Personal Attributes Questionnaire

Abstract

The Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ) is a widely utilized psychological scale, initially developed by Spence, Helmreich, and Stapp in 1974. Its primary function is to measure self-perceived attributes related to sex-role stereotypes and the underlying dimensions of masculinity-femininity. The PAQ moves beyond traditional bipolar measures by treating masculinity and femininity as independent constructs, allowing for the assessment of androgyny.

The scale was originally a 55-item instrument but was refined into the current standard 24-item version. This shorter version retains three orthogonal scales: the Masculinity (M) scale, the Femininity (F) scale, and the Masculinity-Femininity (M-F) scale, each containing eight items. The PAQ has proven instrumental in research concerning gender identity and the social desirability of sex-linked traits.

Keywords

Personal Attributes Questionnaire, PAQ, sex-role stereotypes, masculinity-femininity, gender roles, psychological assessment, sex differences, instrumentality, expressiveness, self-report inventory.

Authors

Janet T. Spence, Robert L. Helmreich, and Joy Stapp.

Purpose

The central purpose of the PAQ is to quantify the extent to which an individual possesses personality characteristics traditionally associated with either the male or female gender role, independent of their biological sex. It measures attributes perceived to differentiate between the sexes, providing a tool for the empirical study of sex-role identity.

The scale was constructed specifically to distinguish between traits that are socially desirable regardless of gender (but statistically more frequent in one sex) and traits whose social desirability varies significantly between the sexes. This distinction allows researchers to explore complex psychological phenomena such as androgyny, where an individual scores highly on both masculine and feminine dimensions.

Construct

The PAQ measures the multidimensional construct of sex-role identity, specifically focusing on three empirically derived scales:

• The Masculinity Scale (M): Consists of traits that are generally considered socially desirable for both sexes, but which men are statistically perceived to possess more than women (e.g., independence, competitiveness). This scale often measures instrumentality.
• The Femininity Scale (F): Comprises traits that are socially desirable for both sexes, but which women are statistically perceived to possess more than men (e.g., warmth, kindness). This scale often measures expressiveness.
• The Masculinity-Femininity Scale (M-F): Includes traits whose social desirability varies significantly between the sexes (e.g., aggressiveness, emotionality). This scale functions as a traditional bipolar dimension of gendered attributes.

The scale’s theoretical foundation relies on the premise that masculinity and femininity are orthogonal dimensions, allowing individuals to score highly or lowly on either or both, resulting in categories such as masculine, feminine, undifferentiated, or androgynous.

Validity

The validity of the PAQ is supported by rigorous psychometric testing. Factor analytic procedures confirmed the hypothesized structure, specifically demonstrating the unidimensionality of the Masculinity (M) and Femininity (F) scales. This finding provides crucial support for the scale’s ability to measure these two constructs independently.

Further validity evidence is provided through reported analyses concerning both concurrent validity and predictive validity. Concurrent validity ensures that the PAQ correlates appropriately with other established measures of sex-role identity, while predictive validity suggests the scale can effectively forecast behaviors and attitudes aligned with the measured traits.

Reliability

The internal consistency of the PAQ scales has been established using Cronbach alpha coefficients, demonstrating high reliability for the 24-item version:

• Masculinity (M) Scale: 0.85
• Femininity (F) Scale: 0.82
• Masculinity-Femininity (M-F) Scale: 0.78

In addition to internal consistency, high correlations were observed between the current 24-item short form and the original 55-item scale, confirming the stability and equivalence of the brief measure. These correlations were 0.91 for the M-F scale and 0.93 for both the M and F scales, suggesting the short form retains the psychometric strength of the original instrument.

Factor Analysis

The scale construction process involved generating over 130 potential items derived from student-reported characteristics that differentiate between males and females. The resulting 55-item preliminary PAQ was subjected to factor analytic procedures, which confirmed the existence of the three primary, independent dimensions: Masculinity (M), Femininity (F), and Masculinity-Femininity (M-F).

The final 24-item scale maintains this three-factor structure, with eight items allocated to each scale. Data analysis involving university student samples revealed significant differences in scale means between men and women, reinforcing the scale’s ability to measure gender-differentiating attributes. Males consistently scored higher on the M and M-F items and lower on the F items, consistent with prevailing sex differences in self-perception.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report psychological inventory / Sex-role identity measure

Format: 24-item bipolar scale (Current version). Items are rated on a 5-point scale (0 to 4) between two opposing descriptors (e.g., “Not at all aggressive” to “Very aggressive”).

Language Available: English (Original)

Population Group: Adolescents and Adults

Age Group: High school age and older

Population Details: Normative data is available based on samples of high school students and a sample of 715 university students. Norms were derived using the rounded mean of the medians for men and women in these samples.

Test Methodology: Bipolar rating scale, where respondents choose the point on the continuum that best describes their own personal attributes.

Keywords

Androgyny, sex-role identity, psychological traits, self-report measure, social desirability, M scale, F scale, M-F scale, personality assessment.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided

Affiliation Email addresses: Not provided

Correspondence Address: Not provided

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The initial publication of the Personal Attributes Questionnaire occurred in 1974.

The original publication information is: Spence, J. T., et al. (1974). The Personal Attributes Questionnaire: A measure of sex-role stereotypes and masculinity- femininity. JSAS Catalog of Selected Documents in Psychology 4:42. Information regarding current usage permissions, licensing fees, and availability must be obtained from the scale authors or associated publishers.

Reference’s

• Spence, J. T., Helmreich, R. L., & Stapp, J. (1974). The Personal Attributes Questionnaire: A measure of sex-role stereotypes and masculinity-femininity. JSAS Catalog of Selected Documents in Psychology, 4:42.

• Coleman, H. L. (2009). The personality traits of instrumentality and expressiveness in relation to microcomputer playfulness. PhD dissertation, University of Texas at Austin.

• Gerhardstein, K. R. (2010). Attitudes toward transsexual people: Effects of gender and appearance. PsyD dissertation, Indiana State University.

• Keener, E. (2010). Boys’ and girls’ strategies for managing peer conflict in adolescence. PhD dissertation, West Virginia University.

• Persky, D. R. (2010). The ethical orientation of advertising executives: The relationship among ethical climate, sex role identity, and selected demographic and job variables. PhD dissertation, New York University.

• Tatum, K. J. (2012). Adherence to gender roles as a predictor of compassion and self-compassion in women and men. PsyD dissertation, Baylor University.

Items of the Personal Attributes Questionnaire

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

Not at all aggressive                                                 Very aggressive

Very whiny                                                             Not at all whiny

Not at all independent                                               Very independent

Not at all arrogant                                                    Very arrogant

Not at all emotional                                                  Very emotional

Very submissive                                                       Very dominant

Very boastful                                                           Not at all boastful

Not at all excitable in a major crisis                            Very excitable in a major crisis

Very passive                                                            Very active

Not at all egotistical                                                  Very egotistical

Not at all able to devote self completely to others         Able to devote self completely to others

Not at all spineless                                           Very spineless

Very rough                                                              Very gentle

Not at all complaining                                              Very complaining

Not at all helpful to others                                         Very helpful to others

Not at all competitive                                               Very competitive

Subordinates oneself to others                                    Never subordinates oneself to others

Very home oriented                                                  Very worldly

Very greedy                                                             Not at all greedy

Not at all kind                                                          Very kind

Indifferent to others’ approval                                    Highly needful of others’ approval

Very dictatorial                                                        Not at all dictatorial

Feelings not easily hurt                                             Feelings easily hurt

Doesn’t nag                                                             Nags a lot

Not at all aware of feelings of others                          Very aware of feelings of others

Can make decisions easily                                         Has difficulty making decisions

Very fussy                                                               Not at all fussy

Gives up very easily                                                 Never gives up easily

Very cynical                                                            Not at all cynical

Never cries                                                              Cries very easily

Not at all self-confident                                            Very self-confident

Does not look out only for self; principled                  Looks out only for self; unprincipled

Feels very inferior                                  Feels very superior

Not at all hostile                                                       Very hostile

Not at all understanding of others                               Very understanding of others

Very cold in relations with others                               Very warm in relations with others

Very servile                                                             Not at all servile

Very little need for security                                       Very strong need for security

Not at all gullible                                                     Very gullible

Goes to pieces under pressure                                    Stands up well under pressure

Scoring: A bipolar scale is used. Each item receives a score of 0 to 4.