Gender Effect and Prejudice: When a Salient Female Norm Moderates Male Negative Attitudes Toward Homosexuals

Abstract : Men generally express more negative attitudes than women toward homosexuals. This study aims to determine if social norms saliency can rely on this "gender effect" and influence attitudes toward homosexuals. Gender characteristics (attitudes and lexical markers) concerning homosexuality were identified in Study 1 and used to construct male- (i.e., promoting a prejudice-related norm) and female-marked (i.e., promoting an anti-prejudice-related norm) messages. Social norms saliency was primed using these messages (Studies 2 and 3) and the participant's immediate context (Study 3). Results show that promoting a prejudiced norm eases expression of males' negative attitudes toward homosexuals, whereas the promotion of an anti-prejudice norm inhibits their attitudes. Theoretical elaborations and potential applications for promotion of tolerance are discussed.