Eyeglasses and gender stereotypes.

Under the guise of forming impressions of a job applicant in a hiring interview, subjects rated a videotaped male or female stimulus person (SP) on several gender stereotypical and task relevant traits. In one condition, the SP's wore eyeglasses, and in the other condition they did not. Eyeglasses, especially when worn by the stimulus male, were associated with feminine stereotypes and positive task relevant attributes. The results were interpreted to suggest that men who wear eyeglasses may be the target of some negative social judgments but also redeeming task relevant attributes, whereas women who wear eyeglasses are more likely to be the target of only negative social judgments.