Graduation Year
Spring 2013
Document Type
Open Access Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Psychology
Reader 1
Judith LeMaster
Reader 2
Alan Hartley
Terms of Use & License Information
Rights Information
© 2013 Brianna Buhaly
Abstract
This study investigated how the problematic construct of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is sustained and perpetuated in our culture. A main effect of gender priming on the number of PMS symptoms recalled from a description suggests that priming activates relevant stereotypes, leading to selective attention to stereotype-consistent information, reinforcing the held stereotypes. An interaction between gender priming and type of description (a woman experiencing PMS, a woman experiencing headaches, or a man experiencing headaches) on the number of pathological conditions ascribed to the woman or man described was found. This suggests that gender priming has a restrictive effect on pathologizing, but further research needs to address how pathologization may function to perpetuate PMS.
Recommended Citation
Buhaly, Brianna, "Perpetuating PMS: What Supports the Stereotype?" (2013). Scripps Senior Theses. 300.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/300
