Date of Award

7-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Dr. Richard L. Griffith

Second Advisor

Dr. Lisa A. Steelman

Third Advisor

Dr. Theodore G. Petersen

Fourth Advisor

Dr. Heidi Hatfield Edwards

Abstract

This study focused on ambivalent sexism, which can have detrimental effects for organizations, consisting of two factors: benevolent and hostile sexism. Benevolent sexism is the subtler of the two, oftentimes creating a sense of inferiority and increased anxiety for those experiencing it. Hostile sexism, on the other hand, is often more overt and instills a sense of anger from the target. There appears to be little research looking at experiences of ambivalent sexism in work settings and the affective reactions to those events (i.e., anger and anxiety). I believed that when people experience hostile sexism will feel angry and associate the problem with the perpetrator, and those who experience benevolent sexism will feel anxiety and attribute the problems to themselves. Even less research looks at how these reactions affect individuals’ intentions to seek different types of roles (i.e., in person, remote, hybrid), especially when considering sensitivity to sexism. Thus, it remains unclear whether the experiences of ambivalent sexism in work settings lead to an affective reaction, further influencing applicant behavior (i.e., work preference). I utilized a cross-sectional survey design to further dive into the topic of work preference.

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