The Relationship of Sex to Occupational Prestige in an African Country

This study set out to find the answers to two questions in relation to the developing African nation of Zambia. Did the sex of the respondent affect the prestige gradings of occupations? Did the sex of the incumbent affect the prestige gradings of selected occupations? The study was part of a much larger one designed, for one reason, to assess the differential affects of sex, living area, and education on occupational prestige, and to investigate factors involved in prestige. To answer the two questions a specially designed questionnaire was administered to over 1,100 secondary school pupils across Zambia. It seems that the sex of the respondent has little effect on the prestige positioning of occupations; but significant downward movements in prestige grading for particular occupations were found when females were incumbents. In this latter case, a significant difference among respondents was also found: Girls rated female incumbents significantly higher than did boys.     

Occupational Prestige as a Function of Occupant's Gender

To examine sex bias in occupational prestige, 250 male and 250 female undergraduate and graduate students in Bombay were asked to rate the respectability of 16 occupations, each with male and female occupants (e.g., a male scientist, a female scientists, etc.). Thus, the study had a 2 (subject's sex) × 2 (occupant's gender) × 16 (occupations) mixed design, with occupant's gender and occupations as within-subjects factors. All of the main and interaction ANOVA effects were significant. The findings clearly supported the primary hypothesis that both male and female subjects would show a sex bias in favor of the male occupant in cases of high prestige occupations.     

Occupational Representativeness and Prestige Rating: Some Observations

The authors examine occupational representativeness for its effect on prestige ratings. Compositions of occupational listings do not affect ratings. Career counseling implications are noted.     

The Influence of Sex, Physical Attractiveness, Sex Role, and Occupational Sex-Linkage on Perceptions of Occupational Suitability

The effects of sex role and physical attractiveness stereotypes on subjects' perceptions of a stimulus person were examined in a field study of their influence on occupational suitability ratings. The present research distinguished the biological sex from the sex role of a hypothetical job applicant. A sample of personnel consultant subjects evaluated a male or female stimulus applicant, who was attractive or unattractive, for masculine, feminine, and sex-neutral occupations. The stimulus applicant was either masculine, feminine, or androgynous in hisher sex role. Consistent with the experimental hypothesis, masculine and androgynous persons were preferred to feminine persons for the masculine occupations while feminine and androgynous persons were preferred to masculine persons for the feminine occupations, regardless of biological sex or attractiveness. Also consistent with predictions, attractiveness influenced ratings for the sex-neutral occupations. Results are discussed in terms of the influence of individuating information about a stimulus person in eliminating the effects of stereotypes on judgments of individuals. Possible implications for personnel decision making are also considered.     

Effects of Changing Proportions of the Sexes on Ratings of Occupational Prestige

Touhey (1974) has suggested that an influx of women into high-status, male-dominated professions will result in declining prestige and desirability for those professions. The present study attempts both a replication and an extension to examine results of changing sex ratios in low-status and female-dominated occupations. Replication of the previous finding and its predicted extension to high- status women's jobs occurred only with college sophomores; juniors and seniors generally did not respond to sex composition, although they did rate high-status men's jobs as even more prestigious with a larger proportion of women employed in the job. Results for the low-status jobs were less clear, possibly reflecting the distance of college students from such occupations. Unlike Touhey's, these results are not interpreted as predicting future occupational prestige, but only as reflecting current attitudes about women and men.     

The Power of Prestige: Why Young Men Report Having more Sex Partners than Young Women

In a survey of 48 men and 61 women from a southwestern US college, the gender difference in reported number of sex partners was mediated by the degree to which individuals felt that men and women who had many sexual partners were prestigious. In addition, men cared about the quantity and quality of their sex partners more than women did and these two factors were also related to reported number of sexual partners. The gender difference in reported sex partners is not veridical; it can be accounted for with attitudinal measures related to status and sex that are more common in men than women. Results are discussed in terms of understanding biased reporting in young American men and women.     

The Relationship of Sex, Sex Role, and Mental Health

Mental health differences due to sex, sex-role identification, and sex-role attitudes were investigated using 109 undergraduate students. Females reported higher levels of depression and anxiety. Both males and females with more liberal scores on the Attitudes Toward Women Scale scored higher on the Well-Being Scale of the California Psychological Inventory. No differences due to androgyny were found.     

The Relationship of Work Values to Occupational Level in Young Adult Workers

This research was designed to assess the relationship of work values as measured by Super's Work Values Inventory to job level. A total of 202 young adult workers (136 males, 66 females) between the ages of 18 and 25 in unskilled, semiskilled, skilled, and clerical-sales positions were surveyed. Differences in work values by sex and job level were found. Implications for counselors are discussed.     

3~5岁幼儿职业声望垂直空间、大小双重隐喻发展

为探讨3~5岁幼儿职业声望认知及职业声望垂直空间、大小双重隐喻的发展规律,研究采用将高声望职业人物和低声望职业人物图片放置垂直空间的上方/下方和大/小的人物剪影图片的任务操作。通过2个实验及综合分析结果发现：3岁幼儿职业声望隐喻理解能力开始萌芽,高职业声望为“上”的正极概念隐喻开始出现; 4岁幼儿职业声望隐喻理解能力得到发展,已形成高职业声望为“上”、“大”,低职业声望为“下”、“小”的双重隐喻能力; 5岁幼儿职业声望的双重隐喻能力进一步加强。研究揭示：3~5岁幼儿对职业声望的隐喻加工存在正极优势。幼儿对职业声望的垂直空间和大小双重隐喻理解能力的发展不同步,职业声望的垂直空间隐喻发展优于大小隐喻。     

The Relationship between Sex Offender Height and Pedophilic Interest

The current study examined the relationship between offender height and pedophilic interest (as measured by having a victim under 13 years old) in a sample of 22,228 registered sex offenders in the United States. Results revealed that offenders with victims age 12 and under were, on average, nearly one-quarter inch shorter than offenders of adults, and .18 inches shorter than those with minor teen victims. Implications for future research about the biological etiology of child sexual abuse perpetration are discussed, including the role of adverse childhood experiences in the neurodevelopment of offenders.     

The Relationship Between Attitudinal and Behavioral Measures of Sex Preference

This study examined the relationship between an attitudal and a behavioral measure of sex preference for offspring. In addition to looking at the relationship between these measures, their relationship to other variables was also investigated. Pregnant women and their spouses (N = 56) responded to a questionnaire measure of sex preference, a behavioral measure of sex preference, Bern's Sex Role Inventory, and the Attitudes Towards Women Scale. The behavioral and questionnaire measures of sex preference were significantly related, indicating that in the area of preferred sex of firstborn children, attitudinal measures appear to be highly related to behavioral measures. Contrary to prediction, androgynous and nonandrogyn-ous persons did not differ significantly on preferred sex of child. However, persons with a more positive attitude toward women's movement ideology showed significantly less male preference than persons with less positive attitudes toward women's movement ideology.     

The Relationship Between Burnout and Occupational Stress in Genetic Counselors

Burnout represents a critical disruption in an individual’s relationship with work, resulting in a state of exhaustion in which one’s occupational value and capacity to perform are questioned. Burnout can negatively affect an individual’s personal life, as well as employers in terms of decreased work quality, patient/client satisfaction, and employee retention. Occupational stress is a known contributor to burnout and occurs as a result of employment requirements and factors intrinsic to the work environment. Empirical research examining genetic counselor-specific burnout is limited; however, existing data suggests that genetic counselors are at increased risk for burnout. To investigate the relationship between occupational stress and burnout in genetic counselors, we administered an online survey to members of three genetic counselor professional organizations. Validated measures included the Maslach Burnout Inventory—General Survey (an instrument measuring burnout on three subscales: exhaustion, cynicism, and professional efficacy) and the Occupational Stress Inventory—Revised (an instrument measuring occupational stress on 14 subscales). Of the 353 respondents, more than 40 % had either considered leaving or left their job role due to burnout. Multiple regression analysis yielded significant predictors for burnout risk. The identified sets of predictors account for approximately 59 % of the variance in exhaustion, 58 % of the variance in cynicism, and 43 % of the variance in professional efficacy. Our data confirm that a significant number of genetic counselors experience burnout and that burnout is correlated with specific aspects of occupational stress. Based on these findings, practice and research recommendations are presented.     

工作压力反应及其与领导方式的关系研究

本研究通过对537位工作者的调查,探讨工作压力反应的类型及其与领导方式的关系,结果显示:工作压力反应存在四种类型,分别是积极压力反应类型、高压力反应类型、低压力反应类型以及消极压力反应类型。直接领导的不同领导方式与个体不同的工作压力反应类型存在关联。混合式领导方式下的个体积极压力反应最高,消极压力反应最低。变革型领导和交易型领导下的个体积极压力反应和消极压力反应无显著差异。     

Paradigmatic Assumptions of Disciplinary Research on Gender Disparities: The Case of Occupational Sex Segregation

Lips (2012) deconstructs the standard methodological approaches to understanding the gender wage gap and shows that issues of gender pervade nearly every assumption of these models. In this commentary, we call attention to paradigmatic assumptions and theoretical approaches of the three most relevant social-science disciplines that deal with a parallel issue—occupational sex segregation—to demonstrate that scientific progress is facilitated by transparency in our disciplinary approaches to addressing gender disparities. Accordingly, the neoclassical economic approach to occupational sex segregation posits, among other things, self-selection in the development of human capital, such as choice of college major, as well as women’s tradeoffs in marriage vs. work-related capital as the drivers of occupational disparities. Progressive sociological approaches, such as feminist and Marxist sociology eschew these “supply-side” explanations in favor of examining “demand-side” explanations, particularly social forces that shape both employers’ beliefs about desirable worker attributes as well as the institutional structures that are created to support these views. Psychological approaches tend to address both supply-side (e.g., vocational preferences) and demand-side (e.g., stereotypes and bias) explanations. The aim of this commentary is to elucidate the paradigmatic approaches that each of the major social-science disciplines takes in understanding gender inequity issues in order to advance integrated research on these important social topics.     

Causal Attributions and Sex Differences Associated With Perceptions of Occupational Barriers

This study extends previous research addressing sex differences in perceived occupational barriers and evaluates the mediating role of causal attributions in the relationship between perceived occupational barriers and career maturity. Participants (85 women and 30 men) listed their perceived barriers to occupational goals, completed a measure of attributions for career decision making, and completed 2 different measures of career maturity. Findings revealed that a larger proportion of women than men perceived past barriers associated with family-related issues. Results also revealed a significant, negative relationship between the number of perceived occupational barriers and career maturity for participants who believe that career decision making is an externally caused, uncontrollable process. The implications of these findings and suggestions for career counselors to integrate perceived barriers into the counseling process are discussed.