Intolerance of ambiguity among psychologists: A comment on maier and lavrakas

Maier and Lavrakas (“Attitudes Toward Women, Personality Rigidity, and Idealized Physique Preferences in Males,” Sex Roles, 1984, 11(5/6), 425–433) claim to have shown that males with a rigid personality structure seek an idealized muscular physique. It is pointed out that their measure of rigidity (the F scale) is based on an oversimplified and extensively disconfirmed theory, which is itself intolerant of ambiguity. Continued acceptance of the theory is also therefore intolerant of ambiguity. It is proposed that the correct interpretation of the Maier and Lavrakas findings should have been that it is old-fashioned to idealize a muscular physique.