Sex-role stereotypes and androgyny Flashcards
What is sex?
Whether an individual is biologically + anatomically male or female
What is gender?
A social, psychological and appearance sense of whether an individual is male or female
What are sex-role stereotypes?
A set of shared expectations within a social group about what men and women should do/think
What is androgyny?
A balance of masculine and feminine traits
Who proposed the concept of androgyny?
Bem
When did Bem create the BSRI?
1974
What does BSRI stand for?
Bem Sex Role Inventory
Why did Bem argue that androgyny lead to improved mental wellbeing?
Because individuals don’t have to stifle personal inclinations because it doesn’t align with the behaviour expected of their gender
Who were Bem’s BSRI participants?
100 American undergraduates
What did Bem ask her participants?
Which personality traits were desirable for men and which personality traits were desirable for women
How many traits were included in Bem’s BSRI?
60 (20 masculine, 20 feminine and 20 neutral)
How did Bem’s participants rate the statements?
Using a 7 point scale
How were Bem’s participants numerical scores calculated?
By adding up their numbers that they rated each statement
What are the 4 categories in Bem’s study?
Masculine, feminine, androgynous and undifferentiated
What are the 4 AO3 points of Bem’s research?
1) BSRI lacks internal validity
2) BSRI has high reliability
3) BSRI lacks external validity
4) Link between androgyny + psychological health
Why does Bem’s BSRI lack internal validity?
She used a questionare
Why is Bem’s use of a questionnaire problematic? (3)
May suffer from social desirability bias, response bias + demand characteristics
What was the test-retest reliability of the BSRI over a 4 week period?
0.76-0.94
When a short, 30 question version of the BSRI was made, what was the test-retest reliability?
0.90
What traits were removed from the BSRI to improve its reliability?
Undesirable traits like gullible
What two types of external validity does Bem’s BSRI lack?
Cross-cultural and temporal
Why does the BSRI lack cross-cultural validity?
Based on the responses of American undegraduates
Why does the BSRI lack temporal validity?
Created in the 1970s
How have sex role stereotypes changed since the 1970s?
Less rigid - e.g. women not expected to be housewives
What did Bem predict a correlation between?
Androgyny and psychological health
Who conducted a study into the correlation between androgyny and psychological health?
Prakash
Who were Prakash’s participants?
100 married Indian females
What 2 things were Prakash’s participants tested on?
Their masculinity/femininity and health related measures
How did Prakash measure gender?
Using the personal attribute scale
What did Prakash find?
Females with high masculinity scores had lower depression levels and vice versa
