Automatic categorisation and causal attribution: the effect of gender bias in supervisor responses to subordinate performance

Gender bias is proposed as an example of an automatic categorisation process, which precedes more controlled processes of causal attribution. It was hypothesised that gender bias affects supervisors' responses to subordinate behaviour only when outcomes are expected. To test this hypothesis, 252 subjects rated descriptions of performance by male and female subordinates which varied in performance outcome and consistency. Results supported the hypothesis, but more strongly for success outcomes. Implications for the attributional model of supervisor-subordinate relations are discussed