An investigation of the relationship between psychological androgyny and components of self-concept.

357 college students participated in a study designed to investigate whether the higher levels of self-esteem and self-concept of androgynous individuals are due to an integration of both masculine and feminine traits or due only to a high level of masculinity. Ss completed the Bem Sex-Role Inventory and a semantic differential scale previously shown to assess 4 dimensions of the self-concept. The androgynous group scored higher than the undifferentiated group on adjustment to the environment. The androgynous and masculine groups scored higher than the feminine and undifferentiated groups on achievement/leadership, which tends to reflect an instrumental role. Androgynous and feminine Ss scored higher than masculine and undifferentiated Ss on congeniality/sociability, which reflects an expressive role. The masculine and feminine groups scored at appropriate ends of the masculinity/femininity self-concept dimension, with the androgynous and undifferentiated groups at intermediate levels. These results support S. L. Bem's (1975, 1977) theory of androgynous flexibility. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)