The worker scale: Developing a measure to explain gender differences in behavioral self-handicapping

Research has consistently found that men engage in more behavioral self-handicapping than do women. We first review evidence suggesting that these gender differences result from women placing more importance on displaying effort than do men. We then present the results of two studies seeking to develop measures of beliefs about effort that might explain these gender differences in behavioral self-handicapping. Women, across a wide range of measures, placed more importance on effort than did men. However, only a new measure of more personalized effort beliefs, dubbed the Worker scale, uniquely explained gender differences in dispositional tendency to behaviorally self-handicap. The Worker scale also predicted academic performance, consistent with the notion that these effort beliefs would predict engagement in actual behavioral self-handicaps that undermine performance.     

Resistance to change: developing an individual differences measure

The Resistance to Change Scale was designed to measure an individual's dispositional inclination to resist changes. In Study 1, exploratory analyses indicated 4 reliable factors: Routine Seeking, Emotional Reaction to Imposed Change, Cognitive Rigidity, and Short-Term Focus. Studies 2, 3, and 4 confirmed this structure and demonstrated the scale's convergent and discriminant validities. Studies 5, 6, and 7 demonstrated the concurrent and predictive validities of the scale in 3 distinct contexts. The scale can be used to account for the individual-difference component of resistance to change and to predict reactions to specific change.     

Post-traumatic growth as positive personality change: Developing a measure to assess within-person variability

Earlier work has defined post-traumatic growth (PTG) as positive personality change, but measurement of this construct has relied almost exclusively on cross-sectional and retrospective assessments. The aim of this study was to use an experience-sampling procedure to measure the extent to which PTG manifested in individuals’ everyday lives after a recent highly stressful or traumatic adverse event (compared to a control group). In doing so, we developed a state measure of PTG. The factor structure of state PTG was comparable to trait PTG, there was significant variability in individuals’ PTG from moment-to-moment, but individuals’ trait PTG was unrelated to their state PTG. Moreover, individuals who had experienced a recent adversity did not differ from control participants on state PTG.     

Validating the semantic misattribution procedure as an implicit measure of gender stereotyping

The current research tested the validity of the semantic misattribution procedure (SMP)—a variant of the affect misattribution procedure—as an implicit measure of gender stereotyping. In three studies (N = 604), prime words of gender‐stereotypical occupations (e.g., nurse, doctor) influenced participants' guesses of whether unknown Chinese ideographs referred to male or female names in a stereotype‐congruent manner. Priming scores of gender stereotyping showed high internal consistency and construct‐valid correlations with explicit measures of sexism. Discriminant validity of gender stereotyping scores was tested by investigating relations with priming effects involving grammatical gender (e.g., mother, father). Evidence for discriminant validity was obtained when (1) trials from the two priming measures were presented in a blocked rather than interspersed manner and (2) the measure of stereotypical gender priming preceded the measure of grammatical gender priming. Overall, the SMP showed good psychometric properties and construct validity for the assessment of gender stereotyping.     

Social representation of aggression as an explanation of gender differences: A preliminary study

Academic theories of aggression can be dichotomized as expressive (in which aggression results from a failure of self control) or instrumental (in which aggression represents the exercise of control over others). We propose that the two sexes hold a parallel distinction in their social representations of aggression; women subscribe to an expressive model, men to an instrumental model. A 20-item questionnaire was generated by systematic comparison of the two theories with respect to their differential predictions concerning perceived social value, proximate causes, relevant emotions and congnitions, form, aim, social facilitators, and reputational aspects of aggression. Factor analysis indicated a first factor of expressive-instrumental aggression on which all items had significant loadings. A significant correlation (.46) was found between gender and questionnaire score confirming the hypothesis. The notion of gender-specific social representations is discussed in terms of its ability to coherently interpret patterns of differences in aggression found in experimental and observational studies.     

A meta-analysis of gender differences in character strengths and age,nation, and measure as moderators

Abstract

The present meta-analysis investigates gender differences in the 24 VIA character strengths. Based on a literature search on quantitative studies that assessed character strengths, 65 samples consisting of both published and unpublished data were included (total N = 1,189,924). A random-effects model yielded significant gender differences for 17 of the 24 character strengths, although only four of these differences showed at least small effects: Females scored higher than males in appreciation of beauty and excellence, kindness, love, and gratitude. Thus, males and females were mostly similar in their character strengths. The size of the gender differences did not vary with nationality (i.e. the US, Switzerland, Germany, and Israel), while age and type of measure were significant moderators for 13-14 character strengths. The most pronounced differences emerged between children/adolescents and the VIA-Youth in comparison to adults and the VIA-IS as well as the short measures.     

Goals as a mediator of gender differences in high-affiliation dyadic conversations

The present study examined whether gender differences in affiliative aspects (collaboration and cooperation) of dyadic conversations occur because girls are more oriented than boys toward goals focused on others. Preadolescents (11-13 years old; 51 boys, 53 girls) worked with a same- or an other-gender peer on a 4-week-long creative-writing task at school. Dyadic conversations and goals were assessed twice. High-affiliation conversations and mutual-participation goals were more prevalent in female than in male and mixed-gender dyads. Mutual-participation goals mediated gender differences in high-affiliation conversations. Control and task-performance goals did not differ by dyad gender. In mixed-gender dyads, conversation strategies and goals did not differ by gender. Implications of goals for understanding gender differences and similarities in conversations are discussed.     

Memory span as a measure of individual differences in memory capacity

Two experiments were carried out to investigate whether the immediate digit span measure traditionally used in the assessment of individual differences in cognition is a good predictor of performance on other memory tasks. In the first experiment, it was found that subjects’ digit spans were not significantly related to their performances on either short-term or longterm memory tasks, or to theoretical measures of their memory store capacities. Memory for the temporal occurrence of events, however, proved to be positively correlated with digit span. A second experiment confirmed that digit span was correlated with memory for the temporal occurrence of events, but not with item memory. Thus it was concluded that an individual’s digit span reflects his ability to retain information about the order of a sequence of events rather than the capacity of his short- or long-term memory.     

The anchor effects on the judgment of loudness using reaction time as an index of loudness

The present study was designed to investigate anchor effects on loudness judgments, using reaction time (RT) as an index of loudness. In Experiment 1, anchor effects were reexamined using verbal categories. Two kinds of anchor stimuli, 60- and 90-dB SPL 1,000-Hz pure tones, and four kinds of series stimuli, 60-, 70-, 80-, and 90-dB tones, were used. In this experiment, clear anchor effects were found just the same as in our previous experiment. Experiment 2 was conducted using RT as an index of loudness with stimulus conditions similar to those in Experiment 1. The same anchor effects could be seen in this experiment too. As RT is quite free from the limitations inevitably accompanying the verbal responses, it may be concluded that the anchor effects reflect the shift in perception.     

Identification and the commitment shift: accounting for gender differences in relationship illusions

Previous work revealed gender differences in relationship illusions. Women, and not men, perceived their dating partners more favorably than their partners' self-perceptions. In two studies, the authors replicated these findings and showed they are moderated by relationship commitment but not by relationship satisfaction. Dating men low in commitment devalued their partners' virtues, whereas those high in commitment exaggerated their partners' virtues compared to their partners' self-perceptions. In contrast, dating women showed relationship illusions irrespective of their commitment. In Study 2, similar results were obtained with relationship-specific identification. Moreover, men's commitment mediated the effect of identification with the relationship. This suggests that gender differences in relationship identities exist at a general level and that men need to identify with and then commit to a specific relationship before they exhibit pro-relationship thinking, which women exhibit as general dispositions.     

Success strivings and their relationship to affective work behaviors: gender differences.

Gender differences in the importance of six life success dimensions and their relationships to job satisfaction, job involvement, and propensity to stay on the job were examined among 756 working women and men in southeast Florida. Results showed that the female participants rated family relationships, personal fulfillment, and security as more important success measures than their male counterparts did, and they rated status/wealth as less important. Professional fulfillment and security were not significantly different. The relationships between measures of success and work behaviors also varied significantly by gender, even after controlling for demographic and job position variables.     

Perceptions of sexual harassment: a re-examination of gender differences

There is mixed evidence for gender differences in perceptions of sexual harassment. To help clarify the existence of gender differences, we examined the sexual-harassment perceptions of 409 state government employees in the western United States. Few gender differences were found. We also compared the workers' perceptions to findings from a previous study of students (Terpstra & Baker, 1987). The relative ordering of the incidents' perceived severity was very similar, but workers perceived a number of incidents to be more harassing than did students. Thus, the major differences found were between students and workers, not between genders. Potential theoretical and methodological causes of these findings are discussed.     

Examining gender differences in received,provided, and invisible social control: an application of the dual-effects model

The dual-effects model of social control not only assumes that social control leads to better health practices but also arouses psychological distress. However, findings are inconsistent. The present study advances the current literature by examining social control from a dyadic perspective in the context of smoking. In addition, the study examines whether control, continuous smoking abstinence, and affect are differentially related for men and women. Before and three weeks after a self-set quit attempt, we examined 106 smokers (77 men, mean age: 40.67, average number of cigarettes smoked per day: 16.59 [SD = 8.52, range = 1–40] at baseline and 5.27 [SD = 6.97, range = 0–40] at follow-up) and their nonsmoking heterosexual partners, assessing received and provided control, continuous abstinence, and affect. With regard to smoker's affective reactions, partner's provided control was related to an increase in positive and to a decrease in negative affect, but only for female smokers. Moreover, the greater the discrepancy between smoker received and partner's provided control was the more positive affect increased and the more negative affect decreased, but again only for female smokers. These findings demonstrate that female smokers' well-being was raised over time if they were not aware of the control attempts of their nonsmoking partners, indicating positive effects of invisible social control. This study's results emphasize the importance of applying a dyadic perspective and taking gender differences in the dual-effects model of social control into account.     

Depression and marital functioning: an examination of specificity and gender differences

Recent work has emphasized the importance of assessing the marital relationships of depressed persons. The present study was designed to examine the specificity to clinical depression of problematic marital functioning and to assess potential gender differences in the marital relationships and spousal interactions of depressed persons. Depressed psychiatric patients, nondepressed medical patients, and nondepressed community control subjects and their spouses completed measures of marital satisfaction and then participated in a 20-min marital interaction task. Subjects then completed measures assessing their postinteraction mood and perceptions of their spouses, and the interactions were scored with respect to the frequency of occurrence of a number of behaviors. The depressed couples differed from the community controls on virtually every measure of marital functioning. Furthermore, although the medical patients and their spouses also reported marital dissatisfaction and exhibited dysfunctional interactional behavior, only the depressed couples were characterized by negative affect following the interactions and by negative appraisals of their spouses' behaviors. This negative affect was particularly pronounced for the depressed women. Implications of these results are discussed and directions for further research are offered.     

Separation-individuation in late adolescence: an investigation of gender and ethnic differences

Gender and ethnic differences in separation-individuation were assessed in a sample of 125 male and 175 female undergraduates (M age = 19.56, SD = 1.29) self-identified as White, African American, Hispanic, or Asian. Measures used included a demographic questionnaire and the Separation-Individuation Test of Adolescence (SITA; J. B. Levine, C. J. Green, & T. Millon, 1986; J. B. Levine & S. Saintogne, 1993). Except for results showing a greater tendency among the men to shun dependent ties and a superior capacity for forming close peer attachments among the women, separation-individuation development tended to be indistinguishable between the genders. Additional findings suggest that (a) Hispanics, Asians, and African Americans are more concerned with engulfment fears and needs for nurturance than Whites are; (b) Asians are more apt to shun dependent ties than Whites are; and (c) compared with Whites, African Americans anticipate rejection more and are less adept at forming close attachments with teachers.     

Adolescent smoking intentions: gender differences in peer context.

Despite widespread interest in adolescent smoking behavior, little research has been directed to the social dynamics of adolescent smoking. In this paper, smoking intentions and peer group influences among a sample of 1,689 Grade 8 students from southern Ontario were analyzed to ascertain possible gender-specific correlates in adolescent smoking intentions. The peer environment was found to be a crucial factor in adolescent smoking behavior. Particularly striking for adolescent girls was the firmness of their expressed intentions to continue to smoke quite early in their smoking lives.