Dialogical Masculinities: Diverse Youth Resisting Dominant Masculinity

The meaning of the construct “masculinity” differs culturally and changes over time. Although cultural constructions of the phenomenon change, at any given time hegemonic pressures promote participants’ compliance to masculinity norms. This hegemonic process often results in the underlying assumptions that masculinity is an essentialized unitary phenomenon and that conforming to cultural requisites is adaptive and healthy. In the field of psychology, past research investigating resistance to this hegemony and diverse constructions of masculinities categorized resistance as pathological and problematic. More recently, researchers have turned their attention to ways in which conforming to dominant hegemonic masculinity norms can be problematic and maladaptive, allowing for an understanding of the adaptive qualities that come with resisting and negotiating with hegemony. Specifically, there has been an interest in understanding diverse discourse constructions as sources of resistance to hegemonic masculinity. This project was focused on understanding the ways in which hegemonic-resistant masculinities were constructed with a group of young men who work on a youth team to prevent domestic violence. Using the constructivist framework of the dialogical self, we gleaned four distinct I-positions of masculinity that help to support a fluid and diverse process of negotiating a hegemonic-resistant and adaptive form of masculinity.     

Bayesian Fundamentalism or Enlightenment? On the explanatory status and theoretical contributions of Bayesian models of cognition

The prominence of Bayesian modeling of cognition has increased recently largely because of mathematical advances in specifying and deriving predictions from complex probabilistic models. Much of this research aims to demonstrate that cognitive behavior can be explained from rational principles alone, without recourse to psychological or neurological processes and representations. We note commonalities between this rational approach and other movements in psychology - namely, Behaviorism and evolutionary psychology - that set aside mechanistic explanations or make use of optimality assumptions. Through these comparisons, we identify a number of challenges that limit the rational program's potential contribution to psychological theory. Specifically, rational Bayesian models are significantly unconstrained, both because they are uninformed by a wide range of process-level data and because their assumptions about the environment are generally not grounded in empirical measurement. The psychological implications of most Bayesian models are also unclear. Bayesian inference itself is conceptually trivial, but strong assumptions are often embedded in the hypothesis sets and the approximation algorithms used to derive model predictions, without a clear delineation between psychological commitments and implementational details. Comparing multiple Bayesian models of the same task is rare, as is the realization that many Bayesian models recapitulate existing (mechanistic level) theories. Despite the expressive power of current Bayesian models, we argue they must be developed in conjunction with mechanistic considerations to offer substantive explanations of cognition. We lay out several means for such an integration, which take into account the representations on which Bayesian inference operates, as well as the algorithms and heuristics that carry it out. We argue this unification will better facilitate lasting contributions to psychological theory, avoiding the pitfalls that have plagued previous theoretical movements.     

Men,masculinity, and the contexts of help seeking

Research on men's help seeking yields strategies for enhancing men's use of mental and physical health resources. Analysis of the assumptions underlying existing theory and research also provides a context for evaluating the psychology of men and masculinity as an evolving area of social scientific inquiry. The authors identify several theoretical and methodological obstacles that limit understanding of the variable ways that men do or do not seek help from mental and physical health care professionals. A contextual framework is developed by exploring how the socialization and social construction of masculinities transact with social psychological processes common to a variety of potential help-seeking contexts. This approach begins to integrate the psychology of men and masculinity with theory and methodology from other disciplines and suggests innovative ways to facilitate adaptive help seeking.     

Sex-role orientation and psychological well-being: Two meta-analyses

Research on the relationship between sex-role orientation and psychological well-being has been guided by one of three models. The traditional congruence model holds that psychological well-being will be fostered only when one's sex-role orientation is congruent with one's gender; the androgyny model proposes that well-being will be maximized when one's sex-role orientation incorporates a high degree of both masculinity and femininity regardless of one's gender; the masculinity model posits that well-being is a function of the extent to which one has a masculine sex-role orientation. The adequacy of these three models was tested by means of a meta-analysis of 32 studies of the relationship between sex-role orientation and depression and general adjustment. The results of the meta-analysis provided the best support for the masculinity model, with masculinity having a moderately strong relationship to both high adjustment and lack of depression and with femininity having only a small relationship to adjustment and no relationship to depression. No support was found for the congruence model.The author would like to express his appreciation to Sanford Golin and Paul Sweeney for their helpful comments on early drafts of this article.     

‘A man after god’s own heart’: charisma,masculinity and leadership at a charismatic Church in Brighton and Hove,UK

This article suggests that the gendered aspects of charisma have so far been overlooked in recent scholarship and seeks to align studies of charismatic religious leaders more fully with studies of masculinity and the ‘masculinisation’ of Charismatic churches. Based on research conducted at the Church of Christ the King (CCK) in Brighton and Hove, UK, I analyses how leadership operates as a key language for mediating masculinity, giving young men ways of being manly within both Christian and church parameters as well as forming links between experienced leaders and their young apprentices. Focusing on a dramatic visit by a notorious international preacher as an instance of charismatic masculinity in action, the author shows how an understanding of a corporate culture of masculinity can lend new insight into our understanding of charisma as both a relational construct and a system of individual authority which is tested at times of crisis and succession.     

Psychological Masculinity amid Femininity: Relationship to Striving and Self-Concept in the Achievement and Interpersonal Domains

The relative influences of gender and individual differences in psychological masculinity and femininity on the achievement and interpersonal strivings, abilities, and self-concepts of 176 male and female college students were investigated. The results indicate that psychological masculinity and femininity are better predictors of strivings and self-concepts in the achievement and interpersonal domains than gender. Only with respect to subjects' expected and ideal financial responsibilities, an area which is governed by strong societal sex role norms, does the influence of gender surpass that of psychological masculinity and femininity. The results are discussed in terms of the personality strengths and social competencies that derive from masculine and feminine personality traits.     

Masculinity and femininity predict optimal mental health: a belated test of the androgyny hypothesis

In this study, we examined the relationship between psychological androgyny and optimal mental health in a sample of adults seeking career consultation (N = 154). Most earlier research on the subject employed self-report measures of well-being or adjustment. In this study, we employed an "observer-by-proxy" measure of optimal mental health that, although based on self report data, provides an empirically based estimate of ratings that clinicians would make using the California Q-set (Block, 1961/1978). High levels of both masculinity and femininity are associated with higher levels of optimal mental health. These findings represent a rare example of support for the additive androgyny hypothesis and argue for its further study. We also discuss the construct validity of the masculinity and femininity scales we used, and we argue for further study of our mental health measure.     

Religious Affiliation and Attitudes Towards Gay Men: On the Mediating Role of Masculinity Threat

Previous research suggests that people from some religious backgrounds hold more negative attitudes towards gay men than others do. The current research focuses on psychological variables as an alternative explanation to religious affiliation, testing whether masculinity beliefs regarding gay men and their perceived threat to one's masculinity can explain such between‐group differences in negative attitudes. With a sample of 155 male heterosexual university students (Muslims and Christians in Germany), we found that Muslims held more negative attitudes towards gay men than Christians did. Yet, this relation was partially mediated by beliefs about the masculinity of gay men and the experience of masculinity threat imposed by gay men, substantially reducing the effect of religious affiliation on antigay attitudes. In sum, similar psychological processes explained antigay attitudes of both Muslims and Christians. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Masculinity Ideology, Male Identity, and Romantic Relationship Quality Among Heterosexual and Gay Men

This research assessed factors that may affect men’s romantic relationships. One hundred men (50 heterosexual and 50 gay) in the Northeast US completed measures that assessed masculinity ideology, male identity, and relationship quality. We examined whether the quality of heterosexual men’s romantic relationships differ from that of romantic relationships among gay men, and whether masculinity ideology and male identity are related to the quality of heterosexual and same-sex romantic relationships. Results indicated no differences between heterosexual and gay men in the perceived quality of romantic relationships. However, in both gay and heterosexual men, traditional masculinity ideology and a male identity characterized by a lack of psychological relatedness to other men were associated with lower quality romantic relationships.     

Masculinity, femininity, and psychosocial adjustment in medical students: a 2-year follow-up

As part of a longitudinal study of medical students, relations between masculinity and femininity and psychosocial well-being were investigated over a 21-month interval. Of a class of medical students, 82% (N = 99) completed measures of masculinity and femininity during orientation and, 21 months later, completed a broad array of measures of psychological well-being, interpersonal functioning, humanistic attitudes toward patient care, and alcohol consumption. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses with interaction terms revealed main effects of masculinity on self-esteem, extraversion, and confidence, and main effects of femininity on hedonic capacity, interpersonal satisfaction, sharing of personal problems, and alcohol consumption. Little evidence for additive or balance androgyny formulations was found. Findings for masculinity were consistent with earlier findings from this study and others, but they were weaker in magnitude. Findings for femininity were surprisingly robust and enrich the construct validity of this measure. Measures of impaired mood and of alcohol and drug impairment were also studied in relation to masculinity and femininity. Both variables contribute to the prediction of depressed mood; femininity also contributes to the prediction of drug involvement. Neither scale has sufficient sensitivity or specificity to be used by itself as a test of impairment.     

Clinical utility of the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) in the Spanish transsexual and nontranssexual population

The aim of the study is to evaluate the usefulness of the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI; Bem, 1974), an overall measurement of the cultural construct of masculinity and femininity, in the psychological assessment of Spanish transsexuals. Seventy male-to-female transsexuals (MF), 51 female-to-male transsexuals (FM), 77 control men, and 79 control women completed the Spanish version of the BSRI. Statistically significant differences between groups were only found on the femininity scale, on which MF transsexuals and control women scored significantly higher than FM transsexuals and control men. The results indicate that (a) only the femininity scale of the BSRI appears to be useful today for evaluating differences in the sex-role identification in Spanish controls and transsexuals; and (b) MF and FM transsexuals score as a function of their gender identity instead of their anatomical sex on the BSRI femininity scale.     

Clinical Utility of the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) in the Spanish Transsexual and Nontranssexual Population

The aim of the study is to evaluate the usefulness of the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI; Bem, 1974), an overall measurement of the cultural construct of masculinity and femininity, in the psychological assessment of Spanish transsexuals. Seventy male-to-female transsexuals (MF), 51 female-to-male transsexuals (FM), 77 control men, and 79 control women completed the Spanish version of the BSRI. Statistically significant differences between groups were only found on the femininity scale, on which MF transsexuals and control women scored significantly higher than FM transsexuals and control men. The results indicate that (a) only the femininity scale of the BSRI appears to be useful today for evaluating differences in the sex-role identification in Spanish controls and transsexuals; and (b) MF and FM transsexuals score as a function of their gender identity instead of their anatomical sex on the BSRI femininity scale.     

Negative attributes are gendered too: Conceptualizing and measuring positive and negative facets of sex‐role identity

Measures of gender identity have almost exclusively relied on positive aspects of masculinity and femininity, although conceptually the self‐concept is not limited to positive attributes. A theoretical argument is made for considering negative attributes of gender identity, followed by five studies developing the Positive–Negative Sex‐Role Inventory (PN‐SRI) as a new measure of gender identity. Study 1 demonstrated that many of the attributes of a German version of the Bem Sex‐Role Inventory are no longer considered to differ in desirability for men and women. For the PN‐SRI, Study 2 elicited attributes characterizing men and women in today's society, for which ratings of typicality and desirability as well as self‐ratings by men and women were obtained in Study 3. Study 4 examined the reliability and factorial structure of the four subscales of positive and negative masculinity and femininity and demonstrated the construct and discriminant validity of the PN‐SRI by showing that the negative masculinity and femininity scales were unique predictors of select validation constructs. Study 5 showed that the new instrument explained variance in the validation constructs beyond earlier measures of gender identity. Key message: Even in the construction of negative aspects of gender identity, individuals prefer gender‐congruent attributes. Negative masculinity and femininity make a unique contribution to understanding gender‐related differences in psychological outcome variables. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Opening Scenarios: A Relational Perspective on How to Deal with Multiple Therapeutic Views

The aim of this work is to provide therapists with a conceptual outline to help them utilize theoretical and methodological perspectives from different psychotherapy models. More specifically, we will start with three basic assumptions from the social constructionist paradigm, particularly effective in bringing together different perspectives in therapy and providing therapists with useful criteria for selecting among them. The assumptions are as follows: (1) the psychological world of the individual is constructed within relational processes, mainly through dialogue; (2) in general, discourse can be classified as either generative or degenerative; and (3) individuals construct their life narratives based also on a common-sense that can derive from psychological theories developed within specific cultural traditions. These assumptions derive mainly from Gergen??s relational perspective (2009) and lead us to foresee a set of implications for clinical practice, where therapist and client are seen as ??multi-beings??, consequently endowed with multiple views, not one.     

测验项目反应机制与心理测量模型假设的对应性分析

从测验项目解决的认知过程的视角分析了在不同测验理论框架下的测量模型中的基本假设, 指出测量模型是测验开发者有关测验项目反应机制的理论假设的具体表征, 是系统检验测量假设和过程的统计框架。然而, 不管是经典测验理论、概化理论, 还是早期的项目反应理论模型, 相关假设都过于简化, 缺少相应实质理论的支持。与之相比, 认知测量模型强调与个体在测验项目反应过程中的认知过程、认知策略和知识结构的对应性, 提供了在实质理论基础上界定测量建构、设计测验项目、进行建模分析和解释的可能性, 为日益边缘化的心理测量学和主流心理学研究的融合奠定了基础。     

Attribution of cause by patients with depression, anxiety, and alexithymia

This study evaluated the relationship between the personality construct of alexithymia and the attribution of depression to biological, psychological, sociocultural, and external stress. When alexithymia was considered as a continuous variable, there was a significant correlation between a higher score on the Toronto Alexithymia Scale and a greater belief in psychological causes for their psychiatric disorder. The other factors also had positive but nonsignificant correlations with alexithymia. When alexithymia was categorically partitioned and controlled for depressed mood, alexithymic subjects more frequently endorsed all four factors to be causal for their psychiatric illness. This appears to contradict earlier assumptions that alexithymic patients tend to be less psychologically minded than those without this psychological trait.     

Threatened masculinity and muscularity: An experimental examination of multiple aspects of muscularity in men

Two studies examined the threatened masculinity theory of male body dissatisfaction, which posits that threats to masculinity result in increased muscle dissatisfaction. In Study 1, a masculinity threat was followed by tasks examining confidence in physical ability and perceptions of current and ideal body shapes. Results showed that men who experienced a masculinity threat reported lower confidence in their physical ability and perceived themselves as less muscular than men who experienced an affirmation of their masculinity. In Study 2, men were asked to report their intention to increase muscularity and their appearance anxiety following a threat to masculinity. Results showed that men reported lower appearance anxiety and drive for muscularity when their masculinity was threatened than when their masculinity was affirmed. This apparent contradiction can be explained by noting that men may be motivated to deny appearance concerns following a threat to masculinity, as such concerns are equated with femininity.     

The relationship between masculine gender role stress and psychological adjustment: A question of construct validity?

Masculine gender role stress is a theoretical construct that describes the stress created in men when they feel they are not meeting society's expectations for masculinity, or when the situation forces men to act in feminine-typed ways. The stress produced by these feelings or actions are thought to be related to negative psychological outcomes for men, but should be unrelated to well-being for women. The present study investigated the validity of the masculine gender role stress construct, especially with regard to the assumption that masculine gender role stress is related to negative psychological outcomes for men more than for women. Participants were a group of mostly Caucasian undergraduates. Results indicated that masculine gender role stress was related to depression, hostility, and anxiety, but to the same degree for both men and women. These findings suggest that, if MGRS is a valid construct, then researchers need to explore other ways in which this type of stress can negatively affect men, but not women.     

Islamic piety and masculinity

Barbara Metcalf suggested some years ago that a well-known contemporary Islamic movement of pietist inclinations, the Tabligh-i Jama’at, acted in effect to produce a gentler, more feminised male Muslim identity among its adherents. Some other contemporary Islamic movements have similar tendencies. Ritual practices among the Hijaz Community, a mostly Pakistani organisation in the British Midlands, for example, are explicitly aimed to produce a gentler, less aggressive orientation among their followers. Can we see these new movements as part of the evolution of new forms of masculinity among Muslim men, both in Muslim-majority and diasporic populations? I explore this question through field research carried out as part of an ESRC-funded research project on young Muslims in the UK and Bangladesh.