Evaluation of the BSRI and androgyny
Witt (1970): Suggested androgyny may be more beneficial to children as it opens up more opportunities
in society.
BBC documentary – No more boys and girls: Found that girls self esteem and boys emotional regulation
S improved after introducing and implementing the concept of androgyny in a classroom
P
Cultural bias: This questionnaire was developed in US and there are different expectations for males
and females in different countries. E.g. in a tribe everyone has to be willing to take risks.
I Androgynous parents: Families with androgynous parents create a higher sense of self-worth in their
children
A
Spence et al: Pointed out that Bem hadn’t distinguished being people who are high in both masculine
C and feminine traits and people who are low in both traits as she focused on proportionality.
✔BSRI collects quantitative data: This makes it more objective
✔BSRI has a high test-retest reliability: PP’s scores ddin’t change dramatically so this means the test is a
consistent measure
✘Self-report: Increases risk of social desirability bias
E ✘Low in temporal validity: Developed in 1974
✘Not causative: There are other aspects that impact wellbeing rather than just being androgynous
✘Confounding variables: Self esteem is a confounding variable as more of the adjectives are positive so
someone who is androgynous is more likely to also have a high self-esteem. Lowers face validity
D N/A
Witt (1970): Suggested androgyny may be more beneficial to children as it opens up more opportunities
in society.
BBC documentary – No more boys and girls: Found that girls self esteem and boys emotional regulation
S improved after introducing and implementing the concept of androgyny in a classroom
P
Cultural bias: This questionnaire was developed in US and there are different expectations for males
and females in different countries. E.g. in a tribe everyone has to be willing to take risks.
I Androgynous parents: Families with androgynous parents create a higher sense of self-worth in their
children
A
Spence et al: Pointed out that Bem hadn’t distinguished being people who are high in both masculine
C and feminine traits and people who are low in both traits as she focused on proportionality.
✔BSRI collects quantitative data: This makes it more objective
✔BSRI has a high test-retest reliability: PP’s scores ddin’t change dramatically so this means the test is a
consistent measure
✘Self-report: Increases risk of social desirability bias
E ✘Low in temporal validity: Developed in 1974
✘Not causative: There are other aspects that impact wellbeing rather than just being androgynous
✘Confounding variables: Self esteem is a confounding variable as more of the adjectives are positive so
someone who is androgynous is more likely to also have a high self-esteem. Lowers face validity
D N/A
