Causes and explanations[edit]

Double standards are believed to develop in people's minds for a multitude of possible reasons, including: finding an excuse for oneself, emotions clouding judgement, twisting facts to support beliefs (such as confirmation biases, cognitive biases, attraction biases, prejudices or the desire to be right). Human beings have a tendency to evaluate people's actions based on who did them.

In a study conducted in 2000, Dr. Martha Foschi observed the application of double standards in group competency tests. She concluded that status characteristics, such as gender, ethnicity and socioeconomic class, can provide a basis for the formation of double standards in which stricter standards are applied to people who are perceived to be of lower status. Dr. Foschi also noted the ways in which double standards can form based on other socially valued attributes such as beauty, morality, and mental health.^[5]

Dr. Tristan Botelho and Dr. Mabel Abraham, Assistant Professors at the Yale School of Management and Columbia Business School, studied the effect that gender has on the way people rank others in financial markets. Their research showed that average-quality men were given the benefit of the doubt more than average-quality women, who were more often "penalized" in people's judgments. Botelho and Abraham also showed that women and men are similarly risk-loving, contrary to popular belief. Altogether, their research showed that double standards (at least in financial markets) do exist around gender. They encourage the adoption of controls to eliminate gender bias in application, hiring, and evaluation processes within organizations. Examples of such controls include using only initials on applications so that applicants' genders are not apparent, or auditioning musicians from behind a screen so that their skills, and not their gender, influence their acceptance or rejection into orchestras.^[6] Practices like these are, according to Botelho and Abraham, already being implemented in a number of organizations.

Axinn, William G., et al. "Gender Double Standards in Parenting Attitudes." , vol. 40, no. 2, 2011, pp. 417–432., doi:10.1016/j.ssresearch.2010.08.010.

Social Science Research

Pollmann, K. (2000). . Duehrkohp & Radicke. ISBN 978-3-89744-110-1. Retrieved 30 November 2017. 327 pages.

Double Standards in the Ancient and Medieval World

Henrard, K. (2010). . Nijhoff eBook titles. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. ISBN 978-90-04-18579-1. Retrieved 30 November 2017. 440 pages.

Double Standards Pertaining to Minority Protection

Hudspeth, Christopher. "8 Modern Day Double Standards." Thought Catalog, 26 July 2012, thoughtcatalog.com/cehudspeth/2012/07/8-modern-day-double-standards/.

Peterson, N. (2015). . Coe College. Retrieved 30 November 2017. 127 pages.

Studs and Sluts: Virginity-loss Scripts and Sexual Double Standards Among College-age Students

Russell, James W. (2011). Double Standard: Social Policy in Europe and the United States (E-book). Lanham, Maryland: . ISBN 978-1442206595.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Thomas, Keith. "The Double Standard." Journal of the History of Ideas, vol. 20, no. 2, Apr. 1959, pp. 195–216., doi:10.2307/2707819.

Wood, B. (1991). . Canadian Institute for International Peace and Security. Retrieved 30 November 2017. 37 pages.