Patterns of Optimism and Pessimism in Perceptions of Changing Sex Roles.

The utility of a design measuring actual, ideal, and expected sex-role attitudes was demonstrated with a 25-item survey administered to 155 undergraduate men and women under different instructional sets. Although relatively liberal attitudes were expressed overall, men generally expressed less egalitarian attitudes than did women. Moreover, distinct patterns of optimism and pessimism were revealed in relation to anticipated changes in sex roles. Gender generally did not interact with instuctional set, however, there were some notable exceptions. Although the sexes agreed that men take less responsibility in the home than is ideal, not surprisingly men perceived more present equality in this area than women did and women, but not men, anticipated significant change in the future. Similarly, women perceived less present equity in the areas of pay and job opportunity than did men, and although both sexes were guardedly optimistic about the prospects for continued strides toward equality in these areas, this was particularly true for women. Neither sex expected complete equality in the foreseeable future. The results are discussed in relation to literature on sex-role attitudes and their relevance to the struggle for sexual equality. (Author)