ANDROGENY
© 2005, John B. Pryor, Ph.D.
Illinois State University
Describe yourself
1. Not at all independent
Very independent
0..........1..........2..........3..........4
2. Not at all emotional
Very emotional
0..........1..........2..........3..........4
3. Very passive
Very active
0..........1..........2..........3..........4
4. Not at all able
Able to devote self
to devote self
to devote self
completely
completely
to others
to others
0..........1..........2..........3..........4
5. Very rough
Very gentle
0..........1..........2..........3..........4
6. Not at all helpful
Very helpful
to others
to others
0..........1..........2..........3..........4
7. Not at all competitive
Very competitive
0..........1..........2..........3..........4
8. Not at all kind
Very kind
0..........1..........2..........3..........4
9. Not at all aware of
Very aware of
feelings of others
feelings of others
0..........1..........2..........3..........4
10. Has difficulty
Can make
making decisions
decisions easily
0..........1..........2..........3..........4
11. Gives up
Never gives
very easily
up easily
0..........1..........2..........3..........4
12.Not at all
Very selfself- confident
confident
0..........1..........2..........3..........4
13. Feels very inferior
Feels very superior
0..........1..........2..........3..........4
14. Not at all
Very
understanding
understanding
of others
of others
0..........1..........2..........3..........4
15. Very cold
Very warm
in relations
in relations
with others
with others
0..........1..........2..........3..........4
16. Goes to pieces
Stands up well
under pressure
under pressure
0..........1..........2..........3..........4
Scoring the PAQ


Masculine Scale: Items 1,3,7,10,11,12,13,16
Feminine Scale: Items 2,4,5,6,8,9,14,15
MEDIANS
Masculine Scale
Feminine Scale
Males
Females
23
22
21
25
Above Median
for Feminine
Androgynous
Below Median
for Feminine
Traditional
Masculine
Above Median
for Masculine
Above Median
for Feminine
Traditional
Feminine
Below Median
for Feminine
Undifferentiated
Below Median
for Masculine
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Androgyny: definition having characteristics of
both sexes
Greek roots:
andr--man
gyne--woman
Bem’s Flexibility Hypothesis
 Androgynous
females can act
more independent if the
situation calls for
independence.
 Androgynous males can act
more caring (nurturent) if the
situation calls for nurturence
Which pair of strangers
hits it off more?
Androgynous Male &
Androgynous Female
Androgynous Male &
Sex-typed Female
Sex-typed Male &
Androgynous Female
Sex-typed Male &
Sex-typed Female
from Ickes & Layden
Experimental Design from Andersen & Bem
Gender Schema
SELF
MALE
FEMALE
Early in life people learn
the gender schema.
Sex-typed people have
strong associations of the
self to one part of this
schema.
Bems’ Gender Schema Theory
Sex-typed
people have a cognitive
readiness to categorize the world
into male & female classes
Evidence-> Sex-typed people are
more likely to cluster their recall of
random words by gender categories
Evidence-> Sex-typed people are
faster in judging the self-relevance of
traditional adjectives & slower in
judging non-traditional adjectives
Some connections of
androgyny to sex
 Androgynous
women tend to
report more orgasms
 Androgynous women tend to
report more sexual
satisfaction
 Androgynous women and men
tend to be more comfortable
with sex
Some connections of
androgyny to sex
 Adherence
to traditional
gender roles is related to
earlier sexual activity and less
contraceptive use
Some connections of
androgyny to age adjustment
*Andronynous individuals
are psychologically healthier as
they grow older
Critique of androgyny research
Is androgyny really an ideal? What
about sex-role transcendence?
Androgynous people tend to be high in
self-esteem. Are measures of
androgyny proxies for self-esteem?
Different researchers use different
measures of androgyny. These
measures are not always highly
correlated.
Relationships of androgyny to
behavior are usually complex.