A replication study of item selection for the Bem Sex Role Inventory

Abstract

An attempt was made to replicate the selection of items for the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI). The 20 masculine, 20 feminine, and 20 neutral items of the BSRI were rated for social desirability "in an American male" and "in an American female" by male and female judges. The BSRI item-selection criterion-each item being rated by both male and female judges as significantly more desirable in a male than in a female (masculine items) or significantly more desirable in a female than in a male (feminine items)-was met by only two items: masculine feminine. For a considerable number of other items, differences between mean desirability ratings for a male and for a female were in a direction opposite to that predicted. Correlations between the mean ratings of male and female judges when rating items for the same sex were quite high, consistent with previous research.