BSRI

• WHAT IS THE BSRI?

  Bem Sex Role Inventory
• HOW DOES A BSRI WORK?

  • 20 feminine, 20 masculine, 20 neutral traits presented
  • participants must rate on a 7-point scale (1 = never/ 7 = always)
  • calculate mean
  • compare to table
  • find out if they are masculine/ feminine/ androgynous/ undifferentiated
• EVALUATION POINTS OF BSRI?

  + reliability

  + application

  -generalisability

  -validity

  -ethical issues
• RELIABILITY ARGUMENT?

  • tested on 1000+ students
  • when given to same sample, scores correlated
  • good test-retest reliability
• APPLICATION ARGUMENT?

  • introduced idea of androgyny to society
  • more accepting of behaviour not fitting gender 'norm'
  • reduction in stigma
• GENERALISABILITY ARGUMENT?

  • scale presented to USA judges (more traditional)
  • cultural relativism
  • not reflective of all cultures
• VALIDITY ARGUMENT?

  • based on what 1970s Americans believed to be desirable traits for genders
  • lacks temporal validity
  • self-report
  • requires insight into personality/ people lie and exaggerate
  • reduces internal validity
• ETHICAL ISSUES?

  • research shows more masculine traits is more highly-valued in Western society
  • social sensitivity (feminine traits seen as weaker - gullible/ tender/ etc)
  • reinforces sexism