Sex differences in moral internalization and values.

The subjects were fifth- and seventh-grade white middle-class children and their parents. The major moral internalization indices pertain to internal moral judgment, guilt intensity, and fear of punishment. The findings support the prevalent view that consideration for others is more salient in females. They also suggest, with considerable consistency (especially in adults) that moral transgressions are more likely to be associated with guilt in females and fear in males. No sex differences in internal moral judgment were obtained. Evidence was presented suggesting that the differences in children may be due partly to different discipline and affection patterns. It was also suggested that the results for adults as well as children might be explained by differential sex-role socialization as well as by increasing pressures on males over the life cycle to achieve and succeed, which may often conflict with concerns about the welfare of others.     

Gender Differences in Sado-Masochistic Arousal Among College Students

This paper tests three competing explanationsfor male-female differences in sado-masochistic sexualarousal. The male arousal hypothesis posits that becauseof socialization that emphasizes sexual aggression and experimentation (and thus higher levels ofsexual arousal and activity in all areas), men will bemore aroused by both sadism and masochism than women.The female masochism hypothesis argues that because females are socialized to be passive, they willbe more aroused by masochistic (but not sadistic)activities than males. The convergence hypothesis notesthat male female socialization (and differences in most sexual attitudes and behavior) haveconverged in recent years, and hypothesizes that thesame convergence has taken place in arousal caused bysado-masochistic behavior and fantasy. Using a sample comprised of 320 undergraduate students (69%white, 27% African American, 4% other) from a largeurban university in the Southeast, we found no evidencefor the female masochism hypothesis and only weak evidence for the convergence hypothesis. Thestrongest evidence was for the male arousal hypotheses,with males scoring significantly higher than females onseven of the twelve measures of sado-masochistic arousal, and no differently from females on theremaining five.     

A comparison of adult males' and females' interactions with girls and boys

The verbal interactions of adult males and females with trained girl and boy confederates were compared in an unstructured and an immediately following structured situation. Women did not respond differently based on the child's gender in either situation, while men spoke more and used longer mean length of utterances with the boys than with the girls in the unstructured situation. In the structured situation males did not respond differently to girls and boys, speaking more to both than did females. Correlations between the number of words spoken in female-child pairs were higher, suggesting a greater reciprocity of interaction, than for male-child pairs in both situations. The results are seen as reflecting the outcome of differential sex-role socialization for men and women, especially with respect to children, with females socialized to relate with others and men to need to dominate others.     

Development of sex differences in spatial memory.

Males typically perform better than females on tests of spatial abilities. However, Silverman and Eals (1992) found that females can surpass males on certain tasks, in particular recall of object location. This study investigated the age at which females begin having greater recall in object location. Recall was tested with object arrays (sets of line drawings of common objects) using samples of 80 adults (M age = 21 yr.) and 139 children at 3 age groups. Adult data replicated earlier findings, indicating significantly greater recall by women. The samples of children at different ages--4 yr. (n = 43), 10-11 yr. (n = 53), and 15-16 yr. (n = 43)--did not show significant sex differences in this type of recall. The findings suggest that females may surpass males in this spatial ability as adults, apparently due to gradual improvements in spatial memory through childhood and adolescence.     

Men's and women's attitudes and beliefs about the menstrual cycle

Recent analyses of menstrual distress have emphasized sociocultural influences. Yet beliefs and attitudes of men—an important socialization force in the lives of women—have received little attention. In the present study, 239 students (156 females and 83 males) from three colleges filled out a survey on expectations for menstrual and premenstrual symptoms, attitudes about mensturation, sources of menstrual-related information, and effects of menstruation upon daily activities. The major findings are as follows: First, although both males and females believed women experience certain cycle-related symptoms, females reported that women experience more severe menstrual and premenstrual symptoms (when compared to intermenstrual ones) than males reported, while males believed women experience more severe menstrual than premenstrual symptoms than females believed. Second, males learned less about menstruation from the majority of possible informational sources and rated most sources as more negative than did the females. Third, males believed that menstruation had more of an effect on women's moods and had a more debilitating effect on women's lives than did females. Fourth, females rated menstruation as more bothersome than did males. Fifth, more males believed their mothers experienced menstrual irritability and moodiness, while more females believed their mothers experienced swelling. The findings are discussed in terms of the role of socialization and the type of information imparted to males and females in America today.     

Conservation of Distance in African Children—The Sex Dimension

This study reviews the literature on the topic of sex dimension as it affects the attainment of the conservation of distance among African children in Sierra Leone. An investigation was done to determine the age at which these children attain conservation. Subjects were primary school children from different parts of the country who ranged from classes (grade levels) II to VII. It was found that the age of conservation was 12 years and that males in the sample performed better than females. This is in line with conclusions drawn from similar studies of African children.     

Body type preferences and body characteristics associated with attractive and unattractive bodies by african Americans and Anglo Americans

Body type preferences, body characteristics associated with body attractiveness, and personal characteristics associated with unattractive body types (e.g., obese bodies) were examined in African American and Anglo American female and male respondents. African American males preferred larger body types for females, and associated more favorable and fewer unfavorable characteristics with obese females than did Anglo American males. Females of both races preferred a slightly thin body type for males, although African American females associated fewer unfavorable characteristics with obese males than did Anglo American females. Difference between the races in body characteristics associated with attractiveness suggest race-specific prototypes of body attractiveness that correspond to physical differences between the races. Race-specific standards of attractiveness within cultures are discussed.     

The Westermarck Effect and early childhood co‐socialization: Sex differences in inbreeding‐avoidance

The aim of this study was to determine whether there are sex differences in regard to the effect of early childhood co‐socialization on inbreeding‐avoidance at sexual maturity. Multiple logistic regression methodology was used to model the relationship between cousin relationship and social proximity in childhood and its effect on mate choice beyond adolescence for a sample of Moroccan participants. Females showed a synergistic interaction effect for cousin marriage and childhood co‐socialization and an additional interaction effect for co‐socialization during the first seven years of childhood. Male participants showed no significant effect for early childhood co‐socialization. The Westermarck Effect hypothesis that early childhood co‐socialization leads to a lack of sexual interest at maturity is thus supported for female participants but not for male participants. These results are consistent with expectations from parental investment theory that females should show greater inbreeding‐avoidance than males do because of the greater costs females suffer as a consequence of inbreeding depression.     

The role of educational psychologists in promoting ethical research conducted with children: an exploratory study

This study explored perceptions of educational psychologists on their role in promoting ethical research involving children. Participants were 10 South African educational psychologists (females = 60%; males = 40%) from mostly public services (90%). Data on their perceived roles in research ethics monitoring and implementation were collected through individual interviews and a brief questionnaire. The data were thematically analysed. Findings suggest that educational psychologists have a role in protecting children from harm during research participation while also monitoring benefits due to the children. A social justice perspective appears to explain the role of educational psychologists in research protection for children.     

The effects of verbal reinforcement of intrinsic motivation for sex-linked tasks

Recent studies have demonstrated that positive verbal feedback enhances males' intrinsic motivation for a task, while decreasing that of females. This result has been attributed to differential socialization forces which make the controlling aspects of rewards more salient for females as opposed to males, for whom the informational aspects are prepotent. A weakness in this conclusion stems from the use of a masculine sex-linked task in prior experiments, producing a result which may be due to gender congruence/incongruence rather than to socialization differences. Two laboratory experiments were performed to examine the effects of verbal praise on intrinsic motivation, controlling for sex-typing of the experimental activity. Experiment I found that verbal praise increased females' and males' intrinsic motivation on both a feminine and masculine task, and intrinsic motivation was higher for sex-appropriate than sex-inappropriate tasks. The sexes did not show a differential pattern of response to praise. In Experiment 2, verbal praise also enhanced sex-role traditional females' intrinsic motivation on the same activity used in prior research. These results suggest that socialization content has changed sufficiently to make concerns about competence and self-determination equally salient for females and males.     

Maternal Emotion Socialization and Child Outcomes among African Americans and European Americans

Mothers’ emotion socialization practices are very important for children’s later outcomes; however, we know very little about how these practices may lead to different outcomes for European American (EA) and African American (AA) children. In the current study, maternal emotion socialization practices were investigated in relation to child emotion-related outcomes in 122 pairs of mothers and preschool-age children, and differences in associations were examined for EA and AA families. Mothers were assessed for their expressions of positive emotion with their child and their responses to their child’s negative emotions, including support of sadness/fear and magnification of anger, when children were 3. Children were assessed for their expression of positive emotion with their mother and their internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors when they were 4. When ethnicity was included as a moderator, results revealed that when AA mothers expressed more positive emotion, their children were also more positive 1 year later. Additionally, as AA mothers provided greater support for their children’s sadness/fear, these children tended to have fewer later internalizing problems. Finally, when AA mothers responded with more magnification of their children’s anger, these children tended to have greater internalizing and externalizing problems 1 year later. These associations were not found for EA families. Results highlighted differential effects based on the type of support provided by mothers and the role that mothers played in encouraging or suppressing their child’s expressions. The overall findings highlight the need to consider maternal emotion socialization from a culturally-informed perspective.     

Teaching and Doing Gender in African American Families

In this article, based on in-depth interviews with a nonrandom sample of 35 African American parents (25 mothers and 10 fathers), I explore the gender socialization of children in their families. Using the conceptual framework advanced by multiracial feminism, I explore how both race and class shape the gender ideologies and behaviors of parents. The findings reveal significant support for teaching children gender role equality; however, that support is mediated by social class status (defined by education) and patterns of social mobility. In this study, 21 respondents were classified as middle-class and 14 as lower-income parents. Social class status predicts religiosity, homophobia, and structural factors that may militate against full support for gender equality or foster contradictions between ideology and behavior. The results show the role of Black parents as active agents in the lives of their children and expand our knowledge about child socialization processes in Black families. The study also contributes to multiracial feminist theory and the emerging literature on the growing social class diversity among African Americans.     

Influences of stereotype and social distance on prejudice toward African Americans

The study sought to identify the influential factors of stereotypes, social distance, and prejudice toward racial/ethnic minorities in the United States. We used data from the American General Social Survey (GSS) of 2012, and analysed the data of 4 820 individuals (3 700 Caucasians, 722 African Americans, and 398 others; males?=?44.2%, females?=?55.8%). Data were analysed using the SPSS 18.0 Statistics Program. In order to test for differences in racial prejudice by demographic characteristics by stereotyping and social distancing, we utilised variance and regression analyses procedures. Results suggest that stereotypes and social distance effects on prejudice toward African Americans vary according to ethnicity, gender, age, education, and income. Specifically, older and less-educated white males were more prejudiced toward African Americans than were individuals from other sociodemographic groupings. There was a direct relationship between the holding of stereotypical views and social distance, in that those who showed higher levels of stereotyping maintained a greater social distance from African Americans and showed greater implicit prejudice toward them. Racism toward African Americans remains a major social concern in the USA, and is largely influenced by sociodemographic factors.     

Performance,attitudes, and professional socialization of women in academia

Junior faculty at two universities in the Northeast were surveyed regarding their objective job performance as well as attitudes toward work, availability of role models, self-perception and self-evaluation, and incidence and type of sexual discrimination. There were no significant sex differences in marital status; however, two-thirds of the married females reported having no children, whereas less than one-third of the married males had no children. Female junior faculty reported spending somewhat more time on work-related activities at home, generally less willingness to cancel class, somewhat higher likelihood of editing books and/or journals, but less likelihood of writing books and/or journal articles. Males generally felt they were above average in comparison to their colleagues and contemporaries; and they showed a fairly accurate appraisal of their standing vis-á-vis others on the publication dimension. In contrast, females rated themselves significantly lower than the males in comparison to others and showed little discriminative judgment of their relative standing on the publication dimension. Differences in the early socialization of men and women may result in the differential professional socialization of female faculty. Subtle areas of sexual discrimination in the academic experience are suggested. Finally, the authors caution against overgeneralizing from these results.     

African parents’ estimates of their own and their children’s multiple intelligences

A total of 421 parents from four Southern African countries (Nambia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe) estimated their own and their children’s multiple intelligences. There were consistent country and sex differences in self-estimates. Nambians tended to give lowest self-estimates and Zambians highest self-estimates. Contrary to previous findings from other continents females gave higher self-estimates than males on all seven multiple intelligences. These results were mirrored in the estimation of children: females gave higher scores than males and Zambians gave highest estimates and Nambians lowest. Reasons for these findings are discussed.     

Gender Differences in Experimental Disclosure: Evidence, Theoretical Explanations, and Avenues for Future Research

Interest in emotional expression is long-standing. Given well-established gender differences in expressivity, it is surprising that researchers have not consistently examined gender as a potential moderator of outcome in the context of experimental disclosure studies. This article comments on Range and Jenkins’ (2010) research recommendations in light of the suggestion that males evidence greater benefit of disclosure than females and three gender theories: gender schema theory, social role theory, and gender socialization theory. Further avenues for research are also presented, including the examination of gender differences in subjective, expressive and physiologic indicators of emotion during disclosure. Such data could elucidate mechanisms by which persons of different genders or persons with different schemata/ social roles/ socialization histories differ on pre/ post disclosure outcomes.     

Sex and becoming eminent as a political/organizational leader

Using 317 randomly selected eminent personalities, this study seeks to determine if female political and/or organizational eminents differ systematically from other female eminents, to ascertain how similar the socialization data and patterns are for eminent political males and females, and to determine how these patterns compare with those of male and female eminents in other areas of endeavor. The data indicate that to have the possibility of becoming a political/organizational leader, females seem to need to become more similar to males psychosocially. However, the socialization structures and agents needed to promote such comparable psychosocial developments are different from what have existed in the past. The female political/organizational eminents studied did come from a different type of family structure and background. In this sense, they differ in their socialization from what we know about the “average woman,” the other eminent females, and the male eminents. But the psychosocial product of such socialization is more like the male political/organizational eminent in terms of career and public role expectations. One implication of these findings is that the United States is likely to see more politically and organizationally eminent women in the future. The trend toward two-career households (because of economic conditions, as well as the women's movement) is likely to socialize more girls toward such positions.     

Divorced mothers' gender role ideology,locus of control,and disciplinary patterns

This study examined gender role ideology, locus of control, and disciplinary patterns of divorced mothers. Data were gathered from 135 divorced mothers and their elementary school-aged children. Eighty-five percent of the subjects were white and 15% were nonwhite (African American, Hispanic, and Native American). Stepwise regression analyses were used to determine variations in child-rearing patterns explained by locus of control and gender ideology. Child-rearing patterns included four parental attitudes. The basic hypothesis that gender role ideology and locus of control are personal resources that influence child-rearing patterns of divorced mothers received clear support. These findings suggest that the relation between single parenthood and child socialization patterns are complex and that sociocognitive beliefs play an important role in single mothers' child-rearing choices.