The Consequences of Having an Implicit Relationship between Women and Birds

Past research has shown that humans possess implicit or unconscious associations which, when activated, affect subsequent behavior. In three studies, I demonstrated a novel implicit association held by some men, an association between women and birds. In Study 1, I provided initial evidence of a Women-Bird association and its autonomy from other common prejudice measures. In Study 2, I demonstrated two consequences for possessing a Women-Bird association: increased sexist hiring decisions and increased dehumanization of women. For my third study, I demonstrated a causal pattern, such that activation of the Women-Bird association caused an increase in dehumanization of women, sexist hiring decisions, and perceptions that a female candidate was incompetent for those who possessed the association. Mediation analysis indicated that activation of the Women-Bird association among those who possessed the association resulted in sexist hiring decisions because these participants perceived the female candidate as less competent. These findings provide insight into a cause of bias toward women that should be accounted for when attempting to reduce discrimination toward women.