The Influences of Sex and Gender-Role Identity on Moral Cognition and Prosocial Personality Traits

The relations of sex and gender-role identity to moral thought and prosocial personality traits were examined. Two hundred and nine men and women rated the importance of real-life, care-related, justice-related, and mixed (both care- and justice-related) moral dilemmas. Responses on the real-life and mixed dilemmas also were scored for care and justice orientations. Women and feminine persons viewed moral conflicts as more important than did men and masculine people. On the mixed dilemmas, women scored higher than men on care reasoning, whereas men scored higher than women on justice reasoning. Regardless of sex or gender role, relational real-life dilemmas evoked higher importance and care reasoning scores than did nonrelational ones. Women and persons high in femininity showed more empathic concern for other people. Masculine persons scored lower on personal distress, whereas androgynous persons reported more helpful behaviors than did all others.     

Turkish College Students' Attitudes Toward Women Managers: The Effects of Patriarchy,Sexism, and Gender Differences

The authors examined how patriarchy, sexism, and gender influence Turkish college students' attitudes toward women managers. Turkish undergraduate students (N = 183) from Middle East Technical University completed questionnaires measuring attitudes toward women managers as well as attitudes toward the concepts of hostile and benevolent sexism and support for patriarchy. Participants were of upper- or middle-class Turkish backgrounds. The results showed that male participants exhibited less positive attitudes toward women managers than did female participants. In addition, participants who held more favorable attitudes toward patriarchy and who scored high on hostile sexism also held less positive attitudes toward women managers than those who held less favorable attitudes toward patriarchy and who scored low on hostile sexism. A regression analysis showed that support for patriarchy and hostile sexism was more important for explaining less favorable attitudes toward women managers than was benevolent sexism.     

Turkish college students' attitudes toward women managers: the effects of patriarchy,sexism, and gender differences

The authors examined how patriarchy, sexism, and gender influence Turkish college students' attitudes toward women managers. Turkish undergraduate students (N = 183) from Middle East Technical University completed questionnaires measuring attitudes toward women managers as well as attitudes toward the concepts of hostile and benevolent sexism and support for patriarchy. Participants were of upper- or middle-class Turkish backgrounds. The results showed that male participants exhibited less positive attitudes toward women managers than did female participants. In addition, participants who held more favorable attitudes toward patriarchy and who scored high on hostile sexism also held less positive attitudes toward women managers than those who held less favorable attitudes toward patriarchy and who scored low on hostile sexism. A regression analysis showed that support for patriarchy and hostile sexism was more important for explaining less favorable attitudes toward women managers than was benevolent sexism.     

Symptoms of Depression and Psychological Distress in United States and Japanese College Students

Abstract

We compared United States and Japanese university students on self-report measures of depression (Beck Depression Inventory; BDI) and psychological distress (General Weil-Being Scale; GWB). In addition, we reassessed sex differences on these measures for students in the United States and examined sex differences for Japanese students. We found that (a) Japanese students had significantly higher scores than their U.S. counterparts on the BDI but not on the GWB scale and that (b) male and female college students in the U.S. and Japan did not differ in scores on the BDI or the GWB scale.     

Probing Canadian Prejudices: A Preliminary Objective Survey

Personality correlates of S s indicating suicidal intent have been found to be different from those of normals in a direction indicative of possible psychopathology. To test the cross-cultural relevance of this hypothesis, three samples of male and female students were administered Eysenck's extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism inventory: 209 Iranian and 128 Turkish university students and 101 Iranian high school students. S s were classified into “suicidal” and “normal” groups in each sample by means of a self-rating scale of suicideintent. Comparison of scores showed that irrespective of nationality and age, suicidals scored higher on neuroticism and psychoticism but lower on extraversion than their normal counterparts. Results suggest that personality correlates of suicidal tendency are rather similar despite differences in age and cultural background.     

Gender and context differences in alcohol expectancies

In 2 studies, the authors investigated gender and context effects of alcohol expectancies among U.S. college students. In Study 1, they examined the responses of 771 women and 493 men to the Sexual Enhancement (SE) subscale and the Relaxation and Tension Reduction (TR) subscale of the Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire (S. A. Brown, B. A. Christiansen, & M. S. Goldman, 1987). They found no gender differences when they controlled for drinking quantity. When they controlled for drinking frequency, the men scored significantly higher on the TR subscale than the women did. In Study 2, also among U.S. college students, 41 women and 21 men first imagined that they were on blind dates or in long-term relationships and then completed the SE and TR subscales. On the SE subscale, the women scored higher in the relationship context than in the blind-date context, whereas the men did not vary between contexts. All the participants also reported more tension-reduction expectancies in the relationship context than in the blind-date context.     

Gender and Context Differences in Alcohol Expectancies

Abstract

In 2 studies, the authors investigated gender and context effects of alcohol expectancies among U.S. college students. In Study 1, they examined the responses of 771 women and 493 men to the Sexual Enhancement (SE) subscale and the Relaxation and Tension Reduction (TR) subscale of the Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire (S. A. Brown, B. A. Christiansen, & M. S. Goldman, 1987). They found no gender differences when they controlled for drinking quantity. When they controlled for drinking frequency, the men scored significantly higher on the TR subscale than the women did. In Study 2, also among U.S. college students, 41 women and 21 men first imagined that they were on blind dates or in long-term relationships and then completed the SE and TR subscales. On the SE subscale, the women scored higher in the relationship context than in the blind-date context, whereas the men did not vary between contexts. All the participants also reported more tension-reduction expectancies in the relationship context than in the blind-date context.     

Cognitive style and sex: a study of stereotypical thinking

Differences between Cognitive Style Index mean scores of female and male undergraduate business students were tested using a general linear model. Among 286 undergraduate business students, women scored higher (more analytical) than men. The comparison of undergraduate business students with and without work experience related to their major shows that students with such related work experience were more intuitive than peers with no work experience related to their major.     

Carol Gilligan's theory of sex differences in the development of moral reasoning during adolescence

Gilligan's work, which focuses on sex differences in moral reasoning, the perception of violence, the resolution of sexual dilemmas and abortion decisions, poses a major challenge to Kohlberg's theory by introducing a feminist perspective of moral development. Kohlberg had shown that the average female attained a moral judgment rating of stage three (good boy-nice girl), while adolescent males score at level four (law and order) and are more likely to move on to postconventional levels. Gilligan suggests that these findings reveal a gender bias, not that females are less mature than boys. Men and women follow different voices. Men tend to organize social relationships in a hierarchical order and subscribe to a morality of rights. Females value interpersonal connectedness, care, sensitivity, and responsibility to people. Kohlberg's scoring criteria give the interpersonal care orientations of females lower ratings than the principled justice orientation. Hence, Gilligan identifies different developmental stages for females. However, she does not claim that one system is better; both are equally valid. Only by integrating these complementary male (justice) and female (care) orientations will we be able to realize our full human potential in moral development.     

GENDER-ROLE PERSONALITY TRAITS IN JAPANESE CULTURE

The etic (universal) aspect of gender-role personality traits was examined in Japanese culture. The Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI; Bem, 1974, 1977) was validated for the Japanese culture and modified for this study. An investigation of the personality traits among 1,227 college students using the Japanese BSRI indicated that male students scored significantly higher on the Masculine scale than the female students, whereas they did not differ from each other on the Feminine scale. It was also found that both female and male students scored significantly higher on the Femininity than on the Masculinity scale.     

The moral justification scale: reliability and validity of a new measure of care and justice orientations

Research increasingly suggests that there are limitations to Kohlberg's theory of moral development. Gilligan in particular has observed that Kohlberg's theory considers abstract principled reasoning as the highest level of moral judgment, and penalizes those who focus on the interpersonal ramifications of a moral decision. Gilligan calls these justice and care orientations. The present paper describes the development of the Moral Justification Scale, an objective measure of the two orientations. The scale consists of six vignettes, of which two are justice oriented, two are care oriented, and two are mixed, incorporating both orientations. Construct validity was evaluated by expert judges and, overall, was high. Cronbach's alpha was .75 for the Care subscale and .64 for the Justice subscale, indicating adequate internal consistency. Split-half reliabilities were as follows: Care, r = .72, p < .01, and Justice, r = .60, p < .05. Regarding test-retest reliability (approximately two weeks), r = .61, p < .05, for Care; r = .69, p < .05, for Justice. Neither subscale correlated significantly with the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale. Thus, the Moral Justification Scale shows promise as an easily administered, objectively scored measure of Gilligan's constructs of care and justice.     

Gender Role Orientation of Athletes and Nonathletes in a Patriarchal Society: A Study in Turkey

The purpose of this study was to compare the gender role orientation and gender role classification of female and male athletes to those of their nonathlete counterparts. A total of 463 athletes and 378 nonathletes completed the Bem Sex Role Inventory. The findings indicated that athletes score higher on the masculinity and femininity subscales than do nonathletes. Men had higher scores on masculinity than did women, whereas women had higher scores on femininity than did men. In addition, both men and women athletes were mostly classified in the androgynous category. These findings are discussed in relation to the competitive sport environment and Turkish society.     

Gender bias and moral decision making: The moral orientations of justice and care

This study investigated gender related moral reasoning in student essays containing arguments on moral issues. Undergraduate students in a medical ethics course viewed two films on morally controversial issues. The students wrote brief essays about the films which were transcribed and numerically coded to conceal the author's gender from the evaluator. Using a coding scheme originated by Lyons, the evaluator classified each essay as a justice/right essay or a care/response essay or an equal response essay. Subsequently, calculations were made to determine the percentage of male authored essays that were justice/rights essays or care/response essays and the percentage of female authored essays that were justice/rights or care/response essays. The males (87.7%) tended to exhibit the justice/rights moral orientation, and the females (69.4%) exhibited the care/response moral orientation. Several different calculations were made to determine various degrees of gender related orientations also. The difference in orientation was highly statistically significant (p≤0.001). These data contribute to understanding moral orientation and development. Interpretations are given to explain some differences between the genders and help explain the traditional roles in society that males and females have played historically.     

Screening of personality disorders among chinese college students by Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire-4+

Four thousand eight hundred and eleven students were sampled from 26 universities in 21 cities of China and evaluated using the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire-4+(PDQ-4+). Results showed that male students obtained significantly higher scores than female students on paranoid, schizotypal, antisocial, narcissistic, passive-aggressive, and depressive personality disorder scales, and lower scores on the borderline scale. Students from rural areas scored higher than those from urban areas on the schizoid, schizotypal, narcissistic, avoidant, compulsive-obsessive, passive-aggressive, and depressive personality disorder scales, and lower on the paranoid and dependent scales. Singleton students obtained significantly higher scores than nonsingletons on paranoid, antisocial and dependent scales, and lower on schizoid, avoidant, compulsive-obsessive, passive-aggressive, depressive scales. Students from single-parent families scored significantly higher on the schizotypal scales; and students from foster families scored significantly higher on the antisocial, passive-aggressive, and depressive scales. Students from poor families scored significantly higher than those from average or wealthy families on schizoid, schizotyal, antisocial, borderline, narcissistic, avoidant, obsessive-compulsive, passive-aggressive, and depressive personality disorders. The results suggest that low family income, low social status, and parental style contribute to the development of personality disorders.     

African Americans and Mathematics Outcomes on National Assessment of Educational Progress: Parental and Individual Influences

This study investigated within group differences between African American female and male students who participated in the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress mathematics assessment. Using results from participating states, we compare average scale scores of African American students based on home regulatory environment and interest in mathematics. Results indicated that African American male students who discussed studies 2–3 times a week scored higher than African American female students who discussed studies every day. In three states (Connecticut, Florida, and New Jersey), African American males who never or hardly ever discussed studies at home scored higher than African American males who never or hardly ever discussed studies at home in the state of Arkansas. In two states (Florida and New Jersey), African American males who discussed studies every few weeks scored higher than African American males who discussed studies every few weeks in Arkansas. In four states (Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, and New Jersey), the overall scale scores of African American males was higher than those of African American males in Arkansas. As a result of the findings, we present practical implications for parents of African American students.     

Differential Effects of Family Structure on Religion and Spirituality of Emerging Adult Males and Females

This study examined measures of religion and spirituality in a sample of male and female emerging adult college students whose parents were either divorced or intact using the Personal Religious Inventory, the Duke University Religion Index, the Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale, the Spiritual Transcendence Scale, and the Spiritual Involvement and Beliefs Scale. Data were collected online, and 66% of participants received extra credit for participating. A main effect of sex was found, as females reported significantly higher scores than men on all but one measure of religion and spirituality, and the dataset was separated by sex. No differences were found between males from divorced and intact families. However, females from intact families scored significantly higher on all religion and spirituality measures than females from divorced families. This study suggests that females may respond differently than males to their parents’ divorce in the context of religion and spirituality, and discusses possible reasons.     

A Cross‐Cultural Comparison of U.S. and Japanese Trainees’ Emotion‐Recognition Ability

This study investigated the ability of non‐Hispanic White U.S. counseling psychology trainees and Japanese clinical psychology trainees to recognize facially expressed emotions. Researchers proposed that an in‐group advantage for emotion recognition would occur, women would have higher emotion‐recognition accuracy than men, and participants would vary in their emotion‐intensity ratings. Sixty White U.S. students and 60 Japanese students viewed photographs of non‐Hispanic White U.S. and Japanese individuals expressing emotions and completed a survey assessing emotion‐recognition ability and emotion‐intensity ratings. Two four‐way mixed‐factor analyses of variance were performed, examining effects of participant nationality/race, participant gender, poser nationality/race, and poser gender on emotion‐recognition accuracy scores and intensity ratings. Results did not support the in‐group advantage hypothesis, rather, U.S. participants had higher accuracy rates than Japanese trainees overall. No gender differences in accuracy were found. However, respondents varied in their intensity ratings across gender and nationality. Implications for training applied psychology students and for future research are presented.     

Care and Justice Moral Orientation Among African American College Students

The current study assessed the moral orientation of African American college students. In addition, we examined whether or not they exhibit the gender difference in moral orientation hypothesized by Gilligan. One hundred sixty-six African American undergraduates at an historically Black university completed the Moral Orientation Scale, which measures care versus justice moral orientation. The students selected an average of 4.39 care-oriented responses (out of 12). In contrast to predictions that African American culture would lead to the development of a care focus, most participants had a justice focus. In fact, these students were significantly more justice oriented than male law students, who were the most justice oriented of the groups studied by N. Yacker and S. L. Weinberg (1990). There was no evidence of a gender difference in moral orientation. If future research replicates this finding, then Gilligan's theory may need to be modified with regard to African Americans.