When Women are Called "girls": The Effect of Infantilizing Labels on Women's Self-perceptions
Open Access
- Author:
- Macarthur, Heather Jean
- Graduate Program:
- Psychology
- Degree:
- Master of Science
- Document Type:
- Master Thesis
- Date of Defense:
- April 16, 2015
- Committee Members:
- Stephanie A Shields, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Jonathan Emdin Cook, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Adriana Van Hell, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor - Keywords:
- gender
women
language
infantilization
leadership
workplace
labels - Abstract:
- Research and anecdotal observations suggest that it is a common occurrence for women to be referred to as “girls” into their thirties and beyond. Although this term is infantilizing and carries with it connotations of immaturity and frivolity, no research has investigated the effects of such language on women’s self-perceptions. For my Master’s research, I examined this topic by experimentally manipulating the label given to participants in feedback on a work profile test that was ostensibly being used to evaluate them for an advertised leadership position. Through the study outlined in this thesis, I investigated whether being called “girl” rather than “woman” in this feedback influenced women’s feelings about their own leadership characteristics (such as strength, confidence, and maturity) as well as their interest in future leadership positions. Results indicated that relative to participants who were called woman, those who were called girl felt less confident that they would obtain the position, reported that the feedback made them feel lower in qualities associated with leadership, and believed that other people who viewed their work profile would also see them as having less of these characteristics. They did not, however, show less interest in future leadership positions. Implications of this research, including the imperative to change current language norms, are discussed.