Testosterone and attribution of successful competition

Mood, personal merit, and/or its perception have been suggested to be mediating factors in testosterone responses to competition. Previously we have found that personal contribution and attribution were related to testosterone levels after successful competition. To confirm such associations, two basketball teams (n = 17 players) that emerged as winners in two actual matches were studied. Salivary testosterone levels and mood were measured before and after the games. Individual contribution to the outcome was assessed, and personal satisfaction and causal attribution of outcome were reported by players. Testosterone concentrations increased to near significance in Team 1 but not in Team 2, who attributed their victory more to luck than did Team 1. This latter team showed notably decreased vigor, and both teams showed fatigue at the end of the match. Post‐match testosterone levels were only significantly, negatively related to external attribution. The results support the idea that causal attribution of the outcome is contributing to the variance of the testosterone responses to real confrontations where the outcome is highly dependent on personal merit. Aggr. Behav. 26:235–240, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

IMPROVING WOMEN'S PERFORMANCE IN MIXED-SEX SITUATIONS BY EFFORT ATTRIBUTIONS

Seventy-two males and 72 females in either mixed-sex, same-sex or alone situations were led to fail on an initial task. Prior to a second task, they were given either a neutral orientation or an ego-involving orientation emphasizing attributions to effort. Without the effort attribution, women in the mixed-sex situation had lower expectations than men, performed worse, rewarded themselves less and attributed their poor performance to a lack of ability more than men did. In the same-sex and alone situations, however, the women's expectations, performance and self-reward did not differ between the effort and neutral conditions, nor did their behaviors differ from the men's. The men's expectations, performance, and preference for task difficulty attributions were not affected by the experimental manipulations. These data demonstrated the benefit of "attribution therapy" for women working in the presence of men.     

Deconstructing the Myth of the Monolithic Male Athlete: A Qualitative Study of Men’s Participation in Athletics

A qualitative study using field-based methods examined motivations for participation in collegiate team sports, the psychological and emotional rewards of team membership, and the dynamics of relationships with teammates among male athletes. Previous cross-disciplinary research largely reinforces clear and consistent gender differences within communal and agentic domains. In-depth, oral bibliographic interviews with 11 varsity athletes from basketball and soccer teams were conducted at a university in the USA. Participants spoke freely about multiple dimensions of their experiences as athletes—experiences frequently dichotomized by researchers as masculine or feminine. Analyses document that male athletes rated the importance of interpersonal and emotional relationships with teammates as valuably as they did instrumental needs. Results are discussed in terms of cultural imperatives that polarize domains presumed to be highly gender based and sex-segregated.     

First offers as anchors: the role of perspective-taking and negotiator focus

Three experiments explored the role of first offers, perspective-taking, and negotiator self-focus in determining distributive outcomes in a negotiation. Across 3 experiments, whichever party, the buyer or seller, made the 1st offer obtained a better outcome. In addition, 1st offers were a strong predictor of final settlement prices. However, when the negotiator who did not make a 1st offer focused on information that was inconsistent with the implications of the opponent's 1st offer, the advantageous effect of making the 1st offer was eliminated: Thinking about one's opponent's alternatives to the negotiation (Experiment 1), one's opponent's reservation price (Experiment 2), or one's own target (Experiment 3) all negated the effect of 1st offers on outcomes. These effects occurred for both face-to-face negotiations and E-mail negotiations. Implications for negotiations and perspective-taking are discussed.     

Dimensions of same-gender student-faculty role-model relationships

This study investigated factors important in the establishment of same-gender student-faculty role-model relationships. Subjects were 33 females and 24 male graduate students enrolled in the same academic department who responded anonymously to scales assessing four characteristics of the role model (personal attributes, life-style and values, power and influence, and professional achievement), three parallel areas of perceived similarity between student and role model (personality, attitudes and values, and professional goals), and students' self-esteem and achievement orientation. As predicted, female students rated the role-model relationship as more important to their professional development than did male students and rated the model's personal attributes and the model's life-style and values as more important in selecting a role model. Consistent with recent theoretical views, female and male students rated both the professional skills and the personal characteristics of the faculty role model as important in establishing the role-model relationship. These findings are interpreted within a framework that considers the continuing effect of belief systems about women's and men's roles on the professional development of women.     

Behavioral momentum in sports: a partial replication with women's basketball

Previous research has applied the behavioral momentum metaphor to men's college basketball. In the current investigation, the relative rate of reinforcement prior to and following adversities (e.g., turnovers, fouls) and periods of time-out were examined in a subset of women's college basketball games.     

Risk perception in novice drivers: the relationship between questionnaire measures and response latency

The extent to which questionnaire based measures of driving risk, driving ability and accident likelihood are associated with response latency based measures obtained on a hazard perception test was examined. In Experiment 1 questionnaire evaluations of driving in general were obtained and correlated with hazard perception performance. In Experiment 2 questionnaire evaluations and hazard perception performance were obtained when drivers viewed the same driving scenes. In neither experiment did questionnaire responses correlate significantly with hazard perception performance. Additionally while in both experiments no difference in hazard perception performance arose between males and females, females rated driving as more risky and their ability to be lower than males. The results indicate independence between questionnaire and response latency measures of hazard perception. However the possibility that both approaches should be adopted within a single framework is raised.     

People's Perceptions of Women's and Men's Worry about Life Issues: Worrying about Love, Accomplishment, or Money?

The study was designed to examine people's perceptions of women's and men's worry about life issues and self-perceptions of worry. Some undergraduates (n = 498) rated typical women's or men's worry, and others (n = 396) rated significant others' worry based on the Worry Domain Questionnaire (Tallis, Eysenck, & Mathews, 1992). As expected, participants perceived women as worrying more than men do about relationships, when they rated typical or significant others. As well, they rated typical men as worrying more than typical women about achievement and finances. Participants who rated significant others' worry also rated their own worry and parallel findings were expected. However, women tended to report more worry about achievement than men did. Overall, the findings indicate that the better people know their targets, the less likely they are to perceive their worry in gender stereotypical terms. This article is partially based on Wendy-Jo Wood's Master's thesis.     

From automatic antigay prejudice to behavior: the moderating role of conscious beliefs about gender and behavioral control

Two experiments tested whether the relation between automatic prejudice and discriminatory behavior is moderated by 2 conscious processes: conscious egalitarian beliefs and behavioral control. The authors predicted that, when both conscious processes are deactivated, automatic prejudice would elicit discriminatory behavior. When either of the 2 processes is activated, behavioral bias would be eliminated. The authors assessed participants' automatic attitudes toward gay men, conscious beliefs about gender, behavioral control, and interactions with gay confederates. In Experiment 1, men's beliefs about gender were heterogeneous, whereas women's beliefs were mostly egalitarian; men's responses supported the predictions, but women's responses did not. In Experiment 2, the authors recruited a sample with greater diversity in gender-related beliefs. Results showed that, for both sexes, automatic prejudice produced biased behavior in the absence of conscious egalitarian beliefs and behavioral control. The presence of either conscious process eliminated behavioral bias.     

The misperception of sexual interest

In the current study (N = 199), we utilized a speed-meeting methodology to investigate misperceptions of sexual interest. This method allowed us to evaluate the magnitude of men's overperception of women's sexual interest, to examine whether and how women misperceive men's sexual interest, and to assess individual differences in susceptibility to sexual misperception. We found strong support for the prediction that women would underestimate men's sexual interest. Men who were more oriented toward short-term mating strategies or who rated themselves more attractive were more likely to overperceive women's sexual interest. The magnitude of men's overperception of women's sexual interest was predicted by the women's physical attractiveness. We discuss implications of gender differences and within-sex individual differences in susceptibility to sexual misperception.     

Counterfactual Production and Achievement Orientation in Competitive Athletic Settings1

Two studies examined the impact of achievement orientation on counterfactual production in competitive sporting situations. In Study 1, participants created counterfactuals after reading 4 vignettes. Results indicated that participants reading about winners created more subtractive and downward counterfactuals than did participants reading about losers, while participants reading about losers created more additive and upward counterfactuals than did participants reading about winners. In Study 2, using participants in 3-on-3 basketball games, achievement orientation interacted with game outcome to produce adaptive responses for participants who held a mastery orientation and maladaptive responses for participants who held an outcome orientation. In addition to achievement orientation, the margin of victory played an important role in determining the type of counterfactual produced. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Are Women Perceived as Engaging in More Maladaptive Worry Than Men? A Status Interpretation

Studies 1 and 2 addressed people's perceptions of women's and men's overall maladaptive worry. In Study 1, participants rated how they perceive women's and men's worry in general. In Study 2, participants rated the worry of either a woman or a man whom they know well. As expected in both studies, participants perceived women as experiencing more maladaptive worry than men. A second objective was to compare people's perceptions of women's and men's worry to their perceptions of low- and high-status individuals' worry to determine if a status model can account for the perception that women worry more than men. In Study 3, participants were presented a minimal instantiation of status (Conway, Pizzamiglio, & Mount, 1996). As expected, participants perceived low-status individuals as experiencing more maladaptive worry than high-status individuals. Findings are discussed in terms of gender stereotypes and theoretical models of gender.     

Sex differences in evaluating heterosexual and homosexual promiscuity

Our research focused on men's and women's interpretations of homosexually and heterosexually promiscuous behavior. Study 1 involved 21 men and 21 women who rated perceived differences between homosexually and heterosexually promiscuous behavior following a discussion of impersonal sex in public restrooms. Men perceived the two types of promiscuous behavior as more different than did women. In Study 2, 41 men and 23 women rated their perceptions of the difference between homosexually and heterosexually promiscuous behavior without any prior discussion. No sex differences were found, though a significant correlation between age and rating was observed. Men and women may focus on different dimensions when evaluating sexual behavior.     

Desire for Control and the Use of Attribution Processes

ABSTRACT The hypothesis that people engage in attribution processes to obtain a sense of control was tested In each of three experiments, subjects identified on an individual difference measure as high in a general desire for control (DC) were found to engage in attnbution processes more than subjects low in desire for control In Experiment 1, high-DC subjects were more likely to utilize attributionally relevant information when describing the cause of a writer's behavior than were low-DC subjects High-DC subjects in Experiment 2 were more likely to ask attribution questions about hypothetical events than were low-DC subjects In Expenment 3, high-DC subjects gave more attributions for their performance on a test than did low-DC subjects The findings are interpreted as support for the control motivation explanation for why people engage in attribution processes     

Gender,the Perception of Aggression,and the Overestimation of Gender Bias

The purpose of this study was to investigate how the gender of aggressor, target, and observer influences the perception and evaluation of aggression. One hundred seventy-one university students (predominantly White) read 1 of 8 vignettes that described an aggressive act. The aggressor–target gender combinations and the aggressive act were varied. Data did not support the hypothesis that, because of the impact of gender stereotypes, participants would perceive more aggressiveness in men's aggression than in women's aggression. Participants rated women's aggression as more acceptable than men's aggression, and male participants considered the aggression more acceptable, apparently because they saw the act as less aggressive. In addition, participants estimated how most men/women would perceive and evaluate the aggression. Results suggest that people overestimate how biased others are toward members of their own gender.     

Stability and change in work values among male and female nurses and engineers

Gender related changes of work values were analyzed in a longitudinal questionnaire study of 173 male and 48 female engineers and 353 female and 31 male nurses at three measurement occasions covering about four and half years from the end of their vocational education. At all occasions, Social relations were rated as more important by women than by men and Altruism was given higher ratings by the nurses than by the engineers. Within both occupations women's mean Altruism ratings were higher than men's mean ratings, and in all groups except male engineers the mean ratings dropped between the three occasions. Women's ratings of Benefits and career and Influence were strengthened in both occupations, thereby eliminating an initial gender difference. The stability of work values is discussed in terms of challenges and norms in working life.     

Immediate effect of weight training as compared to aerobic exercise on free-throw shooting in collegiate basketball players.

This study empirically assessed the effect weight training has on the accuracy of free-throw shots immediately following a weight-training session. On On alternating days of the week for eight weeks, 14 members of a women's varsity intercollegiate basketball team engaged in a weight-training program and an aerobics exercise program. Each day immediately following the conditioning, the players shot two sets of 10 free throws. Analysis indicated no significant difference in free-throw shooting accuracy as a function of weight training when compared to the aerobic exercise, suggesting that the immediate effects of weight training are no more detrimental or beneficial for free-throw shooting than aerobic exercise.     

Development and factor analysis of the Coaching and Athletic Training Questionnaire

To explore athletes' perceptions related to coaching and athletic training care, the Coaching and Athletic Training Questionnaire was developed. A 10-item version was administered to 708 varsity athletes from three Division I universities in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. 341 women and 344 men completed questionnaires. Data from half of the sample of 685 were used for an exploratory factor analysis using principal components analysis with oblique rotation and the second half for a confirmatory factor analysis. Analyses yielded three interpretable factors, accounting for 68% of the variance, which were labeled Comfort with Athletic Trainer or Coach, Sex Influence on Quality of Care, and Athletic Trainer Preference. Multivariate analysis of variance indicated that factor scores of women and men differed significantly, and at followup women and men differed significantly on Comfort with Athletic Trainer or Coach, but the small effect size minimizes its meaningfulness. No significant difference was noted for the other two factors. It appears coaches should be sensitive and available in case of injury or other need. Athletes' perceived quality of care by athletic trainers does not appear related to sex of athlete or trainer.