Psychology of Women Quarterly

Thirty therapists belonging to the Michigan Society of Consulting Psychologists rated the bipolar adjectives of the Sex-Role Stereotypes Questionnaire as to which pole was a problem for their average male and female clients. Female clients were viewed as too feminine on both socially desirable and socially undesirable adjectives. The problems of male clients were not viewed in sex stereotypic ways on the specific stereotypes. Asked directly, therapists reported that sex-role expectations create problems for both male and female clients. The findings contradict the hypothesis that therapists see the problems of women in therapy as nonconformity to the feminine stereotype.

Two hundred and ninety-nine internship programs and selected psychology graduate schools were surveyed by mail regarding their opinions and practices relevant to training in psychotherapy for women. The 94 usable replies included 55% of all APA approved programs. The results indicated that only a minority of training facilities deal in a systematic way with issues of sex bias and sex-role stereotyping in psychological practice. About 20% of the respondents expressed a need to improve their programs. Respondents' answers are detailed and the suggestion is made that egalitarian group supervisory meetings afford more opportunity than individual sessions to deal effectively with issues of sex bias and stereotyping.

Three hypotheses were derived from our basic premise that, among women, social factors are crucial in the choice of a high status, non traditional career: (1) Women applying to nontraditional careers should have lower affiliative needs than women applying to traditional careers. (2) As compared with women entering a traditional field, women entering a nontraditional field (a) will consider being married and having children less important, and (b) will be more likely to perceive nontraditional careers as compatible with the satisfaction of social and marital needs. (3a) As compared with women entering traditional fields, women entering nontraditional fields will be more likely to perceive the attitudes of significant others as favorable toward nontraditional careers. (3b) As compared with women entering a traditional field, women entering nontraditional careers will be more likely to have a boyfriend who is supportive and tolerant of a nontraditional career. Data were collected via mailed questionnaires from 153 traditional (nursing and medical rehabilitation) applicants and 78 nontraditional (medical and dental) applicants. The results supported all three hypotheses.

Eight females (X age = 20 yrs.) were subjects in an experiment consisting of two parts. The first part measured the maximal work capacity and peak work load on a treadmill at a speed of 8 kms (5 mph) with grade increasing 2 1/2% every 3 minutes. The second part measured energy expended on a treadmill walked under varying conditions of speed, grade, and load in an eight hour day of strenuous work. The results showed that these women were able to do strenuous work expending 2369 kcals for 8 1/2 hours. The energy expended exceeded that required for most physically demanding occupations. The results have implications for vocational choice research for women who have been excluded from occupations due to an assumed lack of strength.

Questionnaire data from 100 white women in a Southern city were examined to learn whether women belonging to groups that focus on social change or business and professional concerns were less traditional in their attitudes and behavior patterns than women who affiliate with groups that share common religious beliefs or similar socioeconomic status and whose stated purpose has a social orientation. Women belonging to the first category of groups were more likely than the other women to combine employment with marriage and children, to have help from husbands with household duties, and to support the Equal Rights Amendment.

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and a 60-item structured interview questionnaire were administered to 25 white single homosexually-oriented women and 25 white single heterosexually-oriented women between the ages of 20 and 45 years in order to investigate their psychological adjustment and current life styles. Groups were equivalent on age, marital status, educational and occupational levels, and other demographic variables. Groups did not differ in total psychological adjustment as measured by scale scores on the MMPI nor as evaluated by blind expert raters using the MMPI profiles. Groups differed significantly on the Masculinity-Femininity (Mf) scale (p < .001) and the Hypomania (Ma) scale (p < .05). On the interview questionnaire, which included current living situations, roles and relationships, behavior and friendship patterns, and drinking, drug, and suicidal behavior, no major differences between groups were found. Differences between groups were found only on items directly related to sexual orientation. The findings clarify some of the myths and misconceptions about lesbianism.

Interviews conducted in 1970 and 1971 with women who were university students and women registered with the state department of employment indicated that compared to married women, single women who did not have direct experience in the traditional female role held opinions which tended to idealize that role orientation. In particular, inexperienced women as opposed to more knowledgeable women tended to see marriage and children as the most important life experience for a woman, to have lower career commitment (p < .05), to plan to alter their career plans significantly to accommodate children (p < .05), and to idealize the sexual relationship in a marriage (p < .003). Neither group of women revealed belief patterns strongly supportive of the women's liberation movement.