Masculine and feminine traits: Their relation to suitedness for and success in training for traditionally masculine and feminine army functions.

Evidence in support of the androgyny, masculinity, and congruence models is compared in a study of 200 men and 299 women training for traditionally masculine and feminine army functions. Ss rated their chances for success in and suitedness for functions for which they were being trained, and responded to the Bem Sex-Role Inventory. At the end of training they were rated by peers and training officers. Men rated themselves more likely to succeed than did women and had higher officer and peer ratings. Suitedness self-ratings were higher for sex-typed and androgynous men and cross-sex-typed women. Androgynous men and women, sex-typed men, and cross-sex-typed women saw themselves as most likely to succeed. Officers' ratings favored the sex-typed. Men and women high in masculinity had better self- and peer ratings than did those low in masculinity. These results lend most support to the masculinity model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The enigma of androgyny: Differential implications for males and females?

A program of studies, comprising a total population of 1,404 college students, tested the hypothesis that psychological androgyny (i.e., a balance of masculine and feminine characteristics) permits greater behavioral flexibility and consequently leads to better adjustment. A variety of methods were used to compare androgynous with sex-typed and opposite sex-typed Ss (determined by the Bem Sex-Role Inventory) along several attitudinal, personality, and behavioral dimensions. Contrary to expectation a pattern of findings replicated across measures of attitudes toward women's issues, gender identification, neurosis, introversion–extraversion, locus of control, self-esteem, problems with alcohol, creativity, political awareness, confidence in one's own ability, helplessness, and sexual maturity indicated that flexibility and adjustment were generally associated with masculinity rather than androgyny for both males and females. Feminine Ss, independent of gender, would prefer to become more masculine were that possible. These results are interpreted as suggesting an alternative to S. L. Bem's theory of androgyny. Additional analyses indicated few differences between the additive and the original definitions of androgyny. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Androgyny and helping behavior.

Suggests that sex differences found in previous studies of how bystanders' help in emergency situations may have been due to Ss' following sex-role expectations for this type of situation. To study this possibility, 78 male and 82 female undergraduates, classified by the Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI) as either androgynous or sex-typed, participated in an experiment in which a "victim" choked on food. Ss were either alone with the victim, with 4 other same-sex confederates, or with 4 other mixed-sex confederates. Data on speed of helping and/or proportion of Ss helping show (a) more help by males than by females, (b) more help in S-alone conditions than in larger group conditions, and (c) more help by androgynous than by sex-typed Ss. The pattern of direct, indirect, or no help differed between sex-typed males and females but not between androgynous males and females. Questionnaire data support the notion of diffusion of responsibility for the group-size effect for helping. Several of the sex effects suggested that instrumental competence is the crucial variable in dealing with emergencies. Results also suggest that such competence is due to masculinity rather than sex per se. Findings provide substantial construct validation for androgyny theory and for the BSRI as a measure of androgyny. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex-typed execution and perception of expressive movement.

Do sex-typed individuals differ from other individuals in their execution and perception of expressive movement? Undergraduates classified as sex-typed, androgynous, undifferentiated, or cross-sex-typed on the Bem Sex Role Inventory (Bem, 1981b) were videotaped as they walked in front of a dark background while wearing dark clothes with reflective tape on their body joints. Observers of these "dynamic point-light displays" judged the movements of sex-typed subjects to be somewhat more masculine or feminine than those of other subjects. When sex-typed subjects themselves described the videotaped displays of other people, they spontaneously used gender-connoting terms more often than did androgynous and undifferentiated subjects and were more accurate in identifying the sex of the person in the tape. Cross-sex-typed subjects—feminine men and masculine women—resembled androgynous and undifferentiated individuals in their execution of expressive movement, but resembled sex-typed individuals in their perception of expressive movement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex typing and androgyny in dyadic interaction: Individual differences in responsiveness to physical attractiveness.

In an expansion of the "behavioral confirmation" paradigm developed by M. Snyder et al (see record 1979-26014-001), 12 sex-typed and 12 androgynous (Bem Sex-Role Inventory) undergraduates of each sex engaged in getting-acquainted telephone conversations with allegedly attractive and unattractive members of their own and the opposite sex. Although females were more socially responsive than males, the sexes neither differed in their responsiveness to physical attractiveness nor in their responsiveness to cross-sex and same-sex interaction. As hypothesized, sex-typed individuals were rated by blind judges as being significantly more responsive toward allegedly attractive than unattractive partners. In contrast, androgynous men did not differentiate on the basis of physical attractiveness, and androgynous women actually led allegedly unattractive targets to be rated as more socially attractive than allegedly attractive targets, thereby disconfirming the physical attractiveness stereotype. Because cultural definitions of physical attractiveness are different for men and women, results are discussed in the context of recent evidence that sex-typed individuals have a particular readiness to encode and organize information in terms of gender. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Feminism, Androgyny, and Anxiety.

The present study examined the relationship of active participation in the feminist movement to measures of psychological androgyny and manifest anxiety. It was expected that feminists would exhibit the most androgynous and least sex-typed self-concepts as well as the most anxiety. Subjects were 100 members of feminist organizations, 100 undergraduate university women, 200 working women, and 80 nonworking housewives. Subjects completed the Taylor (1953) Manifest Anxiety Scale (TMAS) and Bem's (1974) Sex Role Inventory (BSRI). Feminists significantly exceeded the working women, university women, and housewives on the BSRI Androgyny scale, F(3, 476) = 10.09, p     

Stereotypic and nonstereotypic sex role trait and behavior orientations: Implications for personal adjustment.

We tested three competing hypotheses: traditional assumptions that sex-typed traits and behaviors are necessary for optimal adjustment (sex role congruence model); the contemporary androgyny hypothesis, which posits that transcendence of narrow sex typing permits enhanced psychological functioning; and the empirically based masculinity model, which states that psychological health in both men and women is primarily a function of masculine, instrumental traits. Measures of sex role traits, attitudes, and behaviors and scales assessing self-esteem and adjustment were administered to 411 college men and women. Sex role attitudes did not covary with individual differences in adjustment, but sex role traits and behaviors did. Masculine traits and behaviors had broadly positive implications for self-esteem and adjustment for women as well as for men. Feminine qualities did not relate to the adjustment indices as strongly or consistently as masculine ones did, but they did contribute positively to most indices and played a central role in communal self-esteem components. Overall, no support was found for the traditional congruence model, but both the androgyny and masculinity models were supported. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The measurement of psychological androgyny.

Describes the development of a new sex-role inventory that treats masculinity and femininity as 2 independent dimensions, thereby making it possible to characterize a person as masculine, feminine, or "androgynous" as a function of the difference between his or her endorsement of masculine and feminine personality characteristics. Normative data, provided by 561 male and 356 female college and junior college students, are presented, as well as the results of various psychometric analyses. Findings indicate that: (a) The dimensions of masculinity and femininity are empirically and logically independent. (b) The concept of psychological androgyny is a reliable one. (c) Highly sex-typed scores do not reflect a general tendency to respond in a socially desirable direction, but rather a specific tendency to describe oneself in accordance with sex-typed standards of desirable behavior for men and women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Theory and measurement of androgyny: A reply to the Pedhazur-Tetenbaum and Locksley-Colten critiques.

Discusses issues raised in the critiques of E. J. Pedhazur and T. J. Tetenbaum (see record 1980-29271-001) and of A. Locksley and M. Colten (see record 1980-30293-001). It is noted that (a) the Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI) is based on a theory about both the cognitive processing and the motivational dynamics of sex-typed and androgynous individuals; (b) the strategy of item selection for the BSRI followed directly from the theory and utilized established techniques for test construction; (c) a short BSRI has been developed in accordance with the results of various factor analyses; (d) current research is testing the hypothesis that sex-typed and androgynous individuals differ in the extent to which gender serves as a cognitive schema; and (e) the concept of androgyny contains an inner contradiction and hence a built-in obsolescence. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex typing and gender ideology: Two facets of the individual's gender psychology that go together.

Three studies tested the hypothesis that gendered personality dispositions are related to gender attitudes and gender discriminatory behaviors. In Study 1, sex-typed individuals were more likely than androgynous, undifferentiated, and cross-sex-typed individuals to accept gender rules designating culturally appropriate behavior for men and women. In Study 2, sex-typed individuals were particularly likely to pay attention spontaneously to the sex of job applicants and then to devalue the interview performances of women. In Study 3, only sex-typed men tended to endorse sexist language. As expected, sex typing and gender ideology go together. This relation between two facets of the individual's gender psychology indicates that some sex role inventories may tap more than expressivity and instrumentality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stereotypic and nonstereotypic sex role trait and behavior orientations, gender identity, and psychological adjustment.

This study examines the relations among sex role traits and behavior orientations, gender identity, and psychological adjustment in order to test traditional and contemporary perspectives regarding the adjustment implications of stereotypic and nonstereotypic sex role trait and behavior orientations. Measures of sex role personality traits and behaviors and scales assessing depression, anxiety, and social maladjustment were administered to 235 college men and women. In addition, subjects completed measures of gender identity and gender adequacy. Contrary to traditional perspectives, androgynous men and women and cross-sex-typed women were no less well adjusted than sex-typed individuals. However, consistent with traditional perspectives, men who were low in masculine characteristics (and men and women low in both masculine and feminine characteristics) did appear less well adjusted on measures of depression, anxiety, and social maladjustment. Furthermore, low masculinity men had less secure gender identities. No such gender identity disturbances were found in women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Compensatory masculine responding as a function of sex role.

Investigated the compensatory masculinity hypothesis, i.e., that males respond to sex-role threat by exaggerating their masculinity and engaging in greater amounts of antisocial behavior. A total of 72 sex-typed and androgynous (Bem Sex Role Inventory) college males were assigned to either a masculinity threat, masculinity validation, or control treatment group. Dependent measures included an affect rating scale, California Psychological Inventory Femininity scale, and the Behavior Questionnaire. As predicted, sex-typed males responded anxiously to sex-role threat and subsequently reported exaggerated levels of masculinity and antisocial behavior. Unexpectedly, androgynous males also reported anxiety, but they responded by lowering their level of masculine endorsement. Results support the notion of masculine compensation. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The nonverbal display of psychological androgyny.

Attempted to determine how individual differences in sex-role orientation, as assessed by the Bem Sex-Role Inventory, were related to undergraduates' display of nonverbal behaviors indicative of "masculinity" and "femininity." Smiling, gazing (feminine behaviors), interrupting, and filled pausing (masculine behaviors) were coded for sex-typed males and females and androgynous males and females assigned to either an instrumental situation or an expressive situation in 36 same-sex dyads. Analyses of nonverbal behavior showed that androgynous Ss showed a blend of both masculine and feminine behaviors. The blend was the product of the addition of cross-sex behavior and deletion of some sex-consonant behavior. In contrast, sex-typed Ss showed more cross-sex behavioral avoidance and more sex-consonant behavioral cohesion. Results are discussed in terms of S. L. Bem's (1974, 1975) and J. T. Spence and R. L. Helmreich's (1977) conceptions of masculinity and femininity. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

If you are gender schematic, all members of the opposite sex look alike.

96 male and 96 female undergraduates classified on the basis of the Bem Sex-Role Inventory were asked to recall "who said what" after listening to a taped conversation either among 3 men and 3 women (the gender study) or among 3 Blacks and 3 Whites (the race study). Analysis of Ss' errors revealed that both sex-typed and cross-sex-typed Ss confused the members of the opposite sex with one another significantly more than androgynous or undifferentiated Ss did. In contrast, no individual differences related to sex typing emerged in the race study, which suggests that the greater gender schematicity of sex-typed individuals is specific to gender, as S. L. Bem's (see record 1981-25685-001) gender schema theory implies. The finding that cross-sex-typed Ss were significantly more gender schematic than anyone else and the apparent inconsistency of the data with the self-schema theory of H. Markus et al (see record 1982-23588-001) are discussed. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Androgyny across the lifespan.

Scores on the Bem Sex-Role Inventory were obtained for 289 Ss aged 13–85 yrs. A categorical analysis of the data showed age differences in androgyny. Percentages of androgynous males were low in the 13–20 and 21–40 yrs age categories but were high in the 41–60 yrs and 61 yrs-and-over groups. Females showed the opposite trend, with high percentages of androgynous young females and low percentages for older women. (3 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological androgyny: Theories, methods, and conclusions.

Methodological and conceptual problems in existing psychological androgyny research are illuminated by application of the 2-way ANOVA model, which views masculinity and femininity as a pair of crossed independent variables, with androgynous, male-typed, female-typed, and undifferentiated sex-role categories represented in the cells of the resultant 2-by-2 table. Foremost among previously overlooked theoretical points is that the J. T. Spence et al (see record 1975-27536-001) "high/high" and the S. L. Bem (see record 1974-27631-001) "balance" androgyny formulations represent 2 independent hypotheses, a main effects hypothesis and an interaction hypothesis. Androgyny research findings are summarized in terms of the effects and interaction predicted by these theories. There is no evidence of consistent interaction effects favoring the balanced over the sex typed. Furthermore, the consistency and strength of the masculinity effect relative to the femininity effect suggest that masculinity rather than main effects androgyny predicts psychological well-being. The data provide no support for the traditional model that masculinity is best for men and femininity best for women. (107 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Curiosity and stimulation seeking across the adult life span: Cross-sectional and 6- to 8-year longitudinal findings.

L. M. Giambra (1977–1978, 1979–1980) found that 2 scales of the Imaginal Processes Inventory measuring curiosity (i.e., information seeking) did not change across the adult life span, but 2 measuring stimulation seeking (i.e., boredom) for external stimulation need significantly decreased with age. In this study, these outcomes were replicated (1,356 men and 1,080 women [aged 17–92 yrs]). In addition, a 6- to 8-yr longitudinal repeat was obtained on 222 men and 124 women. Significant longitudinal declines were obtained for the stimulation-seeking measures. Furthermore, women showed an increase in impersonal–mechanical curiosity and a decline in interpersonal curiosity, though the amount of change was modest. Men were unchanged on both curiosity measures. Gender differences in longitudinal changes apparently reflected effects of socialization as well as tendencies toward displaying increased androgyny with advancing age. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Childhood sex-typed behavior and sexual orientation: A conceptual analysis and quantitative review.

This article reviewed research examining the association between childhood sex-typed behavior and sexual orientation. Prospective studies suggest that childhood cross-sex-typed behavior is strongly predictive of adult homosexual orientation for men; analogous studies for women have not been performed. Though methodologically more problematic, retrospective studies are useful in determining how many homosexual individuals displayed cross-sex behavior in childhood. The relatively large body of retrospective studies comparing childhood sex-typed behavior in homosexual and heterosexual men and women was reviewed quantitatively. Effect sizes were large for both men and women, with men's significantly larger. Future research should elaborate the causes of the association between childhood sex-typed behavior and sexual orientation and identify correlates of within-orientation differences in childhood sex-typed behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)