ISSN 0439-755X
CN 11-1911/B

Acta Psychologica Sinica ›› 2021, Vol. 53 ›› Issue (4): 387-399.doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2021.00387

• Reports of Empirical Studies • Previous Articles     Next Articles

The impact of gender orientation of names on individuals’ evaluation of impressions and interpersonal interaction

ZUO Bin1,2, LIU Chen1,2, WEN Fangfang1,2, TAN Xiao1, XIE Zhijie1   

  1. 1 School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Social Psychology, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
    2 Key Laboratory of Adolescent Cyberpsychology and Behavior, Ministry of Education, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
  • Received:2020-05-25 Published:2021-04-25 Online:2021-02-22
  • Contact: WEN Fangfang
  • Supported by:
    National Social Science Foundation of China(18ZDA331);Basic Scientific Research Project of Central China Normal University(CCNU19ZN021)

Abstract:

Personal names have potential consequences for the way in which an individual is viewed and treated by others. This study examined the ratings of warmth and competence of gender-oriented names and explored the effects of individuals’ gender and name-gender orientation on impression formation and interpersonal interaction. The results showed that: (1) Feminine names were rated higher on warmth than masculine names, and masculine names were rated higher on competence than feminine names; (2) Individuals with gender-consistent names were considered to have the typical characteristics of their gender, and individuals with gender-inconsistent names were considered to have the characteristics of the opposite sex; (3) Participants intended to make friends with women whose names were consistent with their gender, and the perception of warmth completely mediated the effect of name-gender orientation on willingness to interact; (4) Participants preferred to finish difficult tasks with men whose names were consistent with their gender, and the perception of competence completely mediated the effect of name gender orientation on willingness to cooperate. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Key words: gender-oriented names, impression evaluation, warmth, competence, interpersonal interaction