Gender Stereotypes and the Ontogenetically Adaptive Role of Feedback Preferences

Introduction & Theory

It is acknowledged that feedback is an integral part of the learning process and that different types of feedback are suited to different types of situations (e.g., Spector, 2000). The current research examines how gender stereotypes affect working adults' feedback preferences in the context of training. Based on Social Role theory (Eagly, 1987), this paper theorizes why these preferences are ontogenetically adaptive in the social sense of the word. Social Role theory (Eagly, 1987) predicts that male participants will prefer feedback which is consistent with male stereotypes and that female participants will prefer feedback which is consistent with female stereotypes. I hypothesize that female participants will report feeling most satisfied when they receive gender-consistent feedback regarding their leadership style (democratic and interpersonally-oriented) and that male participants will report feeling most satisfied when they receive gender-consistent feedback regarding...
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