Why are women superficial

The participants were gay and straight, and ranged in age from 18 to 70 years old; the people they judged were 18 to 25 years old. Participants rated photos of men and women on a point scale, from not at all to very attractive. Before the participants cast their judgment, the research team rated each photo on how seductive, confident, thin, sensitive, stylish, curvaceous for women , muscular for men , traditional, masculine, feminine, classy, well-groomed and upbeat the subject looked.

Wood said. Other guys are wearing sweaters and they look like the nice guy you might know at church. The problem was, having read the coverage of the story, the version of the narrative in my head looked much more Mean Girls than Social Network.

So this morning, when my editor recommended I write up a study released this month by the psychology journal Aggressive Behavior that seems to once again use science to reinforce the stereotype of superficial bitches, my interest was piqued.

When dressed conservatively, in khakis and a t-shirt, the woman was largely ignored. It's in the group's best interest, therefore, to punish women who violate the unspoken rule.

Listen: I know that women are often competitive, rude and aggressive to other women. You know it too. But to me, adding credibility to these stereotypes about women gives artillery to our detractors who use this sort of information to reinforce why women will never become CEOs.

This sort of information—putting numbers to some of the most base and yes, shameful behavior of the fairer sex—acts as nothing short of cinder blocks chained to our ankles as we try to rise in the world. Between and , fields ranging from recreation such as working in parks to biology saw wages drop as more women joined them.

Gender biases go a long way to explaining this correlation. One study found that when science faculty—both men and women—reviewed applications, they gave lower ratings and starting salaries for female applicants, even though all applications were identical save for the names.

The role of women, she said, is a much deeper issue. Source: Evolutionary Psychology. Source: Personality and Individual Differences. Source: Journal of Experimental Psychology. Follow Tech Insider on Facebook and Twitter. For you. World globe An icon of the world globe, indicating different international options. Get the Insider App.

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