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The Ambivalent Sexism Inventory: Differentiating Hostile and Benevolent Sexism

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Peter Glick at Lawrence University
Peter Glick
Susan T. Fiske at Princeton University
Susan T. Fiske
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The authors present a theory of sexism formulated as ambivalence toward women and validate a corresponding measure, the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI). The ASI taps 2 positively correlated components of sexism that nevertheless represent opposite evaluative orientations toward women: sexist antipathy or Hostile Sexism (HS) and a subjectively positive (for sexist men) orientation toward women, Benevolent Sexism (BS). HS and BS are hypothesized to encompass 3 sources of male ambivalence: Paternalism, Gender Differentiation, and Heterosexuality. Six ASI studies on 2,250 respondents established convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity. Overall ASI scores predict ambivalent attitudes toward women, the HS scale correlates with negative attitudes toward and stereotypes about women, and the BS scale (for nonstudent men only) correlates with positive attitudes and stereotypes about women. A copy of the ASI is provided, with scoring instructions, as a tool for further explorations of sexist ambivalence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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... Benevolent sexism (BS) refers to an ostensibly positive but condescending attitude toward women, portraying them as needing protection and inherently different from men, thus limiting their roles in society (Glick & Fiske, 1996). Career growth refers to the advancement and progression in an individual's professional life, which includes the development of skills, taking on increased responsibilities, achieving promotions, and attaining overall career satisfaction. ...
... Additionally, because BS is often disguised as positive, it is difficult for victims to identify and resist. Witnessing or experiencing BS can lead to increased self-objectification and body shame in women (Glick & Fiske, 1996;Shepherd et al., 2011). When women are praised for their appearance rather than their abilities, they may start to internalize the belief that their value is primarily based on their looks, leading to body shame and a reduction in self-esteem (Shepherd et al., 2011;Franzoi, 2001). ...
... Specifically, BS can undermine self-esteem, a critical factor in determining how individuals perceive and respond to external circumstances. Individuals with low self-esteem are more susceptible to emotional distress and exhaustion, particularly when faced with negative outcomes that activate specific CAUs (Glick & Fiske, 1996;Rosenberg, 2016). Therefore, we propose the following: H6. ...
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... Heterosexual interdependence produces benevolent sexism (BS), a patronizing attitude idealizing women in traditional roles that support men. Despite their opposing affective tones, HS and BS represent complementary ideologies that reconcile men's power with intimate dependence on women (Glick & Fiske, 1996, 2001. Specifically, AST views BS as crucial to gain women's support for inequality by portraying women as benefiting from powerful men who protect and provide. ...
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... It occurs through jealous behaviors, lack of empathy with the partner and sexual submission regardless of the woman's desire (Silva and Zavala, 2020). Glick and Fiske (1996) suggest that sexism is shown through two general concepts represented by favorable and unfavorable attitudes towards women. In this sense, unfavorable behaviors are considered hostile sexism, which encompasses the classic and traditional form of sexism characterized by antipathy and negative stereotypes towards women. ...
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... The theory of statistical discrimination states that, in the absence of information about an individual, decision-makers rely on statistical information from the respective group of individuals (i.e., group averages) to attribute, for example, skills or performance. 12 Benevolent sexism, in comparison to hostile sexism, refers to evaluations of gender that seem subjectively positive but in reality can also lead to gender inequality (e.g., through the idea that women are delicate by nature and men should protect them;Glick & Fiske, 1996;Nguyen et al., 2023). ...
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