How Political Orientation Affects the Relation Between Moral Beliefs and Women’s Internalization of Misogyny
Start Date
April 2026
Location
3rd floor - Library
Abstract
Politically conservative women tend to more strongly endorse rigid, sexist, and old-fashioned beliefs about how they—women—should think, feel, and behave (i.e., internalized misogyny; Findlay & Piggott, 2005). One potential explanation for why politically conservative women may internalize sexist beliefs about their own gender is that these beliefs reflect their underlying moral values or moral foundations (Haidt & Graham, 2007; Voelkel & Feinberg, 2018). The current study examined the associations between politically conservative (and liberal) women’s internalized misogyny and their foundational moral values. It was hypothesized that conservative (but not liberal) women’s internalized misogyny would be positively associated with endorsing the binding foundations (Authority/Respect, Ingroup Loyalty, and Purity/Sanctity). Participants included 127 undergraduate women (M age = 19.8; 76.4% White). After providing informed consent, participants reported their political orientation, completed the Moral Foundations Questionnaire to assess their foundational moral values, and completed the Misogyny Scale to measure the extent to which they internalize contempt for, and prejudice against, women (Graham et al., 2011; Szymanski et al., 2009). Contrary to the hypothesis, findings showed no significant correlations between conservative women’s endorsement of the binding foundations and their internalized misogyny. Findings suggest that conservative women’s endorsement of the binding foundations may not contribute to their negative views of women. These results may be explained by how conservative women view themselves within the patriarchy and see the values of the binding foundations as consistent with, rather than harmful, to women.
How Political Orientation Affects the Relation Between Moral Beliefs and Women’s Internalization of Misogyny
3rd floor - Library
Politically conservative women tend to more strongly endorse rigid, sexist, and old-fashioned beliefs about how they—women—should think, feel, and behave (i.e., internalized misogyny; Findlay & Piggott, 2005). One potential explanation for why politically conservative women may internalize sexist beliefs about their own gender is that these beliefs reflect their underlying moral values or moral foundations (Haidt & Graham, 2007; Voelkel & Feinberg, 2018). The current study examined the associations between politically conservative (and liberal) women’s internalized misogyny and their foundational moral values. It was hypothesized that conservative (but not liberal) women’s internalized misogyny would be positively associated with endorsing the binding foundations (Authority/Respect, Ingroup Loyalty, and Purity/Sanctity). Participants included 127 undergraduate women (M age = 19.8; 76.4% White). After providing informed consent, participants reported their political orientation, completed the Moral Foundations Questionnaire to assess their foundational moral values, and completed the Misogyny Scale to measure the extent to which they internalize contempt for, and prejudice against, women (Graham et al., 2011; Szymanski et al., 2009). Contrary to the hypothesis, findings showed no significant correlations between conservative women’s endorsement of the binding foundations and their internalized misogyny. Findings suggest that conservative women’s endorsement of the binding foundations may not contribute to their negative views of women. These results may be explained by how conservative women view themselves within the patriarchy and see the values of the binding foundations as consistent with, rather than harmful, to women.
