Gender roles, ethics of care and social dominance orientation: a feminine view on hierarchy

Abstract

The present study is an investigation of the relationships between biological sex, socially acquired gender schemas, adoption of particular ethical paradigms (ethics of care vs. ethics of justice), and the interplay between these variables as they relate to attitudes towards hierarchy (social dominance orientation). Two samples; one from Istanbul (61 female, 41 male), and the other one from Çanakkale (61 female, 51 male) were recruited for the study. In addition to a demographic data sheet, Moral Orientation Scale Using Childhood Dilemmas, (Yacker and Weinberg, 1990), Bem Sex Role Inventory (Bem, 1981), and Social Dominance Orientation Scale-6 (Pratto et al., 1994) are utilized. Sex was found to have significant main effects on both gender roles and social dominance orientation (SDO). Males were higher than females in masculinity, and females were higher than males in femininity. Males were also higher than females on SDO. Participants from Çanakkale were higher both on masculinity and femininity than their Istanbul counterparts. For the Istanbul sample, ethics of care was positively correlated with femininity for males, and negatively correlated with masculinity for females. No such correlations were found for the Çanakkale sample. The results also revealed a negative correlation between femininity and social dominance orientation. The implications of the findings are discussed by bringing together the theoretical frameworks of Social Dominance Theory (Sidanius and Pratto, 1999), Gender Schema Theory (Bem, 1974), and Ethics of Care (Gilligan, 1981).