男性上司から女性部下への評価 : 地位脅威とジェンダー脅威

Previous research has shown that female superiors are negatively evaluated by their male subordinates whose masculinity is threatened. In this study, we examined how female subordinates are evaluated by their male superiors when they elicit two types of feelings of threat: gender threats (i.e., masculinity for men and femininity for women) and status threats. We conducted three studies in Japan using a 2 (participants’ genders) × 2 (subordinates’ genders) design; participants had to read a hypothetical scenario in which superiors lost a competition to their subordinates and then evaluate the subordinates on two dimensions (i.e., warmth and competence) and liking (study 2 and 3). In study 1, a structural equation modeling analysis revealed that male participants experienced a higher gender threat than female participants and evaluated their subordinates’ competence as low. Participants, regardless of gender, also elicited status threats leading to a higher evaluation on the warmth dimension. In study 2, female subordinates (vs. male subordinates) provoked both feelings of gender and status threat and received lower evaluations on warmth and competition. In study 3, status threat led to a lower evaluation on the warmth dimension and the subordinates’ favorability degree, regardless of participants’ and subordinates’ genders. Although we used the same scenario and response items in studies 2 and 3, we could not find similar results. The studies’ results are discussed with reference to threat types and evaluation dimensions.