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Females in Law Enforcement - Femininity, Competence, Attraction, and Work Acceptance

NCJ Number
82569
Journal
Criminal Justice and Behavior Volume: 9 Issue: 1 Dated: (March 1982) Pages: 13-34
Author(s)
E Hernandez
Date Published
1982
Length
22 pages
Annotation
Photographs and biographical descriptions of female deputy strangers were used to examine the effects of femininity and competence on male deputy attraction to and work acceptance of female deputies.
Abstract
Repeated measures were obtained for patrol work acceptance, staff work acceptance, and personal attraction. Four different but equally attractive females were employed to yield four experimental condition categories: feminine-competent, feminine-incompetent, masculine-competent, and masculine-incompetent. Each female was used in all photo-biograph combinations, though male subjects were only exposed to one combination. Results indicated that effects of pose and biograph were significantly different in each of the repeated measurements. Findings included an attraction preference for feminine-competent female deputies and greater tolerance of feminine-incompetent female deputies for staff work than for patrol work. (Publisher abstract)