, likeability and honesty. Different versions of the newspaper stories were used - the sex of the politicians changed, as did their misdemeanour and their account of what they'd done.
Overall, people were no less forgiving of transgressions by female politicians. Female participants, however, were less forgiving of all the politicians than the men. Participants were most forgiving when a politician committed an act that ran counter to gender stereotypes (e.g. a female politician accepting bribes; a male politician having sex with a superior). "In other words", the authors said, "if Bill Clinton were a woman, he might actually have gotten off easier in public evaluations".
The participants were convinced least by excuses (e.g. "This egregious error was caused by an oversight by my staff") and were, in contrast, most forgiving when justifications were given (e.g. "As two consenting adults we feel that this relationship is not improper in any way").
The authors concluded: "Since women's willingness to run for office seems to be one of the last great hurdles to full political equality, our findings will hopefully act to encourage women in their political considerations".
_________________________________
Smith, E.S. and Powers, A.S. (2005). If Bill Clinton were a woman: the effectiveness of male and female politicians' account strategies following alleged transgressions. Political Psychology, 26, 115-133.
Post written by Christian Jarrett (@psych_writer) for the BPS Research Digest.
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Neuroscience
If Bill Clinton were a woman...
From Profumo to Boris and now Ken, the politician's knack of hitting the headlines for the wrong reasons shows no sign of abating. Their political survival then depends on the public's reaction. So, as women gradually increase their presence in political life, Elizabeth Smith (Furman University, USA) and Ashleigh Powers (University of North Carolina) ask whether people are less forgiving of female misdemeanours.
Two hundred and forty participants (average age 30 years) read two fictional newspaper stories about politicians who were in trouble for some errant behaviour. To gauge their reaction, the participants then evaluated the politicians on things like their competence, likeability and honesty. Different versions of the newspaper stories were used - the sex of the politicians changed, as did their misdemeanour and their account of what they'd done.
Overall, people were no less forgiving of transgressions by female politicians. Female participants, however, were less forgiving of all the politicians than the men. Participants were most forgiving when a politician committed an act that ran counter to gender stereotypes (e.g. a female politician accepting bribes; a male politician having sex with a superior). "In other words", the authors said, "if Bill Clinton were a woman, he might actually have gotten off easier in public evaluations".
The participants were convinced least by excuses (e.g. "This egregious error was caused by an oversight by my staff") and were, in contrast, most forgiving when justifications were given (e.g. "As two consenting adults we feel that this relationship is not improper in any way").
The authors concluded: "Since women's willingness to run for office seems to be one of the last great hurdles to full political equality, our findings will hopefully act to encourage women in their political considerations".
_________________________________
Smith, E.S. and Powers, A.S. (2005). If Bill Clinton were a woman: the effectiveness of male and female politicians' account strategies following alleged transgressions. Political Psychology, 26, 115-133.
Post written by Christian Jarrett (@psych_writer) for the BPS Research Digest.
- Female Political Role Models Have An Empowering Effect On Women
Psychologically empowering to women?The late Margaret Thatcher - Britain's first and, so far, only female Prime Minister - is criticised for failing to do more to help other women get ahead in politics. Supporters argue, however, that the...
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Voters are more willing to vote for male political candidates whom they perceive to have high self-esteem - a finding which could help explain President Elect Barack Obama's electoral success. In Autumn 2007, Virgil Zeigler-Hill and Erin Myers asked...
- Jurors May Be Biased Against Fathers In Child Sex Abuse Trials
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It seems beauty isn’t all in the eye of the beholder after all. Researchers have shown women rate a man as more attractive after they’ve seen another woman smiling at him. By contrast, being a jealous bunch, male observers rate a man as less attractive...
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The promotion of young female MPs like 26-year-old Jo Swinson, the Lib Dems’ newly-appointed Scotland spokesperson (pictured left; Baroness Greenfield pictured right), could be just what’s needed to inspire more women into politics and other male-dominated...