Abstract
Previous research concerning the “rationalbias” theory of workplace discrimination has beenconfined largely to narrow student samples. This studyextends that work with an experimental-survey design in which employed participants were asked bothhow others respond to conditions classically elicitingrational bias discrimination, and how they believepeople behave in their own firms. Participants were 148 men and 158 women (88.6% Caucasian, 4.6%Hispanic, 4% Asian, and 2.8% other racialidentification) with graduate business degrees from apublic university. Results show evidence of continuingdiscrimination, and support the theory predicting rational biasgender discrimination in the workplace. Gender ofrespondent and locus of control (defined by Spector'sWork Locus of Control scale) are also shown to be related to rational bias discrimination.Suggestions are made for further development and testingof rational bias theory.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (1977). Attitude-behavior relations: A theoretical analysis and review of empirical research. Psychological Bulletin, 84, 888–918.
Andersen, M. A. (1988). Thinking about women: Sociological perspectives on sex and gender (2nd ed.). New York: Macmillan Publishing.
Baron, J. N., Mittman, B. S., & Newman, A. E. (1991). Targets of opportunity: Organizational and environmental determinants of gender integration within the California civil service, 1979–1985. American Journal of Sociology, 96, 1362–1401.
Benokraitis, N. V., and Feagin, J. R. (1995). Modern sexism: Blatant, subtle, and covert discrimination. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Blau, G. (1993). Testing the relationship of locus of control to different performance dimensions. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 66, 125–138.
Blum, T. C., Fields, D. L., & Goodman, J. S. (1994). Organization-level determinants of women in management. Academy of Management Journal, 37, 241–268.
Brannon, L. (1996). Gender: Psychological perspectives. Needham Heights, MA: Simon & Schuster.
Crosby, F., Clayton, S., Alksnis, O., & Hemker, K. (1986). Cognitive biases in the perception of discrimination: The importance of format. Sex Roles, 14, 637–648.
Crosby, F. J., Putfall, A., Snyder, R. C., O'Connell, M., & Whalen, P. (1989). The denial of personal disadvantage among you, me, and all the other ostriches. In M. Crawford and M. Gentry (Eds.), Gender and thought: Psychological perspectives. New York: Springer-Verlag.
Datan, N. (1989). Illness and imagery: Feminist cognition, socialization, and gender identity. In M. Crawford and M. Gentry (Eds.), Gender and thought: Psychological perspectives. New York: Springer-Verlag.
Dexter, C. R. (1985). Women and the exercise of power in organizations: From ascribed to achieved status. In L. Larwood, B. A. Gutek, & A. H. Stromberg (Eds.), Women and work: Vol. 1. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Ely, R. J. (1995). The power in demography: Women's social constructions of gender identity at work. Academy of Management Journal, 38, 589–634.
England, P., & McCreary, L. (1987). Integrating sociology and economics to study gender and work. In A. H. Stromberg, L. Larwood, & B. A. Gutek (Eds.), Women and work: Vol. 2. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Fagenson, E. A. (1990). At the heart of women in management. In K. S. Kaziora, M. H. Moskow, & L. D. Tanner (Eds.), Working women: Past, present, future. Washington, DC: Bureau of National Affairs.
Fagenson, E. A. (1993). Diversity in management: Introduction and the importance of women in management. In L. Larwood, B. A. Gutek, & A. H. Stromberg (Series Eds.) & E. A. Fagenson (Vol. Ed.), Women and work: Vol. 4. Women in management: Trends, issues, and challenges in managerial diversity. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, attitude, intention, and behavior: An introduction to theory and research. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (1981). Acceptance, yielding, and impact: Cognitive processes in persuasion. In R. E. Petty, T. M. Ostrom, & T. C. Block (Eds.), Cognitive responses in persuasion. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Freeman, J. (1989). Women: A feminist perspective (4th ed.). Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing Company.
Gealy, J., Larwood, L., and Elliot, M. P. (1979). Where sex counts: Effects of consultant and client gender in management consulting. Group and Organization Studies, 4, 201–211.
Gerhart, B. (1990). Gender differences in current and starting salaries: The role of performance, college major, and job title. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 43, 418–433.
Groves, M. (1996). Women still bumping up against the glass ceiling. Los Angeles Times, May 26, D1, D5.
Ilgen, D. R. (1986). Laboratory research: A question of when, not if. In E. A. Locke (Ed.), Generalizing from laboratory to field setting. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
Jacobs, J. A. (1992). Women's entry into management: Trends in earnings, authority and values among salaried managers. Administrative Science Quarterly, 37, 282–301.
Katz, D. (1987). Sex discrimination in hiring: The influence of organizational climate and need for approval on decision making behavior. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 11, 11–20.
Kay, F. M., & Hagan, J. (1995). The persistent glass ceiling: Gendered inequalities in the earnings of lawyers. British Journal of Sociology, 46, 279–310.
Kent, R. L., & Moss, S. E. (1994). Effects of sex and gender role on leader emergence. Academy of Management Journal, 37, 1335–1346.
Landau, J. & Arthur, M. B. (1992). The relationship of marital status, spouse's career status, and gender to salary level. Sex Roles, 27, 665–681.
Larwood, L. & Gattiker, U. E. (1985). Rational bias and interorganizational power in the employment of management consultants. Group and Organization Studies, 10, 3–17.
Larwood, L., Gutek, B., & Gattiker, U. E. (1984). Perspectives on institutional discrimination and resistance to change. Group and Organization Studies, 9, 333–352.
Larwood, L., Szwajkowski, E., & Rose, S. (1988a). Sex and race discrimination resulting from manager-client relationships: Applying the rational bias theory of managerial discrimination. Sex Roles, 18, 9–29.
Larwood, L., Szwajkowski, E., & Rose, S. (1988b). When discrimination makes “sense”: The rational bias theory. In B. A. Gutek, A. H. Stromberg, and L. Larwood (1988). Women and Work: Vol. 3. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
Lefkowitz, J. (1994). Sex-related differences in job attitudes and dispositional variables: Now you see them. Academy of Management Journal, 37, 323–349.
Locke, E. A. (1986). Generalizing from laboratory to field setting. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
Lott, B. (1985). The devaluation of women's competence. Journal of Social Issues, 4, 43–60.
Madden, J. F. (1985). Role differentiation and the gender gap in wage rates. In L. Larwood, B. A. Gutek, & A. H. Stromberg (Eds.), Women and work, Vol. 1. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Maupin, R. J. (1993). How can women's lack of upward mobility in accounting organizations be explained? Group and Organization Management, 18, 132–152.
Northcraft, G. B., & Martin, J. (1982). Double jeopardy: Resistance to affirmative action from potential beneficiaries. In B. A. Gutek (Ed.), Sex role stereotyping and affirmative action policy. Los Angeles: UCLA Institute for Industrial Relations.
Norusis, M. J. (1988). SPSS-PC+ base manual, vol. 2. Chicago, IL: SPSS, Inc.
Orpen, C. (1992). The Work Locus of Control Scale as a predictor of employee attitudes and behavior: A validity study. Psychology: A Journal of Human Behavior, 29, 35–37.
Owen, C. L., & Todor, W. D. (1993). Attitudes toward women as managers: Still the same. Business Horizons, 36, 12–16.
Porter, N., Geis, F. L., & Jennings, J. (1983). Are women invisible as leaders? Sex Roles, 9, 1035–1049.
Powell, G. N. (1993). Women and men in management (2nd ed.). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Powell, G. N., & Butterfield, D. A. (1994). investigating the “glass ceiling” phenomenon: An empirical study of actual promotions to top management. Academy of Management Journal, 37, 68–86.
Pugh, M. D., & Wahrman, R. (1983). Neutralizing sexism in mixed-sex groups: Do women have to be better than men? American Journal of Sociology, 88, 746–762.
Rotter, J. (1966). Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. Psychological Monographs, 80, whole no. 609.
Sapiro, V. (1994). Women in American society: An introduction to women's studies (3rd ed.). Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing Co.
Spector, P. (1982). Behavior in organizations as a function of employee's locus of control. Psychological Bulletin, 91, 482–497.
Spector, P. (1988). Development of the work locus of control scale. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 61, 335–340.
Stroh, L. H., Brett, J. M., & Reilly, A. H. (1992). All the right stuff: A comparison of female and male managers' career progression. Journal of Applied Psychology, 77, 251–260.
Szwajkowski, E., and Larwood, L. (1991). Rational decision processes and sex discrimination: Testing ‘rational’ bias theory. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 12, 507–527.
Tharenou, P., Latimer, S., & Conroy, D. (1994). How do you make it to the top? An examination of influences on women's and men's managerial advancement. Academy of Management Journal, 37, 899–931.
Unger, R., and Crawford, M. (1992). Women and gender: A feminist psychology. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Wiley, M. G., & Eskilson, A. (1982). The interaction of sex and power base on perceptions of managerial effectiveness. Academy of Management Journal, 25, 671–677.
Wood, W., & Karten, S. J. (1986). Sex differences in interaction style as a product of perceived sex differences in competence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 341–347.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Trentham, S., Larwood, L. Gender Discrimination and the Workplace: An Examination of Rational Bias Theory. Sex Roles 38, 1–28 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018782226876
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018782226876