Psychology,population, and reproductive behavior

This special section on international perspectives in psychology focuses on population issues and reproductive behavior across national and cultural boundaries, emphasizing the responsibility of psychologists and colleagues in related disciplines to generate and communicate culturally mindful findings likely to shape public health policy and improve human well-being. After considering the historical and policy context, it highlights internationally collaborative research projects in the Czech Republic, Egypt, Mexico, and the United States that address reproductive behavior, women's roles and status, responsible parenthood, and abortion legislation in terms of cultural context, gender equity, the needs of adolescents, and public health policy. The articles illustrate the importance of the cultural context within which psychological research is conducted and how psychology can be informed by international perspectives.     

How to Talk about Gender Inequity in the Workplace: Using WAGES as an Experiential Learning Tool to Reduce Reactance and Promote Self-Efficacy

Interventions aimed at raising awareness of gender inequity in the workplace provide information about sexism, which can elicit reactance or fail to promote self-efficacy. We examined the effectiveness of experiential learning using the Workshop Activity for Gender Equity Simulation ?C Academic version (WAGES-Academic) to deliver gender inequity information. To assess whether the way gender inequity information is presented matters, we compared WAGES-Academic to an Information Only condition (knowledge without experiential learning) and a Group Activity control condition. We predicted that only the information presented in an experiential learning format (i.e., WAGES-Academic) would be retained because this information does not provoke reactance and instills self-efficacy. Participants (n?=?241; U.S. college students from a large mid-Atlantic state university) filled out a gender equity knowledge test at baseline, after the intervention, and then 7?C11?days later (to assess knowledge retention). In addition, we measured feelings of reactance and self-efficacy after the intervention. Results revealed that participants in the WAGES condition retained more knowledge than the other conditions. Furthermore, the effect of WAGES vs. Information Only on knowledge was mediated by WAGES producing less reactance and greater feelings of self-efficacy. Results suggest that experiential learning is a powerful intervention to deliver knowledge about gender equity in a non-threatening, lasting way.     

Perceptions of Organizational Culture and Women's Advancement in Organizations: A Cross-Cultural Examination

This study is a cross-cultural examination of the relationship between organizational culture and women's advancement to management in organizations. The source of data for this study was the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness Research Project, a cross-cultural study of societal culture, organizational culture, and leadership. The results of this study indicate that aspects of organizational culture typically associated with women are related to women's progress. In organizations in which organization members reported shared values of high humane orientation and high gender equity, organization members also reported high percentages of women in management relative to other organizations in their society. In addition, organizational cultural practices that emphasized high humane orientation, high gender equity, high performance orientation, and low power distance were also related to reports of high percentages of women in management relative to societal norms. Results of regression analysis predicting the percentage of women in management from the dimensions of organizational culture indicated that gender equity practices and values emphasizing humane orientation contributed significantly to the prediction of the percentage of women in management. Organizational cultural practices related to gender equity were found to be the most important predictor of the percentage of women in management. This study adds to the literature on women's progress in organizations by further extending the focus from individual and structural characteristics to characteristics of organizational culture. The findings suggest that change agents focused on increasing opportunities for women in management should attend to organizational culture, particularly aspects of culture related to gender equity practices.     

健康城市--发展历程、建设方法和评估机制

健康城市的研究、监督和评价,必须建立在科学的方法和方法论基础上.调查既往导致健康不公平的因素,收集社会人口数据及编辑相关资料,总结市政当局直接或间接处理公平性问题的政策及程序,选择上述政策可产生影响和不能影响的政策进行比较,评价影响参与健康城市项目的各个因素,评价主观与客观的效益,寻求促进健康公平性的措施,这就是健康城市的评价与建设要回答的问题.     

Effects of gain—loss frames on satisfaction with self–other outcome-differences

This research concerned satisfaction with outcome-differences (advantageous inequity, equity, or disadvantageous inequity) as a function of the individual's gain or loss frame, other's gain or loss frame, the cooperative or noncooperative nature of the relationship, and their interactions. After reading a scenario, subjects rated on a satisfaction-dissatisfaction scale a series of outcome-pairs providing themselves and another party with outcomes. Consistent with Equity Theory, results showed that gain framed individuals found equity more pleasing than advantageous inequity, which in turn was preferred over disadvantageous inequity, but only when the decision making context was coopera- tive rather than noncooperative. In a noncooperative context, gain framed individuals were as pleased with equity as with advantageous inequity. Contrary to Equity Theory, but consistent with Prospect Theory, loss framed individuals were relatively insensitive to outcome-differences and the nature of the relationship. Results finally suggested that advantageous inequity was preferred less when the other party had a loss rather than gain frame, albeit only under cooperative circumstances.     

Women's health. Review and research agenda as we approach the 21st century

This article reviews past research and projects future research directions regarding women's health. Sex differences in mortality and morbidity, along with evidence that the quality and quantity of these differences are changing, are examined. Over the past decade, concurrent with dramatic changes in lifestyle and social roles for women, mortality rates have shifted, resulting in a decreasing advantage for women. Explaining the consequences of these dynamic changes requires understanding the health effects of such variables as perceived control, the experience of life roles, perceived and actual social support, and redefinition of gender roles. The future portends additional changes that will significantly affect women's health. In establishing an explicit psychological research agenda on women's health, (a) general recommendations for research are provided and (b) important issues that have not yet received a great deal of research attention (e.g., women and AIDS, psychopharmacology, reproductive technologies) are highlighted. This article expands the current discourse in health psychology and raises a number of issues for serious consideration.     

生育健康的伦理学基础:个人本位还是社会本位

随着“以妇女为中心”生育健康概念的提出,女性的健康与他们在社会中享有权利的关系正引起人们的关注。然而,如何实现女性有生育过程中的主体地位,解决她们所面临的与社会选择的矛盾,在很大程度上取决于特有的社会伦理背景以及所遵循的价值原则。由于中国与西方的社会伦理发展轨迹的差异,构建生育健康的伦理框架和强调女性生育自主权的努力方向也应异于西方。     

The relation of trait self-esteem and positive inequity to productivity

The present study explored the relation of trait self-esteem and positive inequity to productivity Subjects worked on proofreading task, and received hourly (rather than piece-rate) compensation that was either greater than (positive inequity condition) or equal to (equity condition) the amount that they deserved The results showed that individuals of high and medium self-esteem were more productive (i e, completed more of the task) in the positive inequity condition than in the equity condition Low self-esteem participants however, were actually less productive (i e, completed less of the task) in the positive inequity than in the equity condition Theoretical implications are discussed     

Amplifying and Attenuating Inequity in Collaborative Learning: Toward an Analytical Framework

Abstract

Research on collaborative learning has focused on its potential to foster successful problem solving. Less attention, though, has been given to issues of equity. In this article, we investigate how inequity can become amplified and attenuated within collaborative learning through small interactional moves that accumulate to produce broader patterns of equity or inequity. Our theoretical perspective utilizes Boaler’s notion of relational equity and introduces what we term participatory equity. Research was conducted in a computer science course co-taught by the authors and taken by upper-elementary students. Data sources include audio recordings of students’ collaborative interactions, ethnographic field notes, student work, and student surveys. This article focuses on a single student, Jason, and his dyadic interactions, and builds upon our previous analyses of his interactions with four higher-performing partners. Findings reveal how the interplay between classroom structures and student enactments shaped two types of inequity during collaborative learning. We conclude by discussing implications for theorizing and analyzing equity and inequity, as well as pedagogical considerations for structuring collaborative learning to attenuate inequity.     

Caregiver burnout among intimate partners of patients with a severe illness: An equity perspective

In the present study, caregiver burnout among the intimate partners of 106 cancer patients and 88 patients with multiple sclerosis was assessed. This study examined how burnout is related to marital quality and perceptions of inequity in the relationship. LISREL analyses showed that higher perceptions of inequity are strongly associated with higher emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, and lower feelings of personal accomplishment. Intimate partners of both cancer patients and patients with multiple sclerosis are relatively likely to experience burnout when they feel that they do not invest or benefit enough in the exchange with their ill partner. The relationship between inequity and burnout held when general marital quality, gender, the duration of the illness, the physical and psychological condition of the ill partner, and support from other persons were controlled for. This study shows that perceptions of equity or balance in the relationship between patients and their intimate partners are important for preventing caregiver burnout and for enhancing positive caregiver experiences.     

Feminist Bioethics: Where We've Been, Where We's Going

The primary contribution of feminism to bioethics is to note how imbalances of power in the sex-gender system play themselves out in medical practice and in the theory surrounding that practice. I trace the ten-year history of feminist approaches to bioethics, arguing that while feminists have usefully critiqued medicine's biases in favor of men, they have unmasked sexism primarily in the arena of women's reproductive health, leaving other areas of health care sorely in need of feminist scrutiny. I note as well that feminist bioethicists have contributed very little to bioethical theory. In the second part of the paper I suggest two future directions for feminist bioethics. The first is to expand its critique of gender bias beyond reproductive medicine, devoting attention to the same issues raised by advances in biomedical technology as are taken up by mainstream bioethicists. The second is to develop bioethical theory that is more responsive than are mainstream moral theories to the social practices that subordinate women and minority groups.     

Participation by women in developmental, social, cognitive, and general psychology: A context for interpreting trends in behavior analysis

We examined participation by women in journals devoted to social, developmental, cognitive, and general psychology. Authorship and first authorship by women increased from 1978 to 1997 for most journals. Participation by women on the editorial staff did not keep pace with their increased authorship for social and developmental psychology. Based on these trends, women's participation decreased with increases in the selectivity of the position for social and developmental psychology (a glass ceiling). The development of a glass ceiling suggests that the contributions of men and women are not always treated equally (gender inequity). Because a similar glass ceiling was reported for journals in behavior analysis (McSweeney, Donahoe, & Swindell, 2000; McSweeney & Swindell, 1998), the causes of this inequity appear to be relatively widespread. The failure to find a glass ceiling for general and cognitive psychology suggests that the inequity might be reduced by subtle pressure for diversity in editorial positions and by adopting actions that encourage women to pursue research positions.     

Gender-Role Self-Stereotyping and the Relationship Between Equity and Satisfaction in Close Relationships

Gender-role self-stereotyping was investigated as a moderator of the importance of equity to satisfaction within close relationships in a sample of 204 men and women in long-term relationships. For those low in gender-role self-stereotyping, equity strongly predicted satisfaction, whereas for those higher in gender-role self-stereotyping, satisfaction was predicted by the belief that one's own relationship compared favorably with those of same-sex others. The importance of equity was also investigated by asking participants to predict how they would respond if they found themselves in an overbenefiting or underbenefiting relationship. Predicted responses to inequity were influenced by participants' sex, degree of gender-role self-stereotyping, and the type of inequity imagined. These finding are discussed in terms of the system justifying effects of gender-role stereotypes.     

ORGANIZATION OF INFORMATION AND THE DETECTION OF GENDER DISCRIMINATION

Abstract— This report examines several factors that influence the detection of gender discrimination in organizations We presented subjects with information about the qualifications and salaries of women and men in 10 departments of a hypothetical company The information was created so that one or the other gender was undercompensated relative to its qualifications Subjects rated the fairness of salaries and recalled the average qualifications of the women and men Ordinal inequity, which occurred when the gender with the better qualifications received a lower salary within a department, was easily detected Discrimination that did not violate ordinal equity within a department was more difficult to detect The results indicate that the way information is presented to subjects influences the processing of the information and the ease with which unfairness is perceived In addition, subjects judged the discrimination to be more unfair when women, rather than men, were disadvantaged     

弱势群体与医疗保健服务公平问题初探

我国医疗保健服务中受到不公平对待的主要是弱势群体,这种不公平有来自政策层面的,也有来自各种医疗保健服务实践环节的.为了改善这种现状,促进医疗保健服务公平性,必须做到:党和政府高度重视:积极完善医疗保障体系,重视弱势群体的话语权;摆正公平和效率的关系,构建专门针对弱势群体的医疗救助制度;加强部门之间的合作,共同提高弱势群体的健康水平.     

Reproductive ambition predicts partnered, but not unpartnered, women's preferences for masculine men

Changing circumstances alter the costs and benefits of choosing different mates and are thought to be reflected in women's mate preferences. Indeed, several lines of reasoning, and some prior studies, suggest that individual differences in women's preferences for cues of men's underlying health will be more apparent among partnered women than among unpartnered women. The current study shows that preferences for male faces with masculine shape cues, characteristics that are thought to signal men's underlying health, are positively correlated with partnered, but not unpartnered, women's reported reproductive ambition (i.e., their desire to become pregnant). These findings (1) present new evidence for systematic variation in women's mating strategies, (2) suggest that partnership status may be important for potentially adaptive variation in women's mate preferences, and (3) suggest that reproductive ambition may influence women's mate preferences. Alternative explanations for these findings, focusing on the possible effects of a range of variables that may be correlated with reproductive ambition in partnered women and influence their masculinity preferences, are also discussed.     

Paying the Way: The Ticket to Gender Equality in Sports

Past research shows that consumers tend to equate higher prices with higher value. However, it remains unclear whether consumers of athletic events follow the predictions of equity theory when attributing value to particular teams. We conducted 3 studies to investigate the existence and consequences of a disparity between men's and women's college basketball ticket prices. In Study 1, a survey of 303 NCAA Division I programs demonstrated that the gender of a basketball team is a primary indicator of the price of a ticket, such that women's tickets are significantly less expensive than men's tickets nationwide, even after controlling for a number of contextual factors (e.g., win–loss records, size of the schools). Consistent with equity theory, Studies 2 and 3 revealed that such a price disparity can result in lower evaluation of women's teams than men's. These findings indicate a need to consider the costs and benefits of maintaining differences in ticket prices within a context of gender inequity.     

城市人口健康的性别差异及影响因素的实证分析

使用CHNS数据,在健康的社会分层模式下探讨城市人口健康的性别公平问题。研究认为,中国城市人口健康存在显著的性别不平等现象,男性健康水平要好于女性,而这种健康的性别差异主要是由于不同性别在社会经济地位上的差异造成的,女性处于明显的弱势地位。     

THE GLOBAL HEALTH BURDEN OF RAPE

Women's rights to be free from male violence are now recognized by the United Nations as fundamental human rights. Two parallel transformations in the understanding of rape have been central to the international effort to achieve this declaration. The first is increased recognition of the extent to which rape typically involves intimates. The second is the shift from regarding rape as a criminal justice matter towards an appreciation of its implications for women's health. The focus of this paper is the health burden of rape, which is addressed from the global perspective and includes discussion of its prevalence and psychological, sociocultural, somatic, and reproductive health consequences. Quantitative efforts to capture the relative economic impact of rape compared to other threats to women's health are also discussed. The paper concludes with an agenda for future research on rape that could enrich activists'efforts on behalf of women's health and development.     

Evolutionary psychology is compatible with equity feminism, but not with gender feminism: A reply to Eagly and Wood (2011)

I comment on Eagly and Wood's biosocial constructionist evolutionary theory (2011; DOI: 10.1007/s11199-011-9949-9). Although this gender feminist theory allows for evolved physical differences between men and women and evolved psychological similarities for men and women, it fails to consider evolutionary accounts of psychological sex differences. I hypothesize that gender feminists' reluctance to acknowledge that evolution has left different fingerprints on men's and women's bodies and brains stems from two common misunderstandings of evolutionary psychology: the myth of immutability and the naturalistic fallacy. I conclude that although evolutionary psychology is eminently compatible with equity feminism, evolutionary psychology and feminist psychology will conflict as long as the latter adheres to gender feminism and its unwillingness to acknowledge the evidence for evolved psychological sex differences. Gender feminism's dualistic view of evolution hinders the search for and understanding of the proximate and ultimate causes of inequality. Feminist psychology needs to evolve by embracing equity feminism, which has no a priori stance on the origin or existence of differences between the sexes.