Profile
Florence Geis
Birth:
1933
Death:
1993
Training Location(s):
PhD, Columbia University
BA, University of Arizona
Primary Affiliation(s):
University of Delaware
Career Focus:
Machiavellianism; women and work; women in leadership roles; sex role stereotypes; personality; gender bias
Biography
Florence Geis, known to many as Lindy, was an inspiring teacher who held all her students to rigorous standards. As the first female faculty member in the psychology department at the University of Delaware, Geis helped to design the first course in women’s studies, and later helped to create their women’s studies program. She also helped form the Salary Equity Review Committee, whose mission was to ensure that women’s wages reflected their position, not their sex. Devoted to a career studying gender, Geis worked to instill an appreciation for the subject in her students. She also required that her students conduct thoughtful research, and insisted that the reporting of their work be eloquent and stylistically sound.
Her emphasis on high quality writing may have come from her early academic career. Geis attended the University of Arizona where she earned a BA in English. From there, she moved to New York to pursue a PhD in social psychology at Columbia University. Her interest in gender motivated her to conduct empirical research to show how subtly gender bias operates in our society. Later, Geis gained a scholarly reputation for her work on Machiavellianism, a personality trait that describes an individual on a scale of aloofness and detachment. The scale, co-designed by Richard Christie, is still used at institutions across North America.
Though some of her studies were in other areas of social psychology, the bulk of Geis’ work reflected her interest in gender. For example, in a study she published in 1984, she demonstrated how social role status can influence sex stereotypes. Geis and her co-investigators showed participants videos of opposite-sex individuals each portraying a different social role. The results indicated that when the men were seen in traditional social roles, they were perceived as having more masculine traits such as dominance and ambition. Interestingly, when the women were seen in these traditionally masculine roles, the stereotypes seemed to reverse and it was the women that were then perceived as more ambitious, dominant and independent.
A similar experiment exposed female participants to television commercials in which women were portrayed in traditional and non-traditional roles. Those who watched the non-traditional commercials showed changes in self confidence and independence. For example, these participants exhibited greater confidence when later delivering a speech.
In addition to her experimental work, Geis also published several books about the female experience. In her book he Organizational Woman: Power and Paradox (1992) she considered the working environment faced by women in many organizations. Along with co-authors Beth Haslett and Mae Carter, Geis explored the challenges women experienced in the workplace, including miscommunication and difference in leadership styles.
This work, along with many other studies in the field of gender psychology, did not go unnoticed by her colleagues. In 1991, Geis won the APA Division 35 Heritage Research Award for her Substantial and Outstanding body of Research on Women and Gender. As well, Geis received an award from the University of Delaware honoring her teaching.
Though she was a teacher and mentor to many, Geis kept mostly to herself outside of her academic life. She enjoyed gardening and sewing, and in fact many of the pants suits she was fond of wearing were handmade! Her hobbies fell by the wayside, however, as her health began to deteriorate. Geis struggled with kidney problems, undergoing dialysis and a kidney transplant. As her illness progressed, she continued to mentor students and even wrote a grant proposal for a future research project. Her students, as devoted to her as she was to them, remained with Geis and cared for her in her last months. Eventually, lung cancer caused her untimely death. In preparing for her own passing, Geis chose the epitaph that would best summarize her life: “Feminist, Scholar, Teacher.” She also prepared an endowment that would, following her death, award money to scholars conducting research in feminist psychology. Through this scholarship, administered through the Society for the Psychology of Women, Geis ensured that her legacy would live on in generations of feminist psychologists.
by Meghan George (2013)
To cite this article, see Credits
Selected Works
By Florence Geis
Christie, R., & Geis, F. L. (1970). Studies in Machiavellianism. New York: Academic Press.
Geis, F. L., Boston, M. B., & Hoffman, N. (1985). Sex of authority role models and achievement by men and women: Leadership performance and recognition. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49(3), 636-653.
Geis, F. L., Brown, V., Jennings, J., & Corrado-Taylor, D. (1984). Sex vs. status in sex-associated stereotypes. Sex Roles, 11(9-10), 771-785.
Geis, F. L., Brown, V., & Wolfe, C. (1990). Legitimizing the leader: Endorsement by male versus female authority figures. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 20(12), 943-970.
Haslett, B. J., Geis, F. L., & Carter, M. R. (1992). The organizational woman: Power and paradox. Westport, CT: Ablex Publishing.
Porter, N., Geis, F. L., Cooper, E., & Newman, E. (1985). Androgyny and leadership in mixed-sex groups. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49(3), 808-823.
About Florence Geis
Scott, T. R. (1994). Teacher and gender bias researcher Florence Lindauer (Lindy) Geis (1933-1993). Observer, 7(1).
Florence Geis
Birth:
1933
Death:
1993
Training Location(s):
PhD, Columbia University
BA, University of Arizona
Primary Affiliation(s):
University of Delaware
Career Focus:
Machiavellianism; women and work; women in leadership roles; sex role stereotypes; personality; gender bias
Biography
Florence Geis, known to many as Lindy, was an inspiring teacher who held all her students to rigorous standards. As the first female faculty member in the psychology department at the University of Delaware, Geis helped to design the first course in women’s studies, and later helped to create their women’s studies program. She also helped form the Salary Equity Review Committee, whose mission was to ensure that women’s wages reflected their position, not their sex. Devoted to a career studying gender, Geis worked to instill an appreciation for the subject in her students. She also required that her students conduct thoughtful research, and insisted that the reporting of their work be eloquent and stylistically sound.
Her emphasis on high quality writing may have come from her early academic career. Geis attended the University of Arizona where she earned a BA in English. From there, she moved to New York to pursue a PhD in social psychology at Columbia University. Her interest in gender motivated her to conduct empirical research to show how subtly gender bias operates in our society. Later, Geis gained a scholarly reputation for her work on Machiavellianism, a personality trait that describes an individual on a scale of aloofness and detachment. The scale, co-designed by Richard Christie, is still used at institutions across North America.
Though some of her studies were in other areas of social psychology, the bulk of Geis’ work reflected her interest in gender. For example, in a study she published in 1984, she demonstrated how social role status can influence sex stereotypes. Geis and her co-investigators showed participants videos of opposite-sex individuals each portraying a different social role. The results indicated that when the men were seen in traditional social roles, they were perceived as having more masculine traits such as dominance and ambition. Interestingly, when the women were seen in these traditionally masculine roles, the stereotypes seemed to reverse and it was the women that were then perceived as more ambitious, dominant and independent.
A similar experiment exposed female participants to television commercials in which women were portrayed in traditional and non-traditional roles. Those who watched the non-traditional commercials showed changes in self confidence and independence. For example, these participants exhibited greater confidence when later delivering a speech.
In addition to her experimental work, Geis also published several books about the female experience. In her book he Organizational Woman: Power and Paradox (1992) she considered the working environment faced by women in many organizations. Along with co-authors Beth Haslett and Mae Carter, Geis explored the challenges women experienced in the workplace, including miscommunication and difference in leadership styles.
This work, along with many other studies in the field of gender psychology, did not go unnoticed by her colleagues. In 1991, Geis won the APA Division 35 Heritage Research Award for her Substantial and Outstanding body of Research on Women and Gender. As well, Geis received an award from the University of Delaware honoring her teaching.
Though she was a teacher and mentor to many, Geis kept mostly to herself outside of her academic life. She enjoyed gardening and sewing, and in fact many of the pants suits she was fond of wearing were handmade! Her hobbies fell by the wayside, however, as her health began to deteriorate. Geis struggled with kidney problems, undergoing dialysis and a kidney transplant. As her illness progressed, she continued to mentor students and even wrote a grant proposal for a future research project. Her students, as devoted to her as she was to them, remained with Geis and cared for her in her last months. Eventually, lung cancer caused her untimely death. In preparing for her own passing, Geis chose the epitaph that would best summarize her life: “Feminist, Scholar, Teacher.” She also prepared an endowment that would, following her death, award money to scholars conducting research in feminist psychology. Through this scholarship, administered through the Society for the Psychology of Women, Geis ensured that her legacy would live on in generations of feminist psychologists.
by Meghan George (2013)
To cite this article, see Credits
Selected Works
By Florence Geis
Christie, R., & Geis, F. L. (1970). Studies in Machiavellianism. New York: Academic Press.
Geis, F. L., Boston, M. B., & Hoffman, N. (1985). Sex of authority role models and achievement by men and women: Leadership performance and recognition. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49(3), 636-653.
Geis, F. L., Brown, V., Jennings, J., & Corrado-Taylor, D. (1984). Sex vs. status in sex-associated stereotypes. Sex Roles, 11(9-10), 771-785.
Geis, F. L., Brown, V., & Wolfe, C. (1990). Legitimizing the leader: Endorsement by male versus female authority figures. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 20(12), 943-970.
Haslett, B. J., Geis, F. L., & Carter, M. R. (1992). The organizational woman: Power and paradox. Westport, CT: Ablex Publishing.
Porter, N., Geis, F. L., Cooper, E., & Newman, E. (1985). Androgyny and leadership in mixed-sex groups. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49(3), 808-823.
About Florence Geis
Scott, T. R. (1994). Teacher and gender bias researcher Florence Lindauer (Lindy) Geis (1933-1993). Observer, 7(1).