Is society influenced by stereotypes or self-reports?
It was a Thursday evening in July, my cousin had his friends over his house and he was going on and on bragging about how he wears the pants in his relationship. He kept saying he calls the shots. He says he cannot stand women, implying that all women are the same. He says women always talk about their feelings and wine when he doesn’t text them all back. My fists were tightening up. It took me a couple of minutes to realize I was turning red. He asked me what was wrong and I stormed off. He was completely oblivious to how I was feeling. Society believes and follows pop culture influenced stereotypes on gender differences among romantic relationships instead of actual self-reports.
Jessie Bernard’s book, The Future of Marriage, argued that men and women hold very different beliefs and expectations about marriage. Bernard argued that the differences were so blunt between men and women that all marriages consist of two relationships, ‘his’’ and ‘hers’. Since Bernard's publication, many scientific and pop culture writings and studies have been examined, highlighting the different ways that men and women think and feel about relationships, and the way the genders behave towards one another.
A study was done by a college class at Stanford University in Northern California to examine the accuracy of people’s stereotypes about gender differences in relationship Sahota 2 attitudes and behaviors. Men and women who were in dating relationships self-reported on their attitudes toward marriage, levels of commitment, and fidelity. In order to examine stereotypes about gender differences, participants completed questionnaires a second time, responding, as they believed a typical member of the opposite sex would. Differences between actual gender differences (gathered information from self-reports) and stereotyped gender differences were examined. Men and women did not differ in their self-reported attitudes toward marriage, commitment, or fidelity. They were consistent with stereotypes, however, women viewed men as having more negative attitudes toward marriage, lower levels of commitment, and higher levels of disloyalty than men themselves had reported. Men were somewhat more accurate in their observations. That is, men’s observations of women’s attitudes toward marriage and commitment matched women’s self-reports. Surprisingly, men perceived women as being less faithful in relationships than women themselves had reported. These findings are suggesting that stereotype inflation can lead to many relationship problems.
When one browses in any bookstore, looking for books on relationships, one is likely to find many titles aimed at solving relationship problems. If one looks closely, many of these books will have to do with men who fear intimate relationships and cannot commit such as Steven Carter and Julia Sokol’s (1987) “Men Who Can’t Love”, and George Weinberg’s (2002) “Why Men Won’t Commit”. This represents how popular culture has embraced this mindset that there are distinct differences between men and women. Men and women tend to perceive each other in ways that fall in line with gender stereotypes. For example, Tommy Spaulding’s “It’s Not Just Who You Know,” suggests Sahota 3 that men are viewed as more accepting of extramarital sex. Women are seen as more likely to want commitment because they will benefit more from being in a committed relationship rather than being single. Majority of these books just inflate general stereotypes forcing society to believe these mindset. Sarah McGeown’s research and findings were put into her book, “Psychology of Gender Differences and Romantic Relationships,” which supports the perspective suggesting that gender differences in relationship behaviors and attitudes result from different obstacles to reproductive success that men and women faced in their inherited past. For
Tyla Fegan Mrs. Feiling English 4 August 21, 2014 How are individuals influenced by society? Should we be? Society always says, “You are beautiful in your own way” but then, contradicts itself by saying, “You have to be a specific type of person, with certain looks, specific hair, a specific body type, specific everything”. Society is a hypocrite. People perceive themselves and the world they live in according to the culture they have been exposed to. It influences all ages by poisoning our minds…
American popular culture influenced Australian society between 1950 and 1960 is a large amount. Society was changed during the 50’s decade through various American cultures such as Food, Fashion, Music and Technology. Social changes came about as a result of America’s influence over the Australian society as America was seen as the conducting country that was proficient of persuading countries to follow the American society’s trends. The American society has influenced our society in many ways, one being…
happens is influenced by something more than just yourself. People our influenced by society and what others around them think an do. In Doris Lessing's passage Group Minds it shows us how we are influenced by society and the people close to us. Many people know what they are being influenced by or who is influencing them but still do nothing about it. Psychologists have done many studies to prove that we are influenced by groups. Even though we have the knowledge on how we are influenced we still…
Ethical Relativism We have been taught about ethics throughout our school life and in the society. An average citizen seems to have a good ethical perspective. However, do we really know what is right or wrong or are we just being influenced by norms and trends? In the article Clive Thompson on How Group Think Rules What We Like, scientists Duncan Watts and Matthew Salganik ran a series of experiments about making a music-downloading Web site and creating fake trends and ratings on there. And the…
what you feel are pertinent points of Eliot's own, personal history and SUGGEST ways in which this may have influenced his poetry (250 words) Thomas Stearns Eliot (1888-1965) was an American-born poet, critic and playwright, but later he moved to England. His literary work was rewarded with the Nobel Prize in 1948. He was a highly educated man of the modern times, which may have influenced his poetry. His poetry tells us as the readers about disappointment and dissatisfaction with the modern capitalist…
are these technological advancements a good thing? The growth of technology has negatively influenced the social interactions of today's teens because it disengages people from reality and hinders communication Technology has a negative influence on society because it separates people from reality. IPhone’s, Blackberries, and laptops are becoming an important part of every individual’s daily lives. Society is so dependent on these devices that sometimes we treat them as if it is part of the family…
The Magna Carta was created to give equal rights which show the religious aspect of medieval Europe and Japan. Other ways religion and economics influenced Medieval Europe and Japan were the pastor’s influence on society, how the merchants during the middle ages helped the economy and the way trade lead to Buddhism. To begin, The Magna Carta was influenced by religion. Since, King John had conflicts with nobles he was forced to sign this document. Therefore, King John’s power had certain limitations…
The Early Middle Ages Subject European Society Andie Jakubczyk Verb advanced during developed shattered due to sped by Objects The Early Middle Ages The Volk Communities New Weapons The Plague Thesis European Society advanced during the early middle ages, as the Volk dominated the development of societies as influenced by the Church. Society also showed the early stages of shattering, due to the Byzantine Empire’s newly developed warfare style/weapons, and the quick spread of the Bubonic Plague…
Luke Mette Mr. Somerville AP U.S History October 5, 2014 John Locke's Influences John Locke's political philosophies influenced the American colonists by establishing a new format of government for a new nation. Locke rejected the claim that kings and queens had a “divine right” to rule others. Instead, governments were created among naturally free people as social compacts or contracts. Locke argued that rebellion against such a government was acceptable if it failed to protect certain “self-evident”…
strong reason technology has become so influential in the world today. The "opening" of the mind influenced all ways of life and society. Major ideas blossomed like politics, governing laws, literature, art, history, and new inventions. Scientific thinking was groundbreaking. Ideas of mathematics, astronomy, architecture, and anatomy engrossed the public. The revolution of rational thought dominated society and began a transition because people began using reason to explain human and natural events,…