The Psychology of Gender 4th Edition

Methods and History of Gender Research 65

between cross-sectional and longitudinal

studies; longitudinal designs may provide

stronger tests of causality and are able to

distinguish cohort effects from age effects.

We face a number of difficulties in the

scientific study of gender. The experimenter

can be a source of bias by influencing the

question asked, the way a study is designed

(including the participants chosen and the way

variables are manipulated and measured), the

way the data are collected, how the data are

interpreted, and whether the data are reported.

Participants also can influence the outcome of

a study, in particular by demand characteristics

and concerns with self-presentation. Other

difficulties that researchers encounter when

studying gender include the problem of

generalizing from the laboratory to the real

world, isolating the effects of participant’s sex

from variables that are confounded with sex

such as status and gender role, and considering

how the context influences behavior.

In the second half of the chapter,

I reviewed the history of the psychology of

gender. The field began by addressing the

question of whether women were intellectually

inferior to men. When there was insufficient

evidence to support this claim, the field shifted

to focus on the mental or psychological

differences between men and women, that

is, masculinity and femininity. The first

comprehensive measure of masculinity and

femininity was the AIAS, but numerous other

inventories soon followed. A major shift in

the conceptualization and measurement of

masculinity and femininity occurred in 1974

with the development of the BSRI and the

PAQ. These two instruments challenged the

bipolar assumption that masculinity and

femininity are opposites and the view that

the healthiest people are masculine men and

feminine women. Instead, the model of mental

health was embodied in the androgynous

person, someone who incorporates both

feminine and masculine traits.

The most recent approaches to

the conceptualization of femininity and

masculinity have emphasized their multiple

components. We now realize that femininity

and masculinity consist of behaviors,

roles, and physical characteristics as well

as personality traits. Researchers have also

emphasized how the social context influences

the display of sex differences and the

meaning of gender. An area of research that

emphasizes the role society plays in shaping

gender-role norms is gender-role strain.

Gender-role strain is experienced when the

norms for our gender role conflict with our

naturally occurring tendencies or with what

would be psychologically adaptive. This area

of research has largely been applied to men.

1. Describe a scientific theory with
   which you are familiar. It does
   not have to be from psychology; it
   could be from biology or physics,
   for example. Go through the stages
   of the research process shown in
   Figure 2.1.


2. What is the difference between
   random assignment and random

sampling? How is each related to

internal and external validity?

3. Identify behaviors you think might
   be interpreted differently when dis-
   played by a female versus a male.
   For each one, explain why.


4. If you have ever been in an ex-
   periment, discuss some of the
   ways that just knowing you were

Discussion Questions

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