Research on the cognitive mechanism of the widening gender ideological gap

Abstract

In recent years, more survey data at the global level have indicated that the attitude gap between men and women in gender role cognition, responsibility allocation in the family and perception of social equity keeps widening to constitute a larger and larger ideological gap. This study focuses on the gender schema theory, relative deprivation theory, vested interest theory and social identity theory, systematically studying the psychological cognitive mechanism for the generation of this gap. However, research has shown that the cognitive schema of women is gradually moving towards an egalitarian one, owing to the change in the reference groups, whereas the zero-sum cognitive schema of the male population is strengthening in the face of similar social change, in which the asymmetric distribution of responsibilities in the family domain is reinterpreted as a structural injustice, thus leading to strong demands for fairness. Further studies discover that the algorithmic recommendation mechanism of social media further solidifies the above-mentioned cognitive biases through selective exposure, which will generate the level of psychological discomfort in individuals and turn into ideological opposition between social groups, and finally enhance the gap between values on gender. This study has cognitive psychology connotations for the gender ideological gap, and has theoretical and practical value for studying the micro generation mechanism of gender conflicts in society.