Reducing Approval of Benevolent Sexism: An Educational Intervention

The effectiveness of a brief educational intervention in reducing undergraduate participants’ approval of benevolent sexism was evaluated across two studies. Results demonstrated that participants who read an intervention essay about benevolent sexism reported decreased benevolent sexism scores in both studies compared to those who read a control essay. In Study 1, participants in the intervention condition also indicated less liking for a profiled benevolent sexist than control participants, and these effects were still present at 6 month follow-up. Study 2 showed that the intervention successfully increased participants’ recognition of benevolent sexism as prejudice and increased ratings of the severity of a benevolent sexist incident. Implications for implementing this type of intervention are discussed.