°changing Sex Role Attitudes with Education: Can It Be Done?n

ABSTRACT The goal of this study was to examine the sex role attitudes of typical college students before and after a 15-week sex roles class. A questionnaire consisting of the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI), a modified form of the Attitudes Toward Women Scale, and 34 questions concerning sex-role attitudes and beliefs was administered to students in psychology of sex roles classes and to controls in non-sex role psychology classes. The questionnaire was given to different classes both before and after each semester over a 7-year period between 1982 and 1989. Findings from approximately 430 subjects showed no significant differences between controls and experimental subjects before the course began. Pretest scores revealed gender differences in that men showed more maleness on the BSRI than did won and men were more conservative or traditional and women were more liberal .on the Attitudes Toward Women Scale. For experimental subjects, female students' attitudes on the Attitudes Toward Women Scale changed toward more liberal sex-role attitudes after taking the sex roles class. Male students' attitudes did not change significantly after taking the course. All analyses for control subjects showed no significant differences between preand post-test scores. (NB)