AUTHOR=Moreno-Bella Eva , Willis Guillermo B. , Moya Miguel 

TITLE=Economic Inequality and Masculinity–Femininity: The Prevailing Perceived Traits in Higher Unequal Contexts Are Masculine

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=Volume 10 - 2019

YEAR=2019

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01590

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01590

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=Previous studies have shown that economic inequality influences psychological processes. In this article we argue that economic inequality also makes masculine attributes more prototypical. In Study 1 (N = 106), using an experimental design, we showed that individuals of a society are perceived as more masculine than feminine when there is higher inequality. The Study 2 (N = 75) experimentally shows that the upper social class is perceived mostly with masculine traits, and that effect is greater when there is a high economic inequality. The lower social class is more clearly perceived with feminine traits. These results contribute with information about the consequences of economic inequality for social perception.