Communal stereotypes prime men's benevolent sexism: Implications for romance and family.

Previous work suggests that men holding benevolent sexist views also hold favorable attitudes toward traditional women (Glick, Diebold, Bailey-Werner, & Zhu, 1997). This study examined whether priming heterosexual men (n = 47) with traditional views of women (e.g., the stereotype that women are more communally oriented than men) engenders more benevolent sexist views, as well as greater relational motivation. The authors predicted that the communal prime would activate a complementary view of gender relations and increase men's endorsement of benevolent sexism. In turn, activating benevolent sexism would increase men's desire to appeal to women, as evidenced by greater investment in romance and family. Results of a preliminary study suggested that men's benevolent sexism was associated with greater relationship motivation and greater investment in romantic ideals and family. Results from the priming experiment confirmed the authors' hypotheses: The communal prime led men to invest in romance and family, and the effect of the prime was mediated by benevolent sexism.