Sex role identity and its relationships to sex role attributes and sex role stereotypes.

Examines J. Kagan's (1964) and L. A. Kohlberg's (1966) theories of sex role identity. Both premise relationships among an individual's sex role identity, perception of sex role stereotypes, and own masculine and feminine sex role attributes, but the theories specify different patterns of correlations among these variables. Kagan's theory views sex role identity as the product of the mutual influence of stereotypes and attributes, whereas Kohlberg's posits sex role attributes as the product of the stereotypes and identity. 104 male and 110 female college students were administered measures of each variable including the Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ), modified versions of PAQ to measure stereotypes of men and women, and a measure of sex role identity developed by the present author. Results indicate an overall relationship between sex role identity and the other 2 variables. Results generally support Kohlberg's theory over Kagan's. Significant correlations were found where Kohlberg's theory would predict a relationship—between sex role stereotypes and sex role attributes. Nonsignificant correlations were found where Kagan's theory would predict a relationship—between sex role stereotypes and sex role identity. Results are compared to findings by J. T. Spence et al (1975), and questions are raised about the psychological constructs underlying measures of sex role attributes. (16 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)     

Gender-based schematic processing: An empirical investigation and reevaluation.

This study was designed to provide a test of two models of gender-based schematic processing: gender schema theory (Bem, 1981b) and self-schema theory (Markus, Crane, Bernstein, & Saldi, 1982). The former position stipulates that only sex-typed individuals should provide strong evidence for schematic processing of gender-related information, whereas the latter contends that individuals may exhibit such processing with respect to masculine, feminine, neither, or both classes of stimuli. A total of 167 male and female introductory psychology students were classified into the four sex role categories and then participated in a standard "me/not me" attribute rating task, followed by either a free-recall or "yes/no" recognition procedure, which used an independent set of stimuli. Results indicated that although predictions from self-schema theory were best able to account for the findings emerging from the attribute rating task, neither model satisfactorily addressed the data from the memory tasks. The discussion focuses on implications for current conceptualizations of gender schematic processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward an LGBT-informed paradigm for children who break gender norms: Comment on Drummond et al. (2008) and Rieger et al. (2008).

In this commentary, the author reviews methodological and conceptual shortcomings of recent articles by K. D. Drummond, S. J. Bradley, M. Peterson-Badali, and K. J. Zucker (see record 2007-19851-005) as well as G. Rieger, J. A. W. Linsenmeier, L. Gygax, and J. M. Bailey (see record 2007-19851-006), which sought to predict adult sexual identity from childhood gender identity. The author argues that such research needs to incorporate a greater awareness of how stigmatization affects identity processes. Multidimensional models of gender identity that describe variation in children’s responses to pressure to conform to gender norms are particularly useful in this regard (S. K. Egan & D. G. Perry, 2001). Experiments on the interpretation of developmental data are reviewed to evidence how cultural assumptions about sexuality can impact theories of sexual identity development in unintended ways. The author concludes that understanding the development of children presumed most likely to grow up with sexual minority identities requires a consideration of the cultural contexts in which identities develop and in which psychologists theorize. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Beyond face validity: A comment on Nicholls, Licht, and Pearl.

Comments on the J. G. Nicholls et al (see record 1983-04770-001) discussion of the Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI) and the Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ). Nicholls et al blur 2 issues: The 1st concerns the legitimacy of equating the clusters of gender-related personality traits tapped by these instruments with the global constructs of masculinity and femininity. The 2nd concerns item similarity between scales of PAQ and BSRI and measures of self-esteem. Decisions about these issues involve complex considerations that do not directly involve face validity. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender diagnosticity: A new Bayesian approach to gender-related individual differences.

Gender diagnosticity refers to the Bayesian probability that an individual is predicted to be male or female on the basis of some set of gender-related diagnostic indicators. Gender diagnostic probabilities were compared from occupational preference ratings made by 117 male and 110 female Ss. Ss also completed the Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ) and the Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI) and were assessed on a number of gender-related criterion variables. Gender diagnostic probabilities proved to be factorially distinct from PAQ and BSRI masculinity and femininity and generally displayed greater predictive utility than did masculinity and femininity. Unlike existing scales, gender diagnosticity measures are not based on gender stereotypes, and they do not reify gender-related individual differences or freeze them into specific constructs such as instrumental or expressive traits. Furthermore, they are well suited to developmental and cross-cultural research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender schema theory and self-schema theory compared: A comment on Markus, Crane, Bernstein, and Siladi's 'Self-schemas and gender."

Notes that the present author's (see record 1982-23588-001) gender schema theory proposes that sex-typed individuals are schematic with respect to gender (masculinity and femininity), while the self-schema theory of H. Markus et al (see record 1981-25685-001) proposes that sex-typed individuals are schematic with respect to either masculinity or femininity, but not both. It is maintained, however, that the 2 theories do not share a common conceptual definition of what it means to be schematic and, therefore, are not in direct opposition. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological androgyny and sex role flexibility: A test of two hypotheses.

In a conceptual replication and extension of a study by S. L. Bem and E. Lenney (1976), 90 male and 118 female college students rated their comfort in and preference for performing several series of masculine, feminine, and neutral activities. Correlations between ratings and scores on the masculinity (instrumentality) and femininity (expressiveness) scales of the Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ) of J. T. Spence and R. L. Helmreich (1978) tended to be theoretically reasonable in sign but in each sex were low in magnitude and only occasionally significant. Classification of Ss into 4 PAQ groups (androgynous, masculine, feminine, and undifferentiated) on their joint masculinity and femininity scores revealed that androgynous and masculine Ss of both sexes had higher comfort ratings, independent of type of task, than did feminine and undifferentiated Ss, suggesting the importance of instrumentality and expressiveness per se. For forced-choice preference ratings, significant differences were found only in males, masculine Ss having a stronger preference for sex-typed tasks than those in other categorical groups. The PAQ variable, however, accounted for only a small percentage of the variance. The data support the Spence-Helmreich hypotheses that the PAQ and similar instruments are largely measures of instrumental and expressive personality traits rather than sex roles and that these personality dimensions are only minimally related to many sex role behaviors. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender identity and adjustment in black, Hispanic, and white preadolescents.

The generality of S. K. Egan and D. G. Perry's (2001) model of gender identity and adjustment was evaluated by examining associations between gender identity (felt gender typicality, felt gender contentedness, and felt pressure for gender conformity) and social adjustment in 863 White, Black, and Hispanic 5th graders (mean age = 11.1 years). Relations between gender identity and adjustment varied across ethnic/racial groups, indicating that S. K. Egan and D. G. Perry's model requires amendment. It is suggested that the implications of gender identity for adjustment depend on the particular meanings that a child attaches to gender (e.g., the specific attributes the child regards as desirable for each sex); these meanings may vary across and within ethnic/racial groups. Cross-ethnic/racial investigation can aid theory building by pointing to constructs that are neglected in research with a single ethnic/racial group but that are crucial components of basic developmental processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evidence that gendered wording in job advertisements exists and sustains gender inequality.

Social dominance theory (Sidanius & Pratto, 1999) contends that institutional-level mechanisms exist that reinforce and perpetuate existing group-based inequalities, but very few such mechanisms have been empirically demonstrated. We propose that gendered wording (i.e., masculine- and feminine-themed words, such as those associated with gender stereotypes) may be a heretofore unacknowledged, institutional-level mechanism of inequality maintenance. Employing both archival and experimental analyses, the present research demonstrates that gendered wording commonly employed in job recruitment materials can maintain gender inequality in traditionally male-dominated occupations. Studies 1 and 2 demonstrated the existence of subtle but systematic wording differences within a randomly sampled set of job advertisements. Results indicated that job advertisements for male-dominated areas employed greater masculine wording (i.e., words associated with male stereotypes, such as leader, competitive, dominant) than advertisements within female-dominated areas. No difference in the presence of feminine wording (i.e., words associated with female stereotypes, such as support, understand, interpersonal) emerged across male- and female-dominated areas. Next, the consequences of highly masculine wording were tested across 3 experimental studies. When job advertisements were constructed to include more masculine than feminine wording, participants perceived more men within these occupations (Study 3), and importantly, women found these jobs less appealing (Studies 4 and 5). Results confirmed that perceptions of belongingness (but not perceived skills) mediated the effect of gendered wording on job appeal (Study 5). The function of gendered wording in maintaining traditional gender divisions, implications for gender parity, and theoretical models of inequality are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comment on Lubinski, Tellegen, and Butcher's "Masculinity, femininity, and androgyny viewed and assessed as distinct concepts."

Comments on the D. Lubinski et al (see record 1983-24773-001) study showing the relations between the short Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI), Personality Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ), and the Differential Personality Questionnaire. An alternate interpretation of their results is that the PAQ and the BSRI measure only 2 clusters of traits that can be labeled dominance and nurturance/warmth, so the data cannot be legitimately generalized to "masculinity" and "femininity." It is also countered that androgyny can be defined in ways other than as an intrinsically interactive concept. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A unified theory of implicit attitudes, stereotypes, self-esteem, and self-concept.

This theoretical integration of social psychology's main cognitive and affective constructs was shaped by 3 influences: (a) recent widespread interest in automatic and implicit cognition, (b) development of the Implicit Association Test (IAT; A. G. Greenwald, D. E. McGhee, & J. L. K. Schwartz, 1998), and (c) social psychology's consistency theories of the 1950s, especially F. Heider's (1958) balance theory. The balanced identity design is introduced as a method to test correlational predictions of the theory. Data obtained with this method revealed that predicted consistency patterns were strongly apparent in the data for implicit (IAT) measures but not in those for parallel explicit (self-report) measures, Two additional not-yet-tested predictions of the theory are described. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The many faces of androgyny: A reply to Locksley and Colten.

In their critique of the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) and Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ), A. Locksley and M. Colten (see record 1980-30293-001) assume that a singular androgyny theory exists to which the rationale and the psychometric properties of these instruments are tied and that each is intended to be a broad-gauged measure of masculinity and femininity or of global self-images of these concepts. The present authors, however, conceive of the PAQ as a specialized measure of socially desirable instrumental and expressive characteristics, objectively defined trait dimensions that distinguish between the sexes to some degree and thus may be labeled "masculine" and "feminine." (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

List composition and the word-frequency effect for recognition memory.

The attention/likelihood theory (ALT; M. Glanzer & J. K. Adams, 1990) and the retrieving effectively from memory (REM) theory (R. M. Shiffrin & M. Steyvers, 1997) make different predictions concerning the effect of list composition on word recognition. The predictions were empirically tested for two-alternative forced-choice, yes-no, and ratings recognition tasks. In the current article, the authors found that discrimination of low-frequency words increased as the proportion of high-frequency words studied increased. The results disconfirm the ALT prediction that recognition is insensitive to list composition, and they disconfirm the predictions of the REM model described by R. M. Shiffrin and M. Steyvers (1997). The current authors discuss a slightly modified version of REM that can better predict our findings, and we discuss the challenges the present findings pose for ALT and REM. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Minimal criteria of epidemiologic studies of dental health of school children]

OBJECTIVE: To understand the developmental psychopathology of eating disorders, it is crucial to explain the large gender discrepancy in the rates of these disorders, especially anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. In this paper, meta-analysis was used to examine the relationship between gender role adherence and the existence of eating problems. METHOD: Of the 69 studies examined, 22 contained data deemed valid for the analyses. Measures of difference (d) and homogeneity were calculated. These studies used the Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ) or the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) to measure gender role adherence. RESULTS: Findings indicated a small, heterogeneous positive relationship between femininity and eating problems and a small, heterogeneous negative relationship between masculinity and eating problems. Studies that used a clinical sample showed a larger discrepancy in masculinity scores between the eating-disordered and the control groups than did studies using surveys to identify eating problems. Six studies measured gender role traditionalism. The eating-disordered groups did not differ significantly on these measures compared to the control groups. DISCUSSION: Despite construct validity problems with the use of the PAQ and the BSRI in this area of study, data suggest that gender role is related to eating problems. Crucial aspects of femininity likely to be related to eating problems need to be operationalized and their link to eating disorders examined.     

Gender bias in diagnostic criteria for personality disorders: An item response theory analysis.

The authors examined gender bias in the diagnostic criteria for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., text revision; American Psychiatric Association, 2000) personality disorders. Participants (N=599) were selected from 2 large, nonclinical samples on the basis of information from self-report questionnaires and peer nominations that suggested the presence of personality pathology. All were interviewed with the Structured Interview for DSM-IV Personality (B. Pfohl, N. Blum, & M. Zimmerman, 1997). Using item response theory methods, the authors compared data from 315 men and 284 women, searching for evidence of differential item functioning in the diagnostic features of 10 personality disorder categories. Results indicated significant but moderate measurement bias pertaining to gender for 6 specific criteria. In other words, men and women with equivalent levels of pathology endorsed the items at different rates. For 1 paranoid personality disorder criterion and 3 antisocial criteria, men were more likely to endorse the biased items. For 2 schizoid personality disorder criteria, women were more likely to endorse the biased items. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adaptation-Level Theory, Opponent Process Theory, and Dispositions: An Integrated Approach to the Stability of Job Satisfaction.

Research suggests that the stability of job satisfaction is partially the result of dispositions (J. J. Connolly & C. Viswesvaran, 2000; C. Dormann & D. Zapf, 2001; T. A. Judge & J. E. Bono, 2001a; T. A. Judge, D. Heller, & M. K. Mount, 2002). Opponent process theory (R. L. Solomon & J. D. Corbit, 1973, 1974) and adaptation-level theory (H. Helson, 1948) are alternative explanations of this stability that explain how environmental effects on job satisfaction dissipate across time. On the basis of an integration of these explanations, the authors propose that dispositions (a) influence employees' equilibrium or adaptation level of job satisfaction, (b) influence employees' sensitivity to workplace events, and (c) influence the speed at which job satisfaction returns to equilibrium after one is exposed to a workplace event. Research and applied implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Traits, consistency, and self-schemata: What do our methods measure?

Psychologists have responded to the inadequacies that W. Mischel (1968) noted in the trait approach to personality by exploring 2 other facets of personality, cross-situational consistency and self-schemata. It is argued that these newer approaches have yet to be clearly distinguished conceptually or empirically from the traditional model that they were designed to supplement or replace. In the present 2 studies, 362 undergraduates rated the extent to which 10 traits applied to them (overall level), their consistency on these traits (cross-situational consistency), and the importance of these traits to their view of themselves (self-schema). Correlational analyses showed that the measures of consistency and self-schema lacked discriminant validity from the measures of overall level. Specifically, their correlations with level were as high as their internal consistencies. It is concluded that the measurement models for cross-situational consistency and for self-schemata do not adequately reflect their theoretical counterparts. This failure undercuts the interpretations of recent research by H. Markus (see record 1977-27585-001), Markus et al (see record 1982-23588-001), and S. Bem (see record 1981-25685-001). (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender-related biases in evaluations of sex discrimination allegations: Is perceived threat the key?

Hypotheses derived from defensive attribution theory and social identity theory were tested in 3 laboratory experiments examining the effects of plaintiff and observer gender on perceived threat, plaintiff identification, and sex discrimination. In Study 1, women differentiated plaintiffs on the basis of gender, whereas men did not. Study 2 showed that this bias occurred because employment discrimination was personally threatening to women but not to men. In Study 3, the bias was reversed in a child custody context. As predicted, men found this context to be significantly more threatening than did women and subsequently exhibited a similarity bias. Mediation analyses suggested that responsibility attributions explained most of the variance in discrimination judgments associated with the plaintiff gender by observer gender interactions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Defensive evaluation of antismoking messages among college-age smokers: The role of possible selves.

This study hypothesized that individuals respond to antismoking messages in a biased or defensive manner. The authors operationalized the personal relevance of smoking variously as smoking behavior (smoking status, rate, duration, and recent attempts to quit), endorsement of the smoker stereotype, and importance of smoking behavior as an identity within the self-concept (current self and possible selves). In the experiment, smokers (n?=&82) and nonsmokers (n?=?105) privately viewed several antismoking video segments. Smoking status, current smoking identity, and long-term future smoking identity were significantly associated with a defensive evaluation of antismoking messages. The study concludes that the concept of possible selves (H. Markus & P. Nurius, 1986) is critical in understanding college-age smoking and in the design of effective antismoking campaigns. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)