Relationship between Verbal Rules Associated with Ambivalent Sexism, Performance in a Decision-Making Task, and Autonomic Balance in a Group of Female University Students in the Bucaramanga Metropolitan Area.

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.61799/2216-0388.2187

Keywords:

Ambivalent Sexism, Decision Making, Autonomous Balance, University Women, Relational Framework Theory

Abstract

Ambivalent sexism, consisting of hostile and benevolent attitudes, acts as a psychosocial stressor that can affect women's emotional, cognitive, and physiological well-being. The aim of the research was to analyze the relationship between exposure to verbal rules associated with ambivalent sexism, performance in a decision-making task, and autonomic balance in female university students in the Bucaramanga Metropolitan Area. A quantitative approach with a quasi-experimental design was adopted, with a sample of 40 women between the ages of 18 and 25, divided into two groups of 20 participants. The experimental group was exposed to sexist phrases, while the control group received neutral phrases. Physiological indicators such as heart rate variability, respiration, and electrodermal conductance were recorded using a polygraph system, and decision-making was evaluated using the Iowa Gambling Task. Behavioral results showed that brief exposure to sexist phrases did not generate significant differences in decision-making performance. However, a physiological impact was evident, characterized by greater overall cardiac variability, sustained increases in electrodermal conductance and variations in respiratory pattern, and vagal stability, suggesting a regulatory effort associated with autonomic activation induced by social stress.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

[1] C. Rollero, E. Bergagna, y S. Tartaglia, “What is violence? the role of sexism and social dominance orientation in recognizing violence against women”, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Vol. 36, no.21-22, np. 11349-11366, November 2021. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260519888525

[2] S. Clark, C. Dyar, E. Inman, N. Maung y B. London, “Women’s career confidence in a fixed, sexist STEM environment”, International Journal of STEM Education, vol. 8, no. 56, October 2021. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-021-00313-z

[3] F. Spaccatini y M. Roccato, “The palliative function of sexism: Individual sexism buffers the relationship between exposure to workplace sexism and psychological distress”, Sexuality & Culture, vol. 25, pp. 767–785, November 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-020-09793-7

[4] B. M. Elzinga, C. G. Schmahl, E. Vermetten, R. van Dyck y J. D. Bremner, “Higher cortisol levels following exposure to traumatic reminders in abuse-related PTSD”, Neuropsychopharmacology, vol. 28, no. 9, pp. 1656–1665, May 2003. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.npp.1300226

[5] V. M. Lamarche, M. D. Seery, C. L. Kondrak, T. L. Saltsman y L. Streamer, “Clever girl: Benevolent sexism and cardiovascular threat”, Biological Psychology, vol. 149, no. 107781, January 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2019.107781

[6] K. E. Chaney, D. T. Sanchez, M. S. Himmelstein y S. K. Manuel, “Lay theory of generalized prejudice moderates cardiovascular stress responses to racism for White women”, Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, vol. 24, no. 6, pp. 998–1015, June 2021. doi: 10.1177/1368430220929078

[7] K. Salomon, K. D. Burgess y J. K. Bosson, “Flash fire and slow burn: Women’s cardiovascular reactivity and recovery following hostile and benevolent sexism”, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, vol. 144, no. 2, pp. 469–479, April 2015, doi: 10.1037/xge0000061.

[8] P. Glick y S. T. Fiske, “The Ambivalent Sexism Inventory: Differentiating hostile and benevolent sexism”, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 70, no. 3, pp. 491–512, March 1996. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.70.3.491

[9] B. Cassad y Z. Petzel, “Heart rate variability moderates challenge and threat reactivity to sexism among women in STEM”, Social Psychology, vol. 49, no. 4, pp. 191–204, August 2018. https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-9335/a000341

[10] L. T. O’Brien, D. M. García y G. Adams, “The threat of sexism in a STEM educational setting: The moderating impacts of ethnicity and legitimacy beliefs on test performance”, Social Psychology of Education, vol. 18, pp. 667–684, July 2015. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-015-9310-1

[11] R. D. Robnett y J. E. John, “‘It’s wrong to exclude girls from something they love.’ Adolescents’ attitudes about sexism in STEM”, Child Development, vol. 91, no. 1, pp. e231–e248, January/February 2020. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13185

[12] B. C. Terán Castro, “Sexismo ambivalente: la violencia de género adornada”, Revista AJAYU, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 15–32, March 2024. https://doi.org/10.35319/ajayu.221240

[13] C. Yucha y D. Montgomery, Evidence-Based Practice in Biofeedback and Neurofeedback. Wheat Ridge : AAPB, 2008.

[14] P. Ratanasiripong et al., “Biofeedback intervention for stress, anxiety, and depression among graduate students”, Nursing Research and Practice, Vol. 2015, no. 1, Art. 160746, April 2015. https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/160746

[15] J. S. Savard, “Reducing adolescent anger and aggression with biofeedback: A mixed-methods multiple case study”, Tesis doctoral, Antioch University Seattle, 2017. https://aura.antioch.edu/etds/422

[16] N. Peira, M. Fredrikson y G. Pourtois, “Controlling the emotional heart: Heart rate biofeedback improves cardiac control during emotional reactions”, International Journal of Psychophysiology, vol. 91, no. 3, pp. 225–231, March 2014. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2013.12.008

[17] S. C. Hayes, D. Barnes-Holmes y B. Roche, “Relational Frame Theory: A Post-Skinnerian Account of Human Language and Cognition”, Advances in Child Development and Behavior, Vol. 28, pp. 101-138. 2002. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2407(02)80063-5

[18] D. Allen, M. Dancy y E. Stearns, “Racism, sexism and disconnection: Experiences of Black women in STEM”, International Journal of STEM Education, vol. 9, art. 20, February 2022. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-022-00334-2

[19] T. LeBouef, Z. Yaker y L. Whited, Physiology, autonomic nervous system, StatPearls, 2023. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK538516/

[20] V. E. Gonzalez-Velazquez et al., “Diferencias en los parámetros lineales del balance autonómico basal entre estudiantes de medicina y atletas juveniles de béisbol”, CorSalud, Vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 301-311. 2020. https://www.medigraphic.com/cgi-bin/new/resumen.cgi?IDARTICULO=104080

[21] R. Delaney, J. Strough, A. M. Parker y W. B. de Bruin, “Variations in decision-making profiles by age and gender: A cluster-analytic approach”, Personality and Individual Differences, vol. 85, pp. 19–24, October 2015. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.04.034

[22] C. Plückelmann et al., “Women's and men's experiences with participative decision-making at workplace and organizational levels”, Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 14, 1240117, January 2024. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1240117

[23] L. Rodríguez y S. Mancinas, “Sexismo ambivalente en estudiantes universitarios mexicanos de la Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León: ¿son necesarias iniciativas preventivas y educativas?,” Revista Sexología y Sociedad, vol. 23, no. 1, pp. 19–26, January 2017. https://www.medigraphic.com/cgi-bin/new/resumen.cgi?IDARTICULO=78222

[24] F. E. Reyes-Solano y S. Castaños-Cervantes, “Sexismo Ambivalente como Correlato y Predictor de la Agresión Psicológica”, Revista Lasallista de Investigación, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 280–293, Jan./June 2021. https://doi.org/10.22507/rli.v18n1a17

[25] M. Calderón-Ferrey y L. G. Meza-Cascante, “Sexismo ambivalente: una realidad en el entorno universitario”, ITEC, vol. 16, no. 48, pp. 20–23, September 2023. https://revistas.tec.ac.cr/index.php/investiga_tec/article/view/6876

[26] R. Hernández-Sampieri y C. Mendoza, Metodología de la investigación. Las rutas cuantitativa, cualitativa y mixta. México D.F: McGraw-Hill, 2018.

[27] F. de Vocht et al., “Conceptualising natural and quasi experiments in public health”, Medical Research Methodology, vol. 21, no. 32, February 2021. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-021-01224-x

[28] W. Shadish, T. Cook y D. Campbell, Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for generalized causal inference. Houghton Mifflin, 2002.

[29] S. Laborde, E. Mosley y J. Thayer, “Heart rate variability and cardiac vagal tone in psychophysiological research: Recommendations for experiment planning, data analysis, and data reporting”, Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 8, February 2017. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00213

[30] J. Thayer y R. Lane, “Claude Bernard and the heart–brain connection: Further elaboration of a model of neurovisceral integration”, Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, vol. 33, no.2, pp. 81-88, February 2009. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2008.08.004

[31] F. Shaffer y J. Ginsberg,“ An overview of heart rate variability metrics and norms”, Frontiers in Public Health, vol. 5, September 2017. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2017.00258

[32] Task Force of the European Society of Cardiology the North American Society of Pacing Electrophysiology, “Heart rate variability: Standards of measurement, physiological interpretation, and clinical use”, Circulation, vol.93, no. 5, pp. 1043-1065, March 1996. https://doi.org/10.1161/01.CIR.93.5.1043

[33] W. Boucsein et al., “Publication recommendations for electrodermal measurements”, Psychophysiology, vol. 49, no. 8, pp. 102-114, June 2012. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8986.2012.01384.x

[34] M. Tarvainen et al., “ Kubios HRV: Heart rate variability analysis software”, Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine, vol.113, no.1, pp. 210-220, January 2014. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmpb.2013.07.024

[35] F. Expósito, M. Moya y P. Glick, “Sexismo ambivalente: medición y correlatos”, Revista de Psicología Social, vol.13, no. 2, pp. 159-169, January 1998. https://doi.org/10.1174/021347498760350641

[36] A. Bechara et al., “Insensitivity to future consequences following damage to human prefrontal cortex”, Cognition, vol. 50, no. 1-2, pp. 7-15, April–June 1994. https://doi.org/10.1016/0010-0277(94)90018-3

[37] M. Buelow y J. Suhr, “Construct validity of the Iowa Gambling Task”, Neuropsychology Review, vol.19, no.1, pp. 102-114, March 2009. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11065-009-9083-4

[38] W. M. Hayes y D. H. Wedell, “Autonomic responses to choice outcomes: Links to task performance and reinforcement-learning parameters”, Biological Psychology, vol. 156, Art. 107968, October 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2020.107968

[39] L. Zanini, C. Picano y G. F. Spitoni, “The Iowa Gambling Task: Men and women perform differently. A meta-analysis”, Neuropsychology Review, vol. 35, no. 1, pp. 211–231, March 2025. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11065-024-09637-3

[40] R. Hennein et al., “Gender Discrimination and Mental Health Among Health Care Workers: Findings from a Mixed Methods Study”, Journal of Women’s Health, vol. 32, no. 7, pp. 823–835, May 2023. https://doi.org/10.1089/jwh.2022.048

[41] V. V. Volpe, D. N. Dawson y H. K. Laurent, “September ”, Journal of Health Psychology, vol. 27, no. 2, pp. 352–362, September 2020. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105320953470

[42] Ö. Aran et al., “Associations between individual and structural level discrimination and psychological and physiological stress indicators during pregnancy”, npj Women’s Health, vol. 3, no. 52, September 2025. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44294-025-00100-z

[43] S. Balaji et al., “Heart rate variability biofeedback in a global study of the most common coherence frequencies and the impact of emotional states”, Scientific Reports, vol. 15, no 3241, January 2025. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-87729-7

[44] A. Calderón-García et al., “Gender differences in autonomic and psychological stress responses among educators: a heart rate variability and psychological assessment study”, Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 15, October 2024. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1422709

[45] N. Chawla y A. S. Gabriel, “From crude jokes to diminutive terms: Exploring experiences of hostile and benevolent sexism during job search”, Personnel Psychology, vol. 77, no. 2, pp. 747–787, December 2022. https://doi.org/10.1111/peps.12569

Published

2026-09-01

Issue

Section

Artículo Originales

How to Cite

[1]
Mantilla Díaz, V.A. et al. 2026. Relationship between Verbal Rules Associated with Ambivalent Sexism, Performance in a Decision-Making Task, and Autonomic Balance in a Group of Female University Students in the Bucaramanga Metropolitan Area. Mundo FESC Journal. 16, 36 (Sep. 2026). DOI:https://doi.org/10.61799/2216-0388.2187.