ways of measuring androgyny incl bed sex role inventory

• Sandra Bem developed the Bem Sex Role Inventory


  1974
• Bem Sex Role Inventory development

  1. Asking 100 Stamford University students to rate 200 personality traits according to how desirable they would be in a man or a woman

  2. Identifying 60 traits: 20 most masculine, 20 most feminine, 10 most desirable gender neutral, 10 most undesirable gender neutral
• Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI)


  Used to assess masculine and feminine personality traits
• BSRI assessment


  1. Participants rate themselves on each characteristic on a scale of 1 to 7

  2. Scored on masculinity, femininity, and androgyny (difference between masculinity/femininity score)
• Androgyny


  If the scores of masculinity/femininity are both high, the individual is androgynous
• Scoring high on androgyny

  Better psychological wellbeing than those that score high on masculinity or femininity
• Masculine trait


  • Aggression and dominate
• Feminine trait


  • Gentle and loyal
• Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ)

  Another way of measuring androgyny, incorporates androgyny
• PAQ assessment


  1. 24 items rated on a 5 point scale

  2. Scored together to yield three scores: instrumentality (masculinity), expressivity (femininity) and neutral (androgyny)
• BSRI


  • May be historically, culturally and gender biased
  • Bem's scale is potentially alpha biased because it exaggerates the differences between masculinity and femininity by suggesting that they are opposite concepts
• Gender is fluid and is influenced by culture and social norms
• The traits included in the BSRI may only reflect 1970's stereotypical American perceptions of masculinity and femininity rather than universal masculinity and femininity
• Bem agrees that androgynous individuals can possess masculine and feminine traits
• The BSRI might not be an appropriate measure of androgyny in contemporary society and/or for all cultures (low temporal validity)