Androgyny

Question 1

What is androgyny?

Answer 1

• Displaying a balance of male and female characteristics in ones personality
• For example, a man or woman with a competitive and aggressive attitude at work but also is a sensitive and caring parent

Question 2

What did Sandra Bem say about androgyny?

Answer 2

• Sandra Bem developed a method to measure androgyny and suggested that high androgyny is associated with psychological well being
• this is because individuals who have bogh masculine and feminine in equal measure are better equipped to adapt to a range of situations whereas non - androgynous people would find this difficult

Question 3

What method did Bem create to measure androgyny

Answer 3

• The Bem sex role inventory

Question 4

Describe the BSRI

Answer 4

• Bems scale presents 20 characteristics which can be identified as masculine, 20 as feminine and 20 as neutral
• respondents were required to rate themselves on a 7 point scale (1 - never true and 7- always true)
• scores were then ranked on the two dimensions which are masculine - feminine and androgynous - undifferentiated

Question 5

What scores make each classification

Answer 5

• high masc, low fem = masculine
• high masc, high fem = androgynous
• low masc, high fem = feminine
• low masc, low fem = undifferentiated

Question 6

What is a strength of the BSRI to measure androgyny

Answer 6

• one strength is that the BSRI measures androgyny quantitatively
• Bems numerical approach is useful for research purposes when it is necessary to quantify a dependent variable in a research study
• Counterpoint : Janet spence argues that there is more to gender than a set of behaviours typical to a specific gender. This means that qualitative methods may be better. Therefore, a compromise of quantitative and qualitative methods should be used. For example, the personal attribute questionnaire which adds another dimension (instrumentality and expressitivity)

Question 7

What is another strength of the BSRI?

Answer 7

• strength and reliability
• The scale is reliable as it was developed by asking 50 male and 50 female judges to rate 200 traits in terms of how they represented masculinity and feminimity. The traits that scored the highest became the 20 masculine and 20 feminine traits.
• The BSRI was then piloted with over 1000 students and the results broadly corresponded with the participants own description of their gender identity, demonstrating its validity
• A follow up study was conducted with a smaller sample and similar results were produced, demonstrating test- retest reliability
• counterpoint: The BSRI was developed over 40 years ago with behaviours that they regarded as typical. These have changed significantly. Also it was devised from the USA which means it can not be generalised to other cultures

Question 8

What is a limitation of the BSRI

Answer 8

• A limitation is that the BSRI requires self - awareness
• People may lack this and therefore not have insight of the degree of their masculinity, femininity and androgyny
• Asking people a questionnaire requires an understanding of their personality which they may not have
• Also, gender is a social construct which may be more open to interpretation. Therefore, the scales scoring system is subjective and may differ.