Table of Contents
Spence, J. T., et al. (1974). The Personal Attributes Questionnaire: A measure of sex-role stereotypes and masculinity- femininity. JSAS Catalog of Selected Documents in Psychology 4:42.
Comments:
The 24-item Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ) measures attributes that differentiate between the sexes. In addition, Spence et al. developed the 55-item Attitudes toward Women Scale (the short form has 15 items), which has items that describe the privileges, rights, and roles that women should have or be allowed to have.
Scale Construction:
The original 55-item PAQ contains three scales: a masculine scale (M) with 23 items, a feminine scale (F) with 18 items, and a masculine-feminine scale (M-F) with 13 items. One item could not be classified. The PAQ is based on over 130 items generated by students as characteristics that differentiate between males and females. The 55 items not only describe characteristics that differentiate between males and females, but also rep- resent the actual ratings of university males and females. The current 24-item PAQ contains the same three scales with eight items in each scale.
Sample:
One set of normative data is available based on the rounded mean of the medians of the men and women in the high school sample. Another set of normative data derived by using the same procedure (rounded mean of the medians of the men and women) is available based on 715 university students.
Reliability:
Cronbach alpha reliabilities were 0.78 (M-F scale), 0.82 (F scale), and 0.85 (M scale). Correlations between the short form and the original scale were 0.91 (M-F scale) and 0.93 (M and F scales).
Validity:
Factor analytic procedures confirmed the unidimensionality of the M and F scales. Information about concur- rent and predictive validity is reported.
Definition of Scales:
The Masculinity Scale consists of items that are socially desirable for both sexes, although men possess these characteristics more than women. The Femininity Scale consists of items that are socially desirable for both sexes, although women possess these characteristics more than men. The Masculinity-Femininity Scale consists of items whose social desirability varies between the sexes.
Data Analysis:
Two samples of university students yielded significant differences between the means of men and women on every item of the PAQ. Males scored higher on the M and M-F items, and scored lower on the F items. In addition, part-whole correlations were computed between each of the item scores and each of the three scales.
References
Coleman, H. L. (2009). The personality traits of instrumentality and expressiveness in relation to microcomputer playfulness. PhD dissertation, University of Texas at Austin.
Gerhardstein, K. R. (2010). Attitudes toward transsexual people: Effects of gender and appearance. PsyD dissertation, Indiana State University.
Keener, E. (2010). Boys’ and girls’ strategies for managing peer conflict in adolescence. PhD dissertation, West Virginia University.
Persky, D. R. (2010). The ethical orientation of advertising executives: The relationship among ethical climate, sex role identity, and selected demographic and job variables. PhD dissertation, New York University.
Tatum, K. J. (2012). Adherence to gender roles as a predictor of compassion and self-compassion in women and men. PsyD dissertation, Baylor University.
Personal Attributes Questionnaire
Not at all aggressive Very aggressive
Very whiny Not at all whiny
Not at all independent Very independent
Not at all arrogant Very arrogant
Not at all emotional Very emotional
Very submissive Very dominant
Very boastful Not at all boastful
Not at all excitable in a major crisis Very excitable in a major crisis
Very passive Very active
Not at all egotistical Very egotistical
Not at all able to devote self completely to others Able to devote self completely to others Not at all spineless Very spineless
Very rough Very gentle
Not at all complaining Very complaining
Not at all helpful to others Very helpful to others
Not at all competitive Very competitive
Subordinates oneself to others Never subordinates oneself to others
Very home oriented Very worldly
Very greedy Not at all greedy
Not at all kind Very kind
Indifferent to others’ approval Highly needful of others’ approval
Very dictatorial Not at all dictatorial
Feelings not easily hurt Feelings easily hurt
Doesn’t nag Nags a lot
Not at all aware of feelings of others Very aware of feelings of others
Can make decisions easily Has difficulty making decisions
Very fussy Not at all fussy
Gives up very easily Never gives up easily
Very cynical Not at all cynical
Never cries Cries very easily
Not at all self-confident Very self-confident
Does not look out only for self; principled Looks out only for self; unprincipled Feels very inferior Feels very superior
Not at all hostile Very hostile
Not at all understanding of others Very understanding of others
Very cold in relations with others Very warm in relations with others
Very servile Not at all servile
Very little need for security Very strong need for security
Not at all gullible Very gullible
Goes to pieces under pressure Stands up well under pressure
Scoring: A bipolar scale is used. Each item receives a score of 0 to 4.