Gender Difference in Gender Bias: Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Reduces Male’s Gender Stereotypes
Stereotypes exist in the interactions between different social groups, and gender stereotypes are particularly prevalent. Previous studies have suggested that the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is involved in the social cognition that plays an important role in gender stereotypes, but the specific...
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| Format: | Article |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2019-11-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnhum.2019.00403/full |
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| author | Siqi Wang Siqi Wang Jinjin Wang Jinjin Wang Wenmin Guo Wenmin Guo Hang Ye Hang Ye Hang Ye Xinbo Lu Xinbo Lu Jun Luo Jun Luo Jun Luo Haoli Zheng Haoli Zheng Haoli Zheng |
| author_facet | Siqi Wang Siqi Wang Jinjin Wang Jinjin Wang Wenmin Guo Wenmin Guo Hang Ye Hang Ye Hang Ye Xinbo Lu Xinbo Lu Jun Luo Jun Luo Jun Luo Haoli Zheng Haoli Zheng Haoli Zheng |
| author_sort | Siqi Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Stereotypes exist in the interactions between different social groups, and gender stereotypes are particularly prevalent. Previous studies have suggested that the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is involved in the social cognition that plays an important role in gender stereotypes, but the specific causal effect of the mPFC remains controversial. In this study, we aimed to use transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to identify a direct link between the mPFC and gender bias. Implicit stereotypes were measured by the gender implicit association test (IAT), and explicit prejudice was measured by the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI). We found that male and female participants had different behavioral and neural correlates of gender stereotypes. Anodal tDCS significantly reduced male participants’ gender D-IAT scores compared with cathodal and sham stimulation, while the stimulation had an insignificant effect in female participants. The reduction in male participants’ gender bias mainly resulted from a decrease in the difference in reaction time (RT) between congruent and incongruent blocks. Regarding the explicit bias measurement, male and female participants had distinct attitudes, but tDCS had no effect on ASI. Our results revealed that the mPFC played a causal role in controlling implicit gender stereotypes, which is consistent with previous observations and complements past lesion, neuroimaging, and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) studies and suggests that males and females have different neural bases for gender stereotypes. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T10:36:16Z |
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| id | doaj.art-a27a594f77a943f988f2f871f3a3dcf9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1662-5161 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T10:36:16Z |
| publishDate | 2019-11-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj.art-a27a594f77a943f988f2f871f3a3dcf92022-12-22T01:52:26ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Human Neuroscience1662-51612019-11-011310.3389/fnhum.2019.00403439784Gender Difference in Gender Bias: Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Reduces Male’s Gender StereotypesSiqi Wang0Siqi Wang1Jinjin Wang2Jinjin Wang3Wenmin Guo4Wenmin Guo5Hang Ye6Hang Ye7Hang Ye8Xinbo Lu9Xinbo Lu10Jun Luo11Jun Luo12Jun Luo13Haoli Zheng14Haoli Zheng15Haoli Zheng16School of Economics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, ChinaInterdisciplinary Center for Social Sciences (ICSS), Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, ChinaSchool of Economics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, ChinaInterdisciplinary Center for Social Sciences (ICSS), Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, ChinaSchool of Economics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, ChinaInterdisciplinary Center for Social Sciences (ICSS), Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, ChinaSchool of Economics, Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics, Hangzhou, ChinaCenter for Economic Behavior and Decision-making (CEBD), Neuro & Behavior EconLab (NBEL), Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics, Hangzhou, ChinaInterdisciplinary Center for Social Sciences (ICSS), Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, ChinaSchool of Economics, Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics, Hangzhou, ChinaCenter for Economic Behavior and Decision-making (CEBD), Neuro & Behavior EconLab (NBEL), Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics, Hangzhou, ChinaSchool of Economics, Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics, Hangzhou, ChinaCenter for Economic Behavior and Decision-making (CEBD), Neuro & Behavior EconLab (NBEL), Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics, Hangzhou, ChinaInterdisciplinary Center for Social Sciences (ICSS), Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, ChinaSchool of Economics, Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics, Hangzhou, ChinaCenter for Economic Behavior and Decision-making (CEBD), Neuro & Behavior EconLab (NBEL), Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics, Hangzhou, ChinaInterdisciplinary Center for Social Sciences (ICSS), Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, ChinaStereotypes exist in the interactions between different social groups, and gender stereotypes are particularly prevalent. Previous studies have suggested that the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is involved in the social cognition that plays an important role in gender stereotypes, but the specific causal effect of the mPFC remains controversial. In this study, we aimed to use transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to identify a direct link between the mPFC and gender bias. Implicit stereotypes were measured by the gender implicit association test (IAT), and explicit prejudice was measured by the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI). We found that male and female participants had different behavioral and neural correlates of gender stereotypes. Anodal tDCS significantly reduced male participants’ gender D-IAT scores compared with cathodal and sham stimulation, while the stimulation had an insignificant effect in female participants. The reduction in male participants’ gender bias mainly resulted from a decrease in the difference in reaction time (RT) between congruent and incongruent blocks. Regarding the explicit bias measurement, male and female participants had distinct attitudes, but tDCS had no effect on ASI. Our results revealed that the mPFC played a causal role in controlling implicit gender stereotypes, which is consistent with previous observations and complements past lesion, neuroimaging, and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) studies and suggests that males and females have different neural bases for gender stereotypes.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnhum.2019.00403/fullgender stereotypesmedial prefrontal cortextranscranial direct current stimulationimplicit associations testgender difference |
| spellingShingle | Siqi Wang Siqi Wang Jinjin Wang Jinjin Wang Wenmin Guo Wenmin Guo Hang Ye Hang Ye Hang Ye Xinbo Lu Xinbo Lu Jun Luo Jun Luo Jun Luo Haoli Zheng Haoli Zheng Haoli Zheng Gender Difference in Gender Bias: Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Reduces Male’s Gender Stereotypes Frontiers in Human Neuroscience gender stereotypes medial prefrontal cortex transcranial direct current stimulation implicit associations test gender difference |
| title | Gender Difference in Gender Bias: Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Reduces Male’s Gender Stereotypes |
| title_full | Gender Difference in Gender Bias: Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Reduces Male’s Gender Stereotypes |
| title_fullStr | Gender Difference in Gender Bias: Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Reduces Male’s Gender Stereotypes |
| title_full_unstemmed | Gender Difference in Gender Bias: Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Reduces Male’s Gender Stereotypes |
| title_short | Gender Difference in Gender Bias: Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Reduces Male’s Gender Stereotypes |
| title_sort | gender difference in gender bias transcranial direct current stimulation reduces male s gender stereotypes |
| topic | gender stereotypes medial prefrontal cortex transcranial direct current stimulation implicit associations test gender difference |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnhum.2019.00403/full |
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