This study examines if a stigma subsists against never married females over forty years of age. One hundred individuals from a Northeastern University were divided into two groups. There were 50 female participants and 50 male participants with an age range between 18 and 22 years old. Both groups optically canvassed a DVD of the same 42 year old woman being interviewed for a position as a therapist in a student-counseling center. The only difference being that one group visually examined the woman volunteer that she was single while the other group visually examined the woman volunteer she was married. In accord with prospects, single women were visually perceived as less emotionally stable than married women. In addition, polar to prospects, single women over forty years of age were visually perceived as more desirable job candidates. The results of this study provided supplemental support of past studies relating to the emotional instability partialness against single woman.
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The Stigma of the Never Married Woman.
A stereotype is ".a fixed, over generalized belief about a particular group or class of people." (Cardwell, 1996, p. 1). Stigma is a characteristic of persons that is contrary to a norm of a social unit where a "norm" is defined as a "shared belief that a person ought to behave in a certain way at a certain time" (Stafford and Scott 1986, p. 80). For example, to test a child's academic ability, one group was led to believe that a child came from a high socioeconomic background whereas; another group was led to believe that the child came from a low socioeconomic background. Although the videotaped performance series was identical for all groups, those who believed the child came from a high socioeconomic background rated her abilities above grade level. Those who believed the child came from a low socioeconomic background rated her abilities below grade level.