SummaryThe star performer gender gap highlights women's challenges in being recognized as star performers. We investigated whether people hold shared beliefs about characteristics star performers possess (i.e., implicit star performer theories, ISPTs) and whether perceptions of stars are (a) gendered and (b) context‐specific. Guided by categorization theory, we argue that individuals have shared perceptions of what constitutes a star performer. Employing an inductive approach, we uncovered the existence of ISPTs that are distinct and differ from previously identified implicit theories, such as those about leadership. Specifically, stars were believed to have six characteristics: Driven, Relational, Extraordinary, Fascinating, Tenacious, and Brilliant. We then applied role congruity theory to argue that perceptions of star performers would be gendered and context‐dependent. Using an experimental approach, we ascertained that people associated star performers with more masculine than feminine attributes, what we labeled the think star, think men phenomenon. Moreover, this association was context‐dependent, such that the association of star performers with masculine attributes was stronger in men‐dominated occupations. Our third study used a non‐reactive approach (i.e., “Princeton trilogy”), and results showed that star performers are seen as possessing more masculine attributes than very good employees. Overall, our three studies using inductive, experimental, and indirect methods based on eight samples of 2322 participants consistently supported the existence of ISPTs and the think star, think men phenomenon, improving our understanding of the star performer gender gap.

中文翻译：

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认为明星，认为男人？隐性明星表演者理论

摘要 明星表演者的性别差距凸显了女性在被认可为明星表演者方面面临的挑战。我们调查了人们是否对明星表演者所拥有的特征持有共同的信念（即隐性明星表演者理论，ISPT），以及对明星的看法是否是（a）性别和（b）特定背景的。在分类理论的指导下，我们认为个体对于明星表演者的构成有共同的看法。采用归纳法，我们发现了 ISPT 的存在，这些 ISPT 与之前确定的隐含理论（例如关于领导力的理论）截然不同。具体来说，恒星被认为具有六个特征：驱动、关系、非凡、迷人、顽强， 和杰出的。然后，我们应用角色一致性理论来论证，对明星表演者的看法将是性别化的并且依赖于背景。通过实验方法，我们确定人们将明星表演者与男性特征多于女性特征联系在一起，我们将其标记为想想明星，想想男人现象。此外，这种关联是依赖于环境的，因此在男性主导的职业中，明星表现者与男性属性的关联更强。我们的第三项研究采用了非反应性方法（即“普林斯顿三部曲”），结果表明，表现出色的员工被认为比非常优秀的员工拥有更多的男性特质。总体而言，我们的三项研究使用归纳法、实验法和间接法，基于 2322 名参与者的八个样本，一致支持 ISPT 的存在和想想明星，想想男人现象，提高了我们对明星表演者性别差距的理解。