ERIC Number: ED145308
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1976
Pages: 14
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
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Sex, Occupational Membership, and the Measurement of Psychological Androgyny.
Fitzgerald, Louise F.
This study examines the relationship of androgyny to occupational membership. It was hypothesized that: (1) persons in stereotypically masculine occupations would be characterized by high levels of masculininity; (2) workers in a typically feminine occupation would rate themselves as highly feminine; and (3) androgynous individuals would be under-represented in highly sex-typed occupations. Subjects were 85 men and women actively engaged in the professions of law, journalism, and library science, which are strongly stereotyped as masculine, neutral, and feminine, respectively. The Bem Sex Role Inventory was administered to each subject, and subjects completed biographical data sheets. A Masculinity and a Femininity score was computed for each subject, and analyzed by means of separate one-way analyses of variance to test the hypotheses under study. Findings confirm Hypothesis One. Hypothesis Two is not confirmed: no occupational differences were apparent, but significant sex differences were indicated. There may be a ceiling effect operating with respect to femininity, with variation in this level related only to sex of the subject. Another possible explanation is related to original classification of the occupations. For two of the three occupations under investigation the data support Hypothesis Three. Further research is necessary. (Author/JLL)
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
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Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
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Note: Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Psychological Association (84th, Washington, D.C., September 3-7, 1976)