Clothing Behavior Related to Certain Personality Traits of a Selected Group of Japanese and American Men and Women
Clothing Behavior Related to Certain Personality Traits of a Selected Group of Japanese and American Men and Women

Author: Diane Maeda Sugimura

Publisher:

Published: 1971

Total Pages: 238

ISBN-13:

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The study was undertaken for the purpose of investigating the relationship between clothing behavior and sex, Japanese and American cultures, feminine or masculine personality types, and sex-role concepts. The aspects of clothing behavior included in the study are interest, tolerance, acceptance, and innovation of uni-sex clothing items, and the femininity-masculinity ratings of uni-sex clothing items. The instrument developed for the study consisted of four parts: 1) background information, Fe (femininity) scale of personality, and a measure of sex-role concept which determined the subjects' degree of restrictiveness on occupations which women should never have, 2) a measure of tolerance, acceptance, and innovation (T-A-I) of uni-sex clothing items, (3) interest in uni-sex clothing items, and 4) an F-M rating scale for each of the 15 uni-sex items. The participants were from the total Japanese student population and a random selection of American students registered for the 1970 summer term at Oregon State University and the University of Oregon. Also included were members of the Japanese-American Study Program at Oregon State. The total sample included 78 subjects, 46 of them male and 32 female. Japanese and Americans numbered 32 and 46, respectively. Statistical analyses of the data included a two-tailed t-tests as a measure of difference between the means of two variables and simple correlations (r) between variables. The study found that the men and women did differ in their clothing behavior--in interest in, and tolerance, acceptance, and innovation of uni-sex clothing items, and in the F-M ratings of the items which they accepted. Women showed greater interest and T-A-I, and rated the items more feminine than did the men. A comparison between. Japanese and Americans found no significant differences in any of the aspects of clothing behavior studied. Femininity- masculinity of personality showed a relationship with the individuals' F-M ratings of the uni-sex items which they accepted, with the more feminine personality rating the accepted items more feminine. Those differing in sex-role concept were found to differ in interest in, and T-A-I of uni-sex clothing items. Greater interest and T-A-I were indicated by those with the less restrictive sex-role concepts. The F-M ratings of items accepted did not differ among those with differing sex-role concepts.

Masculinity and Femininity
Masculinity and Femininity

Author: Janet T. Spence

Publisher: University of Texas Press

Published: 2014-11-06

Total Pages: 311

ISBN-13: 1477303111

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Many societies assign sharply distinguished roles to men and women. Personality differences, as well as physical differences, between men and women are used to justify these different sex roles, and women are seen as more emotionally and interpersonally sensitive than men, while men are said to be more competent, achievement oriented, and assertive than women. A widely held view is that not only do men and women differ but that possession of "masculine" characteristics precludes possession of "feminine" characteristics. This bipolar conception has led to the definition of masculinity and femininity as opposites. Acceptance of this idea has caused social scientists and laypersons to consider men and women who possess cross-sex personality characteristics as less emotionally healthy and socially adjusted than those with sex-appropriate traits. Previous research by the authors and others, done almost exclusively with college students, has shown, however, that masculinity and femininity do not relate negatively to each other, thus supporting a dualistic rather than a bipolar conception of these two psychological dimensions. Spence and Helmreich present data showing that the dualistic conception holds for a large number of groups, varying widely in age, geographical location, socioeconomic status, and patterns of interest, whose psychological masculinity and femininity were measured with an objective instrument, the Personality Attributes Questionnaire, devised by the authors. Many individuals are shown to be appropriately sex-typed; that is, men tend to be high in masculinity and low in femininity and women the reverse. However, a substantial number of men and women are androgynous—high in both masculine and feminine characteristics—while some are not high in either. Importantly, the authors find that androgynous individuals display more self-esteem, social competence, and achievement orientation than individuals who are strong in either masculinity or femininity or are not strong in either. One of the major contributions of the work is the development of a new, multifaceted measure of achievement motivation (the Work and Family Orientation Questionnaire), which can be used successfully to predict behavior in both males and females and is related to masculinity and femininity in both sexes. In addition to investigating the correlates of masculinity and femininity, the authors attempt to isolate parental factors that contribute to the development of these characteristics and achievement motivation. The book includes analyses of data from students on their perception of their parents, which enable the authors to examine the influence of parental masculinity and femininity and parental behaviors and child-rearing attitudes on the development of masculinity and femininity and achievement motivation characteristics in their children. The important implications of these findings for theories of sex roles, personality development, and achievement motivation are examined.

Body Awareness as Related to Clothing Interest of College Men and Women
Body Awareness as Related to Clothing Interest of College Men and Women

Author: Linda Kirk Paeth

Publisher:

Published: 1981

Total Pages: 254

ISBN-13:

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The purpose of this study was to explore relationships between clothing interest and body awareness, between clothing interest and selected demographic variables for college men and women, and between body awareness and selected demographic variables for college men and women. To assess these relationships two measures were used. Body awareness, the attention given by an individual to his or her body as compared to the total perceptual field, was measured by the Homonym Test developed by Paul F. Secord (1953). The Homonym Test is a word-association test consisting of 100 stimulus words administered orally. Seventy-five words are homonyms which have both bodily and non-bodily meaning; 25 words are neutral. Individual scores are obtained by summing responses which are based on the bodily meaning of the homonym. Clothing interest was defined as a feeling of intentness, concern, or curiosity about clothes - a motivational force affecting the clothing behavior of the individual (Gurel, 1974). Clothing interest was measured by the Clothing Interest Inventory revised from Schrank (1973). A Likert-type scale was used to assign values for each of the 20 items of the interest inventory. A Background Questionnaire was developed to aid description of the sample. Included on the questionnaire were: age, sex, marital status, self-reported physical health, college major, and year in college. Participants were solicited from introductory psychology courses. Participants in the study were young college men and women predominantly single, between the ages 18 and 20, and lower division students. Because of the limited sample, generalizations from the study are limited to students of similar age and background. Analysis of the data revealed that there were significant differences (beyond the .01 level of probability) between men and women on scores obtained on the Clothing Interest Inventory and on scores obtained on the Homonym Test of body awareness. Women scored significantly higher than men on clothing interest and on body awareness. Analysis of the data indicated a significant relationship (beyond the .01 level) between clothing interest scores for women and college major. Women majoring in Home Economics and Business had higher clothing interest scores than women majoring in Science, Liberal Arts, and Engineering. Analysis of the data indicated a significant relationship (beyond the .05 level) between clothing interest scores of men and the Homonym Test of body awareness scores. The relationship between clothing interest scores of women and the Homonym Test of body awareness scores was not significant. It was concluded that sex differences are related to clothing interest and body awareness. It was concluded that the relationship between body awareness and clothing interest requires further investigation to understand more clearly why the relationship was significant for men but not for women. It was recommended that the relationship between demographic variables and clothing interest and body awareness be explored with a less homogeneous sample. A wider age range and wider range in class level is recommended.