Gender-stereotype accuracy as an individual difference.

Abstract

Accuracy of participants' ratings of gender differences on 77 behaviors and traits was assessed by correlating participants' ratings with actual gender differences based on meta-analyses, Accuracy at the group level was impressively high in 5 samples of participants. Accuracy of individuals showed wide variability, suggesting that ability to accurately describe gender differences is an individual difference. Analysis of correlations between individual accuracy and a battery of psychological measures indicated that accuracy was negatively related to a tendency to accept and use stereotypes, negatively related to a rigid cognitive style, and positively related to measures of interpersonal sensitivity.