Do people perceive women as worrying more than men? : a status account of the gender stereotypes of worry

Research indicates that people perceive women as experiencing more fear than men (Brody & Hall, 1993) and research also shows that worry is related to fear (Borkovec, Robinson, Pruzinsky, & Depree). The purpose of this Study 1 was to explore how people perceive men and women to worry overall as well as in specific domains. Three hundred and one Concordia University students completed two worry questionnaires to measure overall amount of worry and worry in specific domains. The results showed that people perceive women as experiencing more worry than men and men as experiencing more worry about achievement, finances, and incompetence. A second objective was to compare people's perceptions of men and women's worry to their perceptions of high and low-status individuals' worry to determine if a status model is a viable option for explaining the gender stereotypes of worry that emerged in Study 1. Women generally have lower status than men (Rhoodie, 1989), which leads to the hypothesis that people perceive low-status individuals as worrying more overall as well as worrying more about relationships. In contrast, people perceive high-status individuals as worrying more about achievement, finances and incompetence. Sixty-two Concordia University students listened to a tape describing a culture that consists of high and low-status individuals. Participants completed modified versions of the worry questionnaires used in Study 1 to measure their perceptions of low and high-status individuals' worry. The findings suggest that status is a viable model for explaining the stereotype of overall worry that emerged from Study 1.