Porque somos homens e mulheres: pensando contrafactualmente para refletir sobre o sexismo

Abstract

Sexism is a type of prejudice that targets groups distinguished by biological sex. It is characterized by cognitive, affective and behavioral components, which can be targets of intervention for its reduction. This work proposes a focus on the cognitive component, using the theory of counterfactual thoughts (CTs). PCs allow individuals to reflect on a particular episode that occurred, enabling changes in terms of the mental representation of these episodes that can trigger different behaviors in similar future situations. Thus, this study aims to provide reflections on sexism by making use of the theory of counterfactual thoughts through the narrative of sexist episodes experienced or witnessed by the participants, the characterization of the PCs generated, from this narrative, and the verification of changes in these thoughts after the intervention in a psychoeducational group. As expected, university students participated, who went through the stages of 1) characterization and selection of participants, 2) writing sexist narratives, 3) standardization of narratives, 4) intervention and 5) evaluation of the intervention. Steps 3 and 5 generated pre- and post-intervention measures, respectively. In addition, through content analysis, the sexist experiences narrated and the PCs generated were categorized. Finally, the proposed intervention was also evaluated by the participants.