2010/05/06 by Corinne A. Moss‐Racusin, Laurie A. Rudman · 262 citations
Engineering · Psychology · Social Sciences · #Backlash #Behavioral Health and Interventions #Context (archaeology) #Economics #Engineering #Entitlement (fair division) #Gender Diversity and Inequality #Political science #Politics #Promotion (chess) #Psychology #Regulatory focus theory #Social and Intergroup Psychology #Social psychology
paper · doi:10.1111/j.1471-6402.2010.01561.x
published in Psychology of Women Quarterly 34(2), 186-202 (SAGE Publishing)
openalex publication_date 2010/05/06 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Women experience social and economic penalties (i.e., backlash) for self-promotion, a behavior that violates female gender stereotypes yet is necessary for professional success. However, it is unknown whether and how the threat of backlash interferes with women's ability to self-promote. The present research examined the effects of fear of backlash and self-regulatory mode on women's self-promotion success by testing the backlash avoidance model (BAM), a model designed to account for disruptions in women's self-promotion. Two studies employing U.S. undergraduate samples examined self-promotion both in a live interview and written context. Results supported the BAM's predictions that self-promoting women's fear of backlash inhibits activation of a goal-focused, locomotive regulatory mode, which subsequently interferes with self-promotion success. This process was not evident for self-promoting men (Study 1) or peer-promoting women (Study 2), groups who demonstrated reliably more promotion success than self-promoting women. The influence of women's endorsement of communal stereotypes and their perceived entitlement were also investigated. Implications for women's self-promotion, gender stereotyping, and workplace parity are discussed.