Steve Was Asked to Be a Member of the Hiring

question 25

Multiple Choice

Steve was asked to be a member of the hiring committee of his sociology department. The committee screened over 100 resumes, and interviewed the 4 best candidates. Two were women and two were men. One of his colleagues on the committee felt strongly that, even though both women were fully qualified for the position, with excellent research credentials and recommendations from their previous employers, since they were likely to want to have babies as soon as they found full-time employment, the committee really could only consider the male candidates. This is an example of which of the following?

• A) sexual stereotyping
• B) child bearing bias
• C) employment bias
• D) gender discrimination

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Definitions:

Tit For Tat

A strategy in game theory where an agent responds to a competitor's previous move with an identical action, often used as a model for the evolution of cooperative behavior.

Fundamental Attribution Error

The tendency to overestimate the role of personal characteristics and underestimate the situational factors when explaining others' behaviors.

Pluralistic Ignorance

A psychological phenomenon in which individuals mistakenly believe that their own attitudes and beliefs are different from those of the majority, often leading to conformity.

Social Psychologists

Experts who study how individuals' thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others.