ABSTRACT
Differences in placement in a hierarchy of power can also influence behavior in ways that can be confused with more "essential" categories. That is, behaviors and attitudes that might be thought to be "natural" to, for example, women and minorities, such as passivity, have been frequently shown in sociological research to be more common among any group placed in a subordinate social position. There is a small literature that looks specifically at cultural norms in the context of gender and risk behavior. This chapter suggests that cultural beliefs and norms may be very important in this case. Priyanka Carr and Claude Steele found differences, on average, between women in the stereotype-threat condition and women in the stereotype-irrelevant condition that in some cases exceed d=1.0. Determining the extent to which findings such as those reported on earlier reflect cross-cultural beliefs about gender, as opposed to "fundamental sex differences", would require new experimental research and/or replication with careful attention to these factors.
