androgyny

• define androgyny


  the possession of both stereotypically masc and fem characteristics
• what does bem argue about gender schemas


  that gender schemas become the lenses through how we see the world
• what 3 beliefs do the lenses lead to in western society

  men and women differ psychologically and sexually

  men are dominant and superior
• what is a result of these beliefs from lenses?


  empowers men but not women
• how does bem argue that society should be structured?


  society should be gender depolarized because the similarities between men and women outweigh the differences

  society should be depolarized by redefining gender traits and what it is to be human not necessarily male or female
• according to bem, what are the costs of sex role sterotypes?


  limiting opportunities for boys and girls

  ignoring talent

  perpetuating unfairness
• why did bem see androgyny as adaptive?


  psychological androgyny means taking on whichever quality suits the situation best- regardless whether it is masc or fem
• how did bem test androgyny?


  Bem androgyny test
• how did bem test androgyny?


  the bem sex role inventory
• what is the bem sex role inventory?


  a test asking about personality traits, both masculine and feminine and which ones an individual aligns with
• what is gender schema theory?


  • a suggestion that the difference between androgyny and a typically gendered person is due to cognitive style
  • this means: an androgynous person will respond independantly of gender concepts whereas others may respond in alignment to their gender schema
  • bem argued that this made an androgynous mind freer and psychologically healthier
• support for parental influence of sex-role sterotypes

  Smith and lloyd

  • showed that mothers treat boys and girls differently according to sterotypes
  • they recorded mothers playing for 10 mins with a baby (not their own child). The bbay was 6 months old and dressed as a boy or girl (the dress and name was not always consistant with their biology)
  • if a mum thought she was playing with a boy she went for more motor activity toys etc
• support for androgyny on psychologial health


  Prakesh et al tested 100 married females in india

  • females with high masculinity scores had lower depression scores whereas higher femininity scores had higher depression scores
• what are some real world applications of androgyny?


  • if its better for physical and psychological health then its obviously best to raise children this way
  • some people have tried to raise their children completely gender neutral but this causes uproar and people felt it was 'child abuse' - meaning we have a long way to go to promote the benefits
• reliability of BSRI :)


  • high reliability
  • high test-retest reliability for BSRI
  • correlations range from 0.74 to 0.94 (- Bem)
  • also a short form of the scale was made with 30 words and has a correlation of 0.90 to the original, as well as imporving the internal reliability of the test because less socially desirable terms were removed eg 'guilible'
• What is the link between androgyny and psychological health according to the BSRI?

  It may be due to an intervening variable: self-esteem.
• Why might high scores on both masculine and feminine traits lead to higher self-esteem?

  Because individuals view themselves highly when scoring high on socially desirable traits.
• What did Liberman and Gaa find in their analysis of androgynous students?

  They found that androgynous students had higher overall scores than those classified as masculine or feminine.
• What does the finding of Liberman and Gaa suggest about the measurement of androgyny?

  It suggests that scores may be a product of the measurement rather than representing a true difference.
• What issue is raised regarding the adjectives used in the 1970s in relation to the BSRI?

  They may have different meanings now or attitudes may have changed.
• What is the implication of the lack of temporal validity in the BSRI?

  It suggests that the measure may not accurately reflect current attitudes towards gender traits.
• How might the change in perception of adjectives affect the assessment of androgyny?

  It could lead to misclassification of individuals based on outdated definitions of masculinity and femininity.
• What does BSRI stand for?

  Bem Sex Role Inventory
• What is response bias in the context of the BSRI?

  It refers to the tendency of respondents to answer questions in a manner that is not reflective of their true feelings or traits.