The Psychology of Gender 4th Edition

58 Chapter 2

■ The use of independent M/F scales led to the develop-

ment of the androgyny construct. Initially, androgyny

was captured by similar scores on masculinity and

femininity and later by high scores on masculinity and

femininity.

■ The most recent advance during this period was the

idea that there are socially undesirable aspects of gen-

der roles that ought to be considered and measured.

This led to the concepts of unmitigated agency and un-

mitigated communion.

1982–Present: Gender as a Social Category

Over the past three decades, research on

sex and gender has proliferated. There have

been two recent trends. The first has been

to view gender as a multifaceted or multi-

dimensional construct, meaning that the

two-dimensional view of masculinity and

femininity is not sufficient to capture gender

roles. The development of the unmitigated

agency and unmitigated communion scales

Both unmitigated communion and

unmitigated agency have been shown to

be important constructs in the area of gen-

der and health and account for a number

of sex differences in health. This research is

discussed in later chapters of this book that

focus on health.

TAKE HOME POINTS

■ The period between 1954 and 1982 brought with it

major innovations in the conceptualization and mea-

surement of gender roles.

■ The distinction between the instrumental and expres-

sive orientation was made and then linked to gender.

This led to the development of two instruments, the

PAQ and the BSRI, which are the most widely used

instruments to measure psychological masculinity and

femininity today.

■ These two instruments differed from previous instru-

ments in that masculinity and femininity were estab-

lished as two independent dimensions rather than

bipolar ends of a single continuum.

TABLE 2.6 UNMITIGATED COMMUNION SCALE

Instructions: Using the following scale, place a number in the blank beside each statement that

indicates the extent to which you agree or disagree. Think of the people close to you—friends or

family—in responding to each statement.

Strongly

Disagree

1

Slightly

Disagree

2

Neither Agree

nor Disagree

3

Slightly

Agree

4

Strongly

Agree

5

1. I always place the needs of others above my own.


2. I never find myself getting overly involved in others’ problems.*


3. For me to be happy, I need others to be happy.


4. I worry about how other people get along without me when I am not there.


5. I have no trouble getting to sleep at night when other people are upset.*


6. It is impossible for me to satisfy my own needs when they interfere with the needs of others.


7. I can’t say no when someone asks me for help.


8. Even when exhausted, I will always help other people.


9. I often worry about others’ problems.
   *Items are reverse scored.
   Source: Helgeson and Fritz (1998).

M02_HELG0185_04_SE_C02.indd 58 6/21/11 12:19 PM