Masculinity, Femininity, and Androgyny: Relations to Self-Esteem and Social Desirability

ABSTRACT The present investigation is a reanalysis of data from Antill and Cunningham (1979,1980) consisting of responses to five Masculinity-Femininity (MF) instruments, two self-esteem instruments, and two social desirability instruments The present study examined recently developed models of the MF/ esteem relation and the influence of social desirability on this relation The unique contribution of Masculinity (M) to esteem was consistently more positive than that of Femininity (F) which was either ml or negative, did not vary with sex as posited by sex-typed models, and did not interact with F as posited by interactive androgyny models Partialing out the effects of social desirability failed to alter the general pattern of results In contrast to esteem, social desirability was more correlated with F than M, and these findings were consistent with the observation that esteem items may reflect stereotypically masculine characteristics whereas social desirability items reflect stereotypically feminine characteristics The findings of the present study, and those of previous research, were examined in relation to important methodological issues that have been largely ignored by previous research in this area     

Masculinity,femininity, and androgyny: A methodological and theoretical critique

The three primary purposes of this investigation are: (1) to apply confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to responses from three instruments [Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI), Comrey Personality Scale (CPS), and Australian Sex Role Scale (ASRS) developed by Antill and his colleagues] designed to measure masculinity (M) and femininity (F); (2) to determine the correlation between M and F on each instrument and to relate the results to the design of the instrument; and (3) to describe a new theoretical model that posits global M and global F to be multifaceted, higher order constructs. When CFA was used to define one M and one F factor from responses to each instrument, the disattenuated correlations between M and F were +0.58 (BSRI), ?.50 (ASRS), and ?1.0 (CPS). Thus, responses from two instruments supported the separation of M and F, but differed in the direction of the correlation for the two traits, while the third provided remarkably strong support for a bipolar MF continuum. Despite the apparent inconsistency, the observed correlations were explicable in terms of the design of each instrument. While the two-factor model provided a reasonable fit for the BSRI, more complicated models were better able to fit responses to the ASRS and CPS. Results from this investigation and other research were used to formulate a new theoretical model.     

自恋与自尊：社会赞许性的中介作用

目的：考察社会赞许性在自恋与自尊关系中所起的中介作用。方法：对614名大学生进行自恋人格问卷（NPI）、自尊问卷（SES）、马洛一克罗恩社会赞许量表（MCSD）测评。结果：高自恋者的自尊水平显著高于低自恋者;自恋总分及权欲、优越感、自我钦羡三个因子与自尊显著性正相关,特权感因子与自尊负相关;自恋总分及权欲、优越感、自我钦羡因子对自尊有较好的直接预测效应,以社会赞许性为中介能更好地解释特权感因子与自尊的关系。结论：自恋与自尊关系稳定,自恋的权欲、优越感、自我钦羡因子预测健康的自尊,特权感因子预测防御性的自尊。     

A general factor of personality,social desirability,cognitive ability,and the survey of work styles in an employment selection setting

How a general factor of personality (GFP) correlated with employment screening measures in an applied setting was examined. Participants were 540 adult insurance sales job applicants who completed scales from two personality measures, the five scales from the Survey of Work Styles (SWS), an intelligence measure, and a social desirability scale. A joint factor analysis of the personality questionnaires produced four first order factors. A single GFP was also extracted. Strong correlations were found between some of the personality factors and the SWS scales. Strong significant correlations were found between the GFP and three of the four personality factors with social desirability. Neither the GFP nor the personality factors correlated significantly with cognitive abilities.     

Narcissism, Self-Esteem, and Defensive Self-Enhancement

This study investigates the relationships among narcissism, self-esteem, and defensive self-enhancement in samples of 60, 84, 300, and 57 subjects. Using various self-report indices of these constructs we found that (a) defensive self-enhancement is composed of two orthogonal components: grandiosity and social desirability; (b) grandiosity and social desirability independently predict self-esteem and may represent distinct confounds in the measurement of self-esteem, (c) narcissism is positively related to grandiose self-enhancement (as opposed to social desirability), (d) narcissism is positively associated with both defensive and nondefensive self-esteem, and (e) authority, self-sufficiency, and vanity are the narcissistic elements most indicative of nondefensive self-esteem. The results are consistent with several theories that postulate a two-component model for self-esteem regulation and personality development.     

The Social Phobia and Social Interaction Anxiety Scales: Evaluation of Psychometric Properties

The present investigations examined the factor structure and psychometric properties of two new self-report measures of social phobia, the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) and the Social Phobia Scale (SPS). A confirmatory factor analysis in Study I provided support for the fit of a two-factor model of the SIAS and SPS. Internal consistency estimates were high for the original two scales with a sample of 200 undergraduates. Also, using an item parceling procedure, the obtained internal consistency reliability indices for each parcel were acceptable. Results of the CFA in Study II provided support for the factorial stability of the model identified in Study I. Furthermore, multisample analyses showed invariant patterns for factor loadings and factor correlations across 138 men and 272 women. Gender differences were not observed in the mean SIAS and SPS scale and item scores. Both scales correlated negatively and significantly with measures of social desirability. Concurrent validity was established for the scales. The SPS was less specific than the SIAS to symptoms of social phobia.     

The factor structure and composite reliability of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale among ex-prisoners

The aim of this study was to examine the factor structure and composite reliability of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) using a sample of 669 ex-prisoners identified in the National Survey of American Life. Six distinct factor models, with uncorrelated measurement error terms, were specified and tested using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Results indicated that the two-factor model consisting of positive and negative latent variables provided a better fit to the data than the alternative models. Moreover, only positive self-esteem was a significant predictor of recidivism. Composite reliability indicated that the two factors were measured with very good reliability. The results consequently provide additional support for a two-dimensional model of the RSES within offender populations.     

Implications of Item Keying and Item Valence for the Investigation of Construct Dimensionality

Factor analysis and nomological network analysis are commonly used as complementary procedures in the investigation of the dimensionality of constructs (e.g., self-esteem, job satisfaction). Although it has been demonstrated that factor analyses are often biased toward a two-dimensional solution for measures including regular- and reverse-keyed items, less attention has been paid to the implications for nomological network analyses. We propose, and demonstrate empirically in two studies, that item keying is confounded with item valence (i.e., favorability of item content), and that item valence can bias the results of both factor analysis and nomological network analysis toward a two-dimensional interpretation. We also demonstrate that the valence effect is related to, but distinguishable from, social desirability response bias. We caution that the practice of excluding reverse-keyed items to achieve unidimensionality can lead to distortion in correlations among constructs, and we offer alternative remedies to the valence problem.     

The Eating Attitudes Test-26 Revisited using Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling

Most previous studies have failed to replicate the original factor structure of the 26-item version of the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26) among community samples of adolescents. The main objective of the present series of four studies (n?=?2178) was to revisit the factor structure of this instrument among mixed gender community samples of adolescents using both exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). First, results from the ESEM analyses provided satisfactory goodness-of-fit statistics and reliability coefficients for a six-factor model of the EAT with 18 items (EAT-18) closely corresponding to the original seven-factor structure proposed for the 40-item version of the EAT. Second, these analyses were satisfactorily replicated among a new sample of community adolescents using CFA. The results confirmed the factor loading and intercept invariance of this model across gender and age groups (i.e., early and late adolescence), as well as the complete invariance of the EAT-18 measurement model between ethnicities (i.e., European versus African origins) and across weight categories (i.e., underweight, normal weight and overweight). Finally, the last study provided support for convergent validity of the EAT-18 with the Eating Disorder Inventory and with instruments measuring global self-esteem, physical appearance, social physique anxiety and fear of negative appearance evaluation.     

A Test of Bipolar and Androgyny Perspectives of Masculinity and Femininity: The Effect of Participation in an Outward Bound Program

ABSTRACT The purposes of the present investigation are to examine theoretical issues in androgyny theory by testing the effect of participation in the Outward Bound program on measures of masculinity (M) and femininity (F) Bipolar conceptualizations of MF posit that an increase in either M or F must lead to a decrease in the other, whereas androgyny theory posits M and F to be independent constructs Consistent with a priori predictions based on the nature of the Outward Bound program, participation substantially enhanced M and had a small positive effect on F The results were reasonably consistent for male and female participants, for single-sex and mixed-sex groups, and across responses to three different MF measures Results support the androgyny interpretation of MF and demonstrate the effectiveness of the Outward Bound program in changing MF The results contradict the bipolar perspective that an increase in M must be accompanied by a decrease in F     

青少年同伴依恋对抑郁的影响:朋友社会支持和自尊的中介作用

为探讨青少年同伴依恋与抑郁的关系,以及社会支持和自尊在二者关系中的作用机制,采用父母和同伴依恋问卷(IPPA)中的同伴依恋分量表、领悟社会支持量表(PSSS)、自尊量表(SES)和流调中心用抑郁量表(CES-D)对668名中学生进行调查,结果发现:(1)青少年同伴依恋、朋友社会支持和自尊两两之间呈显著正相关,且三者与抑郁均呈显著负相关。(2)青少年同伴依恋不仅能直接负向预测抑郁,而且还能通过自尊的单独中介作用对抑郁产生影响;朋友社会支持的单独中介作用以及社会支持→自尊的链式中介作用在初、高中生群体中存在差异,即在初中生群体中,同伴依恋能够通过社会支持的单独中介作用以及社会支持→自尊的链式中介作用对抑郁产生影响,而在高中生群体中,这两种间接作用均不显著。研究结果揭示了青少年同伴依恋对抑郁产生影响的心理机制,为引导青少年建立良好的同伴依恋,促进自尊及心理健康发展提供了有益建议。     

The Belief in Personal Control Scale: a measure of God-Mediated and Exaggerated Control

Combining and extending previous conceptions of the construct of perceived control, a self-report measure based on a proposed multidimensional model was developed and validated. The Belief in Personal Control Scale (BPCS), measures of locus of control, depression, mania, anxiety, self-esteem, and social desirability were administered to several samples. A factor analysis revealed three interpretable components of the control construct: a general External Control factor, an Exaggerated Internal Control factor, and a God-Mediated Control factor. The results of this article provide preliminary support for the model and for the BPCS as a multidimensional measure of perceived control with reliable and valid subscales. Consistent with the proposed model of control, the three factors correlated differentially with the various measures of psychological adjustment. Of particular interest is the positive correlation between the Exaggerated Internal Control factor and a measure of mania.     

Testing the Factor Structure and Measurement Invariance Across Gender of the Big Five Inventory Through Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling

Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) typically fail to support the a priori 5-factor structure of Big Five self-report instruments, due in part to the overly restrictive CFA assumptions. We show that exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM), an integration of CFA and exploratory factor analysis, overcomes these problems in relation to responses to the 44-item Big Five Inventory (BFI) administered to a large Italian community sample. ESEM fitted the data better and resulted in less correlated factors than CFA, although ESEM and CFA factor scores correlated at near unity with observed raw scores. Tests of gender invariance with a 13-model taxonomy of full measurement invariance showed that the factor structure of the BFI is gender-invariant and that women score higher on Neuroticism, Agreeableness, Extraversion, and Conscientiousness. Through ESEM one could address substantively important issues about BFI psychometric properties that could not be appropriately addressed through traditional approaches.     

Using the implicit association test to measure self-esteem and self-concept

Experiment 1 used the Implicit Association Test (IAT; A. G. Greenwald, D. E. McGhee, & J. L. K. Schwartz, 1998) to measure self-esteem by assessing automatic associations of self with positive or negative valence. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) showed that two IAT measures defined a factor that was distinct from, but weakly correlated with, a factor defined by standard explicit (self-report) measures of self-esteem. Experiment 2 tested known-groups validity of two IAT gender self-concept measures. Compared with well-established explicit measures, the IAT measures revealed triple the difference in measured masculinity-femininity between men and women. Again, CFA revealed construct divergence between implicit and explicit measures. Experiment 3 assessed the self-esteem IAT's validity in predicting cognitive reactions to success and failure. High implicit self-esteem was associated in the predicted fashion with buffering against adverse effects of failure on two of four measures.     

青少年社会支持与攻击的关系:自尊、自我控制的链式中介作用

采用社会支持系统量表、自尊量表、自我控制量表、攻击量表对重庆市某中学559名青少年进行调查,再次验证自尊与攻击的关系,并探讨自我控制在社会支持、自尊和攻击间的中介作用以及自尊和自我控制在青少年社会支持和攻击间的链式中介作用。结果显示：（1）社会支持、自尊和自我控制与攻击之间呈显著负相关;（2）自我控制在社会支持与攻击、自尊与攻击关系间均起着完全中介作用;（3）自尊与自我控制在社会支持与攻击关系间起着链式中介作用。因此,社会支持、自尊、自我控制是青少年攻击的重要影响因素,社会支持除了能直接影响青少年的攻击外,还可以通过自尊、自我控制的链式中介作用间接影响其攻击水平。     

A preliminary scale to measure connected and separate knowing: The Knowing Styles Inventory

The present investigation reported the development and validation of the Knowing Styles Inventory (KSI), a scale to measure connected and separate knowing [M. F. Belenky, B. M. Clinchy, N. R. Goldberger, and J. M. Tarule (1986), Women's Ways of Knowing: The Development of Self, Voice, and Mind New York, Basic Books]. In Study 1, principal components analyses for samples of females (N = 300) and males (N = 253) yielded two components, Connected and Separate Knowing. Studies 2 and 3 focused on females exclusively. The results indicated adequate test—retest reliability and internal consistency for both components. Additionally, Connected Knowing was positively correlated with empathic concern, perspective-taking, social desirability, and the femininity factor of the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI). Separate Knowing was positively correlated with the masculinity factor of the BSRI and negatively correlated with social desirability. Suggestions for future research were presented.The authors wish to thank Jill Mattuck Tarule for the insight that she offered in the early stages of this project, and they wish to acknowledge the contribution of Nicole Bressler who participated in item development.     

Social desirability, anonymity, and internet-based questionnaires

It has been argued that behavior on the Internet differs from similar behavior in the “real world” (Joinson, 1998a). In the present study, participants completed measures of self-consciousness, social anxiety, self-esteem, and social desirability, using either the World-Wide Web (WWW) or pen and paper, and were assigned to either an anonymous or a nonanonymous condition. It was found that people reported lower social anxiety and social desirability and higher self-esteem when they were anonymous than when they were nonanonymous. Furthermore, participants also reported lower social anxiety and social desirability when they were using the Internet than when they were using paper-based methods. Contrast analyses supported the prediction that participants using the WWW anonymously would show the lowest levels of social desirability, whereas participants answering with pen and paper nonanonymously would score highest on the same measure. Implications for the use of the Internet for the collection of psychological data are discussed.     

Social Support,Reciprocity, and Weil-Being

Abstract

Systematic random-sampling procedures were used to gather a sample of 191 community residents in Kaohsiung city, Taiwan, and survey them regarding (a) amount of social support given and received; (b) perceived reciprocity of support in relationships with family members, friends, and colleagues; (c) negative affect; and (d) psychological symptoms. Extraversion and social desirability were also measured. Both receiving and giving support were related to negative affect after controlling for the effects of extraversion and social desirability. These two personality factors also substantially masked the negative impact of support on psychological symptoms. Reciprocity of support within the family domain was related to well-being. Individual differences in support exchanges were noted, and women received more support than men.     

Conflict-Related Stimuli as Elicitors of Selected Physiological Responses

Combining and extending previous conceptions of the construct of perceived control, a self-report measure based on a proposed multidimensional model was developed and validated. The Belief in Personal Control Scale (BPCS), measures of locus of control, depression, mania, anxiety, self-esteem, and social desirability were administered to several samples. A factor analysis revealed three interpretable components of the control construct: a general External Control factor, an Exaggerated Internal Control factor, and a God-Mediated Control factor. The results of this article provide preliminary support for the model and for the BPCS as a multidimensional measure of perceived control with reliable and valid subscales. Consistent with the proposed model of control, the three factors correlated differentially with the various measures of psychological adjustment. Of particular interest is the positive correlation between the Exaggerated Internal Control factor and a measure of mania.     

Confirmatory Factor Analysis of Multitrait-Multimethod Data: The Construct Validation of Multidimensional Self-Concept Responses

ABSTRACT The multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) design is frequently used to test construct validity and is particularly appropriate for evaluating multidimensional instruments in personality research Despite its popularity there are important problems with both the traditional and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) approaches to MTMM data In previous research (1989a, 1989b) I described a new CFA approach that I claimed to be relatively immune to many of these problems This approach is applied here to test the construct validity of preadolescent responses to three multidimensional self-concept instruments The substantive contribution of the present investigation is to demonstrate good support for the construct validity of two of the three instruments The methodological contributions are to further substantiate my claims about the new CFA approaches and to demonstrate this approach in a substantively meaningful context that has broad applicability to other personality research