Stereotypes are a big part of everyday cognition. Putting labels on a person usually comes from negative experiences with the person or are based on automatic first impressions (Cox, Abramson, Devine & Hollon, 2012). One group heavily stereotyped are athletes often leading to to false labels (Anderson, 2015). Sports have become a part of violating norms because women who participate are seen as masculine, veering away from gender schemas (Jones & Greer, 2011). With student athletes making up only 3% of the college population, "over privileged minority" is a phrase that automatically comes to mind (Jones & Greer, 2011). In this study, participants (N = 158, 132 women, 26 men) received course credit for completing a survey online. We used Qualtrics software to design the survey and a between subjects design. Participants saw five women and rated each on 15 dependent variables (e.g., talented, powerful, quiet, sensitive) using a 5-point Likert scale. We listed women as either playing softball, volleyball, or not playing (i.e., a college student). We also measured sexism (Ambivalent Sexism Inventory, Glick & Fiske, 1996). Preliminary analyses (ANOVA with the models as the between subjects variable) show participants rated softball women significantly more timid (p=.017) than volleyball and non college athletes. Additional data collection is in progress (completion date December 10th, 2017). Our results will help pinpoint if certain sports are more likely to cause objectification than others.
