Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI): A Full Guide for Researchers and Clinicians
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The Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI) is a 22-item measure of hostile and benevolent sexism. Learn its subscales, scoring key, short form and languages.
Introduction
The Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI) is a 22-item self-report measure of ambivalent sexism toward women. It separates two complementary components: Hostile Sexism, antipathy toward women, and Benevolent Sexism, a subjectively positive but paternalistic orientation. Peter Glick and Susan T. Fiske published it in 1996, and it has received more than 9,050 citations.
The ASI is widely used in social psychology and political science to study gender attitudes, and its Hostile Sexism subscale is often used on its own. This guide explains its subscales, scoring key, short form and languages.
Key Features of the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI)
Purpose and Use
The ASI measures both overtly hostile beliefs about women and subtler beliefs that seem positive but are patronizing. Its key strength is that it captures benevolent sexism, which is often overlooked.
Target Population
The ASI is intended for adults aged 18 and older. Studies suggest that the original ASI and the Brief ASI also work well with adolescents.
Structure
The ASI has 22 items in two subscales of 11 items each. Each subscale reflects three theoretical components:
Component
Hostile Sexism (HS)
Benevolent Sexism (BS)
Paternalism
Dominative: defending men's power (e.g., women should support men more and criticize them less)
Protective: restricting women for their protection (e.g., women should be cherished and protected)
Gender differentiation
Competitive: portraying high-status qualities as uniquely male (e.g., a wife should not be more successful than her husband)
Complementary: ascribing positive traits in status-irrelevant areas (e.g., women have a superior moral sensibility)
Heterosexuality
Hostile: controlling women's sexuality (e.g., women use sex to manipulate men)
Intimate: idealizing women as romantic partners (e.g., a man is not truly complete without the love of a woman)
Scoring Method
Each item is rated on a 6-point scale from 0 (disagree strongly) to 5 (agree strongly).
Reverse-scored items: 3, 6, 7, 13, 18 and 21 (0 = 5, 1 = 4, 2 = 3, 3 = 2, 4 = 1, 5 = 0).Hostile Sexism score: the average of items 2, 4, 5, 7, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 18 and 21.Benevolent Sexism score: the average of items 1, 3, 6, 8, 9, 12, 13, 17, 19, 20 and 22.Overall ASI score: the average of all 22 items, which weights HS and BS equally.Higher scores indicate higher levels of sexism. There is no universally agreed cut-off: the ASI is a continuous research measure, interpreted by comparing groups or relating scores to other variables.
Administration Format
The ASI is a self-report questionnaire.
Applications of the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI)
The ASI supports several uses:
Social psychology: studying prejudice, gender roles and gender attitudes.Political science: studying gender attitudes in political research.Cross-cultural research: comparing hostile and benevolent sexism across countries.The ASI has been used in thousands of studies across the globe.
Languages and availability
The ASI has been adapted in Spanish-speaking countries:
Spanish (Spain): norms documentSpanish (Chile): factor structure, reliability and validity in Chilean adolescentsSpanish (Colombia): validation of the brief ASIThe original article is available from APA PsycNet and ResearchGate.
Reliability and Validity
The ASI distinguishes hostile from benevolent sexism, and its structure has been examined in several countries, including in Chilean adolescents and in a Colombian validation of the brief form.
Validation studies:
The Ambivalent Sexism Inventory: differentiating hostile and benevolent sexism (1996): study linkThe ASI in Chilean adolescents: factor structure, reliability, validity and invariance by sex (2021): study linkEvaluation of ambivalent sexism in Colombia and validation of the brief ASI (2024): study linkLimitations and Considerations
Keep these points in mind:
No cut-off: there is no universally agreed cut-off score.Research tool: the ASI is not a clinical diagnostic tool.Relative interpretation: scores are interpreted by comparing groups or relating them to other variables.Other Versions And Related Questionnaires
Other versions include:
Brief ASI (B-ASI): 12 items (6 HS and 6 BS), suggested by Glick and Whitehead in 2010, with psychometric properties consistent with the full scale. It allows comparisons between adolescents and adults with the same measure.ASI for Adolescents (ASI-A): proposed for younger people, but its development has been questioned, because the original ASI and the Brief ASI work well with adolescents.These questionnaires are related:
Women's Microaggressions Scale (WoMenS)Item-Specific Hostile Sexism Scale, a revised item-specific format designed to reduce measurement errorGender attitude scales from the European Social Survey (ESS)Additional Resources
The original article: linkASI frequently asked questions from Understanding Prejudice: linkFor inquiries, contact Prof. Peter Glick, Lawrence University, at peter.s.glick@lawrence.edu, or Prof. Susan T. Fiske, Princeton University, at fiske@psych.umass.edu.Browse more psychology questionnaires in the ResRef database.Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What does the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory measure?The ASI measures ambivalent sexism toward women through two subscales: Hostile Sexism, which reflects antipathy toward women, and Benevolent Sexism, which reflects positive-seeming but paternalistic attitudes.
How is the ASI scored?Items are rated from 0 (disagree strongly) to 5 (agree strongly), and items 3, 6, 7, 13, 18 and 21 are reverse scored. HS and BS scores are the averages of their 11 items, and the overall score averages all 22.
What is the difference between hostile and benevolent sexism?Hostile sexism is open antipathy toward women, such as believing women use sex to manipulate men. Benevolent sexism seems positive, such as believing women should be cherished and protected, but is paternalistic.
Is there a short version of the ASI?Yes. The Brief ASI has 12 items, six for hostile sexism and six for benevolent sexism, and shows psychometric properties consistent with the full 22-item scale.
A Word from ResRef About the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI)
The Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI) is a critical instrument that has shaped our understanding of modern sexism. By distinguishing between hostile and benevolent sexism, it provides a sophisticated and nuanced perspective on gender relations. This scale is an invaluable tool for researchers exploring the subtle ways in which gender inequality is perpetuated through both overt prejudice and seemingly positive but ultimately paternalistic attitudes.
References
Glick, P., & Fiske, S. T. (1996). The Ambivalent Sexism Inventory: Differentiating hostile and benevolent sexism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70(3), 491–512. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.70.3.491Galván-Cabello, M. (2021). Inventario de Sexismo Ambivalente (ISA) en adolescentes chilenos: estructura factorial, fiabilidad, validez e invarianza por sexo. Revista de Psicología Clínica Con Niños Y Adolescentes, 8(3), 9. https://doi.org/10.21134/rpcna.2021.08.3.1Martínez-Baquero, L. C., & Vallejo-Medina, P. (2024). Evaluation of ambivalent sexism in Colombia and validation of the ASI and AMI brief scales. PLOS ONE, 19(2), e0297981. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0297981