Cultural Perception of the Femininity/Masculinity Scales of California Psychological Inventory

The study is about assessing the cross-cultural use of Femininity/Masculinity (F/M) Scale of California Psychological Inventory (Gough, 1957) in Pakistan. Post-graduate psychology students (37 women) were asked to judge rationally and intuitively. whether the 32 items of the scale, adequately portrayed behaviors characteristics to men's and women's behavior in our society. Only one item out of the total thirty one item scale was found to be a cultural reversal. The scale was thus deemed as relevant for use in Pakistan. Interestingly the study found that differences exist between the respondents' rational judgment and self report of their perception of Femininity and Masculinity roles. The women students who had rated nearly all items of F/M scale as relevant to men's or women's behavior gave atypical self report responses on 11 items. Implications of the findings have been discussed.