Avoidance ratings and fears of Chinese adults by age, ethnic group, sex, and residency

Few studies among the Chinese population concerning avoidance out of fear have been reported. Existing studies are limited to school and collegiate samples while overlooking ethnic minorities, of which China has more than 50. In this study, a general population sample in China indicated the level at which they would avoid certain situations. The data were analyzed relative to age, ethnicity, sex, and the amount of time living in urban or rural areas. Three samples (urban Han, n=144; rural Han, n=144; Urban Hui, n=72) were selected using stratified quota sampling. Respondents identified that they avoided social situations the most and agoraphobic situations the least. Overall, women expressed significantly greater fear. This sex difference was less marked in the urban sample where the Chinese tradition of male dominance has been diluted due to urbanization and modernization. There were few age-related differences, although some fears among the elderly were explained by age-related vulnerabilities and folklore. The Hui minority group had significantly lower overall scores than the Han group; this was attributed to the role of their Islamic beliefs.     

Cognitive functioning in healthy older adults aged 64-81: a cohort study into the effects of age, sex, and education

The objective of this study was to determine a possible differential effect of age, education, and sex on cognitive speed, verbal memory, executive functioning, and verbal fluency in healthy older adults. A group of 578 healthy participants in the age range of 64-81 was recruited from a large population study of healthy adults (Maastricht Aging Study). Even in healthy individuals in this restricted age range, there is a clear, age-related decrease in performance on executive functioning, verbal fluency, verbal memory, and cognitive speed tasks. The capacity to inhibit information is affected most. Education had a substantial effect on cognitive functioning: participants with a middle or high level of education performed better on cognitive tests than did participants with a low level of education. Women performed better than men on verbal memory tasks. Therefore, education and sex must be taken into account when examining an older individual's cognitive performance.     

Relationships among age, sex, and depth of sport experience with initial open-task performance by 4- to 9-year-old children.

The purpose of this study was to assess the relative interrelationships of age, sex, and depth of sport experience on initial practice of a soccer task for 46 4- to 9-yr.-old children. Each child practiced 1 transfer trial and 3 blocks of 3 trials. Measures recorded were performance time, goal attainment, and movement accuracy. Multivariate analyses of variance and multiple regressions yielded evidence for (a) a speed-accuracy tradeoff, (b) a relation of age to goal attainment, movement accuracy, and performance time on the transfer trial, and (c) a relation of age with Block 1 performance time. Experience was more related than sex to all variables except movement accuracy in Block 1 and consistency of goal attainment. Conclusions are that age and experience are the most important to the quality of performance, and no constructs were related to consistency on this task for this age group.     

Using a classification of occupations to describe age,sex, and time differences in employment patterns

Employment data from the 1960 and 1970 censuses were organized using Holland's occupational classification to examine age, sex, and level differences in employment, and to detect changes over the 10-year period. Data were organized in terms of both kind and level of work. Arranging information about the occupational structure of the workforce in terms of a classification that parallels the way psychologists describe people facilitates some psychological interpretations of employment patterns. For example, realistic work is becoming relatively less common and the sexual composition of the occupational categories may be changing. The results provide structured information about the workforce and its changing nature that can be communicated to people planning their careers, personnel workers and counselors, and to government agencies and planners.     

Distributions by age and sex of the dimensions of temperament and character inventory in a cross-cultural perspective among Sweden, Germany, and the USA

Distribution by age and sex of the dimensions of the Temperament and Character Inventory were assessed cross-culturally for samples in Sweden, Germany, and the USA. The Temperament and Character Inventory is a 240-item (Sweden, 238-item), self-administered, true-false format, paper-and-pencil test developed by Cloninger and his coworkers based on his unified biosocial theory of personality. The inventory measures the Temperament dimensions Novelty Seeking, Harm Avoidance, Reward Dependence, and Persistence as well as the Character dimensions, Self-directedness, Cooperativeness, and Self-transcendence. The samples consisted of 300 German subjects, 300 Swedish subjects, and 300 U.S. subjects matched by age cohort and sex. Stability of the personality dimensions was evaluated across samples as were their age and sex distributions. We found significant effects of age, sex, and culture in univariate and multivariate comparisons on the personality dimensions. However, several significant differences in the personality dimensions for both European samples appear to be similar compared with those of the U.S. sample. We have to conclude that sex- and age-specific norms for the dimensions of the Temperament and Character Inventory are necessary given the established significant differences.     

Effects of sex of defense attorney,sex of juror,and age and attractiveness of the victim on mock juror decision making in a rape case

In an experimental study, mock jurors heard a 50-minute audiotape of a rape trial and saw pictures of the victim and defendant. The factors in the design were sex of the defense attorney, age of the victim (early 20s or 60s), attractiveness of the victim, and sex of the juror. The most striking finding was a higher acquittal rate under the female defense attorney condition (71%) than under the male defense attorney condition (49%). This may be an instance of the recently described “talking platypus” phenomenon. Main effects for juror's sex, age of the victim, and attractiveness of the victim were not significant, but these factors showed complex interactions. Internal-external scores did not predict decisions. The most frequent reasons given for acquittals were reasonable doubt and the victim's not resisting.     

Adult visual choice-reaction time, age, sex and preparedness: A test of Welford's problem in a large population sample

The relationship between age, sex and visual three-choice reaction time was investigated with a representative sample of adult subjects who participated in a large health survey in Finland (the Mini-Finland Survey). Subjects' age varied from 30 to 79 years. Reaction time increased reliably with increasing age. Men were faster than women across all age levels. The shortest of the irregularly presented inter-stimulus intervals (ISI) slowed down the performance of elderly subjects in particular. This suggests that they had more difficulty than younger subjects in getting prepared for an uncertain event. They also committed most errors at the longest ISI. This was interpreted as a result of their relative inability to maintain the optimum level of preparation. On the whole, men displayed a higher error rate than women, which suggests that the observed male superiority is at least in part due to response strategies. The importance for aging research of sampling the subjects and task types is briefly discussed.     

Asymmetric recognition of pictures of cats as a function of age in 4-, 5-, and 6-year-old children

In the present study it was investigated whether children recognized deletions more accurately than additions in pictures of animate objects as a function of age between 4 and 6 years. Children, presented pictures of cats with features added to or deleted from the original pictures, judged whether the pictures were the same or different as those in a test of recognition. Analysis showed both 5-yr.-olds and 6-yr.olds discovered deletions more accurately than additions. This asymmetric effect is in accord with that of adults, with whom the same stimuli were used in earlier research, but are contrary to previous studies in which additions were recognized more accurately than deletions when inanimate objects were stimuli. Asymmetric effects, that is, greater recognition accuracy for deletions may be related to children's being uncomfortable about modified pictures of animals.     

Moral approval of aggression and sex role identity in officer trainees,conscientious objectors to military service,and in a female reference group

The Moral Approval of Aggression Inventory (MAAI) and Bem's Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) were administered to three experimental groups: officer trainees ( = OTs, n = 48), conscientious objectors to military service ( = COs, n = 35), and to a group of women of comparable age (n = 32). Aggression was mostly approved of among OTs and the least among COs, the women scoring in the middle somewhat closer to OTs. Differences in choice of sex role identity emerged, so that OTs often chose a masculine sex role, while for COs, the choice of an androgynous role was the most frequent one. Women chose feminine and androgynous roles with equal frequency. Moral approval of aggression could not be explained on the basis of sex role identification. The strongest determinator of moral approval of aggression was the choice of refusal to engage in military service.     

Relationship of therapists' sex, sex-role, and age to awareness of the salience of gender-related concepts in analogue research: a preliminary finding regarding distribution of therapists by sex-role

In response to speculation that awareness of feminist concerns had made patient analogue studies transparent, the present study was done to estimate the extent and correlates of therapists' awareness of the gender-related characteristics of such a sex-role questionnaire. A national sample of 131 male and 120 female therapists showed that male therapists tend to be sex-typed and female therapists are predominantly androgynous. No significant relationship obtained between the therapists' sex-role and their awareness that this experiment involved gender. The relationship between sex of therapist and awareness only approached significance. Younger therapists tended to be more aware than older ones.     

Development of inattention, impulsivity, and processing speed as measured by the d2 Test: results of a large cross-sectional study in children aged 7-13.

The development of three aspects of selective attention was studied in 451 Dutch schoolchildren attending second to sixth grade. Selective attention was measured with the d2 Test of attention. The largest age differences were found for processing speed that continued to improve until the sixth grade. Impulsivity, as measured by the percentage of errors of commission, decreased until the fourth grade. Inattention, measured by the percentage of errors of omission, was stable in all grades. Processing speed and impulsivity were correlated with the score on the Attention Problems subscale of the Child Behavior Checklist. These results imply that selective attention continues to develop, at least, until the end of elementary school. The findings are support for a step-wise model of cognitive development (P. Anderson, 2002).