Sex,Sex Roles,and Emotional Expressiveness

Differences in emotional expressiveness between males and females have generally been attributed to sex-role socialization, but most studies have not included measures of sex-role orientation. We hypothesized that sex role would be a more salient factor than sex and that androgynous and feminine persons would be more expressive than masculine and undifferentiated individuals. Data were gathered from 230 college students using Bem's (1975) Sex-Role Inventory and Balswick's (1975) Expression of Emotion Scale. Both hypotheses were supported.     

Sex Roles,Gender, and Fear

Male and female college students classified as masculine, feminine, androgynous, or undifferentiated on the Bern (1974) Sex Role Inventory (N = 199) were given the Wolpe (1969) Fear Inventory. Significant differences in average fear scores were seen between men and women and between the four sex-role categories, with sex role and gender contributing equally to the variability. The argument is raised here that excessive fearfulness or fearlessness might be as much a product of sex-role conditioning as a product of gender.     

Counselor Sex Role Orientation,Flexibility, and Working Alliance Formation

The authors examined the hypothesized relationship among counselor androgyny, counselor flexibility, and the establishment of client-rated working alliances. In Study 1, 41 counseling students completed the Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI; Bem, 1981a) and the Counselor Behavior Analysis Inventory (Gabbard, Howard, & Dunfee, 1986). Contrary to the hypothesis, there was no relationship between androgyny and counseling flexibility. In Study 2, 42 counseling students completed the BSRI and videotaped counseling sessions with a recruited client. Analyses revealed a significant relationship between counselor flexibility and client ratings of working alliance, but no relationship between counselor androgyny and counselor flexibility. Research and clinical implications are discussed.     

Sex,Task, and Behavioral Flexibility Effects on Leadership Perceptions

The effects of sex and behavioral flexibility on leader perceptions were examined in small groups performing under two task conditions. We predicted, based on theory and previous empirical research, that leadership perceptions would be higher for: (1) persons higher in three indicators of behavioral flexibility (self-monitoring, self-reported behavioral capabilities, and androgyny), (2) males in general, and (3) tasks that were sex-congruent. Results showed significant, strong support for behavioral flexibility and sex effects and weak support for the effects of sex-congruent tasks. Exploratory analyses showed thatperceivedtarget capabilities mediated the effects of sex and behavioral flexibility. The discussion is organized around a theoretical model which suggests that target behavior and sex-based cues leading to leader categorization are in part mediated by inferred target capabilities. These capabilities show parallels to leadership-relevant traits such as masculinity, dominance, extroversion, and adjustment, identified in early leadership research.     

Feminist Challenges to the Social Structure and Sex Roles

A social-psychological and historical context for understanding con-temporary sex roles, fertility, parenting, and the family is provided by reviewing origins and objectives of the Women's Movement. Feminist efforts to change social structures affecting women's choice of roles and fertility require continued attention. Increased voluntary childlessness seriously challenges the concept of motherhood as central to adult feminine identity and legitimization of choice in whether or not to become a parent provides a new context for studying women, sex roles, fertility, and their complex relationships to the social structure. Continued challenges to premises, methodologies, and conclusions of such research are urged.     

Propensity for Experiencing Flow: The Roles of Cognitive Flexibility and Mindfulness

This study examined cognitive skills related to flow disposition. College students from a mid-sized U.S. university (64 women and 41 men, M _age = 20 years, age range = 18–28 years) were recruited from undergraduate classes to complete a survey that contained the Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale-Revised (Feldman, Hayes, Kumar, Greeson, & Laurenceau, 2007), the Cognitive Flexibility Scale (Martin & Ruben, 1995 Martin , M. M. , & Rubin , R. B. ( 1995 ). A new measure of cognitive flexibility . Psychological Reports , 76 ( 2 ), 623 – 626 . Retrieved from EBSCOhost. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), and the Dispositional Flow Scale-2 General (Jackson & Eklund, 2002 Jackson , S. A. , & Eklund , R. C. ( 2002 ). Assessing flow in physical activity: The flow state scale-2 and dispositional flow scale-2 . Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology , 24 , 133 – 150 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). A hierarchical regression analysis indicated that when demographic variables and history of mindfulness meditation were held constant cognitive flexibility and mindfulness were good predictors of flow disposition, R ² = .42, adjusted R ² = .39, F(5, 99) = 14.30, p < .001. Conclusions and implications are discussed.     

Sex Roles and Social Skills Considerations for Interpersonal Adjustment

In light of claims that sex roles are differentially related to behavioral flexibility, the current study investigated the relationship between sex role orientations and performance in interpersonal situations. Males and females in each of four sex role categories (masculine-typed, feminine-typed, androgynous and undifferentiated) role-played situations requiring the appropriate expression of either commendatory or refusal assertiveness. Androgynous subjects were most effective in rated skills components for both types of situations, while undifferentiated subjects were highly ineffective. Complex interpersonal situations apparently require the use of well-integrated masculine and feminine social skills.     

Scholarship on Gender and Sport in Sex Roles and Beyond

In this paper we critically review how research on girls or women and sport has developed over the last 35 years. We use a post-positivist lens to explore the content of the papers published in Sex Roles in the area of women, gender and sport and examine the shifts in how gender and sport have been conceptualized in these accounts. In order to initiate a broader dialogue about the scholarly analysis of gender and sport, we subsequently explore ideas inspired by feminist theorizing that have dominated/guided related research in other outlets over this time period but have received relatively little attention in papers published in Sex Roles. We conclude by briefly making suggestions for further research in this area.     

Changing Discourse,Learning Sex,and Non-coital Heterosexuality

Young people learn what sex is, how to perform it, and what status it has largely through discourse. Sexual discourse has changed since the mid-twentieth century, but coitus still dominates heterosexual sex talk, and both change and continuity are reflected in adolescent sexual attitudes and behavior. Acceptance of non-coital sexuality among LGBTQ people and heterosexuals has increased, but these behaviors often have a different status when performed by members of each of these groups. Non-coital acts may be legitimately sexual when performed by non-heterosexuals, but coitus remains the paradigmatic heterosexual activity even though young heterosexuals often engage in non-coital behaviors. Young heterosexuals often differentiate real coital sex from quasi-sexual non-coital behaviors, and sexuality researchers, clinicians, and educators frequently reinforce this distinction and threaten the sexual status and self-esteem of young heterosexuals who do not like or cannot perform coitus. Many sexuality professionals urge young heterosexuals to recognize non-coital acts as sexual because of their risks of sexually transmitted infections, but sometimes also undermine this message by describing these acts as preliminaries to or substitutes for coitus. These professionals use an objective language of sexuality which presumably should supplant the mistaken usages of young people, but they overlook their own dependence on culturally constructed sexual discourse, and can impose needless problems on young people.     

Areas of Worklife and the Athlete Burnout-Engagement Relationship

The global athlete burnout–engagement relationship was investigated using the areas of worklife and relevant conceptual antecedents. Participants were 227 collegiate football players who completed an online survey assessing study variables. Athlete scores on the areas of worklife measure fit the data as expected. Two contrasting mediational models that incorporated the areas of worklife as antecedent to burnout and engagement, respectively, exhibited similar fit. However, Akaike information criterion (AIC) values and other model estimates indicated that these models were not equivalent. The findings suggest that athlete burnout and engagement are strongly and inversely correlated, but may not exist on a conceptual continuum. Further research using the areas of worklife is warranted.     

Overview: Sex Roles, Fertility and the Motherhood Mandate

Abstract: The centrality of motherhood to woman's identity is characterized as a mandate that is built into our social institutions as well as our psyches. This mandate is reflected in the assumptions of the models and methods of research in the psychology of women. An examination of the impact of the motherhood mandate is encouraged and complexities that must be reflected in research models and methods are underscored. These complexities include the need for (1) appreciation of the context of the phenomena studied; (2) interactionist approaches, including multivariate models and methods; and (3) a multidisciplinary perspective, including biological, psychological, social and structural levels of analysis. Two facets of the changing context having profound implications for the meaning of motherhood are reproductive freedom and voluntary childlessness.