More Than Meets the ERN

Abstract: Women may suppress behavior and emotions during sexism, impairing subsequent self-control. However, suppression likely depends on social reprisal versus benefit of confronting (i.e., social cost). Experiment 1 ( N = 56) found behavioral self-control (i.e., Stroop task performance) was unaffected by sexism. Yet, sexism led to exaggerated amplitudes of the error-related negativity (ERN). Experiment 2 ( N = 114) examined the role of confrontation in response to sexism, with women instructed to suppress confrontation during a sexist interaction exhibiting longer reaction times and lower ERN amplitudes. Conversely, women encouraged to confront sexism exhibited heightened ERN amplitudes, as found in Experiment 1, which were mediated by negative affect. The findings suggest sexism reduces women’s self-control, but only within environments that may suppress confrontation.