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A Theory Of Sexism As Ambivalence Toward Women And Validate A Corresponding Measure, The Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (

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Purpose The purpose of this study was to develop a theory of sexism devised as ambivalence toward women and validate a corresponding measure, the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI). Past research on sexism has been predominantly conceptualized as hostility toward women. However, from a historical and contemporary perspective, images of women have not been strictly negative. Within the realm of sexism, images of women can also be seen in a “positive” manner. Therefore, Glick and Fiske (1996) investigated the multidimensionality of sexism by examining both the hostile and benevolent aspects of sexism.
Step 1: Item Generation Glick and Fiske (1996) used deductive methods to develop their preliminary scale items. The item generation process was guided by theory definitions of hostile sexism, benevolent sexism, paternalism, gender differentiation, and heterosexuality. Taking these theories into account, Glick and Fiske (1996) labeled the two sets of related sexual beliefs (hostile and benevolent) as ambivalent sexism. Furthermore, their theory of ambivalent sexism shares some similarities with past research on ambivalent racism. The initial item pool consisted of 140 items on a five point likert scale. Hinkin (1998) suggests that the statements of the items should be as simple and short as possible, something that Glick and Fiske (1996) did seem to keep in mind. Double-barreled and leading questions / statements also seemed to be avoided for the most part. Hinkin also
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