<P> A double standard is the application of different sets of principles for similar situations . </P> <P> It is most commonly seen as a decisive psychological tool used to defend one's ego or subconscious from the shortcomings of one's own set of values or contrasting principles . It is the employment of a hypocritical and biased standpoint, with which to separate the seemingly bad in others from the bad in oneself by having two sets of rules for the same concept . Margaret Eichler, author of The Double Standard, explains that a double standard "implies that two things which are the same are measured by different standards" (Eichler 1980: 15). </P> <P> A gender based double standard is considered a same behavior exhibited by a man or woman which is evaluated differently . Types of these judgements include sexual behaviors such as premarital - sex, in which there is a need to protect a daughter's sexual purity and not the son's . Other behaviors sometimes judged differently for each gender include dating, cohabitation, age of marriage, extramarital sex, sexual assault, sexual harassment, domestic violence, hypogamy, bigamy, remarriage, and remaining single . </P>

Rule that applies to one group but not another