Sex-Role Concepts and Flexibility on Measures of Thinking, Feeling, and Behaving

Abstract

Tests selected to measure orientation toward others, interpersonal relations on behavioral and feeling levels, and creative thinking were administered to 163 persons. Scores were examined for differences between males and females (on the basis of gender alone) and among sex-role concept groups (on the basis of scores on Bem's test) to test the proposition that androgynous persons are more flexible in interpersonal relations than are either masculine or feminine persons. Androgynous persons are more flexible in a range of interpersonal situations but not in creative thinking tasks. Both the extensions and limitations of the androgyny construct are discussed in view of that finding. The usefulness of Bem's test of sex-role inventory for clinical and research purposes was noted.