Sex Roles and Androgyny Flashcards
What are sex role stereotpyes?
Socially/Culturally defined sets of expectations we have about the behaviour of each gender.
We learn these stereotypes both implicitly (internalisation) and explicitly (modelling).
What is androgyny?
The idea that one person can display behaviours of both genders (Bem, 1970)
Most people perform non-stereotypical behaviours.
Stereotypes in modern society could cause psychological and social harm by artificially restricting behaviour.
- Reinforcing musturbatory distinctions could result in lower self-worth.
Outline Bem’s Sex Role Inventory (BSRI).
- Contains 20 masculine, 20 feminine, 20 neutral items.
- Participants use a 7-point Likert scale to rate their likelihood of performing the behaviours.
- Masculinity (high masc, low fem)
- Femininity (high fem, low masc)
- Androgyny (high ratio of masc to fem)
- Original: 5.8 fem : 5.85 masc = androgynous
- Modern: 100 masc : 103 fem = androgynous
What is the BSRI criticised for and how did Bem account for this?
Describes androgyny but not the opposite (low in both traits).
A fourth category was added:
- Undifferentiated (low masc, low fem)
- Criticised for lack of construct validity (are there enough items to fully describe someone)
What is Bem’s Gender Schema Theory?
As a result of findings:
- Everyone acts according to dominant schema for a given situation.
- Some people have a wider repertoire of schematic references than others.
- Some have learned very specific schemata (strongly M or F).
What are some evaluations of Bem?
P - BSRI internally valid due to confounding variable
E - Nearly all behaviours on BSRI are socially desirable - this means a high score measures self-esteem as well as gender.
E - Furthermore, BSRI lacks temporal validity –> study in 2001 (rate all items M or F)
L - Therefore, BSRI is internally valid
P - Relationship between androgyny & mental health has research support.
E - Prakash et al. (2010) showed high androgyny associated with lower levels of depression in women.
E - May have real-world applications for parenting advice, discouraging stereotypes, may not be culturally valid/ethical, parents may be subject to abuse.
L - Economic and healthcare applications mean a promising area for policymakers, if a socially acceptable method is found.