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Abstract Traditional heterosexual dating and courtship scripts (e.g., men pay for date, women take partner’s last name in marriage) reflect different standards of desirable behavior for women and men. Analogous to sexual double standards, dating double standards reflect the greater agency and power traditionally accorded to men in society. In the present study, we investigated factors related to young heterosexual adults’ endorsement of dating double standards. Participants were 330 female and male U.S. undergraduates at a California public university (57 % female, ages 18–25 years-old) from diverse ethnic backgrounds. In the Heterosexual Dating DoubleStandards Scale, respondents rate the desirability of five dating and courtship behaviors (initiate date, hold door open, pay for date, propose marriage, take spouse’s last name) separately for women and men. Preliminary analyses revealed participants generally expressed double standards by rating the desirability of behaviors differently for female and male characters in the traditional direction (e.g., paying for a date rated more desirable for a man than for a woman). We predicted dating double standards would be positively related to factors previously found to predict traditional gender roles (viewing popular media, religious attendance) as well as attitudes that reflect traditional views (conservative political beliefs, benevolent and hostile sexism, disavowing a feminist identity). These hypotheses were generally supported. Among these correlations, dating double standards were strongly associated with benevolent sexism (among women and men) and with hostile sexism (among men). Implications for future research are discussed. Keywords Sex role attitudes . Dating . Sexism . Feminism . Heterosexual relationships . Double standards . Political attitudes . Religiosity . Mass media Double standards occur when values regarding appropriate behavior are applied differently to groups based on their status (Foschi 2000). With regards to gender, double standards have usually been discussed in relation to the different standards regarding sexuality applied to women and men (see Bordini and Sperb 2013, for a review of studies conducted mostly in United States). Whereas sexual initiative and sexual activity have traditionally been disapproved in women (who risk being labeled as Bsluts^), these same behaviors have been considered acceptable or even desirable in men (who might be praised as Bstuds^) (Orenstein 2001). In the present research, we extend the analysis of gender-based double standards to traditional heterosexual dating and courtship scripts. For example, as reviewed below, many people consider it appropriate for men rather than for women to initiate and pay for dates. Gender-based double standards reflect the greater privilege and power traditionally accorded to men in society (Foschi 2000). As explicated in the ambivalent sexism model (Glick and Fiske 1996, 2012), male dominance is maintained through a combination of benevolent sexism and hostile sexism. Benevolent sexism emphasizes the chivalrous ideology that women are weak and they require men’s protection (also known as protective paternalism). In addition, benevolent sexism is premised on essentialist views of gender whereby men are seen as natural leaders and providers, whereas women are viewed as natural caregivers. This ideology underlies the different standards of courtship behavior traditionally expected for women and men. Thus, as illustrated in various studies conducted in the United States, it is considered desirable for men—and undesirable for women—to be the initiator and the provider (Glick and Fiske 2012; Jaramillo-Sierra and Allen 2013; Laner and Ventrone 2000). Conversely, it is more desirable for women to accept men’s control and protection than the reverse. (Unless indicated otherwise, studies that are subsequently cited were conducted in the United States or Canada.) In the ambivalent sexism model, benevolent sexism operates in conjunction with hostile sexism to ensure male dominance. Hostile sexism occurs when antagonism is directed toward women (or men) who challenge these traditional gender roles. For example, this would include negative reactions to women who take initiative in dating relationships (Laner and Ventrone 2000) or to men who might take the woman’s surname in marriage (Robnett and Leaper 2013; Schweingruber et al. 2008). Although gender attitudes have become more egalitarian in many respects over recent decades (Brooks and Bolzendahl 2004), studies suggest that traditional attitudes regarding heterosexual dating and courtship scripts may be more resistant to change (Robnett and Leaper 2013). In the present study, we sought to examine some factors that might be related to variability in the endorsement of heterosexual dating and courtship double standards. Double standards occur to the extent that men are viewed positively for exerting agency and control in heterosexual dating and courtship whereas women are viewed negatively for the same behaviors. Different standards for women and men tend to occur during heterosexual dating and courtship in at least five ways (Eaton and Rose 2011; Glick and Fiske 1996; Jaramillo-Sierra and Allen 2013; Laner and Ventrone 2000; Robnett and Leaper 2013; Rose and Frieze 1993; Sarlet et al. 2012; Schweingruber et al. 2008; Yoder et al. 2002). Traditional expectations generally dictate that it is more appropriate for (a) the man than for the women to initiate the date, (b) the man than for the woman to hold doors open for the other, (c) the man than for the woman to pay for the expenses of the date, (d) the man than for the woman to make a marriage proposal, and (e) the woman than for the man to take the spouse’s last name. Conversely, it is often viewed as inappropriate for the reverse patterns to occur. These five manifestations of heterosexual courtship scripts are related to structural patterns in society that privilege men’s control over economic resources and consequently place women in the position of depending on men for their security (Glick and Fiske 2012; Rudman and Glick 2008; Wood and Eagly 2012). In the present study, we investigated double standards in young adults’ attitudes regarding these five heterosexual dating and marital scripts in a sample of U.S. undergraduates. For the purpose of our research, we created a measure that directly evaluated the degree that individuals might hold different standards for women and men during heterosexual courtship in the five ways described above. Participants rated how much they favored particular behaviors separately for women and for men (e.g., “I believe female undergraduates should be the ones who ask the other sex out for a first date” and “I believe male undergraduates should be the ones who ask the other sex out for a first date”). Most existing gender attitude measures are based on asking respondents to rate their agreement to single statements about particular behaviors of one gender (e.g., “Men should pay for the woman’s expenses on a date”). Our approach provides an index of the magnitude that a participant might be similar or different in their standards for women and men. We investigated possible correlates of U.S. undergraduate women’s and men’s endorsement of heterosexual dating and courtship double standards. Within the university setting, young adults typically explore their sexual-romantic and gender-role identities (Jones and Abes 2013). Although undergraduate women and men tend to express egalitarian attitudes in many respects (Brooks and Bolzendahl 2004; Davis and Greenstein 2009), their attitudes about dating and courtship often fall back on traditional gender-role scripts (Robnett and Leaper 2013). To consider personal factors that might be related to variations in the endorsement of dating and courtship double standards, we took into account the participants’ gender, preferences, and attitudes. Predictors of Dating Double Standards The traditional gendered division of roles has generally conferred greater status and power among men than among women (Glick and Fiske 2012; Wood and Eagly 2012). Sexist attitudes reify these inequalities. By extension, the paternalism underlying dating double standards bestows greater agency and status on men than on women (e.g., man provides for woman; woman takes man’s last name). Hence, women may be more likely than men to challenge traditional gender roles that privilege men relative to women. Indeed, prior studies have generally observed more gender-egalitarian and nonsexist attitudes among women than among men (Glick and Fiske 1996). Also, in some reports, more men than women were found to endorse sexual double standards (see Fugère et al. 2008, for a review). In an analogous manner, we hypothesized that men would be more likely than women to favor traditional heterosexual dating double standards (Hypothesis 1). According to the cultivation model, mass media can shape the formation of people’s expectations of reality and attitudes (Gerbner et al. 2002). By extension, popular media consumption may inform and reflect women’s and men’s beliefs about heterosexual dating traditions (Brown et al. 2002). In content analyses of gender depictions in the media, girls and women are often portrayed in subordinate and traditionally feminine roles (e.g., as sex objects) in dating and marital relationships.