Why Women Ask for Less Salary than Men : Mediation of Stereotype Threat in Salary Negotiations
Tellhed, Una LU
(2008)
- Abstract
- Women ask for less salary than men in negotiations. Sex differences in negotiating performance have recently been explained as stereotype threat effects. Stereotype threat theory states that the performance of negatively stereotyped group-members can suffer in contexts where the negative stereotype is salient. Women are stereo¬typed as bad negotiators, compared to men, and previous research has shown that women negotiate inferiorly to men when a negotiation is described as diagnostic of negotiating ability. However, when a negotiation is described as non-diagnostic of ability, the stereotype threat is lifted and there are no sex differences in negotiating performance. It is still unclear which psychological mechanisms mediate stereotype... (More)
- Women ask for less salary than men in negotiations. Sex differences in negotiating performance have recently been explained as stereotype threat effects. Stereotype threat theory states that the performance of negatively stereotyped group-members can suffer in contexts where the negative stereotype is salient. Women are stereo¬typed as bad negotiators, compared to men, and previous research has shown that women negotiate inferiorly to men when a negotiation is described as diagnostic of negotiating ability. However, when a negotiation is described as non-diagnostic of ability, the stereotype threat is lifted and there are no sex differences in negotiating performance. It is still unclear which psychological mechanisms mediate stereotype threat performance effects. The studies in the present thesis aimed at investigating self-stereotyping and motivational factors as possible mediators of stereotype threat performance effects in salary negotiations.
In Study I, the participating women resisted self-stereotyping with negative, feminine stereotypical traits that were contrasted with masculine, stereotypical traits which were more positive in valence. In Study II the women self-stereotyped with feminine stereotypical traits before the diagnostic negotiation, although there were no sex differences in the self-concept content before the non-diagnostic negotiation. As the self-concept is considered an important regulator of behaviour there is reason to believe that self-stereotyping with feminine stereotypical traits may temporarily lead to acting more stereotypically feminine, which may be un¬fortunate in salary negotiations. However, there was no stereotype threat per¬formance effect in study II, so self-stereotyping could not be tested as a mediator of a stereotype threat performance effect. In study III there was a stereotype threat performance effect. Also, the results showed that the women set less challenging goals than the men before the diagnostic salary negotiation, although there were no sex differences before the non-diagnostic negotiation. The participants’ minimum salary goals (reservation salary) significantly mediated the stereotype threat performance effect. In conclusion: The observation that women under stereotype threat ask for less salary than men can be explained by sex differences in motivational factors. Future stereotype threat research may want to investigate whether self-stereotyping is connected to motivational factors in a stereotype threat context. (Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- Popular Abstract in Swedish
Kvinnor begär lägre lön än män i löneförhandlingar. Könsskillnader i förhandlingsprestation har nyligen förklarats som en stereotyphotseffekt. Enligt stereotype threat theory kan prestationen hos negativt stereotyperade gruppmedlemmar tillfälligt försämras i kontexter där den negativa stereotypen är framträdande. Kvinnor stereotyperas som dåliga förhandlare, jämfört med män, och forskning har visat att kvinnor också förhandlar sämre än män när en förhandling sägs kunna avslöja förhandlingsförmåga (diagnostisk förhandling). När det däremot sägs att en förhandling inte kan avslöja förhandlingsförmåga, lyfts stereotyphotet och det uppstår inga könsskillnader i förhandlingsprestation. Det är... (More) - Popular Abstract in Swedish
Kvinnor begär lägre lön än män i löneförhandlingar. Könsskillnader i förhandlingsprestation har nyligen förklarats som en stereotyphotseffekt. Enligt stereotype threat theory kan prestationen hos negativt stereotyperade gruppmedlemmar tillfälligt försämras i kontexter där den negativa stereotypen är framträdande. Kvinnor stereotyperas som dåliga förhandlare, jämfört med män, och forskning har visat att kvinnor också förhandlar sämre än män när en förhandling sägs kunna avslöja förhandlingsförmåga (diagnostisk förhandling). När det däremot sägs att en förhandling inte kan avslöja förhandlingsförmåga, lyfts stereotyphotet och det uppstår inga könsskillnader i förhandlingsprestation. Det är fortfarande oklart vilka psykologiska mekanismer som medierar stereotyphotseffekter. Syftet med denna avhandling var att undersöka självstereotypering och motivationsvariabler som möjliga mediatorer till stereotyphotseffekter i löneförhandlingar.
I studie I undgick kvinnorna att självstereotypera med negativa, feminina stereotypa egenskaper när dessa kontrasterades mot mer positiva, maskulina stereotypa egenskaper. I studie II självstereotyperade kvinnorna däremot med feminina, stereotypa egenskaper före en diagnostisk löneförhandling, medan det saknades könsskillnader i självkonceptets innehåll före en icke diagnostisk löneförhandling. Eftersom självkonceptet anses styra vårt beteende, finns det anledning att anta att självstereotypering med feminina, stereotypa egenskaper kan tillfälligt orsaka ett mer stereotypt feminint beteende, vilket kan vara mindre önskvärt i en löneförhandling. Det uppstod dock ingen stereotyphotseffekt i förhandlingsmåttet i studie II, och självstereotypering kunde därför inte testas som en mediator av stereotyphotseffekter. I studie III uppstod en stereotyphotseffekt. Resultaten visade också att kvinnorna satte mindre utmanande mål än männen före den diagnostiska löneförhandlingen medan det saknades könsskillnader före den icke diagnostiska förhandlingen. Deltagarnas målsättning (lägstalön) medierade signifikant stereotyphotseffekten. Slutsatsen är att observationen att kvinnor under stereotyphot begär lägre lön än män kan förklaras av motivationsfaktorer. Framtida stereotyphotsforskning kan studera om självstereotypering hänger samman med motivationsfaktorer i en stereotyphotskontext. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/1147016
- author
- Tellhed, Una
LU
- supervisor
- opponent
-
- Docent Lindholm, Torun, Psykologiska institutionen, Stockholms universitet
- organization
- publishing date
- 2008
- type
- Thesis
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- salary negotiations, stereotype threat, gender stereotypes, mediation, self-stereotyping, motivation, outcome goals, regulatory focus, självstereotypering, mediering, könsstereotyper, löneförhandling, stereotyphot
- pages
- 140 pages
- publisher
- Department of Psychology, Lund University
- defense location
- Sal Paln, Palaestra, Paradisgatan, Lund
- defense date
- 2008-05-29 15:00:00
- ISBN
- 978-91-628-7500-8
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- f5f74552-9fdf-4ef8-be67-f41f1793d90a (old id 1147016)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-04 12:06:59
- date last changed
- 2021-12-20 16:05:25
@phdthesis{f5f74552-9fdf-4ef8-be67-f41f1793d90a,
abstract = {{Women ask for less salary than men in negotiations. Sex differences in negotiating performance have recently been explained as stereotype threat effects. Stereotype threat theory states that the performance of negatively stereotyped group-members can suffer in contexts where the negative stereotype is salient. Women are stereo¬typed as bad negotiators, compared to men, and previous research has shown that women negotiate inferiorly to men when a negotiation is described as diagnostic of negotiating ability. However, when a negotiation is described as non-diagnostic of ability, the stereotype threat is lifted and there are no sex differences in negotiating performance. It is still unclear which psychological mechanisms mediate stereotype threat performance effects. The studies in the present thesis aimed at investigating self-stereotyping and motivational factors as possible mediators of stereotype threat performance effects in salary negotiations. <br/><br>
In Study I, the participating women resisted self-stereotyping with negative, feminine stereotypical traits that were contrasted with masculine, stereotypical traits which were more positive in valence. In Study II the women self-stereotyped with feminine stereotypical traits before the diagnostic negotiation, although there were no sex differences in the self-concept content before the non-diagnostic negotiation. As the self-concept is considered an important regulator of behaviour there is reason to believe that self-stereotyping with feminine stereotypical traits may temporarily lead to acting more stereotypically feminine, which may be un¬fortunate in salary negotiations. However, there was no stereotype threat per¬formance effect in study II, so self-stereotyping could not be tested as a mediator of a stereotype threat performance effect. In study III there was a stereotype threat performance effect. Also, the results showed that the women set less challenging goals than the men before the diagnostic salary negotiation, although there were no sex differences before the non-diagnostic negotiation. The participants’ minimum salary goals (reservation salary) significantly mediated the stereotype threat performance effect. In conclusion: The observation that women under stereotype threat ask for less salary than men can be explained by sex differences in motivational factors. Future stereotype threat research may want to investigate whether self-stereotyping is connected to motivational factors in a stereotype threat context.}},
author = {{Tellhed, Una}},
isbn = {{978-91-628-7500-8}},
keywords = {{salary negotiations; stereotype threat; gender stereotypes; mediation; self-stereotyping; motivation; outcome goals; regulatory focus; självstereotypering; mediering; könsstereotyper; löneförhandling; stereotyphot}},
language = {{eng}},
publisher = {{Department of Psychology, Lund University}},
school = {{Lund University}},
title = {{Why Women Ask for Less Salary than Men : Mediation of Stereotype Threat in Salary Negotiations}},
year = {{2008}},
}