Student and Professor Similarity: Exploring the Effects of Gender and Relative Age

Abstract

The authors examined student responses to faculty traits. Earlier findings revealing a preference for male instructors were obtained before female faculty and students were prevalent on college campuses and may have reflected a male demographic similarity effect. It was hypothesized that students would more favorably evaluate faculty who were similar in gender and in relative age (as reflected in faculty rank). As anticipated, female students evaluated female lower ranked faculty most favorably, and male higher ranked faculty least favorably. However, male students showed mixed effects. Although their evaluations were more favorable for lower ranked male faculty, they unexpectedly did not degrade higher ranked female faculty. Discussion focuses on gender-related causal factors and implications.

Keywords:

• communicator distinctiveness
• gender
• rank
• similarity-attraction
• teaching evaluations

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors thank David Mease, Heli Maldonado, Stuart Ho, Jodi Frick, Hailee Bouthillier, Jing Zhang, Joan Torne, and Journal of Education for Business editors for their contributions to this research. Author order is alphabetical.