institution. These categories are also used to organize items having

72 Pages·2011·1.21 MB·English

DOCUMENT RESUME
TM 007 503
ED 159 207
Mason, Karen Oppenheim; And Others
AUTHOR
Sex -Role. Attitude Items and Scales from U.S. Sample
TITLE
Surveys.
National Inst. of Mental Health (DHEW), Rockville,
SPONS AGENCY
Md.
DHEW-ADM-75-248
REPORT NO
Feb 75
PUB DATE
1-R01-MH25271-01
GRANT
72p.
NOTE
CIF -$0.83 HC-$3.50 Plus Postage.
EDRS PRICE
*Attitude Tests; Discriminatory Attitudes (Social);
DESCRIPTORS
Family Role; *Females; Institutional Role; Males;
Questionnaires; Role Perception; Sex Differences;
*Sex Discrimination; *Sex Role; Sex Stereotypes;
*Social Attitudes; *Test Items; Womens Education;
Working Women
ABSTRACT
This introductory guide to sex role attitude measures
finding
used in the United States was designed to aid researchers in
items for surveying sex role attitudes. Measures devised or published
after July, 197e, or those used only in foreign surveys are not
included. The compendium focuses on measures of peoples' attitudes
rather than their behavior, and covers sex roles in specific
institutional areas (including the family, the labor force, the
educational system, the political system, and the military). Items
should behave or be
are categorized by the way in which women vs. men
treated within the institution, perception of actual treatment.of men
action
and women within the institutional context, and respondent's
orientation towards, or recommendations for change in, the
having
institution. These categories are also used to organize items
institutional one. These
a general sex role reference rather than an
behavior of
items encompass attitudes towards general norms about the
situations), sex trait
men and women (with a focus on primary group
stereotypes, discrimination, and the women's liberation movement.
is
References to at least one study or article in which the measure
used are given for each item. (Author/JAC)
**************************************************t********************
Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made
frOm the original document.
***********************************************************************
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SAMPLE SURVEYS
SEX-ROLE ATTITUDE ITEMS AND SCALES FROM U.S.
Karen Oppetheim Mason
with the, assistance of
Daniel R. Denison
and
Anita J. Schacht
Population Studies Center
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor
February, 1975
printed by
National Institute of Mental Health
5600 Fishers Lane
20852
Rockville, Maryland
This work was supported by a grant from the National Institute
The senior author grate--
of Mental Health (# 1 ROl MH25271-01) .
fully acknowledges the extensive and devoted efforts of Anita
for
Schacht and Daniel Denison in helping to assemble the items
Suggestions and comments should be sent to her at
this volume.
48104.
1225 South University Avenue, Ann Arbor, Michigan
ii
4
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1
INTRODUCTION
6
THE SEX ROLE ATTITUDE MEASURES
6
Sex Roles in Specific institutional Areas
I.
6
THE FAMILY
A.
6
The Obligatoriness of Familial Roles
1.
6
The Combining of Familial and Work Roles For Women
2.
Moral Acceptability Of
a.
Practical Feasibility Of
b.
Consequences Of
c.
13
Responsibilities of Husbands and Wives-
3.
General Husband/Wife Division of Responsibilities
a.
Husband and Wife's Jobs in Relationship to Each
b.
Other and To Family /Marital. Responsibility
Husband and Wife's Interpersonal Responsibilities
c.
(Emotional and Sexual)
Husband /Wife Division of Specific Tasks
d.
1)" Child Rearing
Household Chores
2)
Finances
3)
Family Decision Making
4)
19
Children
Differeatial Socialization of Female and Male
4.
20
Family Law
5,
21
Miscellaneous
6.
22
THE LABOR FORCE
B.
Opportunity, Reward
Normative Support for Equality of
1.
.22
and Authority Between Female and Male Workers
24
Sex Stereotypes PertainingLto Work Roles
2.
25-
Workers
Perceived Biases For and-Against Women
3.
27
Leaves
Support For Da)? Care and Maternity
.4.
28-
C., THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
30
POLITICS AND LEADERSHIP ROLES
D.
30
Women Should /Should Not be More Active in Politics
1.
31
Sex Stereotypes Pertaining to Political Roles
2.
33
Perceived Biases For or Against Women in Politics
3.
Personal Willingness to Accept±_Vote for Women.
4.
34
Candidates or Office Holders
36
THE MILITARY
E.
General. Norms Concerning the Behavior of Women and Men,
II.
38
Especially in Face-to-Face Interaction
38
SOCIAL BEHAVIOR
A.
38
Freedom of Action
1.
39
Special Privileges, Courtesies, Etiquette
2.
40_
Active/Passive Role in' Interaction
3.
40
SEXUAL BEHAVIOR
40
Freedom of Action
1.
41
Courtship and Dating
2.
42
Sex Stereotypes
III.
PERCEIVED CHARACTERISTICS OF WOMEN AND MEN AND DIFFERENCES
A.
42
BETWEEN THEM
PERCEIVED CONDITIONS OF WOMEN'S. AND MEN'S HAPPINESS OR
B.
46
SATISFACTION
Perceptions of Biases For or Against Women Not: Specific
IV,
49.'
to Any Institutional Area
49
GENERAL PERCEPTION OF DISCRIMINATION, OPPRESSION
A.
53
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR OVERCOMING DI°CRIMINATION
B.
iv
.N
54
Attitudes Towards The Women's Movement
V.
56
Miscellaneous
VI.
56
SINGLE ITEMS
A.
57
SEX TRAIT/ROLE INVENTORIES AND SCALES N.E C
B.
60
REFERENCES
INTRODUCTION
This volume presents a number of sex-role attitude measures used
Its main purpose is to aid
in sample surveys in the United States,
researchers interested in sex roles or sex-role attitudes in finding items
The measures devised and used by past studies do not
for-their surveys.
cover all aspects of sex roles, sex differences cy..: sexinequality. .Most
of these measures, moreover, are without known formal properties and'_
For these reasons, students of sex roles
have at best "face" validity.
who are about to field their own surveys may wish to devise new measures.
It is hoped, however, that this compendium will help them decide whether
extant items are sufficient for their analytic' purposes, and will as
well encourage them to replicate items so that time series on sex-role
attitudes are created.
The reader is warned that the compendium is by no means exhaustive.
First, it deliberately focuses on measures of peoples' attitudes rather
Specifically, it includes measures
than on measures of their behavior.
that touch on normative supi3Ort for particular sex-role arrangments,
on 'perceptions of sex. differences or stereotypes, on perceptions of how
women and men are differentially treated in various portions of the
social, system, and on support for particular "-remedies" forcsex inequality
1
0
2
measuring how
It does not include items or scales
or discrimination.
measuring whether they
individuals conduct their own lives, nor those
discrimination or have personally engaged
have personally experienced sex
discrimination.
in activities oriented toward remedying
exhaustive in the
Secondly, the compendium is also less than
As part of a larger project investigating recent
s-ilrces it-relies upon.
publications and unpublished
sex-role attitudes, we reviewed a number of
items or scales they
data sets, keeping records of the particular
extend our search of
We made little attempt, however, to
contained.
deemed necessary for the
literature and data archives beyond what we
Thus, some unknown number of
analytic goals of the larger project.
not included below,
sex-role attitude measures used in past studies are
organizations
Because the items used by national polling
though many are.
compendium probably
have been systematically assembled elsewhere, our
of
It probably covers as well most
has covered most of these measures.
sociology and social psychology
the measures reported on in major
newly devised
It does not, however, contain any such measures
journals.
only
and does not contain measures used
or published after July, 1974,
in foreign surveys.
in a third respect;
Finally, the compendium is less than exhaustive
For this reason, it
evaluative.
namely, it is descriptive rather than
sex-role attitude measures
is intended as an introductory guide to
We did not keep a systematic
rather than as a final source of them-
items or scales were used, nor
record of the samples on which particular
Thus,
validity.
author's attempts to assess reliability or
any record of
individual measures pluS a reference
what appears below is the wording of
3
Persons
:is,used.
to at least or. study or article in which..the measure
data,
concerned with the quality or potential availability of base-line
validily of particular measures, will
or TAtt.: the known reliability or
need to use these references to obtain further _information.
An effort has been
A word on the arrangement of the measures.
made to organize individual items and scales according to their apparent
Items referring to sex roles within specific
substantive content.
institutions--the family, the labor force, the educational system, the
political system, or the military--have been kept separate from those
The former are presented
referring generally to sex roles or differences.
By far the largest set of these teferS to sex roleS vis-
in. Section I.
a-vis the family, and an attempt has been made to categorize the items
Items dealing.with women's or men's obliga-
in this set in some detail.
those
tion to assume adult familial roles have been kept separate from
In turn, both
dealing with conflicts between familial and other roles.
obligations
of these have been kept separate from items referring to the
children,
of husbands and wives vis-a vis each other, household chores and
socialization
and from those describing prescriptions for the differential
The particular place where a given item
of female and male children.
arbitrary, and readers interested
or scale is presented is often somewhat
probably
in any of these aspects of sex roles vis-a-vis the family should
examine this entire section of the compendium.
employ
For the remaining institutional areas, we have attempted to
(not used when the number
a more consistent method of categorizing items
Here, items are divided into four categories:
of them is small).
Those tapping norms about the way in which women vs. men should
(1)
(2) those tapping beliefs
behave or be treated within this institution;