Psychological Androgyny & Gender Attribution to Hypothetical Persons

Previous research concerning sex-role stereotyping, psychological androgyny, and mental health as it relates both to sex-role stereotyping and androgyny was reviewed. The literature indicated the need for a reevaluation of mental health standards with regard to sex-role stereotypes. The present study attempted to approach this need by examining the relationship between psychological androgyny and attitudes toward sex-role stereotyping. It was hypothesized that androgynous individuals would be more likely than other individuals to state that a hypothetical person possessing a specific set of traits could be either male or female. IL was anticipated that this would be true regardless of the adjective trait list (Masculine, Feminine, Masculine/Feminine, or Neutral) received by the subject. To test this hypothesis, the Bern Sex-Role Inventory and four adjective trait lists were administered to 318 male and female undergraduate students enrolled in Introductory Psychology. Each student received the Bern Sex-Role Inventory and one of the adjective trait lists. Small cell sizes necessitated the use of a descriptive analysis rather than a more rigorous statistical analysis. The results suggested that the hypothesis was not supported. It seemed that in no instance were androgynous people more likely than non-androgynous people to refrain from attributing gender to a hypothetical person. Specific findings and possible interpretations of the results were discussed, and possible explanations for the lack of statistically significant findings were offered