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The Impact of Gender and Setting on Perceptions of Others' Ethics

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Abstract

In this article we explore how differences in gender and setting affect individuals' perceptions of others' ethics. We examine 4 hypotheses: first, that men would be perceived as more utilitarian in their ethics and women would be perceived as more formalist; second, individuals would be perceived to be more utilitarian in work settings than in nonwork settings; third, women would be more accurate in their perceptions of others' ethics; fourth, both men and women would be more accurate in their perceptions of women's ethics. Results strongly support the first, refute the second, modestly support the third, and support the fourth. Overall, the data suggest that men and women share very similar perceptions of own-gender and other-gender ethics. However, these shared perceptions are often quite inaccurate.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Business and Administration, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida

    Marshall Schminke & Maureen L. Ambrose

  2. Eberhardt School of Business, University of the Pacific, Florida

    Jeffrey A. Miles

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  1. Marshall Schminke
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  2. Maureen L. Ambrose
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Schminke, M., Ambrose, M.L. & Miles, J.A. The Impact of Gender and Setting on Perceptions of Others' Ethics. Sex Roles 48, 361–375 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022994631566

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