gender androgyny & the BSRI

Question 1

what does androgyny refer to in psychology

Answer 1

personality type that has a balance of feminie and masculine traits, attitudes or behaviours.

Question 2

give example of an androgynous man or women

Answer 2

agressiva competivite at work but caring and sensitive parent.

Question 3

is androgyny a good thing?

Answer 3

argues that high androgy is associated w psychological well being. better equipped to adopt a range of situations or tasks.

Question 4

is a very masculine women androgynous

Answer 4

no, over-repesentation of opposite sex characteristics doesn’t = androgeny must exhibited a balance of both traits.

Question 5

who devised a way to measure androgyny and what is it called

Answer 5

The Bem sex role inventory (BSRI)
Bem 1974

Question 6

what did Bems scale include
(60)

Answer 6

Bees scale represents 20 characteristics that would commonly identified as masculine (competition n aggression) and 20 female (tender, gentle) and a further 20 neutral

Question 7

what do respondents do for the BSRI

Answer 7

required to rate themselves on a 7point scale (1 never 7 always true).

Question 8

what’s the scores to classifications BSRI

Answer 8

bias of 2 dimensions - masculinity-femininity and androgynous-undifferentiated

SCORE = CLASSIFCATION:
high masculine, low fem = masculine

high fem, low masc = feminine

high mass, high fem = Androgynous

low fem, low masc = undifferentiated

Question 9

give some masculine traits on the BSRI

Answer 9

acts as leader
aggressive
ambitious
assertive
athletic
defends owns beliefs
independent
strong personality

Question 10

give some fem traits on the BSRI

Answer 10

affectionate
cheerful
childlike
loyal
loves children
shy
soft spoken
tender
warm

Question 11

give some neutral traits on the BSRI

Answer 11

adaptive
conceited
conscientious
happy
helpful
jealous
sincere
likeable
truthful
unpredictable

Question 12

evulation points of the BSRI and Androgny

Answer 12

scale appears to be valid and reliable
association between androgyny and psychological well-being
oversimplifies complex concept
measuring gender identity using questionnaires

Question 13

how is the BSRI valid

Answer 13

developed by asking 50 males and 50 females to rate 200 traits in terms of how desirable they were for men and women.
traits that scored the highest became the 20 mass and 20 fem on the BSRI.
the BSRI then piloted w over 1000 students and results broadly corresponded w the participants own description of their gender identity.
suggests- degree of validity.

Question 14

how was the BSRI reliable

Answer 14

follow up study involving smaller sample of the same students revealed similar scores when students were tested a month later.
so high test-retest reliability

Question 15

association of androgyny snd psychological well being and the problem with this

Answer 15

within Bem’s research placed great emphasis on idea that androgynous individuals were more psychologically healthy, can adapt to most situations.
this assumption been challenged.
ppl who displayed greater masculine traits better adjusted as these r more highly valued on western society. (Adams n Sherer 1985).

this suggests-bems research may not have taken adequate account go the social and cultural context which it ws developed.

Question 16

oversimplifies a complex concept

Answer 16

suggested gender identity r too complex to be reduced to a single score.
alternatives to BSRI have been developed - Personal Attribute Questionnaire (PAQ) replaced Bems masculinity feminity to instrumental n expressivity.

however like BSRI the PAQ still based on the idea that gender identity can be quantified.

Question 17

whats a alternative to the BSRI

Answer 17

Personal Attribute Questionnaire (PAQ) replaced Bems masculinity feminity to instrumental n expressivity.

Question 18

what did GOLOMBOX and FIVUSH say abt the complexity of gender identities

Answer 18

SUSAN GOLOMBOK and FIVUSH 1994
claimed that gender identity is much more global concept than is suggested on these scales.
in order to understand gender identity more fully the broader issue sold be considered, like persons interests and perception of their own abilities

Question 19

measuring gender identities using questionnaires

Answer 19

relies on understanding of their personality and beh that they may not have.
gender is a hypothetical construct which is much more open to interpretation then sex = biological fact.
& questionnaire scoring sytem is subjective n pols interpretation of the meanings each end of the 7 point scale may differ.