Current and Alternative Paradigms 1

Six areas of research in developmental and personafity psychology concerning sex-typed traits, attitudes, and interests are identified as elements o f a common "masculinity-femininity" paradigm needing reexamination. The masculinityfemininity paradigm is defined in relationship to Money and Ehrhardt's model for gender identity differentiation and dimorphism. The six lines o f research in the masculinity-femininity paradigm are then briefly critically examined: (1) the measurability o f masculinity-femininity as a trait, (2) the identification model o f masculinity-femininity development, (3) the keffects of father absence on boys, {4) correlates o f masculinity-femininity in life adjustment, (5) cross-sex identity in males, and (6) sex role identity problems in black males. The empirical and conceptual problems in each line o f research are explored, and are substantial enough to suggest the need for alternate paradigms. Two alternate models for masculinity-femininity development are briefly sketched. First, masculinityfemininity development is analogized to moral development, as a phasic process ideally leading to sex role transcendence and androgyny. Second, the acquisition o f masculinity-femininity is analogized to language acquisition, as a highly symbol-dependent learning process contingent upon the interaction between an innate acquisition apparatus and a corpus o f observed sex role behavior.