Sex differences and sex-role stereotyping in clinical psychologists' reports: a research note

This paper presents an empirical study of sex differences and sex-role stereotyping in clinical psychologists' reports. The results of numerous analyses showed no significant evidence at any point of sex differences or sex-role stereotyping in the form or the subject matter of the clinical reports.

     

Sex differences,sex-role orientation,and reward allocations

In study 1, 52 male and 52 female undergraduates allocated rewards to pairs of children for their performances in team and competitive situations. Males allocated rewards more equitably, especially when allocating to boys in competition, while females allocated rewards more equally. Boys, but not girls, who did more work received more rewards than their partner; and children with greater work inputs under competitive conditions received more rewards than children in team conditions. In study 2, the sex-role orientation of 60 college students was found to be related to their reward allocations. Males and females with a masculine sex-role orientation allocated rewards equitably, while individuals with a feminine sex-role orientation allocated rewards equally. Results indicated that sex and situational differences in reward allocations are affected by sex-role orientation and differential socialization practices by adults.Portions of study 1 were presented at the Midwestern Psychological Association Meeting, Chicago, May 1978.     

Sexual inequality and the reproduction of consciousness: An analysis of sex-role stereotyping among children

How children develop conceptions about their future roles in the economic world is an important concern for students of stratification. Several social learning theories have been offered in an attempt to explain the development of these roles in the minds of children. Recently, social psychological theories drawn from a neo-Marxist framework have been elaborated, and the purpose of this study is to test their explanatory power. Based on a survey of schoolchildren across grade levels, the data show that there is considerable disparity in the stereotypic attitudes of children towards different occupational categories. Although sex-role typing is relatively high in the occupational orientations of young children, it diminishes in the higher grade levels. In disaggregating the data, four other factors were considered: sex, race, socioeconomic status, and mothers' work status. The study questions the social consciousness explanation of sexual inequality posited by neo-Marxist theory. Several other factors are offered to explain the findings.     

Development of an inventory of teachers' attitudes towards sex-role stereotyping and knowledge of sex differences

The Scott Sex-Role Inventory (SSRI) is a 37-item questionnaire of teachers' knowledge of sex differences and attitudes toward sex-role stereotyping. Norms, reliability, and validity were developed on a suburban southeastern school system. Responses of male and female teachers were comparable on both sections of the test. The SSRI offers an index of teachers' knowledge and attitudes toward sex roles which may help to assess (1) needs for attitude change and (2) the effectiveness of intervention programs.     

Physical attractiveness and its relationship to sex-role stereotyping

On the basis of recent findings showing that physical attractiveness serves as an important evaluative cue in person perception, the present paper reviews evidence which indicates that physical attractiveness differentially affects the judgments of males and females. Recent research seems to indicate that the physical-attractiveness stereotype — which holds that attractive individuals are more positively evaluated across a wide range of dimensions than unattractive individuals — is more potent when applied to women than to men. The origins of this differential stereotyping are discussed in terms of the historically defined roles of men and women in our society. In addition, the paper discusses the implications of the physical-attractiveness stereotype for the general problem of sex-role stereotyping.     

The relationship among sex-role stereotyping,sex-role preference,and the sex difference in spatial visualization

At an early age, children attain concepts of sex-appropriate activities, behaviors, attitudes, and goals, i.e., sex-role stereotypes. These conceptual stereotypes seem to assign a less favorable role to females. Thus it seems plausible that their acceptance (by both sexes) might be at least partly responsible for the performance differences that begin to arise in adolescence and adulthood. In view of the importance of early adolescence as a transitional period during which sex-role requirements are augmented and intellectual sex differences emerge, 105 11-year-olds and 102 14-year-olds were selected as subjects. Their spatial abilities, sex-role concepts, and sex-role preferences were assessed. Stereotyping sex roles (in general) was not associated with spatial performance; stereotyping sex roles that included information regarding subjects' views about intellectual competence was related to performance. The sex difference in spatial ability that emerged at age 14 was among subjects with own-sex preferences only; there were no sex differences among subjects who preferred to be boys.This article is based upon a doctoral dissertation presented to the Department of Psychology of Columbia University. The author would like to express her thanks to her advisers, Phillip Shaver and Deanna Kuhn; to her committee members, Robert Krauss, Norma Graham, Patrick Lee, and Wayne Proudfoot; to Carol Jacklin and Ruth Wylie for their advice and support; and to Flora Churnin, Douglas Churnin, and Carl Nash for their invaluable assistance during all phases of this study.     

Sex differences in cognitive abilities and sex-role stereotypes in Hong Kong Chinese adolescents

A study was conducted to test the hypothesis that sex differences in patterns of cognitive ability could be accounted for by variation in identification with sex-role stereotypes. Hong Kong Chinese adolescents from two different age groups served as subjects. Sex differences were discovered in patterns of performance on a battery of cognitive tests, with males performing better on tests of spatial ability and females performing better on tests of fluent production. Sex differences in sex-role identification were also discovered. There were, however, no significant relationships between sex-role identification and patterns of ability. Biological sex was found to be the best predictor of a male or female pattern of performance. A reformulation of a sex-role identification hypothesis appears to be warranted on the basis of these data. Suggestions for further research on the relationships among sex-role identification, cultural values, and personal adjustment are also presented.This report is based on a doctoral dissertation submitted to the faculty of Harvard University. The research was supported by a National Research Service Award, National Institutes of Health Grant 5-T32-MH14088, awarded to Beatrice Whiting and John Whiting to support graduate research in cross-cultural child development.     

Assessment of sex-role stereotyping among male and female psychologist practitioners

Seventy-seven female and 86 male psychologist practitioners filled out the Bem Sex Rote Inventory to describe either a healthy adult male, healthy adult female, or healthy adult, sex unspecified. Analyzing the data according to Bem's classification of masculinity, femininity, and androgyny produced a significant Scale X Condition interaction with male and female practitioners ascribing significantly more masculine than feminine traits to healthy adult men, yet displaying no comparable differences when rating healthy adult women. Analyzing the data according to Spence's classification of masculine, feminine, androgynous, and undifferentiated produced a Group X Condition interaction with practitioners ascribing significantly more masculine traits to healthy adult men and significantly more feminine traits to healthy adult women. Reanalyses omitting "masculine" and "feminine" from Bem's fist of sex-typed traits produced nonsignificant results. The relationship of this to recent criticisms of the construct validity of the BSRI and to the validity of earlier results of therapist sex-role bias was discussed.     

Sex, sex-role identification, and awareness of sex-role stereotypes

An experiment was run to determine if androgynous people have transcended traditional sex roles or merely incorporated both sex roles into their repertoire. Masculine sex-typed, feminine sex-typed, and androgynous people listed as many masculine and feminine stereotypes as they could think of in a time-limited task. Highly sex-typed individuals showed more awareness of their own sex's attributes than the other sex's stereotypes. Androgynous people showed greater awareness of both sexes' attributes as compared with sex-typed people, indicating support for the incorporation hypothesis rather than the transcendance hypothesis. However, the stereotypes androgynous people listed were somewhat less evaluative in tone compared with those of sex-typed people, Overall, subjects listed more stereotypes of females than males, and female stereotypes were more negative than male stereotypes.     

Occupational sex-role liberality of third-, fifth-, and seventh-grade females

A multimethod approach was used to assess the liberality of attitudes of third-, fifth-, and seventh-grade females toward sex-role division in adult occupations and activities. Significant differences on responses to an occupational attitude survey were found between grades. Attitudes became more liberal with grade level for some of the survey items, while others remained stable across grades, with grade 7 females being the most liberal. Evidence was found that choosing one's own occupation may not be directly related to responses to a general attitude questionnaire. Career choices of seventh-grade females showed a wider range of possibilities compared to the third and fifth graders.The author would like to thank the parents, children, and staff of Parkwood Elementary and Ankeney Junior High Schools for their help and cooperation in this study; also, Lawrence A. Kurdek, Wright State University, for his advice, encouragement and assistance. Author's address: 7446 Stonecrop Court, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80919.     

Ethnic and sex differences in occupational stereotyping by elementary school children

As part of the formative evaluation of an educational television and print package, fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade public school Black, Hispanic, and Anglo children were surveyed regarding career choice and perceptions of the appropriateness of selected occupations for male and female adults and children. Responses were analyzed by ethnic membership and sex. Results indicated that in general Hispanic and Anglo girls chose more non traditional, higher-status occupations than Black girls. For boys, however, there was no clear interaction between sex and ethnic group in career choice. Girls and boys in all three ethnic groups indicated preference for careers stereotyped for their own sex, although girls—particularly Anglo girls—showed a greater tendency to cross sex-stereotyped lines. In addition, while both girls and boys in all three groups stereotyped as appropriate only for females those occupations regarded as traditionally female, traditionally male occupations were stereotyped more frequently by boys than by girls, who tended to consider them appropriate for both sexes. No differences appeared between ethnic groups in boys' responses to male and female adult occupations. In general Black girls tended to hold the most stereotypic views of job appropriateness, while Hispanic girls did not show a clear trend. Black boys tended to stereotype more than the other two groups with reference to child jobs on a boy-stereotype scale. Some differences also appeared in both boys' and girls' responses on the basis of a median split between high and low stereotypers on boy and girl child-job stereotype scales. In general, subjects who stereotyped child jobs tended also to stereotype adult occupations, suggesting a link between the child's current experience and the more remote world of adults. Implications of the findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Sex and age differences on the Raven's matrices

This study examined the effects of sex and age on scores on a matrices test among university and college students aged 17 to 51 yr. Sex differences in mean scores were nonsignificant. The general decline with age was linear and negative, significantly so for women (n = 132), not for men (n = 74). Significant decrements occurred from the age of 26 yr. upwards for women only. The findings suggest that loss of intellectual capacity on the Raven's Matrices can be attributed to age.     

Sex role stereotyping in the Sunday comics

The present paper analyzes the contents of four family-oriented comics appearing in the Sunday comic section of a local newspaper for a period of six months. In two, the female characters overtly dominate the male; in two, the females play a passive, subordinate role. This study illustrates that even when overt signs of female dominance are found, traditional sex-role stereotyping persists.     

Attributes and roles assigned to characters in children's writing: Sex differences and sex-role perceptions

This research examined the creative writing of 180 elementary school children for evidence of sex difference and sex-role perceptions. Stories were analyzed for frequency of male and female characters, attributes, and roles. Writers were equally divided by sex and into three age groups—grades 1–2, 3–4, and 5–6. Results suggest that the total number of characters, roles, and attributes was equivalent. However, the distribution of male and female characters, roles, and attributes differed with male and female writers. Female writers included significantly more female characters and assigned more attributes and roles to these characters. Nevertheless, in the stories of both male and female writers, there was a predominance of male characters and assignment of attributes and roles to male characters. The findings support the development and implementation of a nonsexist curriculum.     

Sex stereotyping in children's toy advertisements

Forty-eight categories of toys were rated in terms of sex appropriateness by 48 students. A sample of 392 pictures of children with toys in 12 toy catalogs and 538 pictures of children with toys on toy packages in four retail stores was coded according to toy type and sex(es) of children shown. The rated sex stereotype of the toy category proved to be very strongly related to the sex(es) of the children shown with the toy in catalogs (r=.89) and on toy packages (r=.87). Toys rated as moderately sex typed by raters were just as strongly stereotyped in toy advertisements as those rated as strongly sex typed.An earlier version of the paper by Lori A. Schwartz received the Howard W. Odum for the outstanding undergraduate paper of 1983 from the Southern Sociological Society.