Abstract

Ratings of vocational competence, marriageability, and interpersonal success were made by male and female subjects of a stimulus person described in a one-page, single-spaced biography. The sex and status of the stimulus person in the biography were manipulated such that for each biography half the subjects were led to believe it was about a male, half were led to believe it was about a female, half were led to believe that the individual was an attorney, and half were led to believe that the individual was a paralegal worker. The results indicated that both men and women perceived the female attorney as being the most vocationally competent. It was proposed that the increased ratings of vocational competency for the female attorney were a function of her performance being perceived as having occurred within a context replete with the types of constraints that usually obviate the degree of success she achieved. It was also suggested that the finding concerning vocational competence exemplifies the talking platypus phenomenon; that is, when an individual achieves a level of success not anticipated, his/her achievement tends to be magnified rather than diminished. After all, it matters little what the platypus says, the wonder is that it can say anything at all.

Keywords

BiographyPsychologyPhenomenonCompetence (human resources)WonderVocational educationSocial psychologyStimulus (psychology)Interpersonal communicationDevelopmental psychologyPedagogyCognitive psychologyLaw

Affiliated Institutions

Related Publications

Publication Info

Year
1977
Type
article
Volume
2
Issue
2
Pages
114-124
Citations
80
Access
Closed

External Links

Social Impact

Social media, news, blog, policy document mentions

Citation Metrics

80
OpenAlex

Cite This

Paul R. Abramson, Philip A. Goldberg, Judith H. Greenberg et al. (1977). The Talking Platypus Phenomenon: Competency Ratings as a Function of Sex and Professional Status. Psychology of Women Quarterly , 2 (2) , 114-124. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.1977.tb00494.x

Identifiers

DOI
10.1111/j.1471-6402.1977.tb00494.x