Pour Her a Double (Standard): Moral Backlash as a Response to Drinking Double Standards

Double standards regarding women’s alcohol use are prevalent despite consumption rates similar to men. These double standards have various consequences, such as negative attributions and attitudes towards women who drink. Theoretical perspectives have focused on physiological differences and gender norms, largely ignoring moral processes such as authority, social dominance, and hierarchy management. The present study manipulated the gender and alcohol consumption of a vignette actor to examine double standards and the resulting moral backlash: desire for social distance, moral exclusion, and unwillingness to behave prosocially. We hypothesized that the heavy-drinking female actor would receive more moral backlash than the other experimental groups. College students (N=225) were randomly assigned to one of six conditions according to a 2 (male actor v. female actor) x 3 (sober v. light-drinking v. heavy-drinking). A MANOVA revealed a main effect of the alcohol factor on the moral backlash variate. Three follow-up ANOVAs and tests of simple effects revealed that participants reading about a heavy-drinking actor reported greater desire for social distance and moral exclusion than a sober actor. An exploratory analysis found that participants who didn't typically drink alcohol wanted more social distance between them and a light-drinking actor than participants who typically consumed more alcohol. While we did not find evidence for gender-based double standards, potentially revealing increased egalitarian attitudes, the study revealed backlash towards both light and heavy drinkers. Results highlight the role of backlash as a tool for morally regulating others and maintaining social hierarchies.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Psychology, Social

Grantor

University of Houston

Year dc:date.issued

2023

Author dc:creator

• Hall, Nicole Amber

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Neighbors, Clayton

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Fetterman, Adam
• Katz, Sheila

• Psychology, Social

Language dc:language.iso

English

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10657/20983

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:uh-ir.tdl.org:10657/20983