Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 7, 2026
06:24
Establishment of Rat Models Mimicking Gender-affirming Hormone Therapies
Published on: January 10, 2025
Housework: Cause and consequence of gender ideology?
Daniel L Carlson1, Jamie L Lynch
1Department of Sociology, Georgia State University, P.O. Box 5020, Atlanta, GA 30302-5020, United States.
Social Science Research
|October 5, 2013
Summary
Gender ideology influences housework division, and doing housework shapes gender beliefs. This study reveals a reciprocal relationship between couples' housework sharing and their gender ideologies.
Area of Science:
- Sociology
- Family Studies
- Gender Studies
Background:
- Existing research links egalitarian gender ideology to equitable housework division.
- Few studies explore housework's influence on gender ideology.
- Previous research limitations include unidirectional models and cross-sectional data.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the causal relationship between housework division and gender ideology in married couples.
- To address limitations of prior research by employing simultaneous equation models.
- To examine the reciprocal nature of housework and gender ideology.
Main Methods:
- Utilized longitudinal data from Waves 1 and 2 of the National Survey of Families and Households.
- Employed nonrecursive simultaneous equation models to analyze bidirectional relationships.
- Focused analysis on married couples to assess within-household dynamics.
Main Results:
- A mutual and reciprocal relationship exists between housework division and gender ideology for both husbands and wives.
- This reciprocity is most pronounced for husbands.
- For wives, the influence is partially indirect, mediated by their husbands' gender ideologies.
Conclusions:
- Gender ideology and housework division are dynamically intertwined, influencing each other over time.
- The findings challenge unidirectional models, highlighting a feedback loop in marital dynamics.
- Understanding these reciprocal influences is crucial for comprehending gender roles within families.
Related Concept Videos
01:30Socioemotional Experience and Gender Development
Social-emotional experiences and cultural influences play significant roles in shaping gender development. During middle childhood, from ages 6 to 11, peer groups become dominant in reinforcing gender norms. Children in this age group often align with same-gender peer groups, which actively encourage behaviors that conform to traditional gender roles. For instance, boys may be discouraged from engaging in activities perceived as feminine, reinforcing culturally dictated norms about masculinity...
02:09Stereotype Threat and Self-fulfilling Prophecies
When we hold a stereotype about a person, we have expectations that he or she will fulfill that stereotype. A self-fulfilling prophecy is an expectation held by a person that alters his or her behavior in a way that tends to make it true. When we hold stereotypes about a person, we tend to treat the person according to our expectations. This treatment can influence the person to act according to our stereotypic expectations, thus confirming our stereotypic beliefs. Research by Rosenthal and...
02:16Stereotype Content Model
The Stereotype Content Model (SCM) was first proposed by Susan Fiske and her colleagues (Fiske, Cuddy, Glick & Xu, 2002; see also Fiske, 2012 and Fiske, 2017). The SCM specifies that when someone encounters a new group, they will stereotype them based on two metrics: warmth—or that group’s perceived intent, and how likely they are to provide help or inflict harm—and competence—or their ability to carry out that objective. Depending on the warmth-competence categorization, a person will feel...
01:38Cognitive Dissonance
Social psychologists have documented that feeling good about ourselves and maintaining positive self-esteem is a powerful motivator of human behavior (Tavris & Aronson, 2008). In the United States, members of the predominant culture typically think very highly of themselves and view themselves as good people who are above average on many desirable traits (Ehrlinger, Gilovich, & Ross, 2005). Often, our behavior, attitudes, and beliefs are affected when we experience a threat to our...
01:14Fundamental Attribution Error
According to some social psychologists, people tend to overemphasize internal factors as explanations—or attributions—for the behavior of other people. They tend to assume that the behavior of another person is a trait of that person, and to underestimate the power of the situation on the behavior of others. They tend to fail to recognize when the behavior of another is due to situational variables, and thus to the person’s state. This erroneous assumption is called the fundamental attribution...
02:55Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination
Humans are very diverse and although we share many similarities, we also have many differences. The social groups we belong to help form our identities (Tajfel, 1974). These differences may be difficult for some people to reconcile, which may lead to prejudice toward people who are different. Prejudice is a negative attitude and feeling toward an individual based solely on one’s membership in a particular social group (Allport, 1954; Brown, 2010). Prejudice is common against people who are...