Abstract
In this research, we focused on women's perception of men as allies depending on the type of confrontation. We conducted four experimental scenario studies (Study 1 and 2 in a bar setting; Study 3 and 4 in a workplace setting) where a man confronted a sexist comment using either an egalitarian or paternalistic argument. Results showed that women are more likely to perceive egalitarian (vs. paternalistic) confronters as allies (Studies 1–4). This is explained by the fact that they contribute to reducing power asymmetries (decreasing perceived interpersonal power differences: Studies 2 and 4; or increasing women's empowerment: Studies 3 and 4). Furthermore, the egalitarian (vs. paternalistic) confrontation positively impacts interpersonal and intergroup relations, and this is explained by the perception of the confronter as an ally (Studies 1, 2 and 4). We discuss the role of disadvantaged group members’ perception of advantaged group members to disentangle the complexity of alliances.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 892-910 |
Number of pages | 19 |
Journal | European Journal of Social Psychology |
Volume | 54 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jun 2024 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2024 The Authors. European Journal of Social Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Open Access - Access Right Statement
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made. © 2024 The AuthorsKeywords
- empowerment
- interpersonal perceived power differences
- men as allies
- egalitarian confrontation
- paternalistic confrontation
- ally perception