Sex differences in coping with career decision making

Sex differences in coping with career decision making were investigated among 247 undergraduate students. Men and women differed on three of four coping factors. Men scored significantly higher on Self-Efficacy Behavior (p < .05) while women scored higher than men on Reactive Behavior (p < .01) and Support-Seeking Behavior (p < .001) strategies. Coping factors were investigated in relation to career decidedness. Although men and women differed on the coping factors, the pattern of relationships between coping and career indecision was virtually identical for both sexes. Self-Efficacy Behavior (Factor 1) was negatively related to career indecision while Symptom-Altering/Avoidant Behavior (Factor 2) was positively related to indecision for both men and women.     

Sex differences in behavioral reactions to provocation of anger

The purpose of this study was to examine sex differences in behavioral reactions to provocation of anger. In a field study, 72 subjects recorded all anger-arousing incidents for a 2-wk. period. Physical and Verbal Antagonism were found in more reports by men while Passive Consent was noted in more reports by women. For a laboratory study, 101 subjects responded to self-report scales of behavioral responses after exposure to an insulting letter. No sex differences were noted in subjects' self-reports of behavioral reactions. Variations in design are brought to bear in interpreting the findings.     

Sex differences in adolescent ethanol drinking to behavioral intoxication

Rodent models have been especially useful for investigating adolescent ethanol exposure. However, there is a paucity of studies examining sex differences in behavioral intoxication from adolescent ethanol drinking. Here, we used an ethanol drinking model to investigate if adolescent rats of both sexes readily drink ethanol to measurable behavioral intoxication, indicated by increased impulsive action and motor incoordination. Beginning on postnatal day (P) 28, male and female Long‐Evans rats were given 30‐min access to a solution of sucrose (20%) or sweetened ethanol (20% sucrose +15% ethanol) every other day until P60 and once after 2 weeks of forced abstinence (on P75). On alternate (nondrinking) days, rats were reinforced with a food pellet for making a cued nosepoke response. Beginning on P56, rats were tested in this task after drinking sessions to assess ethanol‐induced changes in impulsive action, defined as premature responding prior to cue presentation. Motor coordination was assessed before and after drinking sessions using an incline plane test. Adolescent male and female rats readily consumed ethanol to behavioral intoxication, measured as reduced motor coordination. Following forced abstinence, females displayed greater ethanol‐induced impulsive action. These studies provide evidence for sex differences in behavioral intoxication following adolescent ethanol drinking.     

Sex differences in cognitive strategic preference among medical students

The cognitive strategic preferences of first-year medical students (42 men and 31 women) were assessed using the Word-Shape Sorting Test, on which subjects may adopt a verbal or visuospatial approach to problem-solving. 24 (77%) women, but only 25 (60%) men, exhibited a clear preference for a particular information-processing strategy. Some factors contributing to confusion in the literature on cognitive style are discussed.     

Sex differences in the personality and cognitive correlates of spatial ability

Ozer (1987) found that spatial visualization correlated with personality and verbal ability for girls but not for boys. To account for this finding, he hypothesized that "the causes of individual differences in spatial visualization [may be] different for the two sexes" (Ozer, 1987, p. 134). Although Ozer's conclusion is an intriguing one, it should be viewed with at least some skepticism until the discrepancies between his data and those of other researchers have been reconciled.     

Sex and sexual orientation differences in empathizing-systemizing cognitive styles in China

The present study examined sex and sexual orientation differences in empathizing–systemizing (E–S) in a Chinese sample of 239 heterosexual men, 266 heterosexual women, 492 gay men, and 430 lesbian women recruited via the Internet. Empathizing and systemizing were assessed using two different abbreviated 8-item scales derived from longer original scales. There was a significant sex difference in S, with heterosexual men scoring significantly higher on S than heterosexual women, but there was no significant sex difference in E. For men, there were significant sexual orientation differences in E and S. Heterosexual men scored significantly higher on S than gay men, and gay men scored significantly higher on E than heterosexual men. For women, there were no significant differences in E and S between heterosexual and lesbian women. The results indicate a cross-cultural consistency of sex differences in S, while suggesting that E is influenced by culture.     

Broadening behavioral decision research: Multiple levels of cognitive processing

The area of behavioral decision research—specifically, the work on heuristics and biases—has had a tremendous influence on basic research, applied research, and application over the last 25 years. Its unique juxtaposition against economics has provided important benefits, but at the cost of leaving it disconnected from too much of psychology. This paper explores an expanded definition of behavioral decision research through the consideration of multiple levels of cognitive processing. Rather than being limited to how decision makers depart from optimality, we offer a broader analysis of how decision makers define the decision problem and link decisions to goals, as well as a more detailed focus on processes associated with implementing decisions.     

Sex differences in performance on a combined manual and decision task.

This report describes results of an experimental study of the differences in response time between 10 male and 10 female undergraduate operators performing a combined manual and decision task. Analysis indicated that the performance times of women on such tasks were shorter than those of the men as expected.     

Sex differences in visuospatial working memory: components of cognitive processing

Numerous studies have shown that sex differences in visuospatial tasks vary in size and direction depending on the nature of the task, with large differences favoring males on tasks that require transformations in visuospatial working memory. The cognitive processes underlying these differences were investigated using laboratory tasks developed by Dror and Kosslyn (1994). Four cognitive components of visuospatial working memory were assessed—image generation, maintenance, scanning, and transformation—in an attempt to identify the components that would show differential effects for females and males. The image generation task required retrieval of shape information from long-term memory, generation of a visual image in working memory, and utilization of the information about the shape in a decision task. The image maintenance task required only the latter two processes. The information processing demands required by scanning and rotation tasks came from the need to transform the visual image so that it could be used in decision making. Males responded more quickly on all four tasks (ds between .63 and .77), with no between-sex differences in accuracy. We concluded that speed of processing is central to understanding sex differences in visuospatial working memory. We discuss implications of these findings for performance on real-world visuospatial tasks.     

Sex differences moderate decision making behaviour in high impulsive sensation seekers

We tested whether individuals with high levels of impulsive sensation seeking learn to choose advantageously in a specific decision-making context. One hundred twenty-eight participants (73 female) completed a neuropsychological task, the variant version of the Iowa Gambling Task (vIGT; Bechara, Tranel, & Damasio, 2000), in which individuals must select cards from decks that offer high initial losses if they are to eventually make a profit. The selection from decks of cards that led to the highest profit as the task progressed was higher in high, compared to low, impulsive sensation seekers. However, learning to choose advantageously was moderated by sex of participant. Specifically, compared to females, male high impulsive sensation seekers learned more quickly to make consistent selections from the advantageous decks despite the large immediate losses. Overall, the data support the hypothesis that insensitivity to loss due to impulsive sensation seeking can lead to financial gain.     

Sex differences in early verbal and non‐verbal cognitive development

The present study of over 3000 2‐year‐old twin pairs used a sex‐limitation model to examine genetic and environmental origins of sex differences in verbal and non‐verbal cognitive ability. Girls scored significantly higher on both measures (p<0.0001), although gender only accounted for approximately 3% of the variance in verbal ability and 1% of the variance in non‐verbal cognitive ability. For the verbal measure boys showed greater heritability than girls. Also the twin‐pair correlation is significantly lower for opposite‐sex twins than for non‐identical same‐sex twins. This indicates that individual differences in verbal ability include some sex‐specific factors. Non‐verbal cognitive ability did not differ in aetiology for boys and girls. We conclude that genetic and environmental influences differ for girls and boys for early verbal but not non‐verbal development.     

Sex differences in cognitive abilities and sex-role stereotypes in Hong Kong Chinese adolescents

A study was conducted to test the hypothesis that sex differences in patterns of cognitive ability could be accounted for by variation in identification with sex-role stereotypes. Hong Kong Chinese adolescents from two different age groups served as subjects. Sex differences were discovered in patterns of performance on a battery of cognitive tests, with males performing better on tests of spatial ability and females performing better on tests of fluent production. Sex differences in sex-role identification were also discovered. There were, however, no significant relationships between sex-role identification and patterns of ability. Biological sex was found to be the best predictor of a male or female pattern of performance. A reformulation of a sex-role identification hypothesis appears to be warranted on the basis of these data. Suggestions for further research on the relationships among sex-role identification, cultural values, and personal adjustment are also presented.This report is based on a doctoral dissertation submitted to the faculty of Harvard University. The research was supported by a National Research Service Award, National Institutes of Health Grant 5-T32-MH14088, awarded to Beatrice Whiting and John Whiting to support graduate research in cross-cultural child development.     

Age-related qualitative differences in post-error cognitive control adjustments

Detecting an error signals the need for increased cognitive control and behavioural adjustments. Considerable development in performance monitoring and cognitive control is evidenced by lower error rates and faster response times in multi-trial executive function tasks with age. Besides these quantitative changes, we were interested in whether qualitative changes in balancing accuracy and speed contribute to developmental progression during elementary school years. We conducted two studies investigating the temporal and developmental trajectories of post-error slowing in three prominent cognitive conflict tasks (Stroop, Simon, and flanker). We instructed children (8-, 10-, and 12-year-old) and adults to respond as fast and as accurately as possible and measured their response times on four trials after correct and incorrect responses to a cognitive conflict. Results revealed that all age groups had longer response times on post-error versus post-correct trials, reflecting post-error slowing. Critically, slowing on the first post-error trial declined with age, suggesting an age-related reduction in the orienting response towards errors. This age effect diminished on subsequent trials, suggesting more fine-tuned cognitive control adjustments with age. Overall, the consistent pattern across tasks suggests an age-related change from a relatively strong orienting response to more balanced cognitive control adaptations.     

Veridicality of cognitive mapping of stressor effects: Sex differences1

In order to examine the veracity of judgment-questionnaire data regarding the effects of confronting a stressor in various contexts, judgments based on the imagined consequences of these encounters were scaled for both male and female subjects using individual-differences multidimensional scaling analyses. A parallel experiment was then carried out where a second group of subjects were directly exposed to the spectrum of stressor-context combinations previously judged. The two experiments substantially differed with respect to the inferences suggested by their results: while there were no apparent sex differences in the configuration of judgment responses, there were appreciable sex differences in response to the direct stress; other effects were predicted according to the judgment-scaling results but were not obtained upon direct stressor exposure. The study extended past results of equivocal veracity of conclusions drawn from personality questionnaires, ratings and inventories to the domain of stress reactions. The role of antecedent cognitive structuring of threatening situations along stress-relevant dimensions in determining response to direct threat was discussed. Discussion also focused on the configuration of sex differences over the several measures of response to the direct stressor. It was suggested that the stressor was more potent for females leading to increased cognitive coping efforts on their part. The effect of these efforts was the eventual reduction of their subjective stress to the level of that displayed by male.     

Within-session practice eliminates age differences in cognitive control

ABSTRACT

Previous research employing short-term practice and long-term training have been successful in reducing cognitive control deficits in the elderly. The goal of this study was to examine the effect of practice within session on a demanding cognitive control task. Nineteen older adults and 16 young adults performed 720 trials of a cued version of the Stroop task, in which an instructional cue is presented before each individually presented Stroop stimulus. Statistical analyses focused on the most difficult color-naming condition in task-switching blocks. Overall, participants showed faster reaction times and decreased errors with practice, particularly on incongruent trials. Older adults showed a greater reduction in errors with practice than young adults. Moreover, older adults, but not young adults, showed a reduction in errors and reaction times with practice on incongruent trials. Findings further suggest that practice reduces age-related differences in cognitive control. Improvements in cognitive control functioning has implications for treating functional deficits in older adults.     

Sex differences in domain-specific depressogenic cognitive responses to negative and positive life events

Maladaptive cognitive responses to stressful life events represent well-replicated risk factors for depression. Research indicates that stressful life events that are dependent on the individual to occur or are interpersonal may generate more maladaptive cognitive responses than those that are independent and/or non-interpersonal. The current study examined the roles of sex and life event domains in eliciting depressogenic cognitive responses. Participants were 212 (71% female) undergraduate students who completed seven weekly questionnaires on participant-identified most negative and most positive life events over the previous 7 days. Additionally, participants reported levels of brooding and cognitive style in response to the most negative event and levels of positive rumination and dampening in response to the most positive event. Data were analyzed using mixed ANOVAs. Results indicated that females engaged in greater brooding regardless of event dependency. In addition, dependent and interpersonal life events generated greater brooding while dependent and non-interpersonal negative events generated greater negative cognitive style. An interaction between sex and domain was observed for dampening positive life events, such that males did not differ between interpersonal and non-interpersonal life events while females were more likely to dampen following interpersonal life events than non-interpersonal events.