The influence of gender stereotypical primes on the neural processing of words and faces

Implicit and automatic gender stereotyping and its neural correlates have been extensively investigated in language. This study aimed to extend this investigation to human face processing. We recorded response times (RTs) and Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) to a target third-person singular pronoun (lui ‘he’ or lei ‘she’) or face (male, female), preceded by grammatically marked or stereotypically associated words (e.g. laureata ‘graduated’, badante ‘caregiver’). Participants gender-categorized the target pronoun or face. The RTs showed a priming effect for the grammatical condition for pronouns and both grammatical and stereotypical conditions for faces. At the ERP level, feminine pronouns elicited a larger P300 and LPP (limited to men) when preceded by grammatically masculine than feminine primes. Faces elicited a larger N400, P300, and LPP (limited to women for female faces) when preceded by grammatically gender-incongruent than -congruent primes. Critically, faces showed an ERP gender stereotype asymmetry: larger N400 to male faces, and larger P300 to female faces, when preceded by stereotypically gender-incongruent than -congruent primes. This study shows that faces are influenced by gender stereotypes similarly and more strongly than linguistic stimuli. Given the multidimensionality of faces, this study is a gate-opener for future studies on the interplay between different stereotypes.