Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-2017

Journal / Book Title

Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin

Abstract

Easily perceived identities (e.g., race) may interact with perceptually ambiguous identities (e.g., sexual orientation) in meaningful but elusive ways. Here, we investigated how intersecting identities impact impressions of leadership. People perceived gay Black men as better leaders than members of either single-minority group (i.e., gay or Black). Yet, different traits supported judgments of the leadership abilities of Black and White targets; for instance, warmth positively predicted leadership judgments for Black men but dominance positively predicted leadership judgments for White men. These differences partly occurred because of different perceptions of masculinity across the intersection of race and sexual orientation. Indeed, both categorical (race and sex) and noncategorical (trait) social information contributed to leadership judgments. These findings highlight differences in the traits associated with leadership in Black and White men, as well as the importance of considering how intersecting cues associated with obvious and ambiguous groups moderate perceptions.

DOI

10.1177/0146167217702373

Published Citation

Wilson, J. P., Remedios, J. D., & Rule, N. O. (2017). Interactive effects of obvious and ambiguous social categories on perceptions of leadership: When double-minority status may be beneficial. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 43(6), 888-900.

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Psychology Commons

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