Abstract
The Intergenerational Studies (IGS) began in 1929 designed with the overarching goal of describing and predicting normal human development. Here we focus on original IGS participant women and daughters of original participants, with respect to development in femininity and dominance, as measured by the CPI. Three-level HLM indicates older cohort women are higher in femininity than younger cohort women in early adulthood; both cohorts show an equivalent linear decrease with age. In contrast, the two cohorts show equivalent levels of dominance in early adulthood, but the younger cohort women show a greater increase with age than the older cohort women. Results illustrate both cohort and developmental movement toward less femininity and more dominance in women.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baltes, P. B., Reese, H. W., & Nesselroade, J. R. (1977). Life-span developmental psychology: Introduction to research methods. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company Inc.
Bryk, A. S., & Raudenbush, S. W. (1992). Hierarchical linear models: Application and data analysis methods. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Clausen, J. (1993). American lives: Looking back at the children of the Great Depression. New York: Free Press.
Eagly, A. H. (1995). The science and politics of comparing men and women. American Psychologist, 50, 145–158.
Eichorn, D. H. (1981). Samples and procedures. In D. H. Eichorn, J. A. Clausen, N. Haan, M. P. Honzik, & P. H. Mussen (Eds.), Present and past in middle life (pp. 33–51). New York: Academic Press.
Erikson, E. (1950). Childhood and society. New York: Norton Press.
Friedan, B. (1963). The feminine mystique. New York: Norton Press.
Gough, H. G. (1966). A cross-cultural analysis of the CPI Femininity scale. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 30, 136–141.
Gough, H. G., & Bradley, P. (1996). CPI manual (3rd ed.). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
Gutmann, D. (1994). Reclaimed powers: Toward a new psychology of men and women in later life. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press.
Hagestad, G. (1986). The aging society as a context for family life. Daedalus, 115, 119–139.
Helson, R., Jones, C., & Kwan, V. (2002). Personality change over 40 years of adulthood: Hierarchical linear modeling analyses of two longitudinal samples. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83, 752–766.
Helson, R., & Moane, G. (1987). Personality change in women from college to midlife. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53, 176–186.
Helson, R., & Soto, C. J. (2005). Up and down in middle age: Monotonic and nonmonotonic changes in roles, status, and personality. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89, 194–204.
Helson, R., & Wink, P. (1992). Personality change in women from the early 40s to the early 50s. Psychology and Aging, 7, 46–55.
Jones, C., Livson, N., & Peskin, H. (2003). Longitudinal hierarchical linear modeling analyses of California Psychological Inventory data from age 33 to 75: An examination of change and stability in adult personality. Journal of Personality Assessment, 80, 294–308.
Jones, C., Peskin, H., & Livson, N. (2011). Men’s and women’s change and individual differences in change in femininity from age 33 to 85: Results from the Intergenerational Studies. Journal of Adult Development, 18, 155–163.
Kasen, S., Chen, H., Sneed, J., Crawford, T., & Cohen, P. (2006). Social role and birth cohort influences on gender-linked personality traits in women: A 20-year longitudinal analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91, 944–958.
Klein, H. M., & Willerman, L. (1979). Psychological masculinity and femininity and typical and maximal dominance expression in women. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 2059–2070.
Roberts, B. W., & Helson, R. (1997). Changes in culture, changes in personality: The influence of individualism in a longitudinal study of women. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72, 641–653.
Spence, J. T. (1993). Gender-related traits and gender ideology: Evidence for a multi-factorial theory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64, 624–635.
Stewart, A. J., & Platt, M. B. (1982). Studying women in a changing world: An introduction. Journal of Social Issues, 38, 1–16.
Twenge, J. M. (1997). Changes in masculine and feminine traits over time: A meta-analysis. Sex Roles, 36, 305–325.
Twenge, J. M. (2001). Changes in women’s assertiveness in response to status and roles: A cross-temporal meta-analysis, 1931–1993. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 133–145.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Jones, C., Peskin, H. & Wandeler, C. Femininity and Dominance Across the Lifespan: Longitudinal Findings from Two Cohorts of Women. J Adult Dev 24, 22–30 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10804-016-9243-8
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10804-016-9243-8