| Abstract: | Hypothesized that androgynous Ss would be liked best and perceived as most adjusted (Exp I) and also be perceived to be as instrumental as masculine Ss and as expressive as feminine Ss (Exp II). 179 undergraduates served as Ss in Exp I and 160 undergraduates served in Exp II. Personal Attributes Questionnaires ostensibly filled out by others were the stimuli evaluated. These stimuli were constructed so that the stimulus persons (SPs) were classified as either androgynous, undifferentiated, masculine, or feminine. Male and female Ss evaluated the SPs on dimensions of likeability, adjustment, expressiveness, instrumentality, masculinity, and femininity. Results demonstrate that androgynous persons, regardless of gender, were liked best and perceived as most adjusted, whereas undifferentiated persons were liked least and perceived as least adjusted. Masculine and feminine persons, regardless of gender, were rated midway between androgynous and undifferentiated persons and generally were not evaluated differently on these dimensions. Evaluations of SPs on stereotypically gender-related dimensions revealed that androgynous persons were seen to be as highly instrumental as masculine persons and as highly expressive as feminine persons, but generally less masculine and feminine than sex-typed persons. Implications for self-fulfilling prophecies in social behavior are discussed. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
