Methodology

The first study was conducted with 80 respondents (53 women and 27 men) between the ages of 19 and 63. They were recruited and participated in the study online. Researchers created website biography pages for two Oregon state senators, identical in format to those of real state senators, including information about career histories, committee service, and educational background. The names and genders on each biography were altered so that each described a male politician half the time and a female politician half the time. Study respondents reviewed the biographies and then answered questions indicating how much desire for power they thought each candidate exhibited and which candidate they would vote for.

The second study was conducted with 230 respondents (78 men and 152 women) between the ages of 18 and 76. They were recruited and participated in the study online. Researchers created one website biography of an Oregon state senator, similar to those created for the first study. The biography was altered along two manipulated variables: the name and gender of the politician were changed so that half were male and half were female; and half the biographies for each gender contained two additional sentences indicating that the politician described was exceptionally power-seeking. Study respondents reviewed their biography and then answered questions indicating how likely they were to vote for that senator; how much agency, communality, and competence they perceived in him/her; and what kinds of emotions they felt towards the senator.