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Male and female attitudes towards

stereotypical advertisements:
a paired country investigation
Prokopis K. Theodoridis

Male and female

attitudes

135

Department of Business Administration of Food and Agricultural Enterprises,

University of Western Greece, Agrinio, Greece, and

Antigone G. Kyrousi, Athina Y. Zotou and George G. Panigyrakis

Department of Business Administration,
Athens University of Economics and Business, Athens, Greece
Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the differences in male and female attitudes
and establish a causal relationship between general (a priori) attitudes towards female stereotypical
advertisements and attitudes towards specific advertising stimuli, providing evidence from Greece
and Cyprus.
Design/methodology/approach Male and female respondents (158 in Cyprus and 156 in Greece)
indicated their general attitudes towards female stereotypes in advertising and were subsequently
exposed to three stereotypical advertisements, to which they expressed their specific attitudes.
Findings The results of the study prove that in countries with similar cultural backgrounds, such
as Greece and Cyprus, general attitudes towards stereotypes in advertising do not have significant
differences. General attitudes towards sex role portrayal in advertising directly impact attitudes
towards specific advertisements. Further, it was demonstrated that respondents gender plays a key
role in attitude formation. The age of the respondents is also of interest, given that differences exist in
general attitudes towards stereotypes in advertising and in attitudes towards specific stereotypical
advertisements within respondents of the same gender, but of a different age bracket.
Originality/value The key potential contribution of this study is threefold. First, it investigates
the effect of gender and age on attitudes towards stereotypes in advertising. Second, it establishes a
causal relationship between general attitudes towards stereotypical advertisements and attitudes
towards specific advertising stimuli. Third, the study further validates the established relationship
and the relevant measures across culturally similar countries.
Keywords Advertising, Consumer behaviour, Attitudes, Stereotyping, Female stereotypes, Culture,
Greece, Cyprus
Paper type Research paper

Introduction
The issue of gender role stereotyping has been a prominent one within the advertising
literature, especially since the 1970s (Wolin, 2003); interest in the subject seems to have
been spurred by the 1960s feminist movement (Zimmerman and Dahlberg, 2008). The
stereotypical representation of women in advertising presents considerable interest,
This research has been co-financed by the European Union (European Social Fund ESF) and
Greek national funds through the Operational Program Education and Lifelong Learning of the
National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) Research Funding Program: Heracleitus II.
Investing in knowledge society through the European Social Fund.

Corporate Communications: An
International Journal
Vol. 18 No. 1, 2013
pp. 135-160
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
1356-3289
DOI 10.1108/13563281311294173

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given the evolution of the role of women in western societies throughout these four
decades (Fugate et al., 1998), as well as the wider relationship between advertising and
society, i.e. The mirror versus mould debate (Holbrook, 1987; Pollay, 1986).
Advertising has been criticised for presenting a non realistic view of women and their
actual roles in society, as it generally uses stereotypical gender roles (Furnham and
Mak, 1999); such a notion is in accordance with the mould argument.
The present paper reports findings from a study conducted among men and women,
in Greece and Cyprus, regarding their respective attitudes towards female stereotypes
in advertising in general, as well as their specific attitudes towards existing
advertisements that depict women in a stereotypical manner.
Literature review
Gender stereotypes are beliefs related to the sets of psychological traits and behaviours
characterizing men and women, while the term gender roles refers to the activities
that are differentially appropriate for men or women (An and Kim, 2007). Regarding
female stereotypes in advertising, i.e. the stereotypical depiction of women in
advertisements, the relevant literature employs terms such as gender role portrayals,
sex role portrayals, and female role portrayals. In general, women have been
described as weak, nurturing, dependent, indecisive, and emotional; on the other hand,
men have been characterised as strong, independent, competent, and stubborn
(Meyers-Levy, 1988). The four broad themes of female stereotypes in advertising are:
women in decorative roles, women in traditional roles, women in non-traditional roles
and women portrayed equal to men (Plakoyiannaki and Zotos, 2009; Belkaoui and
Belkaoui, 1976; Mitchell and Taylor, 1990; Lysonski, 1985; Zotos and Lysonski, 1994).
A critical review of the existing literature reveals the existence of two discrete
streams of research; the first stream is concerned with depicting the status quo
regarding female stereotypes in advertising, while the second stream focuses on the
examination of the relationships between female stereotypes (as an independent
variable) and other variables related to audience perceptions, attitudes and behaviour
(dependent variables). In other words, the identified research streams differ in terms of
research design; studies pertaining to the first stream are in their vast majority content
analytic, whereas studies included in the second stream are largely empirical.
Adopting the definitions cited by Leary (2007), these streams can be termed as
descriptive and correlational, respectively.
Descriptive studies
There is a vast volume of research dealing with the description of the use of female
stereotypes in advertising (print or television); relevant studies seek to draw
conclusions on advertising practices and document changes over time. Studies
included in this stream are mainly content analytic. Indicative publications include:
Belkaoui and Belkaoui (1976); Lysonski (1983); Ruggiero and Weston (1985); Soley and
Kurzbard (1986); Ferguson et al. (1990); Mays and Brady (1990); Klassen et al. (1993);
Leppard et al. (1993); Zotos and Lysonski (1994); and Lindner (2004). Over time, these
content analytic studies have focused first on magazine advertisements, then on
television commercials (Eisend, 2009), and more recently on online advertisements
(Plakoyiannaki et al., 2008). It should be noted that studies aiming at depicting
advertising practices regarding female stereotypes have been replicated not only in

different temporal frames, but also across different cultural settings (Lysonski, 1985;
Wiles et al., 1995; Odekerken-Schroder et al., 2002; Williams and Best, 1990; Sengupta,
1995; Moon and Chen, 2002; An and Kim, 2007). Examining stereotypical depictions of
women across diverse cultural frames is undoubtedly an interesting research topic, due
to the increasing internationalisation of companies and brands (Wu, 2008). Data from
these studies reveal the existence of similarities in such practices across different
western countries and indicate that female stereotyping practices are culturally bound
(Lin, 1998; Saad, 2004; Khairullah and Khairullah, 2009). Overall, from the studies
encompassed in this stream, it can be inferred that the way woman is portrayed is still
quite diverse (An and Kim, 2007), bearing in mind that advertising is considered one of
the most culturally-bound elements of the marketing mix (Liu, 2002). Despite the
latter though, gender stereotypes in advertising are undoubtedly a worldwide
phenomenon. Although less traditional portrayals of women are nowadays common,
the use of some stereotypical women depictions (e.g. sex objects) may have increased
(Soley and Kurzbard, 1986; Ferguson et al., 1990; Klassen et al., 1993). In general, the
authors conclusions from the literature review agree with Eisends comment in his
2009 meta-analysis. Eisend distinguishes between optimistic and pessimistic studies:
the former conclude that women are still portrayed in a stereotypic manner, while the
latter suggest that role portrayals of women in advertising are gradually becoming less
stereotypical. Generally, the literature reviewed tends to support the optimistic view.
Yet, irrespectively of the stance taken, content analyses still only show changes in
advertising practices over time. The key to estimate the influence of female sex role
depictions is to understand womens minds, their diverse thoughts and their
consciousness as they perceive advertisements representing their gender (Soley and
Kurzbard, 1986).
Correlational studies
Correlational studies deal with the way consumers (mostly women) perceive the
stereotypical roles portrayed in advertising, the emotions evoked by such stereotypes
and the influence of stereotypes on attitudes and subsequent consumer behaviour.
Existing research reveals that gender perceptions and attitudes towards the
portrayal of women in advertising, are influenced by lifestyle, demographic variables
and feminine role orientation (Roberts and Loggan, 1977; DeYoung and Crane, 1992;
Ford et al., 1991; Lundstrom et al., 1999; Ford and LaTour, 1993; LaTour et al., 1998;
Venkatesh, 1980; Wolin, 2003). Attitudes seem to vary across different countries, while
dissimilarities in perceptions also exist between genders and among age-groups
(DeYoung and Crane, 1992; Ford et al., 1997; Odekerken-Schroder et al., 2002; Reichert
et al., 2007). Women tend to be more sensitive to the female portrayal in advertising,
they do not believe that they are depicted rationally in advertising, and that is why
they sometimes report negative attitudes (DeYoung and Crane, 1992). Females do
prefer to be portrayed with realistic and equal images in advertising, and this possibly
leads to positive reactions towards the ads (Jaffe and Berger, 1994; Saad, 2004). In fact,
women are offended by ads depicting negative female portrayals (Ford et al., 1991;
Ford and LaTour, 1993; Christy, 2006; Scriven, 2007). Although both sexes have ethical
concerns about the use of strong sexual appeals in advertising (LaTour and Henthorne,
1994; Prakash, 1992), females are more inclined than males to find ads sexist (Wolin,
2003; Ford et al., 1991; Jones et al., 1998; Lundstrom and Sciglimpaglia, 1977; Rossi and

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Rossi, 1985) and in contradiction to women, males find female nudity more appealing
(Peterson and Kerin, 1977; Beetles and Harris, 2004; LaTour, 1990; Simpson et al., 1996).
It is also worth mentioning that both females and males evaluate depictions of the
opposite sex more positively (Belch et al., 1981; Jones et al., 1998; Judd and Alexander,
1983; LaTour, 1990; Simpson et al., 1996; Reichert et al., 2007; Grazer and Keesling,
1995; Saad, 2004). Despite that finding, interestingly enough, other research indicates
that females were more positive about same sex portrayal than males (Reichert et al.,
2007; Dudley, 1999).
Perhaps the most important point emerging from the review of the literature
regarding the perceptions and attitudes towards female stereotypes in advertising has
to do with the scarcity of data regarding the male attitudes towards the portrayal of
women in print advertisements. An initial hint towards that direction can be found in
the seminal study by Lundstrom and Sciglimpaglia (1977) who assert that female
respondents in their study assumed a more critical posture towards the general nature
of sex role portrayals compared to male respondents. The only study explicitly dealing
with differences in male and female attitudes towards sexism in advertising, and
actually contrasting these differences across the US, Denmark, Greece and New
Zealand, is the study by Pollay and Lysonski (1993), that reports consistent
male-female differences, with little differences among countries. Differences in female
and male Australians attitudes towards female stereotypes in advertising have been
more recently examined by Harker et al. (2005). Gender differences in perceptions of
women in advertising have also been investigated by psychologists Rossi and Rossi
(1985), who found that females gave sexist ads lower appeal ratings than their male
counterparts.
Conclusively, it can be deduced that research on the effects of female stereotypes in
advertising on consumers attitudes is much more limited in volume compared to
research dealing with the depiction and the evolution of advertising practices. There is
a solid body of research data, using content analysis as an instrument for analyzing
print or television advertisements that deals with the stereotypical approach of women
in those advertisements (Wagner and Banos, 1973; Goffman, 1976; Lysonski, 1985;
Mitchell and Taylor, 1990; Wiles et al., 1995). However, it is interesting to note that only
a scant of research data are dealing with womens attitudes towards magazines
advertisements, and even fewer studies examine mens attitudes towards female
stereotypes portrayed in print advertisements.
Purpose of study
Based on our literature review a research gap was identified, in a sense that research on
the attitudes of women regarding gender stereotypes in advertising is scarce and less
systematic than expected. Even less are the studies that deal with the attitudes of men
towards female stereotypes in advertising. Further, it should be noted that
international data regarding male and female attitudes are extremely limited and
hinder cross-cultural comparisons. On the contrary, several studies comparing and
contrasting international data have been carried out regarding existing advertising
stereotyping practices.
Secondly, studies dealing with general attitudes towards stereotypical portrayal of
women in advertising have been carried out contrasting findings from culturally
distinct countries. For instance, Ford et al. (1997) have compared Perceived Female Role

Portrayal Offensiveness in an advertising context across New Zealand, Thailand and

Japan, attesting considerable differences. It can be therefore logically assumed that if
there are differences in attitudes towards female role portrayals in advertising in
culturally-distinct countries, there will be significant similarities in countries that are
culturally similar. Thus, the present study aims at uncovering commonalities in the
attitudes of men and women in Greece and Cyprus in terms of general attitudes towards
female stereotypes in advertising, as well as of attitudes towards specific stereotypical
advertisements. It is reasonable to assume that Greece and Cyprus are culturally similar,
considering the common language, historical background, religion, etc.
Finally, the present study aims at establishing a causal relationship between
general (a priori ) attitudes towards stereotypical advertisements and attitudes towards
specific advertising stimuli. Such a relationship has not been sufficiently addressed by
existing studies (Bhat et al., 1998; Orth and Holancova, 2004).
Hypotheses formulation
According to the initial findings of an exploratory study conducted by the researchers,
using focus groups, as the first part of an ongoing research plan, it was shown that
female participants perceived most of the advertisements presented to them as
stereotypical of women. Female participants generally agreed that women, despite
social change, are still represented in a stereotypical manner in advertisements.
Contrary, male participants seemed to be less sensitive in recognising stereotypical
portrayals of women. Moreover, their attitudes towards these stereotypes were less
negative compared to womens. These results resembled with the findings of previous
research indicating different and controversial attitudes between sexes towards female
portrayals in advertising. As Lull et al. (1977) noted, women are more aware than men
of stereotyped role portrayals in advertising. According to Orth and Holancova (2004),
females show the slightest positive reactions to advertisements that are presenting
female models in better roles than males. While Whipple and Courtney (1985)
reconsidered studies examining female role portrayals in advertising involving effects
on perceived product quality, preferences for ads, attitudes towards ads, intention to
buy, credibility and likeability, they generalised that for a female audience,
contemporary, liberated female role portrayals were in general more efficient than
traditional depictions. This result was later on established by Ford and LaTour (1993).
As already mentioned, women are more likely than men to be more sensitive to the
portrayal of women and more likely to perceive women as portrayed dependent on
men, while men are more likely than women to perceive that women are portrayed as
they actually are (Harker et al., 2005; Wolin, 2003). Generally, women were much more
likely to find offensive the portrayal of women in advertising than were men, and this
may leads to a negative attitude towards female stereotyping. Therefore, the following
hypothesis is formulated:
H1. Women will express more negative general attitudes towards sex role
portrayal in advertising and more negative attitudes towards specific
stereotypical advertisements than men.
There is also some previous research dealing with the differences that may exist
between age groups (younger-older). As it was hinted in the exploratory focus groups
study, older women were generally more critical towards the decorative-sexy image

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of females in advertising, while younger women directed their criticism towards the
portrayal of the typical housewife. In general, through the focus group discussion
regarding the stereotypical representation of women in advertising, older women
seemed to be more sensitive towards the stereotypical depiction of females in
advertising compared to younger women. As far as the attitudes and the perceptions of
their male counterparts are concerned, it appeared that younger men demonstrated
increased sensitivity towards female stereotypes, compared to older male. In other
words, younger men and women tend to differ less in terms of sensitivity. According to
Harker et al. (2005) indications, younger people agreed that the portrayal of women is
sexist and that the stereotypical depiction of women had changed over the years for the
better. Conformed to the Ford and LaTours (1996) findings, older people were not
appear to be offended by the portrayal of gender in advertising, and gave the
impression that they do not believe that the portrayal of women is changing for the
better (Harker et al., 2005). Additionally, Zimmerman and Dahlberg (2008) revealed
that young women did not seem to be offended by the portrayal of women in
advertising. It therefore appears from the existing literature that the attitudes of older
men and women towards female stereotyping in advertising are more polarized,
compared to the attitudes of the younger respondents. This means that older men and
women express more strong attitudinal statements, regardless of their positive or
negative character, than younger men and women, who do not show strong feelings on
the subject. Along with what previous literature suggests, the second hypotheses is
formulated:
H2. Young respondents general attitudes towards sex role portrayal advertising
and attitudes towards specific stereotypical advertisements will differ from
those of their older counterparts.
Some existing research suggests that consumer a priori attitudes toward sex role
portrayals, will possibly affect females and males reactions to a specific sex role
depiction, and influence the effectiveness of a particular ad (Bhat et al., 1998; Orth and
Holancova, 2004). It has also been shown that females who have less positive a priori
attitudes towards stereotyped sex role portrayals in advertising are more likely to
exhibit negative attitudes towards firms or products associated with stereotyped role
portrayals (Lysonski and Pollay, 1990). According to the relevant literature the third
hypotheses is addressed:
H3. Attitudes towards specific stereotypical advertisements will be influenced by
general attitudes towards sex role portrayal in advertising.
Methodology
Measures
In order to assess feminine role orientation or female autonomy, Arnotts (1972) Female
Autonomy Inventory (AFAI) was adopted, in accordance with numerous previous
studies (Ford et al., 1991; Ford and LaTour, 1993; Ford and LaTour, 1996; Ford et al.,
1997). The AFAI, developed by Arnott (1972), consists of ten items and includes an
equal number of positive and negative statements with seven response categories,
ranging from 1 strongly disagree to 7 strongly agree. Originally, Arnott
calculated the total scores, ranging from 10 to 70 and keeping the midpoint as 40, she
arbitrarily assigned the scores of 10-25 to conservatives, 33-47 to moderates, and 55-70

to liberals (Venkatesh, 1980). The AFAI instrument was selected due to its repeated
validation in previous studies of similar nature, as reported by Ford and LaTour (1996),
and due to the fact that levels of female autonomy are well represented by responses to
this scale (Ford et al., 1991).
Attitudes towards sex role portrayal were measured with the Attitudes towards
sex role portrayal scale, which is part of the original Lundstrom and Sciglimpaglia
(1977) instrument. The instrument also includes scales referring to company image
and purchase intentions that were not used in the present study, since it only focuses
on attitudes. This scale, as well as the instrument as a whole, have been widely
accepted and validated in subsequent studies (Ford et al., 1991; Ford and LaTour, 1993,
1996; Ford et al., 1997; Harker et al., 2005). It is comprised of 12 statements, responses to
which were given on a seven-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 strongly disagree
to 7 strongly agree.
Contrary to previous studies regarding attitudes towards stereotypical depictions of
women in advertising, that were limited to examining general (a priori ) attitudes, the
present study also measured attitudes towards specific advertisements. A similar
approach (simultaneous measurement of a priori and specific attitudes) was used by
Orth and Holancova (2004), who found that a priori attitude (general attitude towards
sex role portrayal in advertising), had a significant impact on attitudes towards
specific advertising stimuli. Attitudes towards the specific advertising stimuli used in
the study were measured by the four item scale by Holbrook and Batra (1987),
responses to which were given on a seven-point Likert scale, ranging from
1 strongly disagree to 7 strongly agree.
For the purposes of the present study, all of the items used were translated in Greek,
and afterwards back-translated in English, in order to check for accuracy.
Stimuli
The stimuli used in this study were three existing advertisements, selected from an
initial pool of 30 existing advertisements, drawn from recent issues of magazines,
targeted at both men and women. Prior to the main study, ten women were presented
with these advertisements and were asked to evaluate, using a seven-point Likert scale,
the degree that each of them projected a stereotyped image of women. Advertisements
that received evaluation scores between three and five were chosen for further use. The
rationale for such a choice is that extremely stereotypical advertisements were
expected to provoke extreme reactions by respondents irrespective of their gender (as
was the case with extremely overt sexual appeals in LaTour and Henthorne, 1994) and
thus were not appropriate for measuring differences between male and female
perceptions. On the other hand, advertisements that were not judged as stereotypical
by women were even less likely to be considered stereotypical by men, who are thought
to be less sensitive to female stereotypes (Harker et al., 2005). Given that the scope of
the study had to do with female stereotypes in general, and not with a specific kind of
stereotype (e.g. sexual appeal), the authors saw that the advertisements selected fell
into different categories of the Lysonski (1985) categorisation scheme; the four broad
themes of female stereotypes in advertising are namely women in decorative roles,
women in traditional roles, women in non-traditional roles and women portrayed equal
to men (Plakoyiannaki and Zotos, 2009). The stimuli used in the study were one for
each of the first three categories.

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Sample and data collection

A total of 168 male and female (of equal representation within the sample) Greek
Cypriots participated in the study hereby reported. Each respondent was summoned
separately in a room, where one of the researchers was present. Before exposure to the
stimuli, respondents were administered the first part of the questionnaire, referring to
the female autonomy statements and attitudes towards sex role portrayal.
Subsequently, respondents were presented with Stimulus A and were asked to
study it for approximately two minutes. At that time, they were asked to indicate their
attitudes towards the specific advertisement. The procedure was repeated for stimuli B
and C. Out of the total 168 questionnaires completed, 158 were usable. The same
procedure was adopted in Greece, with 156 usable questionnaires out of a 175 total.
Purification of measures
Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to investigate the General Attitudes
towards Sex Role Portrayal (GASRP) construct employing structural equation
modelling analysis using AMOS 6.0. The model was slightly revised in terms, given
that one indicator (item 16) has been excluded since its computed loading showed it not
being statistically significant. The proposed construct incorporates two factors entitled
portrayal accuracy and the role portrayal criticism that are correlated (Figure 1). In
order to validate that the specific construct has a two factor structure it is crucial to
compare it with alternative models (Joreskog and Sorbom, 1993; Bentler and Chou,
1987). Three CFA models were estimated and later compared to each other:
(1) Model 1. Covariation among items is best explained by two factors which are
allowed to correlate: portrayal accuracy (PA) and role portrayal criticism (RPC).

Figure 1.
The GASRP
model-Cyprus (portrayal
accuracy and role
portrayal criticism)

(2) Model 2. Covariation among items is presented by factors which have been
created randomly for methodological reasons, named F1 (included items 13, 15,
17) and F2 (included items 11, 12, 14, 18, 19).
(3) Model 3. Items are represented by a single factor model, i.e. an one-dimensional
model in which all the items load into one factor illustrating the general
attitudes towards sex role portrayal (GASRP).

Male and female

attitudes

143

The compared models are characterized as nested. These models have exactly the same
number of indicators but differences in the number and the synthesis of the latent
variables as well as in the relationships between indicators and latent variables
(Joreskog and Sorbom, 1993). The examination of all the available statistics in Table I
reveals that model 1 (Figure 1) fits the specific data set better than the other two
models. Table I presents the statistics for all three competing models. Moreover, since
the nature of the procedure is confirmatory, and the competing models are nested, the
examination of differences in x2 (Dx2) has to be applied (Bentler and Chou, 1987; Bollen,
1989; Hair et al., 1998). This occurs in order to select the best model in terms of better fit
to the specific data (Joreskog and Sorbom, 1993). The investigation of the differences in
x2 (Dx2) indicated that the model 1 (Figure 1) with the two correlated factors (portrayal
accuracy and role portrayal criticism) is superior to the other two.
Further, the respective reliabilities for all three proposed models were examined for
providing discriminant validity in order to select the most appropriate model. It is
crucial to examine the reliability of the proposed models and especially composite
reliabilities and variance extracted values (Hair et al., 1998). The composite reliabilities
and the values of variance extracted are presented in Table II. Reliability measures
provide evidence of internal consistency of the indicators portraying the degree to
which the latter correspond to the common latent construct (Hair et al., 1998). The
composite reliabilities of model 1 provide a strong evidence of internal consistence of
the two latent constructs since their values exceed a common used threshold of 0.70
(Table II). The variance extracted measures reflect the overall amount of the variance
in the indicators accounted for by the latent construct (Hair et al., 1998). The variance
extracted values for the two latent constructs of model 1 are high, exceeding the
common cut-off point of 0.50, showing that the indicators are truly representative of the
latent constructs. Evaluating the composite reliabilities and the variance extracted
measures of all three competitive models, it is revealed that model 1 is superior to the
Models
Number of factors
x2
Df
GFI/AGFI/PGFI
NFI
CFI
PNFI-PCFI
RMSEA

2
92.823
19
0.876/0.766/0.463
0.891
0.911
0.6050.618
0.155

2a
153.214
19
0.802/0.711/0.408
0.821
0.838
0.557-0.568
0.212

1
180.950
20
0.743/0.537/0.413
0.798
0.853
0.563-0.575
0.226

Note: aTwo random factors

Table I.
Statistics of GASRP
Cyprus models

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Composite reliability
Variance extracted

144

Table II.
GASRP Cyprus models:
composite reliabilities
and variances extracted

Model 2 2-Factors
Composite reliability
Variance extracted
Model 3 1-Factor
Composite reliability
Variance extracted

Portrayal accuracy

Role portrayal criticism

0.92
0.75

0.75
0.53

F1

F2

0.90
0.75

0.42
0.45

GASRP

0.30
0.52

Notes: Construct reliability (S standardized loading)2/(S standardized loading)2 S1j; Variance

extracted (S standardized loading2)/(S standardized loading)2 S1j

other models in terms of reliability. These estimates indicate that trying to force the
items measuring attitudes towards sex role portrayal onto fewer factors or factors with
different construction relationships, leads to a significant deterioration of the model fit
compared to the proposed portrayal accuracy and role portrayal criticism two-factor
model. Therefore, model 1 can be recommended as the model which fits data better
than the other two models.
Table III provides the loadings of the indicators and their reflection to the portrayal
accuracy and role portrayal criticism factors respectively. Portrayal accuracy
represents the positive facet of the representation of women in advertising; in other
words, it reflects the degree to which respondents believe women are accurately
portrayed in advertising. On the other hand, Role Portrayal Criticism reflects the
degree to which respondents criticise the way women are portrayed in advertising.
The CFA procedure was also employed for the case of Greece examining the same
construct (Table IV). SEM analysis does in fact indicate that the GASRP construct
consists of two latent variables which are allowed to correlate: portrayal accuracy and
role portrayal criticism (Figure 2). The confirmatory factor solution is proper and the
multiple goodness of fit indices show acceptable value levels: x2 80.865/ df 19,
NFI 0.907, CFI 0.927, PNFI-PCFI 0.616-0.616, RMSEA 0.145 (Bollen, 1989).
The normed fit index (NFI) and the comparative fit index (Bentler, 1990) range from 0 to
1. Values approximating 1 provide evidence of a model adequately fitting the data
(Bentler, 1990). The smallest the value of the root mean square error of approximation
(RMSEA) (Browne and Cudeck, 1993) and, especially if lower than 0.08, the better the fit
of the model (Hu and Bentler, 1995). Further, the investigation of construct reliabilities
reveals internal consistency of the indicators portraying the degree to which the latter
correspond to the common latent construct. The reliability values exceed the commonly
used threshold value of 0.70-0.93 for portrayal accuracy, 0.77 for role portrayal criticism.
The portrayal accuracy with a value of variance extracted measure of 0.80 substantially
exceeds the recommended level. The second latent construct, role portrayal criticism, has
a value of 0.52 falling slightly higher than the commonly used threshold.
The overall model goodness-of-fit results and the measurement model assessments
both for Cyprus and Greece offer considerable support for confirmation of the proposed
two factor model 1 with portrayal accuracy and role portrayal criticism latent constructs.

which I see accurately portray men in most of their daily activities

which I see accurately portray women in most of their daily activities
which I see show men as they really are
which I see show women as they really are
suggest that a womans place is in the home
suggest that women do not do important things
treat women mainly as sex objects
suggest that women are fundamentally dependent on men

Notes: *p , 0,001; aStandardized values

Ads
Ads
Ads
Ads
Ads
Ads
Ads
Ads

Indicator
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
PA_F
PA_F
PA_F
PA_F
RPC_F
RPC_F
RPC_F
RPC_F

Latent
variable
1*
1.168
1.075
1.141
1*
1.801
1.436
0.854

Est.

0.834
0.868
0.884
0.892
0.737
0.804
0.731
0.640
9.048
8.375
7.378

0.199
0.172
0.116

Loadingsa
13.501
13.910
14.092

Critical
ratio

145

0.086
0.077
0.081

S.E.

Male and female

attitudes

Table III.
GASRP Cyprus-model 1:
maximum likehood
estimates and
standardized values

Table IV.
GASRP Greece-model 1:
maximum likehood
estimates and
standardized values

which I see accurately portray men in most of their daily activities

which I see accurately portray women in most of their daily activities
which I see show men as they really are
which I see show women as they really are
suggest that a womans place is in the home
suggest that women do not do important things
treat women mainly as sex objects
suggest that women are fundamentally dependent on men

Notes: *p , 0,001; aUnstandardized values; bStandardized values

Ads
Ads
Ads
Ads
Ads
Ads
Ads
Ads

(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
PA_F
PA_F
PA_F
PA_F
RPC_F
RPC_F
RPC_F
RPC_F

Latent
variable

1*
1.089
1.011
1.033
1*
1.906
1.546
0.814

Est.a

15.389
15.874
15.306
8.291
7.799
6.404

0.230
0.198
0.127

Critical
ratio
0.071
0.064
0.068

S.E.

146

Indicator

0.884
0.877
0.890
0.874
0.668
0.826
0.751
0.592

Loadingsb

CCIJ
18,1

Male and female

attitudes

147

Figure 2.
The GASRP model-Greece
(portrayal accuracy and
role portrayal criticism)

Results
Respondents profile
Men and women were purposely equally represented within the 2 samples (155 women
and 159 overall); an effort was made as well to include both young (younger than 35
years old) and older respondents. The majority of the respondents are either single
(41.4 per cent) or married with children (39.8 per cent), are privately or publicly
employed (42 per cent), and have an income between e1,000 and e2,000 (43 per cent). As
for their educational level, the majority of the respondents have a high school education
(32.5 per cent), followed by the respondents with a graduate or postgraduate degree
(26.8 and 21 per cent respectively).
Measures purification
The data were initially checked for normality with the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test that
yielded p values lower than 0.010; therefore, the normality assumption was rejected.
Then, the data obtained were subject to further analysis. First, the ten items
comprising the AFAI were factor analysed. Items 2, 6 and 8 (girls should be trained as
homemakers, motherhood is an ideal career for most women, husband should be
legal family representative) were recoded (Venkatesh, 1980), while item 3 (men
should initiate courtship) was eliminated, due to low factor loadings. A solution was
found of two factors for both Cyprus and Greece, providing evidence of reliability since
Cronbachs alpha values exceed 0.690. The set of the four items reflecting attitudes
towards an advertisement was also subject to factor analysis, resulting in an one factor
solution (for all three advertisements and both countries), with all Cronbachs alpha
values exceeding 0.800.
Hypotheses testing
For the hypotheses testing, checks were performed first in the data from Cyprus and
subsequently, in those from Greece.

CCIJ
18,1

148

Hypothesis 1. Regarding the first hypothesis, in order to attest differences between

sexes and their respective responses, the non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test was
employed. First, for the AFAI items, the distributions in the two groups (men and
women) were found to differ significantly for the individual female autonomy factor,
since the test yielded p values ranging from 0.000 to 0.001 for the items included. It can
be thus inferred that male and female respondents significantly differed in their views
regarding the autonomy of women as individuals, with women being more egalitarian
than men. The pattern of responses was similar for the Greek sample, further
indicating the hypothesised similarity between the two cultures.
For the items referring to attitudes towards sex role portrayal, the mean ranks of the
two groups (men and women) were found to differ significantly for both the portrayal
accuracy and the role portrayal criticism factors (Table V). Regarding their attitudes
towards specific stereotypical advertisements, it was revealed that the two sexes
differed with respect to their attitudes regarding all three advertisements ( p , 0.001).
The findings from the Greek sample reveal an almost identical view. From these
results, the first hypothesis is supported, as women indeed expressed more negative
general attitudes towards sex role portrayal in advertising, while they also had more
negative attitudes towards stereotypical advertisements than men.
Hypothesis 2. Regarding the second hypothesis, in order to assess differences
between younger and older respondents, a dummy ordinal dichotomous variable was
computed, with values 1 13-35 years old (label: younger) and 2 36-63 years old
(label: older), and a second series of non-parametric Mann-Whitney U tests were
conducted. Although the mean ranks in the two groups (younger and older) were found
to differ significantly for the AFAI items ( p values ranging from 0.005 to 0.022 for all
the items included), surprisingly enough, there were no noteworthy differences
between young and old respondents answers to the items referring to general attitudes
towards sex role portrayal, neither in Greece nor in Cyprus. However, regarding their
attitudes towards specific stereotypical advertisements, it was revealed that young and
old respondents differed with respect to their attitudes towards all three stereotypic
advertisements they were presented with (in both countries). From these results, the

Items

Table V.
Attitudes towards sex
role portrayal
Mann-Whitney U tests,
gender

11. Ads which I see show women as they really are

12. Ads suggest that women are fundamentally
dependent on men
13. Ads which I see show men as they really are
14. Ads treat women mainly as sex objects
15. Ads which I see accurately portray women in
most of their daily activities
17. Ads which I see accurately portray men in most
of their daily activities
18. Ads suggest that women do not do important
things
19. Ads suggest that a womans place is in the home
Notes: *p , 0.001

Cyprus
Male
Female
Mean ranks

Greece
Male
Female
Mean ranks

109.22

51.78

109.52

48.27

62.64
106.17
57.94

98.36
54.83
103.06

61.40
105.63
52.72

95.17
52.06
103.63

108.01

52.99

110.23

47.58

102.42

58.58

104.79

52.87

50.51
64.68

110.49
96.32

47.31
62.42

108.90
94.18

second hypothesis receives partial support, as younger respondents attitudes towards

specific stereotypical advertisements actually differed from those of their older
counterparts, despite the fact that there were no significant differences between these
two groups in their general attitudes towards sex role portrayal in advertising.
It was attempted to shed some light on this apparent controversy, by seeking to
analyse the differences in the general and specific attitudes of respondents of different
ages and sexes. Exploiting some initial hints gained from the exploratory focus groups
study, the authors sought out patterns in the responses of four different groups of
respondents, with respect to their ages and sexes. For this purpose, a dummy
categorical variable was computed, with values 1 younger men, 2 older men,
3 younger women, 4 older women. In order to test equality of population medians
among these four groups, a series of non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis tests were
conducted for the general and specific attitudinal items. For the items referring to
attitudes towards sex role portrayal, the medians in the four groups were found to
differ significantly for both the portrayal accuracy and the role portrayal criticism
items (with p , 0.001 for both country samples). More specifically, it was found that
older men and older women exhibited more extreme attitudes (their medians located
towards opposite ends of the Likert scale), while younger men and younger womens
responses tended to concentrate more towards the middle, both in Greece and Cyprus
(Table VI). For instance, answers (from Cypriot respondents) to the statement ads
which I see show women as they really are (Chi square 75,909, p Asymp.
Sig. 0.000) are indicative of the general image conveyed: older women tended to
disagree with the statement (mean rank 42.62), while older men, on the opposite end,
tended towards agreement (mean rank 126.04); younger women tend to disagree less
than their older counterparts (mean rank 60.50), while young men tend to agree less
than the older ones (mean rank 94.00). The results of the Kruskal-Wallis tests for the
items referring to attitudes towards specific stereotypical advertisement reveal a
similar image, and attitudes being more extreme for older respondents (Table VII).
Therefore, findings tend to hint towards the existence of differences in general
attitudes towards stereotypes in advertising and in attitudes towards specific
stereotypical advertisements within respondents of the same sex, but of a different age
bracket, for both countries.
Hypothesis 3. Considering the third hypothesis, the impact of the general attitudes
towards sex role portrayal (GASRP)[1] construct on the attitudes towards specific
advertising stimuli representing specific stereotypes was examined. Since our sample
contains respondents both from Cyprus and Greece, three models for each country
were formulated, illustrating the effects of portrayal accuracy and role portrayal
criticism on respondents attitudes toward the adopted stimulus. Figures 3 and 4
illustrate the impacts of the GASRP dimensions on the attitudes towards the first
stereotypical advertisement for Cyprus and Greece respectively. Table VIII shows the
results from all the examined relationships for both countries. It was revealed that the
portrayal accuracy construct has a positive effect on the attitudes towards the
advertisements regardless of the stereotype category and country context. The same
occurs with the role portrayal criticism influence on the respondents attitudes,
demonstrating this time a negative impact. These findings are in accordance with the
results of the Orth and Holancova (2004) study, although the latter have demonstrated
a positive effect of a single factor describing a priori attitudes (similar to our portrayal

Male and female

attitudes

149

Table VI.
Attitudes towards sex
role portrayal
Kruskal-Wallis tests,
gender and age

Notes: *p , 0.001

11. Ads which I see show women as they really are

12. Ads suggest that women are fundamentally
dependent on men
13. Ads which I see show men as they really are
14. Ads treat women mainly as sex objects
15. Ads which I see accurately portray women in
most of their daily activities
17. Ads which I see accurately portray men in most
of their daily activities
18. Ads suggest that women do not do important
things
19. Ads suggest that a womans place is in the home

124.09
30.57
119.26
39.16
112.01
111.86
33.91
36.57

96.35
92.04
94.26
71.73
103.78
94.28
64.29
87.80

101.68
92.39

65.74

59.67

90.88
60.22
78.56

58.57

116.21
99.27

47.28

43.77

102.36
45.88
127.77

40.77

Females
36-63
13-35
36-63
No. 38
No. 41
No. 39
Mean ranks

Cyprus

63.28
89.46

95.51

106.62

93.01
92.53
70.91

96.13

13-35
No. 39

Males

30.92
34.66

114.33

113.93

28.96
119.08
34.05

123.26

100.49
93.48

61.36

53.88

94.71
58.99
77.61

57.68

Greece
Females
36-63
13-35
No. 38
No. 40
Mean ranks

150

Items

13-35
No. 40

Males

117.53
94.90

44.15

41.12

95.63
44.95
130.31

38.62

36-63
No. 39

CCIJ
18,1

Cyprus

Greece

Items

Males
Females
13-35 36-63 13-35 36-63
No. 40 No. 38 No. 41 No. 39
Mean ranks

Males
Females
13-35 36-63 13-35 36-63
No. 39 No. 38 No. 40 No. 39
Mean ranks

I like the ad (1)a

I react favourably to the ad (1)
I feel positive to the ad (1)
The ad is good (1)
I like the ad (2)
I react favourably to the ad (2)
I feel positive to the ad (2)
The ad is good (2)
I like the ad (3)
I react favourably to the ad (3)
I feel positive to the ad (3)
The ad is good (3)

92.80
63.73
70.05
109.90
93.46
66.75
77.56
109.74
94.06
65.03
69.41
110.78

89.04
66.18
67.58
105.90
88.00
64.13
67.86
104.45
88.96
63.51
67.76
105.19

121.33
95.79
96.55
114.75
120.72
90.71
89.74
116.49
120.92
96.62
101.26
116.63

72.11
55.16
50.83
61.02
74.07
54.56
48.71
61.29
74.41
53.41
48.28
59.90

32.87
105.40
102.72
33.40
30.72
107.87
103.88
31.59
29.55
105.09
101.46
31.85

121.17
97.34
94.29
109.13
121.42
96.28
93.74
112.00
121.11
98.91
96.47
112.96

75.34
42.79
50.49
69.11
76.10
43.40
47.48
67.93
76.78
41.94
49.83
68.61

29.63
109.09
102.77
30.88
29.64
111.55
106.12
30.76
28.29
111.10
101.14
28.37

Notes: *p , 0.001; aAll the items are presented in a positive direction

Male and female

attitudes

151

Table VII.
Attitudes towards
specific stereotypical
advertisements
Kruskal-Wallis tests,
gender and age

Figure 3.
GASRP effects on the 1st
advertisement (Cyprus) *

accuracy factor) on attitude towards an advertising stimulus. Further, they agree with
other research (Bhat et al., 1998) demonstrating that pre-existing attitudes towards an
issue (e.g. homosexuality) impact attitudes towards specific advertisements
illustrating that issue (e.g. homosexual portrayals).
From these results, the third hypothesis is supported as predispositions of the
respondents relative to the degree to which women are accurately portrayed in

CCIJ
18,1

152

Figure 4.
GASRP effects on the 1st
advertisement (Greece)

advertising as well as their level of criticism of the way women are portrayed in
advertising indeed have a direct and clear impact on their respective attitudes toward
specific stereotypical advertisements.
Discussion and implications
The results of the study conducted prove that in countries with similar cultural
backgrounds, such as Greece and Cyprus, general attitudes towards sex role portrayal
in advertising, as measured by the attitudes towards sex role portrayal scale do not
have significant differences. This was after all the rationale behind the selection of
these two countries.
Perhaps the most important finding is that general attitudes towards sex role
portrayal in advertising directly impact attitudes towards specific advertisements,
thus the way both males and females address the existence of stereotypes in
advertising, has direct implications for the attitudes they form towards actual
advertisements (H3).
Further, it was demonstrated that the gender of the respondent plays a key role in
attitude formation, since women expressed more negative general attitudes towards
sex role portrayal in advertising, while they also had more negative attitudes towards
stereotypical advertisements than men (H1). The age of the respondents is also of
interest, given that differences exist in general attitudes towards stereotypes in
advertising and in attitudes towards specific stereotypical advertisements within
respondents of the same sex, but of a different age bracket, for both countries (H2). It
was found that older men and older women exhibited more extreme attitudes, while
younger men and younger womens responses were more moderate.

Notes: aStandardized values

Ads which I see accurately portray men in most of

their daily activities
Ads which I see accurately portray women in most of
their daily activities
Ads which I see show men as they really are
Ads which I see show women as they really are
Ads suggest that a womans place is in the home
Ads suggest that women do not do important things
Ads treat women mainly as sex objects
Ads suggest that women are fundamentally
dependent on men
AAD
AAD
PA_F
PA_F
PA_F
PA_F
RPC_F
RPC_F
RPC_F
RPC_F
PA_F
RPC_F

0.705
0.560
20.441

0.852
0.903
0.881
0.781
0.761
0.689

0.841a

0.691
0.594
2 0.377

0.865
0.900
0.859
0.735
0.764
0.699

0.898

Advertisement 1
Cyprus
Greece

0.713
0.550
20.410

0.854
0.900
0.883
0.775
0.761
0.688

0.842

0.689
0.542
20.434

0.865
0.900
0.861
0.725
0.768
0.706

0.897

Advertisement 2
Cyprus
Greece

0.707
0.517
20.497

0.854
0.903
0.879
0.757
0.771
0.702

0.842

0.695
0.566
20.430

0.865
0.903
0.858
0.719
0.760
0.713

0.897

Advertisement 3
Cyprus
Greece

Direct effects

Loadings

Loadings

Male and female

attitudes

153

Table VIII.
GASRP impact on
attitudes towards
stereotypical
advertisements:
standardized regression
weights and direct effects

CCIJ
18,1

154

The latter finding can be partly explained by the cultural background in Greece and
Cyprus. Regarding the older respondents in these two countries, it should be noted that
both sexes were raised in a masculine society were gender roles were very
distinguishable; the feminist movement led women to realize this social injustice and
develop an increased sensitivity with respect to manifestations of these proclaimed
inequalities. Given this background, older women tend to be more negative in their
attitudes towards stereotypical depictions, while men, raised to consider such
stereotypes normal, do not react negatively in terms of attitudes. However, this does
not seem to be the case with younger people; younger men and women tend to differ
less in their attitudes. On the one hand, younger men consider women equal, and that is
why a stereotypical representation of them produces a more negative attitude than
their older counterparts; at the same time, young women, who have not experienced the
evolution of the feminist movement are less concerned with the possibility of them
being stereotyped.
The findings have several practical and managerial implications, regarding the way
advertisers should use stereotypical depictions of women in advertising. For instance,
generally, when women are targeted by an advertisement, the use of any type of female
stereotypes (women in decorative roles, women in traditional roles, women in
non-traditional roles) should be avoided, as it would lead to a negative attitude towards
the ad. However, if the intended target audience consists of younger people,
irrespective of their gender, the use of stereotypes is not as important, as young people
tend to be less extreme in their attitudes towards stereotypes in advertising. It should
be noted that this finding is especially relevant for the advertisements of certain
product categories targeted at older women, such as cosmetics and household
products, who continue, even nowadays, to illustrate women in a stereotypical manner.
Further, in terms of the adaptation/standardisation dilemma of international
advertising, it appears from the study that the similarities between Greeks and
Cypriots leave room for standardisation of advertisements across these two countries,
with regard to the inclusion of stereotypes. Further research could result in identifying
other potential groupings of similar countries with regard to attitudes towards
stereotyping, thus providing a sound base for standardizing campaigns across such
countries. Another practical implication refers to the necessity for advertisers to
continuously monitor and document the ever-changing social processes in countries of
interest, since the social climate and the resulting predispositions of consumers can
have a direct and measurable impact on attitudes towards specific advertisements, as
was demonstrated in this study.
Limitations and future research
This study has a number of conceptual and methodological limitations. Foremost
among these is the national context of our study; the attitudes hereby reported only
refer to Greeks and Greek Cypriots. Furthermore, limitations arise from the way
respondents were selected; in order to draw meaningful conclusions, the use of a
random sample is necessary. The stimuli used in this study are also subject to certain
limitations. It is possible that the selection of actual print advertisements might have
influenced the attitudes of the respondents, through previous experience with the
advertised brand. Additionally, the viewing of the advertisements outside their actual
context (i.e. magazine) could have had an impact on respondents behaviour.

Limitations also stem from the measures employed; all attitudinal measures in this
study are based on self reports. However, self reports have been shown to be less
appropriate to capture automatic and spontaneous processes in consumer evaluations
and decisions (Brunel et al., 2004; Vantomme et al., 2005). Further, the impact of
emotions was not considered in this study; existing research however shows that
consumers emotional responses with regard to gender stereotypes influence their
attitudes towards advertisements with such depictions (Orth and Holancova, 2004).
Note
1. The word general was added to the code name of the scale to distinguish it from the scale
pertaining to attitudes towards specific advertisements.

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About the authors
Prokopis K. Theodoridis is a Lecturer in Marketing in the Department of Business
Administration of Food and Agricultural Enterprises of the University of Western Greece. He
holds an MSc in Marketing (University of Stirling, UK) and was awarded a PhD from the Athens
University of Economics and Business. His primary research interests include the areas of retail
and services marketing, internal marketing and consumer behaviour. Prokopis K. Theodoridis is
the corresponding author and can be contacted at: ptheodo@uwg.gr
Antigone G. Kyrousi is a PhD student at the Department of Business Administration of the
Athens University of Economics and Business, Greece. Her PhD dissertation deals with the role
of colour in advertising and is funded by the Research Funding Program Heracleitus II. She
studied Marketing and Communication at the Athens University of Economics and Business and
holds an MBA from the same university, with a focus on marketing. She has received
scholarships from the State Scholarships Foundation and distinctions for outstanding academic
performance. She has presented papers in conferences such as the American Marketing
Association Conference, the International Conference on Research in Advertising (ICORIA), and
the International Conference on Corporate and Marketing Communications (CMC). Her research
interests lie in the field of advertising and consumer behaviour.
Athina Y. Zotou is a PhD student at the Department of Business Administration of the
Athens University of Economics and Business, Greece. Her PhD concentrates on advertising
creativity and how advertising agencies and their clients deal with it, and is funded by the
Research Funding Program Heracleitus II. She has presented several pieces of her work in
international conferences, such as International Conference on Research in Advertising
(ICORIA), International Conference on Corporate and Marketing Communications (CMC) and
International Conference of Marketing and Development (ICMD). Her research interests mostly
focus on marketing-advertising and relative areas.
George G. Panigyrakis is Professor of Marketing, Chair of Marketing Management, at the
Athens University of Economics and Business, Department of Business Administration. He
received his PhD in Marketing Management from the University College of Wales, UK. He has
worked in industry and taught in several management development programs for marketing

Male and female

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executives. He has also served on the faculties of the Groupe ESSEC, Paris, France, for seven
years and the University of Stirling (visiting Professor), UK for one year. He has held visiting
appointments at the European Institute of Mediterranean Studies, Zaragosa, Spain, the Audencia
Business School (Nantes), France, and the International Institute for Management Development,
Brussels, Belgium. His research in the areas of brand management,
international-export/marketing, marketing communications and services marketing, has
appeared in a number of books and journals. He has published in such journals as: Journal of
Financial Services Marketing, Journal of Promotion Management, Review of Business
Information Systems, Review Francais de Gestion, Business and Finance, International Journal
of Advertising, International Journal of Food Marketing, and has made several presentations for
the French, European, American and World Marketing Academies.

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