Effect of Subjects' Sex and Sex-Role Attitudes on Real and Perceived Performance Using Gender-Related Stimuli with Traditional and Nontraditional Female Experimenters

Actual and perceived performance of male and female college students was investigated using male-oriented and female-oriented words with a “traditional” or a “nontraditional” role-playing female experimenter. Subjects' attitudes toward women, as measured by the Attitudes Towards Women Scale were also considered. On Bem's inventory subjects, especially those with a more traditional attitude, perceived the “nontraditional” experimenter as being more masculine and the “traditional” experimenter as being more feminine than those with other attitudes. More male-oriented words were recalled with the “nontraditional” experimenter and more female-oriented words were recalled with the “traditional” experimenter. Men underestimated their performance more with the “nontraditional” experimenter. Women underestimated their performance with the “nontraditional” experimenter and overestimated their performance with the “traditional” experimenter. Implications for the workplace were discussed.