The Effect of Clear Evaluation Criteria on Sex Bias in Judgments of Performance

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Abstract
Previous research indicates that the work of women is often devalued relative to that of men. Two experiments tested the hypothesis that such sex bias appears when judges follow ambiguous guidelines or criteria in making evaluations, but not when they follow clear evaluation guidelines. In each experiment, male and female undergraduates evaluated a performance that was attributed to either a man or woman (an intellectual test performance in Experiment I; an artistic craft object in Experiment II). Subjects followed either clear, explicit evaluation criteria or vague, ambiguous criteria. As predicted, female subjects evaluated the “female's” performance less favorably than the “male's” only when” criteria were vague. In contrast, male subjects showed little evidence of sex bias, regardless of the criteria they followed. Discussion centers upon: (1) possible cognitive processes underlying the observed effects of clear criteria; and (2) potential practical applications designed to alleviate sex bias in naturalistic settings.