The psychology of women-selected topics.
It is fitting that the first article on this topic in the A nnual Review of Psychology be written in the inaugural year of the APA Division on the Psychology of Women, as it is in practical terms too soon to look at the effect of the Division.
Abstract
It is fitting that the first article on this topic in the A nnual Review of Psychology be written in the inaugural year of the APA Division on the Psychology of Women. The Division has defined itself as dedicated to research on women; a charter membership of more than 800 must be viewed as one measure of current interest in this field. It is in practical terms too soon to look at the effect of the Division; we hope that the reviews that follow this mini-survey will reflect its catalyzing func tion and provide a more comprehensive view of the field than is now possible. The study of many aspects of the female experience is accelerating, and the problem areas and questions raised touch on every substantive, methodological, and prac tical domain of psychology. This is a report on recent work in selected areas. It is limited by space, by the frank biases of the authors, and by topical popularity. We will turn first to the psychological study of sex roles, fundamental to most research concerning women. The second topic concerns a new look at achievement motivation in women. While some segments of society are rejecting the achievement ethic, there is a growth ofinterest in patterns and determinants of women's school performance and career development (4, 43,54, 114, 134). The third topic concerns the impact of feminist thought and knowledge about female sexuality on the tp.eories and practice of psychotherapy. The common thread throughout is a questioning of age-old assumptions about sex roles and sex identity. There is and continues to be a great emphasis on spelling out differences in