The affective bases for the gendering of traits: Comparing the United States and Canada

In this study we reconsider the relationships between gender stereotypes and the three universal dimensions of affective meaning: Evaluation (E), Potency (P), and Activity (A). Multiple regression analyses of comparable data sets for the (United States and Canada are alined at the,,lost contentious question found in the literature: To what extent are male and female stereotypes differentiated along the E dimension? We find that, net of P and A, higher levels of goodness are consistent with the perception that a trait is associated with females. This suggests that two status hierarchies operate in the gendering of traits: a primary hierarchy which overlaps with the power hierarchy favoring men, and a secondary status hierarchy favoring women. We note that womens status advantage on this secondary hierarchy might be understood as benevolent sexism or, alternatively as social recognition of the importance of women's caring labor.