WHEN SOCIAL-ROLE SALIENCE LEADS TO SOCIAL-ROLE REJECTION - MODEST SELF-PRESENTATION AMONG WOMEN AND MEN IN 2 CULTURES

Resistance to the traditional gender rob expectation for modest self-p resentation among women was examined in a pair of studies. In the firs t-which included U.S. and Polish college students of both sexes-making traditional gender rot expectations explicitly salient led to a signi ficant reversal of traditional modest responding only among American w omen. A second study supported a rob rejection account of this finding by demonstrating that (a) U.S. women reacted much more negatively to the traditional gender role expectations for modesty than did comparab le men, and (b) those women who reacted most negatively also evidenced the greatest role-inconsistent intentions. The possibility is discuss ed that seemingly ambivalent role behavior may not be a, result of rol e conflict but instead to the presence or absence of salient role-rela ted stimuli.