An investigation into the impact of stereotypical influences on attitudes towards stereotypical and non-stereotypical images

Authors

Watson, Lorna

Issue Date

2001

Degree

BA in Psychology

Publisher

Dublin Business School

Rights

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Abstract

A within participants design was conducted to test the hypoFinal Year Project that a significant difference in people's attitudes towards stereotypical and non-stereotypical male/females will be found. Forty participants, 20 male and 20 female, were confronted with 7 pictures attached to short questions. The organisation of the pictures allowed each participant to respond to 4 stereotypical and 4 non-stereotypical images. A positive response towards a picture was recorded as 1 and a negative response was recorded as 0. Participants' responses towards stereotypical and non-stereotypical images were compared. It was predicted that responses would be more positive towards stereotypical images because of the powerful effect of stereotypes on perceptions of others. A related t-test was conducted on the relevant data. It yielded a significant difference in positive responses between conditions supporting the prediction. In other words participants did appear statistically to have more positive attitudes towards stereotypical images. The implications of these findings are discussed.

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