Jack Balswick

Strong Men and Virtuous Women: A Content Analysis of Sex Roles Stereotypes

Numerous social scientists have investigated sex role stereotypes in American society. The general consensus of these studies is that, in spite of a contemporary emphasis on fluidity in the definitions of sex roles, sex role stereotypes are widely held, persistent, and highly traditional in content. Nearly all sex role stereotype studies are similar regarding technique and sample. In studies by Fernberger (1948), Sherriffs and Jarrett (1953), Sherriffs and McKee (1957), McKee and Sherriffs (1959), Lunneborg (1970), Broverman et al. (1972), and Neufeld et al. (1974), stereotypic categories are presented to the subjects, usually through the presentation of some form of check list. In terms of subjects, samples almost invariably consist of college undergraduates.

STUDYING SOCIAL ORGANIZATION IN THE LOCAL CHURCH: A SOCIOMETRIC APPROACH

The study of religious group behavior has been largely neglected. This paper attempts to demonstrate how sociometry may be utilized to study informal group formations in the local church and how a knowledge of the informal structure can aid in understanding formal church structure. Members were classified sociometrically as clique members, marginals, and isolates; this distinction was supported by their attitude toward and frequency of attendance at Sunday church services. The formation of sociometric clusterings and of cliques within these clusterings was found to be based primarily upon the variables of sex, age, marital status, and length of church membership. For clique members, involvement in a particular sociometric clustering was related to variation in emphasis on different types of organizational gaols. A finding with significant implications was that, while formal church leaders seldom occupied central positions in the churchs informal structure, their wives often performed an informal, integrating role. It is suggested that such role differentiation may be quite functional in certain forms of church polity.