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41-397: "In the field of psychology, much research is conducted involving individuals' perceptions of gender roles, and behavioral as well as attitudinal correlates. Gender roles may be defined as "expectations about what is appropriate behavior for each sex". One can also add to this definition the expectations which are held about appropriate personality characteristics." The Bem Sex-Role Inventory

82-520: A 1973 sample for 444 males and 279 females and a 1978 sample of 340 females and 476 males all also from Stanford University undergraduates. Backtracking, however, the actual first scale that led to the creation of the Bem Sex Role Inventory was by Terman and Miles in 1936. The main thought behind it that brought about the idea of a measuring scale/test, was that males were thought to only have masculinity traits and personalities for it

123-423: A different resulting categorization. Since the median split method bases scores more heavily on sample characteristics, a participant can be categorized differently based on the sample of subjects with whom they take the test. For example, results may differ if the test was administered to a group of marines versus students at a private girls high school. This means that a person's classification will be dependent upon

164-406: A number of other reasons, argue against using objective cut-off values for internal consistency measures. Alpha is also a function of the number of items, so shorter scales will often have lower reliability estimates yet still be preferable in many situations because they are lower burden. An alternative way of thinking about internal consistency is that it is the extent to which all of the items of

205-458: A seven-point scale. These attributes reflect the definition of masculinity (20 questions) and femininity (20 questions), and the remaining 20 questions were merely filler questions (Bem, 1993). In this inventory the feminine and masculine items were chosen on what was culturally appropriate for males and females at that time in the early 1970s. The BSRI was later used to measure psychological flexibility and behavioral indicators. Bem also developed

246-421: A sex-typed classification is the result of scoring above half the comparison group in only one gender category. What defines a typical male or female, in terms of characteristics, has drastically changed and in many instances there has been visible reduction in both males and females with their respective characteristics. On the contrary, both genders are actually identifying with more traits that are labeled under

287-416: A sex-typed masculine or feminine score is the result of more traits belonging in one or the other category. The fourth type of score, undifferentiated, was seen as the result of extremely low masculine and feminine traits. However, after the change in scoring technique, androgynous is the result of scoring above the median in both masculine and feminine categories. Sex-typed scores, masculine and feminine, are

328-466: A subjects' resulting gender placement. The degree of reliability of each scoring technique is up for debate. When comparing the original t-ratio scoring (comparing the difference between the participant's Masculinity and Femininity scores to statistically typical differences between these) to the newly endorsed technique of classification based on scores falling above or below a sample's median score for Masculinity and Femininity, 42.3% of participants had

369-414: A test measure several unrelated latent variables, the average item correlation in such cases will be greater than zero. Thus, whereas the ideal of measurement is for all items of a test to measure the same latent variable, alpha has been demonstrated many times to attain quite high values even when the set of items measures several unrelated latent variables. The hierarchical "coefficient omega" may be

410-399: A test measure the same latent variable . The advantage of this perspective over the notion of a high average correlation among the items of a test – the perspective underlying Cronbach's alpha – is that the average item correlation is affected by skewness (in the distribution of item correlations) just as any other average is. Thus, whereas the modal item correlation is zero when the items of

451-479: A working-class family with one younger sister, Beverly. Both of Bem's parents worked throughout her life, so she grew up with the assumption that she would always be working. Her mother encouraged her to be the absolute best that she could be, and that "being just a housewife was not very desirable." Bem's first career goal was to be a secretary like her mother, so that she could have her own phone and desk – symbols of autonomy and status that her father never had. Bem

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492-423: Is a self-report inventory , how reliable the assessment is depends on how accurately participants report their behaviors and attitudes. An androgynous score is the result of extremely masculine and feminine scores and an undifferentiated score is the result of extremely low masculine and feminine scores. It has been theorized that perhaps tendencies to rate oneself extremely low and extremely high on traits can affect

533-504: Is as follows: Very high reliabilities (0.95 or higher) are not necessarily desirable, as this indicates that the items may be redundant. The goal in designing a reliable instrument is for scores on similar items to be related (internally consistent), but for each to contribute some unique information as well. Note further that Cronbach's alpha is necessarily higher for tests measuring more narrow constructs, and lower when more generic, broad constructs are measured. This phenomenon, along with

574-664: Is demonstrated when behavior is reflective of one's environment. For example, a woman demonstrating knowledge of sports at a basketball game is appropriate. Androgyny may also blend modalities. An example of androgyny blending modalities would be a woman being both assertive and compassionate when firing someone from a job. Sandra Bem received many awards for her research. Her first was the American Psychological Association Distinguished Scientific Award for an Early Career contribution to Psychology in 1976. In 1977 she

615-522: Is due to traditional gender roles associated with either being masculine or feminine, weakening. As society is striving more towards equality, perceptions are changing on what both genders are capable of. Sandra Bem Sandra Ruth Lipsitz Bem (June 22, 1944 – May 20, 2014) was an American psychologist known for her works in androgyny and gender studies . Her pioneering work on gender roles , gender polarization and gender stereotypes led directly to more equal employment opportunities for women in

656-427: The gender schema theory . According to the gender schema theory, "the child learns to evaluate his or her adequacy as a person in terms of the gender schema, to match his or her preferences, attitudes, behaviors, and personal attributes against the prototypes stored within it." This theory states that an individual uses gender as a way to organize various things in a person's life into categories. Her research questioned

697-485: The Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI), it was concluded that masculinity and femininity are more complex than can be captured by the BSRI measurement itself. While the BSRI can help, it should not be taken to self-diagnose as it may not capture all the criteria especially with changing times. Additionally, the BSRI, based on findings, is still somewhat valid. However, it is mainly to be used lightly when assessing gender roles. This

738-467: The United States. Bem was an American psychologist known for her works in androgyny and gender studies . Bem and her husband Daryl Bem advocated egalitarian marriage. The husband-wife team became highly demanded as speakers on the negative impacts of sex role stereotypes on individuals and society. At the time, there was a lack of empirical evidence to support their assertions because this

779-530: The University of Michigan was experimental psychologist David Birch. Her early work focused on the behavior of young children and their ability to solve problems, and utilize self-control and instruction. After obtaining her Ph.D., Bem got a full-time tenure-track position as a professor at Carnegie-Mellon for three years and then moved on to work at Stanford University , where she worked until 1978. She left Stanford University because her application for tenure

820-510: The environment and beliefs, the initial result of the test, most of the time, doesn’t hold true. More people are tending to be more androgynous in their beliefs and personalities as they get older. The short form of the BSRI consists of 30 items. It has a strong .90 correlation with the original BSRI. This short form of the test allows for increased internal consistency . Bem reports similar masculinity coefficient alphas and higher femininity coefficient alphas with this form. The short form discards

861-542: The group with whom they take the test. As stated by Elazar Pedhazur in a clip from his critique, "Bem concludes her discussion by stating, 'Finally, we urge investigators to further analyze their data without categorizing individual subjects in any way, i.e., through the use of multiple regression technique.' While endorsing what appears to be a suggestion to conduct studies within the framework of trait-treatment interactions, one cannot help wondering: Where has androgyny gone?" With time, due to both changes in gender roles within

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902-492: The head of the counseling center, Bob Morgan, encouraging her to study to become a psychiatrist. This was the first time such a high-status career had ever been suggested to her. Subsequently, she entered the University of Michigan in 1965 and obtained her Ph.D. in developmental psychology in 1968. Her dissertation focused primarily on cognitive processing and problem solving with young children. Her main influence while at

943-449: The marriage. After months of dating, the two were married on June 6, 1965. Much of Bem's family, including her mother, would not attend the wedding because it was a non-Jewish affair and they did not agree with this decision. The Bems had two children together. They also had a grandson, Felix Viksne Bem (son of daughter Emily). While they eventually chose to live separately, they remained married until Sandra's death on May 20, 2014. Bem

984-485: The opposite gender. With this change, the use of the scale, and others like it, are leading people to render more and more characteristics as neutral for both genders. This then throws off how the score is being accounted for, and how one's results will be concluded. The BSRI is very empirically sound. Bem reports coefficient alphas of .78 for femininity scales and .87 for the masculinity scale. BSRI, also has demonstrated high test-retest reliability . However, since this

1025-554: The political nature of her theories and her objectivity in the material which she studied. However, Bem's work was revolutionary in that it directly challenged the traditional binary understanding of gender roles. At a time when women's roles were largely confined to the domestic sphere, Bem's research argued that these roles were not biologically determined but were the result of social conditioning. Bem attended Margaret Morrison Carnegie College , now known as Carnegie–Mellon University , (1961–1965) and majored in psychology. She recalls

1066-400: The result of scoring above the median in one gender and below the median in the other. An undifferentiated score is now a result of scoring below the median in both masculine and feminine categories. In other words, since scores are based on normative data, an androgynous classification occurs when a subject scores above 50% of the comparison group in both masculine and feminine categories, while

1107-420: The same test (or the same subscale on a larger test). It measures whether several items that propose to measure the same general construct produce similar scores. For example, if a respondent expressed agreement with the statements "I like to ride bicycles" and "I've enjoyed riding bicycles in the past", and disagreement with the statement "I hate bicycles", this would be indicative of good internal consistency of

1148-831: The social beliefs and assumptions that sex roles are opposite, bipolar, and mutually exclusive. The data she collected were supportive of a merging of male and female traits to enable a person to be a fully functioning, adaptive human over an emphasis on gender stereotypes. She asserted that masculine and feminine dimensions could be divided into two spheres, rather than one: A person with high masculine and low feminine identification would be categorized as "masculine". A person with high feminine identification and low masculine identification, would be categorized as "feminine". A person who had high identification with both characteristics would be categorized as "androgynous". A person who has low identification with both dimensions would be considered "undifferentiated". One of Bem's main arguments

1189-402: The test. Internal consistency is usually measured with Cronbach's alpha, a statistic calculated from the pairwise correlations between items. Internal consistency ranges between negative infinity and one. Coefficient alpha will be negative whenever there is greater within-subject variability than between-subject variability. A commonly accepted rule of thumb for describing internal consistency

1230-473: The traits "feminine", "masculine", and "athletic" from the self-report scales. Specifically, the short form removed some feminine traits that could be seen as less socially desirable such as "gullible" and "childlike". Masculine categories depict "assertive-dominance" and "instrumentality", while feminine categories depict "nurtureness-interpersonal warmth" and "expressiveness". After an analysis and thorough investigation of 23 different studies having to do with

1271-654: The work force against companies such as AT&T and the Pittsburgh Press. Early on in Bem's career she created the Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI), which is an inventory that acknowledges that individuals may exhibit both male and female characteristics. The BSRI is a scale developed to determine what kind of sex role an individual fulfills. It is a self-report inventory that asks participants how well 60 different attributes describe themselves by using

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1312-978: Was awarded the Distinguished Publication Award of the Association of Women in Psychology and in 1980 she received the Young Scholar Award of the American Association of University Women (Makosky, 1990). In 1995, she was selected as an “Eminent Woman in Psychology” by the Divisions of General Psychology and History of Psychology of the American Psychological Association. Critics of Bem's work generally argued against

1353-439: Was calculated by finding the t-ratio difference between masculine and feminine scores; however, in 1981 Bem advises users to utilize a split median technique for more accurate scoring. The Bem Sex-Role Inventory offers four different possible resulting categorizations: masculine, feminine, androgynous and undifferentiated. Previously, an androgynous score was thought to be the result of equal masculine and feminine traits, while

1394-412: Was created by Sandra Bem in an effort to measure androgyny. It was published in 1974. Stereotypical masculine and feminine traits were found by surveying 100 Stanford undergraduate students on which traits they found to be socially desirable for each sex. The original list of 200 traits was narrowed down to the 40 masculine and feminine traits that appear on the present test. Normative data was found from

1435-494: Was denied. She and husband Daryl Bem both took tenured teaching positions at Cornell University in 1978, where she became a psychology professor and the director of the women's studies program. While at Cornell, Bem focused research on gender schema theory , sexuality, and clinical psychology until she retired in 2010. Bem was born June 22, 1944, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Peter and Lillian Lipsitz. She grew up in

1476-491: Was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and, four years after diagnosis and after pursuing experimental treatments, she followed through with her plan to die by suicide at her home in Ithaca on May 20, 2014. Her husband, Daryl, was present with her when she died at 69. Internal consistency In statistics and research , internal consistency is typically a measure based on the correlations between different items on

1517-417: Was natural to who they were. They couldn’t possess feminine personality traits. Likewise, women were only thought to be capable of possessing feminine traits and personalities, but couldn’t have any masculine ones. Participants are asked to rate themselves on each trait using a Likert scale. One indicates never or almost never true, while a seven would indicate always or almost always true. Originally androgyny

1558-727: Was quite unsuccessful in her attempts at flirting and dating with men, and so she internalized a belief that no man would ever want to marry her, which helped to solidify her career ambitions. But she eventually married Daryl Bem , also a psychology professor. The two met when she took his social psychology class at Carnegie–Mellon University . She was 20 years old at the time. She initially rejected his marriage proposal, having concerns about her own career. The two later agreed on an egalitarian marriage, in which they agreed to share in making decisions, doing household chores, supporting each other's careers, and performing parenting duties – all as equally as possible. With this in place, she consented to

1599-502: Was raised by her Jewish working-class parents in a government-subsidized neighborhood for the first eight years of her life. During Bem's childhood, her mother would have violent outburst and fights with her father causing her family much distress. Her mother was the dominant figure in her parents' relationship, and Bem recalls having a very tumultuous childhood, during which Mrs. Lipsitz would become extremely emotional while upset and throw objects during arguments. Bem also stated that she

1640-561: Was that traditional gender roles are restrictive for both men and women, and can have negative consequences for individuals as well as society as a whole. As previously mentioned, a person could be categorized as "androgynous" when taking the BSRI. Androgyny is defined as "the integration of both masculinity and femininity in a single individual". Androgyny allows one to freely engage in both masculine and feminine behaviors. According to Bem, people's behavior can demonstrate what she defined as situational appropriateness. Situational appropriateness

1681-402: Was uncharted territory, and so Sandra Bem became very interested and determined to gather data that would support the detrimental and limiting effects of traditional sex roles. In her early career, she was heavily involved in women's liberation movement , and she did work on sex-biased job advertising. Her involvement led to being a contributor to landmark cases concerning recruitment of women in

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