Skip to main content
Journal cover image

"Be a Man": The Role of Social Pressure in Eliciting Men's Aggressive Cognition.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Stanaland, A; Gaither, S
Published in: Personality & social psychology bulletin
November 2021

Threatening a man's manhood-but not a woman's womanhood-elicits aggression. In two studies, we found evidence that this aggression is related to the social pressure men experience to "be a man." In Study 1a, we conducted an exploratory factor analysis to isolate participants' (N = 195; Mage = 19.92) differential motivations for conforming to gender norms. Study 1b then showed that pressure to be masculine moderates the relationship between gender identity threat and aggressive cognition for men. In Study 2a, we conducted a confirmatory factor analysis to validate the aforementioned scales with an age-diverse sample of men (N = 391; Mage = 33.16, range = 18-56 years). Study 2b replicated Study 1b, most notably with younger men. In all, these findings reveal one pathway-the pressure men experience to be stereotypically masculine-that elicits aggressive cognition when under threat in a U.S. context.

Duke Scholars

Altmetric Attention Stats
Dimensions Citation Stats

Published In

Personality & social psychology bulletin

DOI

EISSN

1552-7433

ISSN

0146-1672

Publication Date

November 2021

Volume

47

Issue

11

Start / End Page

1596 / 1611

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • Social Psychology
  • Middle Aged
  • Men
  • Masculinity
  • Male
  • Interpersonal Relations
  • Humans
  • Female
  • Cognition
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Stanaland, A., & Gaither, S. (2021). "Be a Man": The Role of Social Pressure in Eliciting Men's Aggressive Cognition. Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin, 47(11), 1596–1611. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167220984298
Stanaland, Adam, and Sarah Gaither. “"Be a Man": The Role of Social Pressure in Eliciting Men's Aggressive Cognition.Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin 47, no. 11 (November 2021): 1596–1611. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167220984298.
Stanaland A, Gaither S. "Be a Man": The Role of Social Pressure in Eliciting Men's Aggressive Cognition. Personality & social psychology bulletin. 2021 Nov;47(11):1596–611.
Stanaland, Adam, and Sarah Gaither. “"Be a Man": The Role of Social Pressure in Eliciting Men's Aggressive Cognition.Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin, vol. 47, no. 11, Nov. 2021, pp. 1596–611. Epmc, doi:10.1177/0146167220984298.
Stanaland A, Gaither S. "Be a Man": The Role of Social Pressure in Eliciting Men's Aggressive Cognition. Personality & social psychology bulletin. 2021 Nov;47(11):1596–1611.
Journal cover image

Published In

Personality & social psychology bulletin

DOI

EISSN

1552-7433

ISSN

0146-1672

Publication Date

November 2021

Volume

47

Issue

11

Start / End Page

1596 / 1611

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • Social Psychology
  • Middle Aged
  • Men
  • Masculinity
  • Male
  • Interpersonal Relations
  • Humans
  • Female
  • Cognition