The Psychology and Theology of Sexism

Abstract

Studied the relationships between two dimensions of sexism and ten personality variables among 92 college students, sexes analyzed separately. The psychological data were interpreted and discussed in the context of traditional evangelical theologies of woman. Particular emphasis was given to the fact that basic sexism was associated generally with maladaptive personality variables but for the women was also positively correlated with intrinsic religious orientation, which has been positively related to mental health. The Chivalry dimension of sexism was associated with positive personality traits for men and with negative for women, implying that optimum adjustments would have men but not women pursue preferential treatment of women.

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