Androgyny.
Spec says, ‘Androgyny and measuring androgyny including the Bem Sex Role Inventory
(BSRI).
Key Terms:
- Androgyny = displaying a balance of masculine and feminine characteristics in one’s
personality.
- Bem Sex Role Inventory = the first systematic attempt to measure androgyny using a
rating scale of 60 traits. 20 feminine, 20 masculine and 20 neutral to produce scores
across two dimensions – masculinity-femininity and androgynous-undifferentiated.
Differing androgyny.
- Androgyny, like the terms sex and gender, is useful in illustrating the difference between
common sense understanding and the way a concept is used in psychological research.
- Within psychology, androgyny refers to a personality type that is characterised by a balance
of masculine and feminine traits, attitudes and behaviours.
- Bem developed a method for measuring androgyny called ‘The Bem Sex Role Inventory’.
o She suggested that high androgyny is associated with psychological wellbeing.
o This is because individuals who are psychologically both masculine and feminine in
roughly equal measures are better equipped to adapt to a range of situations,
whereas non-androgynous people would find this difficult as they have a narrower
range of traits to draw on.
- Both men and women can be androgynous and an over-representation of opposite gender
characteristics does not make someone androgynous.
o A woman who is very masculine or a man who is very feminine would not exhibit the
necessary balance of masculine and feminine traits.
Measuring androgyny: The Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI).
- Bem’s scale presents 20 characteristics that would be commonly identified as ‘masculine’
(such as competitive and aggressive), ‘feminine’ (such as gentle and tender).
o A further 20 ‘neutral’ traits are also included in the scale.
- Respondents are required to rate themselves on a seven point rating scale for each item,
where 1 is ‘never true of me’ and 7 is ‘always true of me’.
o Scores are then classified on the basis of 2 dimensions masculinity-feminity and
androgynous-unclassified.
High M, Low F = Masculine
High F, Low M = Feminine
High M, High F = Androgynous
Low F, Low M = Undifferentiated
- Masculine traits include acting as a leader, being ambitious, assertive and independent.
- Feminine traits include being affectionate, shy, loves children and understanding.
- Neutral traits include being adaptable, convectional, truthful and secretive.
,Evaluation.
Quantitative approach.
- One strength of Bem’s work is that androgyny is measured quantitatively.
- Bem’s numerical approach is useful for research purposes when it is necessary for
example, to quantify a dependent variable in a research study.
- However, Spence argues that there is more to gender than a set of one gender or
the other, so qualitative methods offer a better way of analysing gender.
- One compromise is to combine different scales, for example also using the ‘Personal
Attribute Questionarre (PAQ)’, which adds another dimension to the ‘Bem Sex Role
inventory’
- This suggests that both quantitive together with qualitative approaches may be
useful for studying different aspects of androgyny.
Valid and reliable.
- Another strength of BSRI, at the time it was developed, it appeared to be a valid and
reliable way of measuring androgyny.
- The scale was developed by asking 50 male and 50 female judges to rate 200 traits in
terms of how much they represented ‘maleness’ and ‘femaleness’.
o The traits that scored highest in each category became the 20 masculine and
20 feminine traits on the scale.
- The BSRI was then piloted with over 1000 students and the results broadly
corresponded with the participants own description of gender identity,
demonstrating validity.
- A follow up study, involving a smaller sample of the same students produced similar
scores when the students were tested a month later, demonstrating test-retest
reliability.
- This gives us reason to believe the test was both valid and reliable.
HOWEVER.
- The BSRI was developed over 40 years ago and the behaviours that are regarded as
‘typical’ and ‘acceptable’ in relation to gender have changed significantly since then.
- Bem’s scale is made up of stereotypical ideas of masculinity and femininity that may
be outdated.
- In addition, the scale was devised using people all from the US, and so notions of
maleness and feminist in this country may not be shared across all cultures and
societies.
- This suggests that the BSRI may lack temporal validity and generalisability, and
therefore may not be a suitable measure of gender identity today.
, Self awareness.
- One limitation of the BSRI is that people may not have insight into their degree of
masculinity, femininity or androgyny.
- Asking people to rate themselves on a questionnaire relies on people having an
understanding of their personality and behaviour that they may not necessarily
have.
- Gender is a social construct which may be more open to the interpretation than say
sex, which is a biological fact.
- Furthermore, the questionarre’s scoring system is subjective and peoples application
of the 7 point scale may differ.
- This suggests that the BSRI may not be an objective, scientific way of assessing
masculinity, femininity or androgyny.
Androgyny and wellbeing.
- Within her research, Bem placed great emphasis on the idea that androgynous
individuals are more psychologically healthy as they are best placed to deal with
situations that demand a masculine, feminine or androgynous response.
- This assumption has since been challenged though, some researchers have argued
that people who develop a greater proportion of masculine traits are better adjusted
as those are more highly valued in individualist cultures.
Spec says, ‘Androgyny and measuring androgyny including the Bem Sex Role Inventory
(BSRI).
Key Terms:
- Androgyny = displaying a balance of masculine and feminine characteristics in one’s
personality.
- Bem Sex Role Inventory = the first systematic attempt to measure androgyny using a
rating scale of 60 traits. 20 feminine, 20 masculine and 20 neutral to produce scores
across two dimensions – masculinity-femininity and androgynous-undifferentiated.
Differing androgyny.
- Androgyny, like the terms sex and gender, is useful in illustrating the difference between
common sense understanding and the way a concept is used in psychological research.
- Within psychology, androgyny refers to a personality type that is characterised by a balance
of masculine and feminine traits, attitudes and behaviours.
- Bem developed a method for measuring androgyny called ‘The Bem Sex Role Inventory’.
o She suggested that high androgyny is associated with psychological wellbeing.
o This is because individuals who are psychologically both masculine and feminine in
roughly equal measures are better equipped to adapt to a range of situations,
whereas non-androgynous people would find this difficult as they have a narrower
range of traits to draw on.
- Both men and women can be androgynous and an over-representation of opposite gender
characteristics does not make someone androgynous.
o A woman who is very masculine or a man who is very feminine would not exhibit the
necessary balance of masculine and feminine traits.
Measuring androgyny: The Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI).
- Bem’s scale presents 20 characteristics that would be commonly identified as ‘masculine’
(such as competitive and aggressive), ‘feminine’ (such as gentle and tender).
o A further 20 ‘neutral’ traits are also included in the scale.
- Respondents are required to rate themselves on a seven point rating scale for each item,
where 1 is ‘never true of me’ and 7 is ‘always true of me’.
o Scores are then classified on the basis of 2 dimensions masculinity-feminity and
androgynous-unclassified.
High M, Low F = Masculine
High F, Low M = Feminine
High M, High F = Androgynous
Low F, Low M = Undifferentiated
- Masculine traits include acting as a leader, being ambitious, assertive and independent.
- Feminine traits include being affectionate, shy, loves children and understanding.
- Neutral traits include being adaptable, convectional, truthful and secretive.
,Evaluation.
Quantitative approach.
- One strength of Bem’s work is that androgyny is measured quantitatively.
- Bem’s numerical approach is useful for research purposes when it is necessary for
example, to quantify a dependent variable in a research study.
- However, Spence argues that there is more to gender than a set of one gender or
the other, so qualitative methods offer a better way of analysing gender.
- One compromise is to combine different scales, for example also using the ‘Personal
Attribute Questionarre (PAQ)’, which adds another dimension to the ‘Bem Sex Role
inventory’
- This suggests that both quantitive together with qualitative approaches may be
useful for studying different aspects of androgyny.
Valid and reliable.
- Another strength of BSRI, at the time it was developed, it appeared to be a valid and
reliable way of measuring androgyny.
- The scale was developed by asking 50 male and 50 female judges to rate 200 traits in
terms of how much they represented ‘maleness’ and ‘femaleness’.
o The traits that scored highest in each category became the 20 masculine and
20 feminine traits on the scale.
- The BSRI was then piloted with over 1000 students and the results broadly
corresponded with the participants own description of gender identity,
demonstrating validity.
- A follow up study, involving a smaller sample of the same students produced similar
scores when the students were tested a month later, demonstrating test-retest
reliability.
- This gives us reason to believe the test was both valid and reliable.
HOWEVER.
- The BSRI was developed over 40 years ago and the behaviours that are regarded as
‘typical’ and ‘acceptable’ in relation to gender have changed significantly since then.
- Bem’s scale is made up of stereotypical ideas of masculinity and femininity that may
be outdated.
- In addition, the scale was devised using people all from the US, and so notions of
maleness and feminist in this country may not be shared across all cultures and
societies.
- This suggests that the BSRI may lack temporal validity and generalisability, and
therefore may not be a suitable measure of gender identity today.
, Self awareness.
- One limitation of the BSRI is that people may not have insight into their degree of
masculinity, femininity or androgyny.
- Asking people to rate themselves on a questionnaire relies on people having an
understanding of their personality and behaviour that they may not necessarily
have.
- Gender is a social construct which may be more open to the interpretation than say
sex, which is a biological fact.
- Furthermore, the questionarre’s scoring system is subjective and peoples application
of the 7 point scale may differ.
- This suggests that the BSRI may not be an objective, scientific way of assessing
masculinity, femininity or androgyny.
Androgyny and wellbeing.
- Within her research, Bem placed great emphasis on the idea that androgynous
individuals are more psychologically healthy as they are best placed to deal with
situations that demand a masculine, feminine or androgynous response.
- This assumption has since been challenged though, some researchers have argued
that people who develop a greater proportion of masculine traits are better adjusted
as those are more highly valued in individualist cultures.
