Graduation Date
Spring 2019
Document Type
Thesis
Program
Master of Arts degree with a major in Psychology, option Academic Research
Committee Chair Name
Amber Gaffney
Committee Chair Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Second Committee Member Name
Christopher Aberson
Second Committee Member Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Third Committee Member Name
Heather Smith
Third Committee Member Affiliation
Community Member or Outside Professional
Keywords
Group processes, Gender identity
Abstract
All social groups have a prototype that provides a guideline of behaviors and attitudes that embody what it means to be a member of that group (Hohman et al., 2017). Men as a gender group are no exception to the use of a prototype as a basis for evaluating group members (Marques & Páez, 1994). When a man feels like a non-prototypical group member (i.e., peripheral) he is more likely to derogate deviant ingroup members compared to outgroup members. This is because peripheral group members are more likely to engage in behaviors aimed at achieving and maintaining a positive social value for this group (men) compared to the outgroup (women; Doosje & Ellemers, 1997). Research has found that cisgender men perceive transgender women to be effeminate gay men (Gazzola & Morrison, 2014). Therefore, men should perceive transgender woman as ingroup deviants. As a result, peripheral men should derogate transgender women more than transgender men and other cisgender men compared to prototypical men. The current study (N = 181) found that men made to feel peripheral who viewed a transgender woman target or a cisgender man target were more likely to negatively evaluate the target than men made to feel prototypical. There was no difference in evaluations of transgender man targets between peripheral and prototypical men. These results have important implications for men’s treatment of transgender women such as the negative effects of stigmatization on transgender women and the potential for more severe outcomes for transgender women in response to men’s threatened masculinity.
Citation Style
APA
Recommended Citation
Jaurique, Alexandria, "The role of prototypicality threat in men's evaluations of transgender women" (2019). Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects. 256.
https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/etd/256