Perspectives on achieving via interpersonal competition between college men and college women

The beliefs of college students about (a) choices they would make when presented with opportunities to achieve by competing with persons of the other gender and (b) the consequences of such achievement choices were assessed. Drawn from a population of predominantly upper middle-class students, with a minority enrollment of 14.7%, 83 men and 84 women were presented with vignettes which depicted (a) either a challenge for a first violin in an orchestra or a Ping-Pong match at a party and (b) events related to the opportunity to become class valedictorian. Multivariate analytic techniques were employed, and overall the results indicated that men seemed less willing than women to compete against the other gender, and women seemed to view the consequences about such competition as more positive than men. In the violin and Ping-Pong vignettes, men indicated that they, more than women, would be criticized for playing to win and that, if a woman played to win, her male opponent would feel more ridiculed than respected. In the valedictorian vignette, women indicated that men who decided to compete would feel more pleasure than guilt, whereas women who decided to compete would feel more guilt than pleasure. The results are discussed in terms of conceptualizing achievement choices as more situational than static or gender linked.The authors wish to thank David A. Cole, University of Notre Dame, for statistical advice, Chau T. Wong, University of Notre Dame, for assistance in data analysis, Kathleen L. Davis, University of Tennessee, and Michael J. Patton, University of Missouri, for reading and commenting on early versions of this paper and undergraduates from the University of Notre Dame for working on this project.     

Initiation of dates and anxiety among college men and women

A dating questionnaire was completed by 248 undergraduate college students who were either dating someone in an exclusive relationship or were not going steady. Responses to this questionnaire by students not going steady with someone indicated that 54 college-age men were more active at initiating and more successful at getting dates than the 70 women. However, between one-half and three-fourths of the college women reported having initiated dates with men. Both sexes experienced considerable anxiety while initiating a date which suggests a self-help system might be designed to ameliorate this problem.     

Acceptance of male rape myths among college men and women

College students (157 men and 158 women; predominantly white middle class) from psychology courses at a midwestern university rated their agreement with statements reflecting myths that male rape cannot happen, involves victim blame, and is not traumatic to men. Statements varied by whether the rape perpetrator was a man or woman. Results showed that a majority of subjects disagreed with all myth statements, but most strongly with trauma myths. Percentages of disagreement with myths for subject groups ranged from 51% to 98%. Women were significantly more rejecting of rape myths than were men. Subjects were more likely to accept myths in which the rape perpetrator was female rather than male. Subjects' past victim experience with sexual coercion was not related to rape myth acceptance. Results are discussed in terms of societal attitudes toward rape and sex role stereotypes.     

Self-report of ADHD symptoms in college students and repetition effects

The research in this article focuses on the relation between self-report of attention deficit disorder (ADD) symptoms and performance on a two-alternative forced-choice task that measures repetition effects. The ADD/Hyperactive Adolescent Self-Report Scale--Short Form is administered to college students after they completed the repetition effects task. Performance to familiar and novel stimuli can be measured using this paradigm. The results indicate that participants in the good and poor attention groups do not differ in their responses to repeated stimuli. However, participants who self-report poor attention are faster to respond to novel stimuli compared with participants who self-report good attention. This brief questionnaire appears to capture individual differences in attention and may be useful in attention research.     

Question-induced cognitive biases in reports of dietary intake by college men and women

In two experiments, investigated how variations in questionnaire structure influence respondents' reports of two aspects of dietary intake--the frequency with which various food items are eaten and the sizes of the portions that are eaten. In Experiment 1, approximately 400 subjects, prior to making a frequency judgment, were asked to think either about a specific occasion or about all the occasions on which they had eaten a particular food. The thoughts that preceded the frequency judgment influenced that judgment: Thinking of the range of occasions on which a food is consumed resulted in higher frequency estimates than thinking only of the most recent occasion. In Experiment 2, the same subjects made judgments about their typical portion sizes of several foods relative to described standards. For only one of eight foods were estimates properly and significantly affected by differences among the described standards. These results suggest that respondents are not particularly sensitive to portion-size definitions. We consider the implications of these phenomena for the development of a general theory of the cognitive processes that subserve health-survey responding.     

The impact of college on sex-atypical career choices of men and women

This study sought to identify the college environments and experiences associated with changes in sex-atypical career aspirations among men and women. A sample of 17,637 students attending baccalaureate institutions across the country was surveyed upon college entry and again 4 years later. The findings revealed that aspects of the college environment, including the peer culture, faculty interaction, and curriculum, all contribute to shifts to or from nontraditional career choices.     

Sex-role orientation,identity formation,and self-esteem in college men and women

Contrasting hypotheses that psychological androgyny (Bem, 1974, 1975) would be associated with (1) identity confusion and a lack of personal integration or (2) identity achievement and high levels of integration were tested. Sex-role orientation, ego-identity status, and self-esteem were determined for 111 college men and women. The results support the second hypothesis, that high levels of masculinity and femininity (androgynous orientation) are conducive to identity achievement and high self-esteem. In contrast, low levels of masculine and feminine characteristics (undifferentiated sex-role orientation) were associated with uniformly low self-esteem and a lack of personal integration (identity diffusion). Sex-typing was most often associated with premature identity commitments and a lack of personality differentiation (identity foreclosure) and with high self-esteem in males but low self-esteem in females. Cross-sex-typing was associated with high levels of self-esteem and identity achievement in females, but with somewhat lower self-esteem in males and either unsuccessful (diffusion) or transitional (moratorium) levels of identity resolution.This research was supported by University of Missouri Summer Research Fellowship 3694-1100. The author would like to express his gratitude to Mona Asbed, Richard Baker, Sheila Ginsburg, Keith Shaw, and Marsha Whitson for conducting and rating the identity status interviews.     

Sexual confusion among certain college males

In dealing with college age (18-22) males, clinical observations have shown a fairly common inability to successfully form intimate relationships with same-age females. This problem often appears to be due to an inability to bond and trust that is rooted in the formative years in the nuclear home. When this happens, the young male frequently develops a fear of being sexually abnormal, perhaps even homosexual. This manifests itself in shame, anxiety, depression, denial, reaction formation, performance anxiety, concern about being found out, isolation, substance abuse and, occasionally, acting out. Getting such persons to admit these fears is generally extremely difficult, requiring gentle and empathetic, but persistent, probing on the part of the therapist. Therapy consists of understanding and acceptance by the client that these fears are most often reactive, that they are commonly held, and that when they are seen in proper perspective, they often diminish. The present paper reviews some of the literature on sexual developmental issues of the adolescent male as a backdrop for this problem. The specific difficulties related to reactive homophobia are explored, and some therapeutic approaches suggested.     

The differential importance of weight and body image among college men and women

Among a sample of American college students, body image and the degree of desired weight change were associated with academic self-rankings, with social and psychological well-being, and with the development of eating difficulties. The effects of body image and desired weight change on eating disorders were generally found to be greater for women than for men, and their effects on student self-rankings of academic ability, social, and psychological traits were more pervasive for women than for men. The less attractive a woman perceived herself to be and the more weight she wanted to lose, the greater was her overall sense of academic, social, and psychological impairment. Women who had poor body images and who desired to lose weight were more likely to report eating difficulties.     

Achievement motivation in college women revisited: Implications for women,men, and the gathering of coconuts

An attempt was made to replicate the findings of French and Lesser (1964) within one university on the effects of value-appropriate arousal conditions on achievement motivation scores and motivation performance relationships in women. The findings of this study do not uphold those previously reported. There were no significant differences on either achievement motivation scores or task performance under value-appropriate versus -inappropriate arousal conditions. In the present study there were two innovations — performance criteria were extended to include academic performance, and scoring procedures were developed to give equal weight to achievement imagery in areas defined as traditionally feminine. The principle findings concern the importance of the scoring procedures. Intellectual (classic) N Ach does not relate to value orientation, task performance, or grade point average. Women's Role N Ach, however, is significantly related to task performance and to grade point average. This motivation-performance relationship exists despite differences in value orientation among women. It is suggested that when scoring procedures allow subjects, male or female, to express achievement strivings in areas of value to them, then performance may be morc sensitive to motivational variables.This article is based on research supported by Grant 1 RO1 HD-02403-01 from the National Institute of Mental Health to Lynette K. Friedrich and John S. Harding and by funds from the College Committee on Research, New York State College of Human Ecology, Cornell University, to Lynette K. Friedrich. The author is deeply indebted to Dr. John Harding for faculty support in securing the grant and for his invaluable participation as consultant. Dr. Doris B. Rosen and Dr. Elizabeth Anisfeld made significant contributions to the study. In addition, the assistance of Serena Weaver, Helen Grebow, Bruce Ambler, and Jansis Smithels is gratefully acknowledged. Further acknowledgment is made to Dr. Elizabeth G. French for her advice and generous cooperation.     

Physical fitness, body image, and locus of control in college freshman men and women

This study examined the relations among physical fitness, body image, and locus of control. The Hall-Physical Fitness Test Profile, the Winstead and Cash Body Self-relations Questionnaire (BSRQ) and the Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale were administered to 243 freshmen. Women were significantly more positive about their physical appearance than men. Men were more positive about their physical fitness than women. Men were more physically fit than women. Men and women scoring in the internal direction viewed the physical fitness domain of their body image positively. Unlike men, internally oriented women had more positive perceptions of the health aspect of their body image. Physically fit men and women had positive attitudes toward the physical fitness component of their body image. Physically fit men differed from physically fit women in that men were more internal and held more positive attitudes toward the physical health dimension of their body images.     

Physical fitness and self-reported physical exercise among college men and women in 1987 and 1997.

The study examined the relations of self-reported physical activity levels and physical fitness scores for two samples of college students assessed in 1987 (n = 261) and in 1997 (n = 243). Significantly greater exercise was reported by the 1997 women than the 1987 women; amount of exercise reported by men did not differ. For both samples, greater exercise was associated with increased fitness for women and men as assessed by the Hall 1986 Physical Fitness Test Profile, comprised of measures on body fat composition; grip strength; muscle endurance, flexibility, resting heart rate; systolic and diastolic blood pressures; and aerobic power. For the 1987 sample men were more fit than women. For the 1997 sample, women were more fit than men. The 1997 women were more fit than the 1987 women; there was no difference on overall fitness measures of the two samples of men.     

Developing a screening instrument and at-risk profile for nonsuicidal self-injurious behavior in college women and men

Archival data (N = 1,048 women, 1,136 men) from a mental health survey of college students were used to investigate incidence of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI), including cutting. Significant levels (defined as 4-5 lifetime incidents) were found in 9.3% of women and 5.3% of men. The Counseling Center Assessment for Psychological Symptoms (a global symptom inventory) and an assessment of trauma had been field tested with this sample. We randomly partitioned half of these data into a holdout sample and used the remainder to develop an NSSI screening inventory that included (a) 5 women's screening items, including 1 item to assess trauma experienced; (b) 11 men's screening items; and (c) 12 items common to men and women, including depression, dissociation, anger, unwanted thoughts, nightmares or flashbacks, and having witnessed trauma. Logistic regression and receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis suggested the inventory significantly discriminated NSSI men and women in the holdout sample, p < .001. Cutoff scores were identified to correctly classify about 48% of the true positive male and female NSSI cases, with false positive rates of 13.2% and 8.4% for women and men, respectively.     

The Body Image Quality of Life Inventory: further validation with college men and women

The Body Image Quality of Life Inventory (BIQLI) was recently developed to quantify both the positive and negative effects of body image on one’s psychosocial quality of life. The current study was conducted to further validate the measure with both men and women and to evaluate its psychometric reliability and validity among college students (N=603). Results confirmed that the 19-item measure was an internally consistent and unidimensional measure for both sexes. A significantly more favorable body image quality of life was reported by men than women, by African American than White women, and by women with lower body mass indices. Significant body image correlates included body image evaluation, investment, and situational dysphoria. A better body image quality of life was also related to higher self-esteem, optimism, and social support for both sexes and to less eating disturbance among women. The potential utility of this construct and unique instrument in further research, especially with medical populations, is discussed.     

Sex role attributes, symptom distress, and defensive style among college men and women

Eighty-four male and 90 female college students completed the PRF-Andro masculinity and femininity scales, a symptom checklist, and a defense mechanism inventory. Results indicated that interrelations among sex role attributes, defense preferences, and symptom distress differed for men and women. Cross-sex-typed persons mostly accounted for differences in symptom distress within each sex: Masculine women reported relatively low and feminine men reported relatively high degrees of symptom distress. In addition, sex roles interacted with sex in determining defense preferences. We also explored the possibility that defensive styles mediated between sex role attributes and symptom distress. Among women, an association between masculine attributes and a rejection of self-blaming defenses accounted for the negative relation between masculinity and symptom distress. Among men, sex role attributes and defensive styles, for the most part, contributed independently to symptom distress.     

Body image and dieting failure in college men and women: Examining links between depression and eating problems

The noted co-occurrence between depression and eating problems in women may be due to their common association with negative body image. Specifically, the western cultural ideal that equates feminine beauty with thinness leads a large number of women to be dissatisfied with their bodies. A recent model [M. McCarthy (1990) The Thin Ideal, Depression, and Eating Disorders in Women, Behavioral Research and Therapy, Vol. 28, pp. 205–215] suggests that this dissatisfaction, coupled with high importance placed on appearance, leads most women to engage in dieting to obtain this level of thinness. As dieting is typically unsuccessful as a means of long-term weight control, depression will result from the sense of failure and helplessness associated with dieting failure. This depression then leads to increasingly maladaptive eating behaviors that serve to assuage negative affect and regain control over body appearance. In a sample of 234 male and female, predominantly white, 17–22-year-old college students, we examined several components of this model, including the specificity of these relations for women. In accordance with the model, depressive symptoms and eating problems were predicted to be an interactive function of body image and body image importance, with negative body image/high importance subjects showing the greatest disturbance. In addition, we examined several components of the model to determine (a) the relation between failed dieting and depression, and (b) the extent to which depression could account for eating problems. Regardless of gender, eating problems were indeed highest among those with both negative body image and high body image importance. Depression, however, was higher in subjects with negative body image, regardless of body image importance. For both men and women, failed dieting was significantly related to depression, but only for women did depression account for significant variability in eating problems. Validity of the model is considered. Gender differences in the nature of these relations, and the need to consider possible alternative effects of the cultural standard for masculine attractiveness, are discussed.This research is based in part on an undergraduate honor's thesis submitted by the second author to the Emory University Department of Psychology under the direction of the first author. Funding was provided by a grant from Emory University to the first author. The authors would like to thank Robyn Fivush, Steven Nowicki, Irwin Waldman, Carol Worthman, and two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on earlier drafts.