Stereotypes of Stay-at-Home and Working Mothers

To empirically investigate the conjectured rivalry between stay-at-home mothers (SAHMs) and working mothers (WMs), we focused on stereotypes and attitudes about these two mother subgroups. In Study 1, mothers and nonmothers (N = 672) identified the content of 28 SAHM stereotypes and 21 WM stereotypes. In Study 2, different mothers and nonmothers (N = 499) reported on the stereotypes’ prevalence and valence. Principal components analyses evidenced six prevalent stereotype profiles for SAHMs and five prevalent stereotype profiles for WMs. Between-group differences (i.e., SAHMs, WMs, and nonmothers) emerged for stereotype prevalence, cognitive dimensions of ingroup/outgroup attitudes (i.e., warmth and competence), and outgroup homogeneity. These results demonstrate the combative intergroup nature of these mother subgroups and sexism surrounding the idealization of motherhood.