Date of Award:

5-1975

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Psychology

Committee Chair(s)

Elwin C. Nielsen

Committee

Elwin C. Nielsen

Committee

William Dobson

Committee

Richard Powers

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis was to explore the relationships between perceived feminine role orientation and positive self-concept, as measured by scores attained on the Inventory of Feminine Values (IFV), and the Total Positive Self Scale of the Tennessee Self Concept Scale (TSCS). Three objectives were established. First, to gather current information on women's realistic and ideal self-perceptions of their feminine roles, and determine whether these are liberal, traditional, or neutral in orientation. Second, to determine if there are significant differences in self-concept as measured by the TSCS among women who see themselves as either traditional, liberal or neutral in perceived feminine role. Third, to determine if differences in self-concept as measured by the TSCS are related to discrepancies between Real Self and Ideal Self scores on the IFV.

Both instruments and a demographic questionnaire were completed by 87 undergraduate and graduate women at Utah State University. It was found that women in the sample as a whole saw themselves as neutral in perceived feminine role orientation, on both the Real Self and Ideal Self forms of the IFV. The mean attained on Form A (Real Self) was 4.011, while the Form B (Ideal Self) mean was 2.931. There was no significant difference between these two scores.

An analysis of variance test was done to determine if there was a significant difference in positive self-concept for women who saw their feminine roles as liberal, those who saw their roles as traditional, and those who had a neutral role orientation. There was no significant difference. All three groups had Total Positive Self scores (TSCS) above the norm mean. The Pearson product-moment correlation technique was used to ascertain the degree of relationship between perceived feminine role orientation and positive self-concept. It yielded a coefficient of -.11, which did not reach significance.

The Pearson product-moment correlation technique was used to determine the relationship between discrepancies in Forms A and B scores (IFV) and positive self-concept, as measured by scores on the Total Positive Self Scale of the TSCS. A coefficient of -.319 was obtained, significant at the 1% level. This verified the hypothesis as stated, evidencing that as the difference between scores attained on Forms A and B increases, positive self-concept decreases.

Results were discussed in terms of the significance of the findings, mainly, that regardless of how a woman sees herself, as either traditional, neutral, or liberal in feminine role, she may have high or low self-concept. However, the more congruent she is in her realistic self-perception and in her idealistic self-perception, the higher her positive self-concept will be.

Recommendations for future research were suggested. Among these were recommendations that research be undertaken with women who are not primarily college students; measures of other variables, as anxiety, be used in future research in conjunction with the IFV to explore relationships between perceived feminine role and other variables, as anxiety; and, research be undertaken to investigate whether there is a significant positive correlation between self-directedness on the IFV and graduate school attendance in a randomly selected sample of university students.

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