How Newspaper Sources Trigger Gender Stereotypes

Abstract

News stories rely on sources to convey information. Official sources are often titled and typically male. This study outlines how such source cues can trigger gender stereotypes to varying degrees in two experimental studies. When the unofficial source cue offered ambiguous gender information, individual differences in propensity to stereotype were shown. Those people who score high on an ethic of caring were less likely to attribute a gender to the source. Results are explained in terms of processing differences and gender stereotyping.