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Psychological androgyny: A study of its relationship to self-esteem, achievement motivation, age, and group membership in women religious and women college students

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Psychological androgyny: A study of its relationship to self-esteem, achievement motivation, age, and group membership in women religious and women college students

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Content PSYCHOLOGICAL ANDROGYNY: A STUDY OF ITS RELATIONSHIP
TO SELF-ESTEEM, ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION, AGE, AND
GROUP MEMBERSHIP IN WOMEN RELIGIOUS AND
WOMEN COLLEGE STUDENTS
by
Sister Noreen Cannon, C.S.J.
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(Education)
January 1982
UMI Number: DP24818
All rights reserved
INFORMATION TO ALL USERS
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In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript
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a note will indicate the deletion.
Dissertation Publishing
UMI DP24818
Published by ProQuest LLC (2014). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author.
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789 East Eisenhower Parkway
P.O. Box 1346
Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
TH E G R A DU ATE SC HO O L
U N IV E R S IT Y PARK
LOS A NG ELES. C A L IF O R N IA 9 0 0 0 7
This dissertation, written by
Noreen D. Cannon
under the direction of h..QX.. Dissertation Com
mittee, and approved by all its members, has
been presented to and accepted by The Graduate
School, in partial fulfillm ent of requirements of
the degree of
D O C T O R O F P H I L O S O P H Y
Dean
D ate January 13 > 1982
'MITTEE
Chairman
^OLkJULJ, C JA
DEDICATION
To my parents and first educators,
Mr. and Mrs. James W. Cannon, who
taught me the things that have
proven to be the most valuable. And
to Ellen, my twin and "other half."
ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I wish to acknowledge those whose help and cooperation
made this study possible.
First, I am grateful to the Sisters of St. Joseph of
Carondelet and the women from Mt. St. Mary's College, Los
Angeles, for their participation in the study.
Next, special thanks are owed to the members of my
doctoral committee: Earl Carnes, who has been with me frorr
the beginning of my doctoral studies as my advisor, friend
and committee chairman; Dennis Hocevar, who encouraged my
interest in androgyny and assisted me with the statistical
design and the interpretation of the data; and Sarnoff
Mednick, who generously and humorously served on my
committee despite his already busy schedule.
I am also indebted to Harold Urman for his many hours
of assistance with the computer analysis.
And finally, I wish to thank the Sisters at Casa
Monica who have commiserated and celebrated with me at
each step along the way.
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
DEDICATION ................... ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS..................................'. iii
LIST OF TABLES....... vii
Chapter
I. INTRODUCTION .................... 1
Rationale for Studying Androgyny
in Women Religious ..... 3
Research Hypotheses . . . 5
Definition of Terms ...................... 6
II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE............' .......... 8
Masculinity, Femininity, and Androgyny:
Historical Traditions .................. 8
Masculinity, Femininity, Androgyny:
Modern Conceptualizations ............. 10
Measure of Masculinity-Femininity: From
a Bipolar to a Dualistic Approach . . . 14
Masculinity-Femininity and Mental Health . 18
Empirical Studies Relating Androgyny,
Social Competence and Self-Esteem . . . 20
Replication Studies: Androgyny and
Self-Esteem in Noncollege Groups .... 27
Relevant Research on Achievement,
Androgyny and Self-Esteem ............. 31
Androgyny: The Developmental Approach . . 37
Summary............................. 39
_ iv
Page
III. METHODOLOGY................................... 4 2
Subjects.................................... 42
Procedures................................. 43
Instruments . . * ........................... 44
Personal Attributes Questionnaire
Short Form (Appendix A) . . ........... 44
Texas Social Behavior Inventory
Short Form (Appendix B ) . . ............ 45
Measure of Individual Differences
in Achieving Tendency
(Appendix C) . ...................... 46
Personal Information Questionnaire
(Appendix D) ..... 47
Scoring of the Personal Attributes
Questionnaire............... ........... 4 7
IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION...................... 49
Results............. 49
Other Findings............................. 55
Discussion................................. 57
Is the Relationship Between Androgyny
and Self-Esteem Due to Achievement
Motivation?............................. 58
Are Previous Findings on Androgyny
Replicable in a Population of
Women Religious?...................... 6 0
Are Women Religious More Androgynous
than College Women?.................... 6 2
Is Androgyny Related to A g e ? ............ 63
V. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS...................... 64
v
Page
APPENDIXES............................................ 68
A. PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES QUESTIONNAIRE ............ 69
B. TEXAS SOCIAL BEHAVIOR INVENTORY .............. 7 3
C. A QUESTIONNAIRE MEASURE OF INDIVIDUAL
DIFFERENCES IN ACHIEVING TENDENCY . 77
D. PERSONAL INFORMATION QUESTIONNAIRES ......... 81
REFERENCES............................ 84
vi
LIST OF TABLES
Page
1. Means for Self-Esteem Compared by Group
and PAQ Classification........................... 50
2. Means for Achievement Motivation Compared by
Group and PAQ Classification.................... 50
3. Difference Between Androgynous and
Nonandrogynous Subjects on Mean
Self-Esteem with Achievement
Motivation Not Controlled
and Controlled.................................... 53
4. Contingency Table for Group and
PAQ Classification............................... 53
5. Age of Women Religious by
PAQ Classification............................... 54
6. Means for Self-Esteem and Achievement
Motivation Compared by Group and
Four-Way PAQ Classification .................... 56
vii
How long the road is. But, for
all the time the journey has
already taken, how you have
needed every second of it in
order to learn what the road
passes --- by.
Dag Hammarskjold
Markings
viii
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Research in the area of androgyny and sex-role
stereotyping is in a pioneer state. During the past five
years, researchers have developed measures of androgyny and
investigated its correlates. The results have been
consistent in reporting that androgynous individuals (those
who possess both masculine and feminine attributes) are
healthier and better adjusted than nonandrogynous
individuals. Consequently, androgyny has been proposed as
a new model of psychological health.
A possibility that had not been explored, however, was
that recent measures of androgyny might also be:tapping some
variable other than sex-typing. A review of recent
androgyny studies indicated that those individuals who gave
androgynous self-descriptions and reported high self-esteem
were also likely to be high achievers. This finding raised
the question of what is really being measured by tests of
androgyny. Are measures of androgyny measuring more than
sex-role attributes? Might they be reflecting an
orientation broader than sex-role flexibility, namely,
achievement motivation? Since achievement motivation has
been found to correlate highly with personal adjustment, it
1
seemed reasonable to wonder about the relationship between
achievement motivation and androgyny. Are they really two
independent variables, or are they reflecting a similar
personality attribute? Perhaps the relationship found
between androgyny and self-esteem in past research was
really due to a third variable, achievement motivation.
The present study was undertaken to answer these
questions. It explored the relationships between: (a)
androgyny and self-esteem; (b) androgyny and achievement
motivation; and (c) achievement motivation and self-esteem,
to find out whether, in fact, the relationship between
androgyny and self-esteem is spurious, that is, due to the
effect of achievement motivation.
Recent writings on androgyny have raised other
questions which were explored in this study.
An issue which has not received much attention in
androgyny research is whether the results found with
college students generalize to noncollege populations.
This study attempted to replicate some of the previous
research with college students in a noncollege group.
Using women religious as a group in which sex-role
attitudes and androgyny scores might differ from the norm
(college students), group differences in androgyny were
explored. The subjects used in this study, women college
students and women religious, also provided an opportunity
to focus on androgyny in women. Since the literature
2
indicates that the experience of androgyny may differ in
men and women, with androgynous men being affirmed and
androgynous women penalized, the use of all women subjects
enabled some exploration of possible sex differences in
androgyny and its correlates.
A final and controversial issue in androgyny theory
with which this study dealt is the question of whether
androgyny is a psychological trait or a developmental
stage. The age range of the subjects used in this study
offered the opportunity to study age differences in
androgyny. If older subjects were found to be more
androgynous than younger subjects, this finding would
support a developmental view of androgyny.
Rationale for Studying Androgyny
in Women Religious
A group which seemed to offer a unique opportunity to
study group differences in androgyny was Catholic women
religious. It appeared reasonable to hypothesize that this
particular group of women might be significantly more
androgynous than the general population of women because of
several characteristics basic to their life-style. First,
the single-sex nature of a religious order of women
eliminates at least some of the traditional sex-role
distinctions. In this particular subculture, tasks are
determined not by gender but by ability and personal
preference. Since traditionally "masculine" and "feminine"
3
tasks must be accomplished by women, it is likely that both
instrumental and expressive skills are developed, by
necessity, in this type of group in order that the group
function effectively. If androgyny is potentially the goal
of human development as Jung and others believed, and if
sex-role flexibility has been inhibited largely by social
sanctions and stereotypes, it seemed likely that these
women would be freer to be both aggressive, assertive,
competitive, and dominant (masculine stereotypes) as well
as affectionate, compassionate, gentle, sympathetic, and
warm (feminine stereotypes).
A second characteristic of the life-style of women
religious which was thought to foster androgynous develop
ment is their collegial form of self-government. It seemed
that a democratic, participative model of governance, which
is typical of most religious orders in the United States
today, would necessitate the development of both masculine
(instrumental) and feminine (expressive) traits.
A final pertinent characteristic inherent in the life
of this group of women is a high degree of professional
involvement. While many women must choose between a career
and their femininity or a job and family life, women
religious do not experience this conflict since it is
expected that they have a professional career to which they
devote the major part of their time and energy.
4
Research Hypotheses
In summary, this study addressed some current problem
areas in androgyny and self-esteem research and also
explored questions which were relevant to the further
development of a contemporary theory of androgyny.
Specifically, it attempted to explore the following
hypotheses:
1. Androgyny is positively correlated to self-esteem.
2. Androgyny is positively correlated to achievement
motivation.
3. Achievement motivation is positively correlated to
self-esteem.
4. The positive correlation between androgyny and
self-esteem is spurious, that is, due to their mutual
relation to achievement motivation.
5. The relationships described in Hypothesis 3
hold for a sample of women religious as well as a sample of
college students.
6. There is a greater incidence of androgyny in a
sample of women religious than in a sample of college
women.
7. There are developmental changes in androgyny with
older subjects being more androgynous than younger subjects.
Definition of Terms
Androgyny: (a) A psychological state wherein a person
possesses both masculine and feminine positive traits; and
(b) a state defined by a score which is above the median on
both the masculinity and femininity scales of the Personal
Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ).
Self-Esteem: (a) A personal judgment of worthiness
that is expressed in the attitudes that an individual holds
toward him/herself; a subjective experience which the
individual conveys to others by verbal reports and other
overt expressive behavior; and (b) a psychological state
defined by a score above the mean on the Texas Social
Behavior Inventory (TSBI).
Achievement Motivation: (a) A pattern of planning, of
actions, and of feelings connected with striving to achieve
some internalized standard of excellence; not necessarily
the same thing as the search for observable accomplish
ments; an attitude toward achievement; and (b) a tendency
or motive defined by a high, medium, or low score on the
Mehrabian Measure of Achieving Tendency (MAT).
Women Religious: Members of a religious order; a
subculture in which traditional sex-role functions are
absent and tasks are assigned without reference to gender;
a group that meets Bern's (1976) prescriptions for
androgynous development: "Let sexual preference be ignored
6
let sex roles be abolished, let gender move from figure to
ground" (p. 61).
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Masculinity/ Femininity, and Androgyny:
Historical Traditions
The phrase "opposite sexes" expresses the deeply
ingrained notion that masculinity and femininity are
opposing concepts. History reveals that whenever two
apparently opposing principles were observed, they were
linked to maleness and femaleness. In an exploration of
this tradition, Singer (1976) observes that this is how the
sun came to represent the male principle, whereas the moon
represented the female; rationality and logic became
associated with men and intuition with women? light and
clarity were termed masculine, darkness and mystery
feminine. Although this notion that masculinity and
femininity are opposite poles of experience is found in the
history and mythology of numerous cultures, many
philosophers have viewed each of the two concepts as
one-half of a whole, neither of which can be complete in
itself. This idea suggests that each individual must
develop both the masculine and feminine sides of his/her
nature in order to be a whole person. Bazin and Freeman
(1974) discuss the role that this belief has in Taoism
8
where the re-union of Yang, the male principle, and Yin,
the female principle is seen as the way to achieve
wholeness and peace. Most myths of the origin of the
sexes tell of a division of a whole individual into two
incomplete halves: the Biblical myth of the creation of
Eve from the rib of Adam, the Hindu story of the separation
of the Supreme Self into male and female, Plato’s account
of how Zeus decided to cut all beings into two.
In each of these stories, the division of the whole
results in a.striving to reunite in order to regain a sense
of wholeness. Heilbrun (197 3) in an overview of the
presence of the androgyny concept in mythology and
literature indicates that for many writers, this wholeness
is viewed as an androgynous state— a psychological merging
of the masculine and feminine. Bazin and Freeman (1974)
even suggested that the moment of ectasy and wholeness
experienced by mystics is related to a temporary integra
tion and reconciliation of the masculine and feminine
principles in an individual's consciousness.
Historically, then, there is evidence of two
traditions: that masculinity and femininity are opposing
principles, and that they must be integrated within each
individual in order for the experience of wholeness to
occur. The following section will discuss the development
of these two traditions in modern thought.
_________________________________________________________________9
Masculinity, Femininity, Androgyny;
Modern Conceptualizations
Modern society has tended to stress the dichotomy
between the masculine and feminine principles by defining
certain behaviors or attitudes as "manly" and their
opposite as "womanly." Parsons and Bales (1955) postulated
that the division of labor between the sexes evolved by all
societies can be described by a distinction between
"instrumental" and "expressive" roles. Instrumental roles
are task-oriented functions, assigned to men, that
contribute to the operation of society's political and
economic institutions. While men serve as the family's
protector and representative to the outside world, women
are assigned expressive roles within the family: tasks and
duties oriented around ministering to the physical and
psychological needs of family members and promoting inter
personal harmony within the family unit. The functional
value of this role division is to stabilize the family as a
social unit. Parsons and Bales (1955) further distinguish
between sex-role behaviors and the different personality
attributes required by men and women to fulfill their
assigned roles. They do not describe these personality
factors in detail but simply refer to them as masculine,
instrumental skills or attributes versus feminine,
expressive skills or attributes.
10
A similar distinction between masculine and feminine
traits has been made by Bakan (1966). In a book on the
duality of human existence he equated masculine or the
"male principle" with what he called a sense of agency and
femininity or the "female principle" with a sense of
communion. Bakan described agency as a goal-oriented sense
of self, manifested in such characteristics as self-
assertion, self-expansion, and self-protection. Contrasted
to this is communion which reflects selflessness and the
need to be at one with others. Although Bakan described
agency as more characteristic of males and communion as
more characteristic of females, he explicitly espoused a
dualistic position. He believed that psychological
masculinity and femininity are separate dimensions of
personality that can coexist in the same individual. He
further proposed that a high degree of either agency or
communion, unchecked by the other, is destructive to the
individual and society. The most desirable state, in his
view, is an abundance of both agency and communion, or
androgyny. Bakan's approach differs from that of Parsons
and Bales who do not speak on the value of androgyny but
instead describe the merits of an instrumental-expressive
division of roles and stress the necessity for men to
possess instrumental traits and for women to possess
expressive ones.
11
Other researchers have addressed this dichotomy issue.
Bern (1972) detined the division between the masculine and
feminine in terms of power, competition, and achievement as
opposed to dependency, affiliation, and cooperation. In a
review of the correlates of masculinity and femininity,
Spence and Helmreich (1978) discuss the male stereotype of
rationality, independence and self-assertion, and the
female stereotype of emotionality and nurturance. Erikson
(1968) suggested that differences in anatomy and body
experiences of men and women tend to predispose them toward
different approaches to life with men showing'a stronger
concern with "outer" space (exploring, conquering,
achieving, discovering) and women with "inner" space
(caring, nurturing and creating a stable environment).
Although he does not see these predispositions as
restrictive and believes that each sex is capable of
learning the other's style, he maintains that male and
female personalities are inevitably different because of
the differences in body structure.
Block (.1965) , in the well-known 4 0-year Berkeley
Growth Study, concluded that boys and girls received
different instruction regarding appropriate behavior and
attitudes. Boys are taught to value achievement, competi
tion, control of feelings and concern for rules. Girls,
on the other hand, are taught to value close, interpersonal
relationships, to talk about their problems, to reflect on
12
life, and to express physical affection. It was further
found that methods of teaching differed between boys and
girls. Boys are taught by authority and control while
girls are protected and supported. Again, the dichotomy
between the male and female principles is apparent.
Emphasizing the destructive effects of the dichotomy
between the concept of the "ideal male" and the "ideal
female," Osofsky and Osofsky (1972) defined the dualities
of masculinity and femininity. They viewed the ideal male
as tall, muscular, verbally and physically aggressive,
competent, interpersonally dominant, the initiator of
sexual activity, and concerned with money and power. The
ideal female was defined as pretty, small, passive and
dependent, submissive and conforming to men, needy, and
domestically skillful. They suggested that deviation from
these norms results in low self-esteem and negative
judgments by others. And finally, in a review of sex and
personality studies, Terman and Miles (1936, 1976)
divided men and women into categories according to
interests and emotions. Males are described as interested
in machines, tools, science, business, adventure,
exploitation and physical activity. Women's interests are
more domestic, aesthetic, sedentary, indoors, and involve
taking care of others. In the area of emotions, men are
seen as aggressive, fearless, self-assertive, strong and
13
rough in manners, language and emotions, while women are
compassionate, timid, understanding, sensitive, neat,
aesthetic, more emotional and morally weaker.
This brief review of the history of the dichotomy
between masculinity and femininity has shown the
pervasiveness of this split in the consciousness of
society, both ancient and modern. Clearly, the earlier
historical tradition which focused on the necessity of
uniting the opposites both within the individual and in
society has been overshadowed by the modern emphasis on
sex-role functions and stereotypes. The effect of this
emphasis on the study of psychological masculinity and
femininity will be explored in the following section.
Measure of Masculinity-Femininity:
From a Bipolar to a
Dualistic Approach
Psychology has been strongly influenced by the
tradition that masculinity and femininity are opposing
principles. All the traditional psychological tests that
attempt to measure these concepts express them as a single
construct, as opposite ends of a continuum ranging from
high masculinity to high femininity, with a neutral
midpoint. Inherent in these tests is the assumption of
bipolarity. This means that a person taking one of these
tests can receive only one masculinity-femininity (M-F)
score: high masculine, low feminine, etc. There is no way
_____________________________________________14.
to measure a person's masculinity and femininity since only
a composite M-F score is possible.
There is evidence that the bipolarity assumption of
masculinity-femininity is invalid— that "femininity" and
"masculinity" are two completely different concepts and can
thus coexist independently in the same individual. Vroegh
(1971) found a high positive correlation between peer-rated
masculinity and femininity in children from grades one to
six. The more masculine a child was rated, the more
feminine s/he was rated. In traditional M-F scoring, the
masculinity and femininity scores would have canceled each
other out. Colwill's (cited in Anderson,.1974) research
gives further evidence for the invalidity of M-F as a
bipolar construct. Her results suggest that society's
conception of sex-role appropriateness includes two factors,
the acceptance of sex-role-appropriate attitudes and
behaviors and. the rejection of that which is sex-role
inappropriate. A conception of M-F as one bipolar
construct cannot adequately represent this added complexity.
In an extensive review of M-F tests Constantinople (1973)
wrote: "The terms, masculinity and femininity, have a long
history in psychological discourse, but both theoretically
and empirically they seem to be among the muddiest in the
psychologist's vocabulary" (p. 390). She concluded that
the content of most tests of masculinity-femininity was
15
heterogeneous. This means that the selection of items was
based not on any theoretical conceptualization of what was
being measured, but on their capacity to distinguish
empirically between men and women. She further questioned
two of the major assumptions underlying the construction of
these tests: first, that masculine and feminine attributes
are opposites and thus form a bipolar continuum, with
masculinity at one extreme and femininity at the other; and
second, that masculinity-femininity is a unidimensional
rather than a multidimensional phenomenon.
Since Constantinople’s review was published, others
have recognized the problems inherent in the "opposite-
concepts" approach to the study of masculinity-femininity.
Consequently, a number of new measures of M-F have been
developed which attempt to validate the view which
postulates that each individual has both a masculine and
feminine side which must be developed and integrated if
wholeness and health are to be achieved. Bern (1974),
working on the assumption that masculinity and femininity
are essentially orthogonal dimensions, that is, two
separate and independent concepts, developed an
instrument--the Bern Sex Role Inventory (BSRI)--which made
it possible to score individuals on a masculine scale and a
feminine scale. Bern’s analysis of responses to this
inventory suggested that masculinity and femininity could
16
be treated as logically independent and that both could be
treated separately from androgyny. She found that the
androgynous person endorses both stereotypically masculine
and stereotypically feminine attributes. Thus, males and
females scoring high on androgyny could describe them
selves as both aggressive, assertive, competitive, and
dominant (masculine stereotype attributes) as well as
affectionate, compassionate, gentle, sympathetic, and warm
(feminine stereotype items). Bern's pioneer efforts
encouraged other researchers to question traditional
assumptions concerning the value of fitting a particular
sex-role stereotype. Her assumption that masculinity and
femininity are orthogonally independent dimensions has been
supported by Berzins, Welling, and Wetter (1975), Heilbrun
(1976), and Spence, Helmreich, and Stapp (1974) . In a
review of these new measures of sex-role orientation Kelly
and Worell (197 7) found that they are similar in that they
each are constructed on the following model:
1. an orthogonal two-dimensional model of masculinity-
femininity
2. a sociocultural definition of sex roles
3. the sampling of positively valued but sex-typed
characteristics
4. a response repertoire model of sex-role style.
Although varying in the rationale underlying their
construction, these new measures all reject the bipolar
17
approach in favor of a dualistic one. Thus, each contains
separate masculinity and femininity scales so that the two
dimensions can be independently assessed and the magnitude
and direction of their covariation determined empirically
rather than taken for granted. With the adoption of a
dualistic approach to the measurement of masculinity and
femininity the term "androgyny" has been introduced to
describe the possession of a high degree of both masculine
and feminine traits.
Masculinity-Femininity and
Mental Health
Psychologists have long recognized a relationship
between sex-role identification and mental health. Since
the time of Freud it has been believed that unfeminine
women and unmasculine men have emotional problems. And
since the norms for masculinity and femininity are
determined by cultural standards, the person who is not
"appropriately1 1 sex-typed is abnormal by definition. A man
(but not a' woman) who was masculine was considered healthy,
as a woman (but not a man) who was feminine. More
recently, however, some writers have begun to question the
assumption that sex-role and sex-choice are determined by
sex gender. Bern (197 6) believes that masculinity and
femininity in their extreme form may even have destructive
effects. She cites a number of studies that show positive
18
correlations between femininity in females and high
anxiety, low self-esteem, and low social acceptance.
Sherman (197 6) notes that a number of researchers have
found the passivity and dependency characterizing the ideal
feminine role to be associated with inadequate functioning
even in the traditional female roles of wife and mother.
Femininity, as traditionally defined, does not appear to be
correlated with good mental health in women (Belote, 197 6;
Broverman, Broverman, Clarkson, & Rosenkrantz, 197 0;
Chesler, 1971; Tennov, 1976). For masculinity, the findings
are mixed. Mussen (19 61) found masculinity to be positively
correlated with psychological adjustment among adolescent
boys. After reviewing the literature, Heilbrun (1968)
concluded that masculinity is associated with positive
mental health in males. Findings which contradict this
were reported by Bern (1976) who found high masculinity in
adult males to be correlated with high anxiety, high
neuroticism, and low self-acceptance. However, there is
little evidence to indicate that moderately high masculinity
is associated with emotional problems. In general, it
appears that extremes of either femininity or masculinity
can be maladaptive. Block, Von Der Lippe, and Block (1973),
reporting the results of the 4 0-year Berkeley growth study,
suggested that androgynous individuals are free to accept
or reject society's sex-role expectations and develop their
own values. In the time that has past since that statement
_____________ 19
was made, researchers have attempted to test the hypothesis
that androgyny is correlated with psychological health. In
the section which follows the results of this body of
research will be reviewed.
Empirical Studies Relating Androgyny,
Social Competence and Self-Esteem
In their discussion of the development of personality,
Babladelis and Adams (1967) stressed the importance of
acquiring a flexible self-concept, one which includes a
variety of self-concepts. They maintained that notions
about one's sex-role identification are part of one's self-
concept and suggested that those persons with flexible
self-concepts are better able to develop and express a
range of competencies than are those with limited self-
concepts. Bern (1972), starting from a concern about
sex-role concepts, provided evidence for this hypothesis.
She pointed out the strong tendency in psychological
studies to treat masculinity and femininity as mutually
exclusive, bipolar constructs. In so doing, psychological
research had, in her opinion, failed to consider those
persons who could not be so classified. She went on to
develop a measure of masculinity, femininity, and those
persons with overlapping attributes whom she labeled as
androgynous (1974). She theorized that the individual who
possesses both masculine and feminine positive traits
(i.e., who is androgynous) is more behaviorally flexible
20
and therefore more fully functioning than one who is
strongly sex-typed. Using her scale, the Bern Sex Role
Inventory (BSRI), to measure sex-typing she conducted three
experiments (Bern, 197 5; Bern & Lenny, 197 6; Bern, Martyna, &
Watson, 197 6). In each case she found that strong sex-
typing in the direction of either masculinity or femininity
was associated with restricted behavior in certain
laboratory settings. For example, she demonstrated that in
a situation that required the "feminine" behavior of
nurturing a small baby, subjects of both sexes who were
classified as either feminine or androgynous performed
significantly better than masculine men and women (Bern
et al., 1976). In this study, rigid masculine sex-typing
was associated with an inability or unwillingness to be
nurturant. Subjects whose BSRI scores indicated that they
saw themselves as androgynous, however, performed this
"feminine" task as well as did the female subjects. In
another study, Bern (197 5) demonstrated that masculine and
androgynous subjects of both sexes performed better than
feminine subjects at a task that required the stereo
typically "masculine" behavior of independence in the face
of social pressure. A third study (Bern & Lenny, 197 6)
found that masculine men and feminine women were more
likely than androgynous women or men to choose activities
that were "appropriate" for their own sex and to reject
out-of-role activities. After performing cross-sex
21
activities, masculine men and feminine women also reported
experiencing more discomfort and feeling worse about
themselves than did androgynous subjects of either sex.
Other researchers have also reported positive
relationships between androgyny and participation in
out-of-sex behavior. Kelly, O'Brien, Hosford, and
Kinsinger (197 6) used a role-playing paradigm with college
students. They separated them first into the standard four
sex-role categories and asked them to play a nurturing,
warm and social role and then to play an assertive role.
Androgynous males and females were superior. Undifferen
tiated subjects were highly inept and socially ineffective.
Masculine and feminine types were equal, somewhere in the
middle. They concluded that good interpersonal skills
require a blend of masculinity and femininity.
Christall and Dean (197 6) administered the BSRI and
Personal Orientation Inventory (POI), a measure of
psychological health (Shostrum, 1964), to 64 graduate
students. They found that those who scored high on self-
actualization were also free of sex-role stereotypes.
Nevill (1977) also reported direct evidence for a positive
relationship between androgyny and psychological health.
Using the BSRI and two measures of psychological adjustment,
the POI and the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale (TSCS), she
found significant differences between androgynous and
nonandrogynous individuals. The androgynous group scored
22
higher on seven of the twelve POI scales: time competence,
self-actualizing values, capacity for intimate contact,
feeling reactivity, spontaneity, self-regard, and self
acceptance. This group also scored on the psychologically
healthier end of four of the seven TSCS scales: total
positive, general maladjustment, neurosis, and personality
disorder. The author concluded that a variety of role
behaviors, as exemplified by the androgynous individual,
appears to result in a higher standard of psychological
health.
Babladelis (1978) found similar results in a study of
sex-role concepts and flexibility. This study will be
reported here in detail because it represents an attempt to
extend the range of Bern's androgyny concept. Hypothesizing
that androgynous persons are more flexible in their
approaches to an array of personal, interpersonal, and
impersonal situations, Babladelis administered tests
selected to measure orientation toward others, inter
personal relations on behavioral and feeling levels, and
creative thinking, to 163 undergraduate psychology students
Scores were examined for differences between males and
females (on the basis of gender alone) and among sex-role
concept groups (on the basis of scores on Bern's test). The
results confirmed the expectation that androgynous persons
are more flexible in various ways: orientation toward
others and a variety of interpersonal behaviors and
_____ 23
feelings. Babladelis reported that:
in no case did androgynous persons show a signi
ficant preference for some mode of interpersonal
interaction on any level, feeling or behavioral,
whereas such preferences were discernible
between males and females (using gender only) and
between masculine and feminine sex-roles (using
the sex-role inventory scores). Masculine and
feminine persons differed significantly on both
expressed and feeling levels of interpersonal
interactions. Androgynous persons, on the other
hand, maintained a middle position by and large,
leaning equally frequently toward either masculine
or feminine choices in slight ways. Males and
females did not , differ in expected directions on
other measures: males expressed more control
toward others, females felt more control by others,
males recalled desiring their fathers to spend
more time with them and wanting their mothers to
show more affection to them. When classification
is based on sex-role concepts rather than on gender
alone, the above findings are repeated and
strengthened and additional differences are found.
(p. 104)
These studies all give some evidence that "appropriate"
sex-typing, as measured by the BSRI, is related to
behavioral inflexibility and a tendency not to adapt one's
role to the requirements of unfamiliar situations. In
contrast, androgyny seems to be associated with behavioral
flexibility.
Murray (197 6) had women do ideal and real self-ratings
on the BSRI. In this study, women's ideal self-ratings
showed more masculine traits than their real self-ratings.
Those women who were classified as androgynous were highest
on a measure of psychological health while those who were
classified as undifferentiated were lowest.
24
Williams (1973) hypothesized that high school girls
who conformed to the traditional feminine stereotype would
be better adjusted than those who did not. Contrary to his
expectations, he found that girls who saw themselves as
similar to their fathers in ascendance-dominance were
better adjusted than those who identified with their
mothers.
Results similar to those reported by Bern and other
researchers using the BSRI have been reported by
researchers using other recently developed tests of
masculinity-femininity. Berzins et al. (1976) tested 682
high school students of both sexes using the PRF ANDRO
Scale and Leary's Interpersonal Check List (Leary, 1957).
The results showed masculine-typed subjects to be dominant-
hostile, feminine-typed to be submissive-friendly,
androgynous-typed to be dominant-friendly, and undifferen
tiated to be submissive-hostile.
Spence et al. (1975), using their own instrument, the
Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ), studied the
relationships between androgyny, masculinity and femininity
with self-esteem scores. A sample of 430 college students
were tested. Self-esteem was measured by the Texas Social
Behavior Inventory (TSBI); sex-role attributes ratings and
sex-role stereotyping, by the PAQ. Subjects were placed in
groups based on their sex-role attribute scores. For
example, those above the median on masculinity were
________________________________________________________________2J5_
classified as high masculine, those below, low masculine.
They crossed the dichotomized masculinity and femininity
groups to produce a fourfold table for each sex. The cells
were high masculinity-high femininity (defining androgyny),
high masculinity-low femininity (traditional male), high
femininity-low masculinity (traditional female), and low
femininity-low masculinity (which Spence et al. called
undifferentiated). Comparing the mean self-esteem scores
of the four groups for each sex, they found that for each
sex self-esteem means were highest in the androgyny cell
and descended in the order given above. They concluded
that androgynous self-descriptions are predictive of high
self-esteem in both sexes.
The studies cited above indicate that the healthiest
individuals are not those who score at the extreme of their
sex-appropriate distributions on masculinity-femininity
scales. Rather, those classified as androgynous score
highest on measures of adjustment and mental health. Some
authors (O'Connor, Mann, & Bardwick, 1978; Spence &
Helmreich, 1978; White, 1979), however, have questioned the
generalizability of these findings on the basis of the
demographics of the samples used in the studies, typically
college students. In a critique of recent trends in the
measurement of androgyny, White (197 9) points out the
difficulty of this particular trend:
26
Most recent studies of sex differences and sex-
role identity have derived their conclusions
from subject populations which have consisted
primarily of college age students or children.
Often this limitation is not dealt with by the
investigator. After noting the special nature
of the sample, the writer discusses the findings
in terms of "males" and "females" rather than
"young adult males of nineteen" or "females in
their early twenties." Any differences found are
rarely described as a function of age or of
developmental level, but only of sex, and conclu
sions in most cases are drawn as if they pertained
to males and females in general. (p. 294)
Following this line of reasoning it has been suggested
(Spence & Helmreich, 1978) that groups which differ from
the college population on dimensions such as age, socio
economic status, conformity to sex-role stereotypes (i.e.,
sexual orientation, high achieving women in male-dominated
fields) might also differ in their distribution of scores
across the masculinity-femininity categories and in their
self-esteem ratings. Several researchers have attempted to
explore this hypothesis in replication studies with
selected subcultures. These studies will be reviewed in
the following section.
Replication Studies; Androgyny and
Self-Esteem in Noncollege Groups
Beane and Allen (1976), Spence, Helmreich, and Stapp
(1975), and Ward (1974) studied specially selected samples
to determine the consistency of the relationship between
sex-role type and social competence and self-esteem. They
administered the PAQ and the TSBI to groups of women
27
varsity athletes, women PhD scientists, and male and female
homosexuals. As predicted, the distribution of scores
among the four PAQ categories differed from those of
unselected college groups. When compared to college women,
women varsity athletes were overrepresented in the mascu-.'
line and androgynous categories and underrepresented in the
feminine category. Similar results were found in women
PhD scientists, particularly in a sample of highly
achieving social psychologists. Homosexual males scored
significantly lower than unselected male college students
on masculinity and androgyny and higher on femininity,
resulting in an elevation in the undifferentiated and
feminine categories. Androgynous individuals of both
sexes in each group reported the highest self-esteem,
followed by masculine, feminine and undifferentiated
individuals. Masculinity was also positively related to
self-esteem. Those classified as androgynous or masculine
listed more academic, extra-curricular, and athletic honors
received during adolescence. They also reported higher
estimates of dating frequency than those classified as
feminine or undifferentiated. In the homosexual sample,
those classified as undifferentiated or feminine had a
higher frequence of participation in psychotherapy.
O'Connor et al. (1978) replicated Spence et al. (1975)
using 91 upper-middle class men and women between the ages
28
of 4 0 and 50. The results generally supported those of
Spence et al. (1975).
The intent of the special group studies cited above
was to determine whether the basic patterns of relation
ships found in earlier androgyny research could be
replicated in noncollege populations. The rationale behind
this need for replication was the recognition that the
demographics of college samples limited the generaliz-
ability of research findings. In order to extend the
androgyny construct, special groups were selected on the
basis that they differed on at least one measurable
dimension from unselected college groups. However, with
the exception of the homosexuals, it appears that those
selected were quite similar to the college groups on
dimensions which seem related to both sex-role attitudes
and self-esteem. It may be that Spence and Helmreich
(1978) were referring to this issue in their review of
these studies:
It is possible that the educational, vocational,
and interpersonal activities of well-educated,
middle-class individuals in the American culture
are particularly likely to demand both agentic and
communal attributes for their successful execution.
The acquisition and exhibition of these two sets
of characteristics may therefore be reinforced in
middle-class individuals of both sexes and may
contribute to their feelings of social competence
and self-esteem to a greater degree than in
individuals from other cultural or socio-economic
groups. (p. 29)
Despite this explicit reference to the similarities between
29
their unselected college groups and their selected special
groups, Spence and Helmreich (1978) did not address this
as a possible source of bias and confusion in the
replication studies. In view of the fact that the
similarities between the two sets of subjects are all
qualities which have been found to correlate highly with
achievement, the findings of the replication studies may be
invalid since it is questionable whether the unselected and
selected groups differ enough to extend the generaliz-
ability of findings regarding androgyny. In addition, the
scientists, athletes and homosexuals in the replication
studies were all "borrowed" from other research projects
which were being conducted at the same time at the
University of Texas. Again, there is evidence here of
possible bias since the subjects' self-esteem scores may
have been inflated by their awareness of being unique and
their participation in extensive research of various types.
The preceding section has pointed to problems in the
existing research on androgyny and self-esteem. It
suggested that achievement motivation might have been a
confounding variable in studies which found self-esteem to
be a correlate of androgyny. This appears to be relevant
in the special group studies where the majority of subjects
were chosen because of their high achievement in academic
or professional areas and in the college studies since
college students are generally assumed to be above average
________________________________________________________________311
in achievement. The following section will present support
for the hunch that the relationship between androgyny and
self-esteem found in these studies could be due to the
effects of achievement motivation.
Relevant Research on Achievement,
Androgyny and Self-Esteem
Support was found in the literature for the
possibility that achievement motivation might have been a
confounding variable in the studies that found androgyny
predictive of self-esteem. A review of the 4 0 years of
test results on masculinity-femininity showed that higher
education correlates with greater sex-role flexibility and
less sex-role stereotyping (Constantinople, 197 3; Murray,
1976; Osofsky & Osofsky, 1972). Professional status has
also been shown to affect levels of sex-role. Murray
(197 6) found a positive correlation between professional
status and androgyny.
In their review of the psychological correlates,
dimensions, and antecedents of masculinity-femininity,
Spence and Helmreich (1978) acknowledge the relationship
between instrumental (masculine) characteristics, self
esteem and achievement. Developing an instrument to
measure achievement, the Work and Family Orientation
Questionnaire (WOFO), Spence and Helmreich (197 8) found
that androgynous high school students showed the highest
motivation, followed by masculine, then feminine, then
_____________________________________________________ 31_
undifferentiated. No significant sex differences were
found. High educational aspiration was found to be
positively related to both social class and self-esteem in
males and females.
In a discussion of the trends that emerged in their
research, Spence and Helmreich (1978) concluded that
androgynous individuals may acquire higher levels of
motivation than feminine or undifferentiated individuals
and also be better able than masculine individuals to cope
with the social aspects of their expression. She stated,
It is not unlikely that the development of achieve
ment motivation is mediated to a considerable
extent by the acquisition of masculine and
feminine attributes. The logic for this assertion
is that these instrumental and expressive character
istics provide basic orientations that can
facilitate or hinder the development and manifesta
tion of the various components of achievement moti
vation. Instrumentality may serve as a precursor
for mastery, work, and competitiveness, facilitat
ing the expression of these motives as they develop.
Expressiveness may mediate achievement motivation
through instilling the willingness both to work and
to accept the responsibility of caring for others
and through making the individual more sensitive to
the interpersonal components of achievement
behavior. Expressiveness may also facilitate the
social comparisons needed to evaluate performance
and set realistic levels of aspiration. (p. 225)
Although Spence and Helmreich do not consider this in their
discussion, it appears from their research that androgyny
and achievement motivation may not be two independent
variables.
A large and generally consistent body of research was
found in the literature on achievement motivation. Since
__________________________________ • __________________ 32
the initial work by McClelland, Atkinson, Clark, and Lowell
(1953) many different aspects of the achievement motive
(sometimes referred to as need for achievement, or n-ach)
have been explored. Some of these studies investigated the
personality characteristics of people with high achievement
motivation and found that high-achievers tended to behave
in certain ways. These studies are included here for the
purpose of providing further rationale for the hypothesis
that recent tests of androgyny may be measuring a
personality orientation that is broader than sex-role
typing, namely, achievement motivation.
Atkinson (1964) developed a model of achievement
motivation which described high achievers as individuals
with a stronger motive to achieve success (Ms) than a
motive to avoid failure (Maf); low achievers were conceived
of as having a stronger motive to avoid failure than to
achieve success* Mehrabian (1968, 1969) constructed
separate male and female measures of achieving tendency
based on Atkinson*s model. The results of McClelland et
al., Atkinson, and Mehrabian were consistent in finding
that achievement motivation correlated positively with a
broad range of personal adjustment variables and negatively
with measures of anxiety. Atkinson (1964) and Mehrabian
(1968, 1969) also found that high achievers have a more
realistic level of aspiration, have more positive feelings
aroused by success than negative feelings aroused by
33
failure, are better able to delay gratification, are more
independent in their interpersonal relationships, are less
susceptible to pressures to conform, and were less pampered
in childhood. Low achievers were found to experience
greater anxiety in situations where failure was possible
and greater motivation to avoid failure. Also, higher
achievers viewed themselves as having more control over
their lives than low achievers.
Mehrabian (1969) found that achieving tendency
correlated negatively with test anxiety, neuroticism, and
dogmatism for male subjects, but not for female subjects.
Wills (1974) attempted to determine the relationship
between level of self-actualization and self-concept,
values and achievement motivation. Again, the results
were different for women and men. Achievement motivation
did not significantly separate high from low self-
actualizing males, but it did for females. In a critique
of achievement motivation tests, Mehrabian and Bank (197 5)
discussed the apparent failure of such measures to relate
to women. Achievement motivation, then, is much less
understood in women and there appears to be no adequate
model for understanding this tendency in women. Recogniz
ing this problem, Mehrabian and Bank (197 8) attempted a
revision of his scale which would be more strongly related
to female achievement behaviors and applicable to both
34
sexes. However, most of what is known about achievement
motivation predates this recent revision and thus applies
better to men than to women.
The findings presented in the foregoing section
indicate that androgyny, achievement motivation and self
esteem are related. What remains unclear is how they are
related, and whether the nature of their relationships
differ in males and females. Some of the studies reviewed
challenged the recent belief that androgyny (high scores on
both masculine and feminine scales) is, itself, related to
self-esteem. Rather, the evidence suggested that in the
androgyny' and self-esteem research another already known
relationship was reaffirmed, namely, the relationship
between high achievement motivation and self-esteem.
Further support for this hypothesis was found in a number
of studies which found little difference between the high
androgynous and the masculine group (French & Lesser, 1964;
Kravetz, 1976; Spence et al., 1975). These results do not
validate the newly proposed theory of androgyny since
according to this theory the high androgynous group is
expected to be superior to the masculine-only or feminine-
only group on such measures as self-esteem, competence, or
coping skills. Rather, the results suggest that scores on
tests of androgyny may reflect an orientation broader than
sex-role typing. In other words, recent tests of androgyny
may be measuring something else.
• ______________________________35.
Kenworthy (1979) has also recommended caution regard
ing the relationship of self-esteem to measures of
androgyny. She discovered that on both the PAQ and the PRF
ANDRO, masculine sex-role items correlate more highly with
self-esteem than do feminine items. This means that the
more frequently an individual endorses masculine traits,
the greater the self-esteem .scores of that individual.
This observation raises another issue that has not yet been
addressed in the research, namely, that androgyny may be a
different kind of experience for women and men. Pointing
out that a balance of male and female valued traits are
more desirable in a man than in a woman, Kenworthy (197 9)
stated that:
the androgynous woman may learn to live with the
cultural price she pays for her androgyny, but she
must pay it, come what may. She is aware of the
problem and willingly pays the price because she
has the necessary self-esteem. (p. 234)
This suggests that for women high self-esteem may be a
prerequisite for androgynous development because androgyny
is not only less valued in women, it is discouraged.
The preceding section has presented findings that
indicate that existing models of both androgyny and
achievement motivation are inadequate for explaining these
behaviors in women. The suggestion was also made that
recent measures of these behaviors may not relate to women
as well as to men, and that measures of androgyny may be
measuring achievement motivation.
36
Androgyny: The Developmental Approach
Is androgyny a psychological trait, or is it an
advanced stage of personality integration? The research
thus far presented has treated androgyny as a psychological
trait. In this section a view of androgyny as a develop
mental stage, the final stage in human growth, is
presented. What follows provides a theoretical base for
one of the hypotheses of this study, that age is related
to androgyny in such a way that older subjects are expected
to be more androgynous than younger subjects.
Several theories of development suggest that the
developmental tasks of adulthood include increased
individuation in one's identity combined with greater
integration of divergent elements. According to Jung
(1958) and others (Neugarten & Gutmann, 1958), there is a
readiness to accept and blend one's masculine and feminine
elements which occurs in the late thirties and early
forties. This suggests that one task of adult life is to
become androgynous, to integrate the male and female sides
of one's nature. There has been very little research on
this process, however.
Bern treated androgyny as a psychological trait and
studied it as such. In contrast, Rebecca, Hefner, and
Oleshansky (197 6) proposed that androgyny is not a trait
but rather a developmental stage, the last stage in sex-
role development. This theory suggested that in the first
37
stage, "Undifferentiated Sex Roles," the child is largely
unaware of sex-role distinctions. During the second stage,
"Polarized Sex Roles," a person views masculinity and
femininity as opposites. At the third and final stage,
"Sex Role Transcendence," the individual defines
appropriate behavior in terms of what is situationally
appropriate rather than sex-role appropriate. In other
words, a person's sex-role development moves from a state
of unawareness, to a bipolar model of sex-roles, to a
dualistic model of sex-roles. These authors regard our
society as a Stage II society. That is, our society
facilitates development from the first stage to the second,
but inhibits development to Stage III. Individuals are not
likely, then, to achieve Stage III unless they are exposed
to conditions which encourage such development. No studies
were found in the literature on what conditions foster
androgynous development or growth from Stage II to Stage
III.
Bakan1s (1966) model of androgyny was also a develop
mental one. He proposed that the fundamental task of all
human beings is to balance agency and communion (p. 14).
Block et al. (197 3) attempted to integrate Bakan1s model
with Loevinger and Wessler's (1970) six stages of ego
development. According to Block et al., the process of
sex-role transcendence does not begin until Stage V
(Autonomy) and is finally realized at Stage VI
38
(Integration). This theory would suggest, then, that
androgyny is related to age.
Although the relationship between age and androgyny is
not at all clear, the studies reviewed in the foregoing
section suggest that older subjects would be more
androgynous than younger ones. Again, little attempt has
been made to empirically test this hypothesis. The only
relevant study on age and androgyny found in the literature
(White, 1979) limited its sample to women in their twenties
and thirties. The author concluded that it was difficult
to test whether age or developmental level influenced
androgyny because of the special characteristics of her
sample. She found no significant differences with age, but
suggested that this might have been because of her
particular sample, women in their twenties or thirties
rather than their forties or fifties when differences
might be expected (p. 305).
Summary
Recent studies of groups other than college students
have attempted to generalize the relationship found between
androgyny and self-esteem in college samples to other
selected groups. Special groups thought to differ from the
general population on at least one dimension (i.e.,
achievement, sexual orientation) were used. Female
scientists, female varsity athletes, and male and female
39
homosexuals, all of whom were subjects in other research
projects, were tested. The results supported previous
findings on the relationship between androgyny and self
esteem. Rationale was given, however, for questioning the
validity of using these studies to extend the generaliz-
ability of the college findings.
Support was found in the literature for the hypothesis
that achievement might have been a confounding variable in
the studies that found androgyny related to self-esteem.
A review of the research found that higher education,
professional status, and high achievement all correlate
with greater sex-role flexibility and less sexual stereo
typing .
To date there is insufficient evidence as to whether
or not androgyny is correlated with age. Other neglected
areas of research include the possible differences between
how men and women experience androgyny, and the conditions
which foster androgynous development. If, as the recent
research indicates, androgynous individuals are better
equipped than sex-typed individuals to cope with a variety
of situations, it is important to begin to identify the
conditions which foster the development of androgyny. One
way to do this is to find groups of people in which the
incidence of androgyny is higher than average and then
examine factors in their environment or life-style which
might be related to this.
_____________ 40
Rationale was presented in Chapter I for using a
population of women religious to study all four of the
problem areas which emerged in this review of androgyny
literature.
41
CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
Subjects
The first sample was composed of women religious, all
members of a religious order of women. Subjects were
randomly selected from the membership list of the Western
Province of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. This
population totals approximately 650 women of diverse
ethnic, educational and professional status, ranging in age
from 21-93 years. Although these women live a community
life within a male-dominated, hierachical and traditional
church, they can be characterized as a relatively liberal,
self-determined group with a collegial, participative form
of governance. The life-style of these women has undergone
considerable change since the Second Vatican Council (1962-
1965). From a largely authoritarian style of relating and
living, they have shifted to a mode that fosters and
requires personal growth, responsibility and shared
decision making.
Women religious were chosen as a subject population
because they were seen to provide an opportunity to study a
number of problems related to androgyny.
42
The second sample was composed of women college
students. Subjects were undergraduate students enrolled in
introductory psychology courses at Mount St. Mary's
College, a Catholic liberal arts college in Los Angeles.
They were included in the study for the purpose of
comparison with the nuns' group.
Procedures
Self-administered questionnaires were mailed to 100
women religious with a cover letter requesting their
participation in "a study of women's attitudes." They were
asked to complete and return the questionnaires within two
weeks. The letter informed them that approximately 3 0
minutes of uninterrupted time would be required to answer
the questionnaires and that no identification was necessary.
Uniform instructions were attached to each questionnaire
and the order of presentation was counterbalanced. A
return of 8 8 was received from the 100 subjects who had
been chosen at random. This comprised the women religious
sample.
The college sample received the same questionnaires
with the same instructions, but in this group the question
naires were administered on the first day of class to
students who were enrolled in the introductory psychology
courses for the spring semester. Ninety-five students
participated in the study.
43
Instruments
Personal Attributes Questionnaire
Short.Form (Appendix A)
This instrument, developed by Spence, Helmreich, and
Stapp (1974, 1975), was used to assess androgyny. This
version is composed of 24 bipolar items'describing personal
characteristics, on each of which respondents are to rate
themselves on a five-point scale. For example, "Not at all
aggressive A...B...C...D...E... Very aggressive." The
questionnaire is divided into three eight-item scales,
labeled Masculinity (M), Femininity (F), and Masculinity-
Femininity (M-F) . Each item is scored from - 0-4, a high
score on items assigned to the M and M-F scales indicating
an extreme masculine response and a high score on F scale
items indicating an extreme feminine response. Total
scores are obtained on each scale by adding the individual's
scores on the eight items. The range of possible values is
thus 0 to 32 for each scale.
Correlations between full scale scores and this
shortened 8-item version are reported as .93, .93, and .91
for M, F, and M-F respectively. The short form, despite
its brevity thus shows satisfactory reliability. Further
information on the development of the PAQ is reported in
Spence (1978).
44
Texas Social Behavior Inventory
Short Form (Appendix B)
The short, 16-item form of the Texas Social Behavior
Inventory (TSBI) (Helmreich & Stapp, 1974) was used to
measure self-esteem. The TSBI is composed of statements
designed to assess the individual's self-confidence and
competence in social situations. For each item respondents
rate themselves on a five-point scale, varying from "not at
all characteristic of me" to "very characteristic of me."
For example, "I am not likely to speak to people until they
speak to me." Responses are scored 0 to 4, high scores
indicating high self-esteem, and summed to yield
individuals' overall scores. The range of possible scores
is thus 0 to 64.
Factor analyses of the full (32-item) scale have
revealed three factors that may be labeled self-confidence,
social dominance, and social competence. Generally,
however, the scale appears to assess a quite unitary
concept of social self-esteem. Correlations of the TSBI
with the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale in a
sample of college students have been found to be relatively
low (.12 in women and .29 in men) (Spence, Helmreich, &
Stapp, 1975).
The correlations between the short and long forms for
a sample of college students given the latter was found to
be .96. For a sample of college students given the 16-item
45
version, the Cronbach alpha was .91. Evidence for the
construct validity of the TSBI can be found in such studies
as experimental investigations of interpersonal attraction,
in which predictions of the differential reactions of
individuals high and low in self-esteem to competent men
were successfully verified.
The TSBI was chosen for this study because of its
consistent use in previous studies of androgyny and self
esteem.
Measure of Individual Differences
in Achieving Tendency
(Appendix C)
This 38-item questionnaire (Mehrabian, 1978) was used
to measure achievement motivation. It is an expanded and
revised version of Mehrabian's (1969) scales based on a
general and large pool of items tapping most aspects of
achieving tendency identified in the literature and in
other measures of achievement.
Subjects respond to each item by using a nine-point
scale which ranges from +4 (strong agreement) to zero
(neither agreement nor disagreement) to -4 (strong
disagreement). For example, "I am very optimistic about my
work career." A total score is computed for each subject
by algebraically summing his or her responses to the
positively worded items and by subtracting from this
quantity the algebraic sum of his or her responses to the
_____________________________________________________________ 46
negatively worded items. Separate male and female norms
are given and recommended for use when subjects of one sex
only are being categorized (e.g., high, medium, low)
according to achieving tendency. The mean and standard
deviation for males were 55 and 34, respectively; for
females, 46 and 36.
The scale is balanced for response bias and has high
internal consistency as evidenced by a coefficient of .91.
The measure is also independent of social desirability as
it correlated .02 with the Crowne and Marlowe (1960) social
desirability scale. Correlations with the Jackson (1967)
and Mehrabian (1969) measures of achieving tendency were
statistically significant and high.
Personal Information Questionnaire
(Appendix D)
In addition to the PAQ, the TSBI and the MAT each
person was asked to supply demographic data relating to age,
education and profession. The information on age was
needed to test the hypothesis related to age and androgyny.
The other information was sought so that a post facto
analysis could be made.
Scoring of the Personal
Attributes Questionnaire
Masculinity (M) and femininity (F) scores were
determined for each subject. Median M and F scores were
computed for both subject populations separately. The
47
medians for the M scale turned out to be the same for the
college students and the nuns (M = 21); those for the F
scale turned out to be one point higher in the college
group (F = 26) than in the nuns' group (F = 25). Using the
categorical scoring procedure recommended by Spence (1978)
and Bern (1977), median M and F scores were obtained for the
total sample (M = 21; F = 26) and subjects were then
classified into one of four categories based on median
splits. This meant that subjects who scored above the
median on the masculinity scale and below the median on the
femininity scale (HM/LF) were categorized as masculine
typed. Subjects who scored above the median on masculinity
and above the median on femininity were categorized as
androgynous (HM/HF). Subjects who scored below the median
on masculinity and above the median on femininity were
categorized as feminine (LM/HF), and subjects who scored
below the median on both masculinity and femininity were
categorized as undifferentiated (LM/LF).
48
CHAPTER IV
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Results
Hypothesis 1; Androgyny is positively correlated
to self-esteem.
Means for self-esteem broken down by group (women
religious vs. college students) and PAQ classification
(androgynous vs. nonandrogynous) are given in Table 1. No
significant interaction was found, F (1, 179) = .729, n.s.,
nor was there a significant main effect for group
F (1, 179) = .978, n.s. However, a significant main effect
for PAQ classification was found, F (1, 179) = 22.18,
p < .05. As predicted, androgynous subjects were found to
score higher on self-esteem.
Hypothesis 2; Androgyny is positively correlated
to achievement motivation.
Means for achievement motivation broken down by group
(women religious vs. college students) and PAQ classifica
tion (androgynous vs. nonandrogynous) are given in Table 2.
No significant interaction was found F (1, 179) = .726, n.s.
Significant main effects for group, F (1, 179) = 7.26,
49
Table 1
Means for Self-Esteem Compared by
Group and PAQ Classification
PAQ Classification
Group
Androgynous Nonandrogynous
Women 'Religious 46.35 41.43 42.55
College Students 48.63 41.43
\ 47.72 41.43
43.71
Note. n = 88 women religious and 95 college students.
Table 2
Means for Achievement Motivation Compared by
Group and PAQ Classification
PAQ Classficiation
Group Androgynous Nonandrogynous
Women Religious 49.91 64.30 53.18
College Students 58.45 81.97
54.08 74.90
65.87
Note. n = 88 women religious and 95 college students.
50
£ < .05 and for PAQ classification, F (1, 179) = 13.64,
p < .05, were found. Specifically, as predicted,
androgynous subjects scored higher on achievement motiva
tion than nonandrogynous subjects. In addition, college
students scored higher on achievement motivation than
women religious.
Hypothesis 3: Achievement motivation is positively
correlated to self-esteem.
Significant correlations were found between achieve
ment motivation and self-esteem for women religious,
r (88) = .49, p < .05, and college students, r (95) = .55,
p < .05.
Hypothesis 4: The positive correlation between
androgyny and self-esteem is due
to their mutual relationship to
achievement motivation.
This hypothesis was tested by means of a 2 x 2 ANCOVA.
Group (women religious vs, college students) and PAQ
classification (androgynous vs. nonandrogynous) were the
independent variables and achievement motivation was the
covariate. In this analysis the effect of PAQ classifica
tion was significant, F (1, 78) = 28.4, p < .05. This
result indicates that the effect of androgyny on self
esteem was significant even when the effect of achievement
______51
motivation was controlled. Thus, this hypothesis was not
entirely supported. However, as shown in Table 3, the
magnitude of the difference in self-esteem scores between
the androgynous subjects and the nonandrogynous subjects
was significantly diminished when the effect of achievement
motivation was partialed out.
Hypothesis 5: The relationships described in
hypotheses 1-3 hold for a sample
of women religious as well as for
a sample of college students.
As described above, there were no significant inter
actions between group (women religious vs. college
students) and PAQ classification (androgynous vs.
nonandrogynous). Thus, results for college students and
women religious were identical.
Hypothesis 6; The incidence of androgyny is
greater in a sample of women
religious than in a sample of
college students.
Table 4 shows the frequencies broken down by group
(college women vs. women religious) and PAQ classification.
Chi square analysis indicated that there was no relation
ship between group and PAQ classification, X2 (1) = 1.38,
n.s. It is noteworthy that the trend was for college
52
Table 3
Difference Between Androgynous and
Nonandrogynous Subjects on Mean
. Self-Esteem with Achievement
Motivation Not Controlled
and Controlled
Androgynous Nonandrogynous
Achievement Motivation
Not Controlled 47.72 41.43
Controlled 45.99 42.08
Table 4
Contingency Table for Group and
PAQ Classification
Androgynous Nonandrogynous
Group
Women Religious 2 0 68
College Students 30 65
53
students to be proportionately more androgynous than women
religious which was contrary to the original hypothesis.
Hypothesis 7; Older subjects will be significantly
more androgynous than younger
subjects.
For this analysis, women religious were analyzed
separately. Mean age for androgynous and nonandrogynous
women religious are shown in Table 5. As hypothesized,
results indicated that androgynous subjects were older,
t (86) = -1.92, p < .06.
Table 5
Age of Women Religious by
PAQ Classification
Mean Age n t
PAQ
Androgynous 51.85 20 -1.92*
Nonandrogynous 45.87 68
*p < .05.
54
Other Findings
Means for self-esteem and achievement motivation
broken down by group (women religious vs. college students)
and four-way PAQ classification (androgynous, masculine,
feminine, undifferentiated) are given in Table 6. Women
religious classified as masculine had slightly higher mean
self-esteem scores (46.8) than androgynous women religious
(46.4). While this is not a significant difference, it
indicates that for this sample of women the androgynous
group was not superior to the masculine group on self
esteem. This was not true for the college sample whose
pattern of sex-role classification and self-esteem scores
replicated the pattern found in previous studies in which
the highest self-esteem was found in androgynous subjects,
followed by the masculine, feminine and undifferentiated.
Differing patterns on mean achievement motivation
relative to sex-role classification also emerged in the two
samples. Again, the college sample reflected previous
findings in which those classified as androgynous were
highest in achievement, followed next by those classified
as masculine. This pattern was reversed in the religious
sample, with those classified as androgynous having
significantly lower scores on achievement motivation than
the masculine group. As mentioned above, women religious
generally scored lower on a measure of achievement
55
Table 6
Means for Self-Esteem and Achievement Motivation
Compared by Group and Four-Way
PAQ Classification
PAQ Classification
Androgynous Masculine Feminine Undifferentiated
Self-Esteem
Women Religious 46.35 (23)
46.81 (26) 41.0 (25)
36.78 (26)
College Students 48.63 (32) 46.75 (25) 42.85 (22) 33.55 (21)
Achievement Motivation
Women Religious 64.3 (23) 76.14 (26) 39.43 (25) 35.3 (26)
College Students 81.96 (32) 76.58 (25) 53.14 (22) 42.25 (21)
Note. Numbers in parentheses indicate the number of subjects in each group.
U i
O' !
motivation than did college students in this study. The
only exception to this was in the masculine typed group
where scores on achievement motivation for both samples
were similar.
Discussion
The purpose of this study was fourfold. First, it
explored the role of achievement motivation in the relation
ship between androgyny and self-esteem. Second, it
attempted to extend the generality of previous (college)
studies on androgyny by examining the pattern of sex-role
attribute ratings and the relationship between androgyny
and self-esteem in a sample of women religious and a sample
of women college undergraduates. Third, it studied group
differences in androgyny between women religious and
college students to see if the life-style of women
religious effected a higher incidence of androgyny. And
finally, it looked at the relationship between age and
androgyny in order to test the theoretical assumption that
the integration of masculinity and femininity (androgyny)
is an advanced stage of psychological development and
therefore would be more characteristic of older individuals.
Seven research hypotheses were tested and the analyses of
these were presented in the previous section. Those
results are discussed in this chapter as they relate to the
four aims of the study.
57
Is the Relationship Between
Androgyny and Self-Esteem
Due to Achievement
Motivation?
Contemporary research on androgyny has been consistent
in reporting that individuals who possess a high degree of
both masculine and feminine sex-role attributes are better
adjusted and more socially competent than those who are
traditionally sex-typed; that is, who possess primarily
those characteristics stereotypically associated with their
gender. Consequently, androgyny has become a new model of
mental health. A review of the literature on androgyny and
self-esteem suggested, however, that this conclusion might
be premature. The fact that those who scored high on
recent measures of androgyny seemed to possess personality
characteristics very similar to those found in high
achievers raised the possibility that these tests of
androgyny might be measuring an orientation broader than
sex-role flexibility, namely, achievement motivation. The
literature on achievement motivation lent support to this
hypothesis with consistent evidence showing achievement
motivation correlated with self-esteem.
Prior to testing the hypothesis that the relationship
between androgyny and self-esteem was spurious, that is,
due to their mutual relationship to achievement, several
other hypotheses had to be tested. First, it had to be
shown that androgyny was correlated with self-esteem; next,
58
that androgyny was correlated with achievement motivation;
and then, that achievement motivation was correlated with
self-esteem. As reported in the previous section, these
three hypotheses were supported in both a sample of women
religious and a sample of college students. Positive
correlations were found between (a) androgyny and self
esteem, (b) androgyny and achievement motivation, and (c)
achievement motivation and self-esteem. Hypothesis 4,
which predicted that the relationship between androgyny and
self-esteem was due to the effects of achievement motiva
tion, was then tested. The results did not confirm this
hypothesis, but instead indicated that even when the
effects of achievement motivation were partialed out,
androgyny and self-esteem were correlated. However, it was
noted that the magnitude of difference between the self
esteem scores of the androgynous group compared to the
nonandrogynous group was decreased significantly when
achievement motivation was statistically controlled. This
finding is important because it indicates a trend in the
hypothesized direction. That is, the result of
statistically controlling for the effects of achievement
motivation was that the strength of the relationship
between androgyny and self-esteem was decreased, although
not eliminated as predicted.
The answer, then, to the question of whether the
relationship between androgyny and self-esteem is due to
_____ 59
the effects of achievement is no. Clearly, the PAQ, a
recent measure of androgyny, is measuring a personality
variable that differs from achievement motivation.
However, it is also apparent from these results that the
presence.of achievement motivation, when uncontrolled,
inflates the degree of the relationship between androgyny
and self-esteem, creating the impression that there is a
stronger correlation between these two variables than
really exists.
Are Previous Findings on Androgyny
Replicable in a Population of
Women Religious?
A second aim in this study was to determine whether
recent research findings on androgyny could be replicated
in a population of women religious as well as in a college
population of women. As predicted in Hypothesis 5, those
classified as androgynous in both the women religious
sample and the college sample scored higher on measures of
self-esteem and achievement motivation than did the
nonandrogynous subjects. These results supported those
reported in previous studies. The androgynous women in
this study were found to be better adjusted and more fully
functioning than the nonandrogynous women.
A departure from previous research was noted, however,
when the pattern of scores for each of the four sex-role
classifications was examined (mean self-esteem and mean
60
achievement for androgynous vs. masculine vs. feminine vs.
undifferentiated, as opposed to mean self-esteem and mean
achievement for androgynous vs. nonandrogynous. In the
college sample, as was true in previous studies, those
classified as androgynous had the highest mean self-esteem
and achievement scores, followed in order by the masculine,
feminine and undifferentiated. In the women religious
sample, however, the masculine group was slightly higher on
mean self-esteem and significantly higher on mean achieve
ment than the androgynous group. The reasons for this
difference in the women religious sample is not
immediately clear, but the emergence of such a departure
from previous findings is significant in terms of androgyny
theory according to which the androgynous group should be
superior to each of the other groups on both self-esteem
and achievement.
Another difference that was found between the two
samples in this study was that androgynous college students
were significantly higher on achievement motivation than
androgynous women religious. In fact, women religious in
all but the masculine category were significantly lower in
achievement motivation than college women. This difference
may reflect the value system and philosophy of the women
religious. It may be that the religious and communal life
style of this group effects their motive to achieve in such
a way that it is either decreased or sublimated.
, £1.
Are Women Religious More
Androgynous than
College Women?
This study hypothesized that because of certain
characteristics of the life-style of women religious this
population might have a higher incidence of androgynous
individuals than would be found in a population of women
college students. The search for groups of androgynous
people was seen as an important first step in gaining
insight into conditions which foster androgynous develop
ment. Contrary to what was predicted, women religious were
not more androgynous than college students. In fact, the
trend, although not statistically significant, was in the
opposite direction. Thus, there was no significant
difference between the number of androgynous women
religious and the number of college students, but there
were proportionately more androgynous college subjects.
This may indicate that attitudes and beliefs about what is
appropriate sex-role behavior become so deeply ingrained in
one's personality that even when one is free to think and
act differently, one cannot do so. Perhaps past cultural
conditioning and early childhood training have such a
powerful effect on one's sex-role attitudes that such
stereotypes resist change even when one's present environ
ment supports this change. The college students in this
study, because of growing up in an era of greater sex-role
flexibility than the older women religious sample, do not
62
have the same history of cultural conditioning to overcome.
With regard to conditions which foster androgynous
development, this would suggest that early conditioning in
sex-role attitudes has a stronger influence on androgyny
than other environmental influences which occur later on.
Is Androgyny Related to Age?
The third area explored in this study had to do with a
controversial issue about the nature of androgyny. Recent
research on androgyny has considered androgyny in two ways,
as a psychological trait and as an advanced stage of
personality integration. Theoretical, but not empirical,
support was found in the literature for the developmental
viewpoint. This study appeared to be the first attempt to
provide data which would support the theories of Jung
(1933), Bakan (1966), and Block (1973), all of which held
that androgyny is a developmental stage and would therefore
be more characteristic of older individuals. This study
analyzed the relationship between androgyny and age in the
women religious sample whose ages ranged from 21-88 years.
As predicted, older women religious were significantly more
androgynous than younger women religious. Thus, the
results of this research supported the theoretical view
that androgyny is an advanced stage of personality develop
ment .
63
CHAPTER V
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
Recent sex-role research has challenged the tradi
tional view that masculinity and femininity are diametri
cally opposed attributes. The belief that the psychological
characteristics stereotypically associated with men and
women essentially preclude each other has been replaced
with a dualistic model in which masculinity and femininity
are conceived as separate dimensions which vary more or
less independently.
Contemporary studies on androgyny and sex-typing have
focused on the relative adjustment of men and women
classified as more or less masculine, feminine, or
androgynous. These studies found that individuals
classified as androgynous scored highest on measures of
adjustment and mental health. Consequently, androgyny has
been proposed as a new model of mental health.
A possibility that had not been explored, however, was
that scores on recently developed tests of androgyny might
be reflecting an orientation broader than sex-typing.
Examination of androgyny and self-esteem research indicated
that those individuals who gave androgynous self
descriptions were also likely to be high achievers. Were
64
tests of androgyny, then, measuring what they claimed to
measure or were they really measuring achievement
motivation? This study set out to answer this question.
Scores on the Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ), a
popular measure of androgyny, the Texas Social Behavior
Inventory (TSBI), a measure of self-esteem, and the
Mehrabian Measure of Achieving Tendency (MAT), a measure of
achievement motivation, were obtained for a sample of 88
women religious and a sample of 95 college students. These
data were analyzed to determine how much achievement
motivation contributed to the relationship between
androgyny and self-esteem. Contrary to what was predicted,
achievement motivation did not contribute significantly to
this relationship. Thus, it was concluded that the PAQ, a
recent measure of androgyny, is measuring a variable that
is independent of achievement motivation.
A second question which was addressed in this study
was whether recent findings on androgyny, based primarily
on research with college students, could be replicated in a
noncollege population. Women religious were chosen for
this purpose with the rationale that their sex-role
attitudes and distribution of androgyny scores might be
expected to differ from those of college students. Data
from both the women religious sample and the college sample
were analyzed and then compared with previous research
findings. The findings of this study were identical to
______________________65.
those reported in the earlier college studies, that is,
those classified as androgynous scored higher on measures
of self-esteem and achievement motivation than
nonandrogynous subjects. Clearly, androgynous self-
descriptions were predictive of positive mental health in
both the college and the noncollege subjects. Thus, this
study successfully replicated earlier findings and achieved
its purpose of extending the generality of androgyny
research beyond the college population. These results are
also relevant to the question raised in recent writings
regarding the possible negative effects of androgyny on
women. For both samples of women in the study, there was
no evidence that androgyny was anything but a positive
characteristic in women.
This study was also concerned with gaining insight
into conditions which might foster androgynous development.
Specifically, an' attempt was made to assess the impact of a
particular environment or life-style on sex-typing. It was
hypothesized that if environment significantly influences
one's sex-typing and degree of flexibility then certain
characteristics in the subculture of a religious community
of women might effect a higher incidence of psychological
androgyny in this group. This, however, was not found to
be the case. Contrary to what was predicted, women
religious were not more androgynous than college women. In
fact, the trend was in the opposite direction. This
66
unexpected finding may have an important implication for
fostering androgynous development; that is, that early
childhood conditioning in sex-role attitudes may have a
stronger influence on sex-role flexibility than later
environmental influences.
A final question which this study explored was whether
androgyny should be treated as a psychological trait or an
advanced stage of personality development. The review of
literature found theoretical but not empirical support for
regarding androgyny as a.developmental stage. This study
appeared to be the first to empirically test the theory of
Jung, Bakan, Block, and others, which suggest that older
individuals would be more androgynous than younger ones.
The sample of women religious, with an age range of 21-88
years, provided an ideal opportunity to study age
differences in androgyny. As predicted, older subjects
were found to be significantly more androgynous than
younger subjects. This finding is important because it
provides the first empirical support for a developmental
theory of androgyny.
67
APPENDIXES
68
APPENDIX A
PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES QUESTIONNAIRE
69
PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES QUESTIONNAIRE
The items below inquire about what kind of person you
think you are. Each item consists of a pair of character
istics, with the letters A-E in between. For example,
Not at all
artistic A ...B...C...D...E Very artistic
Each pair describes contradictory characteristics—
that.is, you cannot be both at the time, such as very
artistic and not at -all artistic.
The letters form a scale between the two extremes.
You are to choose a letter which describes where you fall
on the scale. For example, if you think you have no
artistic ability, you would choose A. If you think you are
pretty good, you might choose D. If you are only medium,
you might choose C, and so forth.
Scale
M-F 1. Not at all
aggressive A. . . .R. . .C> ..D. , . .E
Very
aggressive
M 2. Not at all
independent A. , . ,C. .
Very
independent
F ' 3; Not at all
emotional A. . , .R. . .C. ..D. . . .E Very emotional
M-F 4 . Very
submissive A. .
/
Very dominant
M-F 5. Not at all
excitable in
a major
crisis A. . . .c..
Very excitable
in a major
crisis
M 6. Very passive A. . , . B .. .c. ..D. . . .E Very active
F 7. Not at all
able to
devote self
completely
to others A. , . . R .. .c...D. , . .E
Able to
devote self
completely
to others
F 8. Very rough A. , Very gentle
70
Scale
F 9. Not at all
helpful to
others A. . .B. . .C. . .D. .E
Very helpful
to others
M - iO. Not at all
competitive A. .B. . .C. . .D. .E
Very
competitive
M-F 11. Very home
oriented A. . .B. .C. . .D . .E Very worldly
F 12. Not at all
kind A . .B. .C. .D. .E Very kind
M-F 13. Indifferent
to others'
approval A. .B. .C. .D. .E
Highly needful
of others'
approval
M-F 14 . Feelings not
easily hurt A. .B. .C. .D . .E
Feelings
easily hurt
F *15. Not at all
aware of
feelings
of others A. .B. .C. .D . .E
Very aware
of feelings
of others
M 16.
Can make
decisions
easily A. .B. .C. .D. .E
Have
difficulty
making
decisions
M 17. Give up
very easily A. .B. .C. .D. .E
Never give up
easily
, M-F 18. Never
cry A , .B. .C. .D. .E
Cry
very easily
M - 1 - 9 .' Not at all
self-
confident A. .B. .c. .D. .E
Very
self-
confident
M 20.
- A
Feel very
inferior A. .B. .c. .D. .E
Feel very
superior
F 21. /?Not at all
understanding
of others A. .c. .E
Very
understanding
of others
71
Scale
F .22. Very cold in
relations
with others A. , . .C. ,
Very warm in
relations
with others
M-F 23. Very little
need for
security A. , . .B. . . .C. , . .D. , . .E
Very strong
need for
security
M 24. * Go to pieces
under
pressure A. . . .B. . . .C. . . .D. . , . E
Stand up well
under
pressure
72
APPENDIX B
TEXAS SOCIAL BEHAVIOR INVENTORY
73
TEXAS SOCIAL BEHAVIOR INVENTORY
The Social Behavior Inventory asks you to describe
your reactions and feelings when you are around other
people. Each item has a scale, marked with the letters A,
B, C, D, and E, with (A) indicating "Not at all character-
istic of me" and (E) "Very characteristic of me," and the
other letters, points in between.
For each item, choose the letter which best describes
how characteristic the item is of you.
1. I am not likely to speak to people until they speak
to me.
A B C D E
Not at all
characteristic
of me
Not very Slightly Fairly Very much
characteristic
of me
2. I would describe myself as self-confident.
A B C D E
Not at all
characteristic
of me
Not very Slightly Fairly Very much
characteristic
of me
3. I feel confident of my appearance.
A B C D E
Not at all
characteristic
of me
Not very Slightly Fairly Very much
characteristic
of me
4. I am a good mixer.
A B C D E
Not at all
characteristic
of me
Not very Slightly Fairly Very much
characteristic
of me
74
5. When in a
the right
group of people, I have trouble thinking of
things to say.
A B C D E
Not at all
characteristic
of me
Not very Slightly Fairly Very much
characteristic
of me
6. When in a group of people, I usually do what the
others want rather than make suggestions.
A B C D E
Not at all
characteristic
of me
Not very Slightly Fairly Very much
characteristic
of me
7. When I am in disagreement with
opinion usually prevails.
other people, my
A B C D E
Not at all
characteristic
of me
Not very Slightly Fairly Very much
characteristic
of me
8. I would describe myself as one
situations.
who attempts to master
A B C D E
Not at all
characteristic
of me
Not very Slightly Fairly Very much
characteristic
of me
9. Other people look up to me.
A B C D E
Not at all
characteristic
of me
Not very Slightly Fairly Very much
characteristic
of me
10. I enjoy social gatherings just to be with people.
A B C D E
Not at all
characteristic
of me
Not very Slightly Fairly Very much
characteristic
of me
75
11. I make a point of looking other people in the eye.
A B C D E
Not at all Not very
characteristic
of me
Slightly Fairly Very much
characteristic
of me
12. I cannot seem to get others to notice me.
A B C D E
Not at all Not very
characteristic
of me
Slightly Fairly Very much
characteristic
of me
13. I would rather not have very much responsibility for
other people.
A B C D E
Not at all Not very
characteristic
of me
Slightly Fairly Very much
characteristic
of me
14. I feel comfortable being approached by
position of authority.
someone in a
A B C D E
Not at all Not very
characteristic
of me
Slightly Fairly Very much
characteristic
of me
15. I would describe myself as indecisive.
A B C D E
Not at all Not very
characteristic
of me
Slightly Fairly Very much
characteristic
of me
16. I have no doubts about my social competence.
A B C D E
Not at all Not very
characteristic
of me
Slightly Fairly Very much
characteristic
of me
76
APPENDIX C
A QUESTIONNAIRE MEASURE OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
IN ACHIEVING TENDENCY
77
A QUESTIONNAIRE MEASURE OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
IN ACHIEVING TENDENCY
Please use the following scale to indicate the degree
of your agreement or disagreement with each of the state-
ments on the following pages. Record your answers in the
spaces provided below.
+4 = very strong agreement
+ 3 = strong agreement
+2 = moderate agreement
+1 = slight agreement
0 = neither agreement nor disagreement
-1 = slight disagreement
-2 = moderate disagreement
-3 = strong disagreement
-4 = very strong disagreement
1. 9. . 17. 25. 33.
2. 10. 18. 26. 34.
3. 11. 19. 27. 35.
4. 12. 20. 28. 36.
5. 13. 21. 29. 37.
6. 14. 22. 30. 38.
7. 15. 23. 31.
8. 16. 24. 32.
78
1. I usually end up carrying out the things I plan at
work.
2. I have difficulty working in a new and unfamiliar
situation.
3. I am very optimistic about my work career.
4. I don't usually tackle problems that others have
found to be difficult.
5. I am hesitant about making important decisions at work,
6. The idea of struggling my way to the top does not
appeal to me.
7. I would prefer a job which is important, difficult,
and involves a 50% chance of failure to a job which
somewhat important but not difficult.
is
8. I am usually tempted to take on more responsibilities
than a job originally entails.
9. The thought of having to take on a new job would
bother me.
10. I find it especially satisfying to complete an
important job that required a lot of effort.
11. I don't work well under pressure.
12. I believe that if I try hard enough, I will be able
reach my goals in life.
to
13. I take pride in my work.
14. Learning new skills doesn't excite me very much.
15. I only work as hard as I have to.
16. I tend to set very difficult goals for myself.
17. I like tasks that require little effort once I've
learned them.
18 . I am ambitious.
19. I prefer small daily projects to long-term ones.
20. I really enjoy a job that involves overcoming
obstacles.
79
21. I appreciate opportunities to discover my own
strengths and weaknesses.
22. I find little satisfaction in working hard.
23. These days, I see little chance for promotion on the
job unless a person gets a break.
24. Solving a simple problem is not as satisfying to me as
trying a difficult one.
25. I prefer a job which requires original thinking.
26. I like a job which doesn't require my making risky
decisions.
27. I only work because I have to.
28. I often succeed in reaching important goals I've set
for myself.
29. I feel relief rather than satisfaction when I have
finally completed a difficult task.
30. I perform best in competitive situations.
31. Constant work toward goals is not my idea of rewarding
life.
32. I more often attempt difficult tasks that I am not
sure I can do than easier tasks I believe I can do.
33. I am not satisfied unless I excel in my work.
34. I don't like to have the responsibility of handling a
difficult situation.
35. I prefer my work to be filled with challenging tasks.
36. When I do a job, I set high standards for myself
regardless of what others do.
37. I try to anticipate and avoid situations where there
is a moderate chance of failure.
38. I would rather do something at which I feel confident
and relaxed than something which is challenging and
difficult.
80
APPENDIX D
PERSONAL INFORMATION QUESTIONNAIRES
81
PERSONAL INFORMATION QUESTIONNAIRE
(Women Religious)
Code #___________ Age ____
Education (highest degree) _____ Major __
Present Occupation _____________________________
Past occupations or positions held ___________
Years in religious community_____
Have you held or are you now holding any position(s) of
professional or CSJ community leadership?
Yes _____ No______
If yes, describe. __________________________________________
82
PERSONAL INFORMATION QUESTIONNAIRE
(College Students)
Age _____ (circle) Male (circle) Freshman
Female Sophomore
Junior
Senior
Graduate
Parents' Socioeconomic status: (circle) Lower
Middle
Upper
Have you been or are you now employed? (circle) Yes No
If yes, position(s) held: _____________________________
Mother's profession _________________________________
Father's profession _________________________________
Religion ____________________
Religious background growing up: (circle) Strong
Medium
Weak
83
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Creator Cannon, Noreen (author)

Core Title Psychological androgyny: A study of its relationship to self-esteem, achievement motivation, age, and group membership in women religious and women college students

Degree Doctor of Philosophy

Degree Program Education

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag Gender Studies,OAI-PMH Harvest,Psychology, clinical,women's studies

Language English

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c26-497829

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