Drug and alcohol prevention project for sixth graders: first-year findings

Data gathered in this study are the first-year results of a three-year program evaluation for a drug and alcohol prevention project. One hundred fifty-two 6th graders made up the target group which received instruction using Botvin's life skills training curriculum. Sixty-four additional subjects made up a control group which received no treatment. Both groups were pre- and posttested on the following variables: knowledge about and attitudes toward substances, self-concept, passivity, and locus of control. Results indicated that the program had a significant positive impact on the target subjects' passivity, knowledge about drugs and alcohol, and self-image.     

Mental addition in third,fourth, and sixth graders

Research on mental arithmetic has suggested that young children use a counting algorithm for simple mental addition, but that adults use memory retrieval from an organized representation of addition facts. To determine the age at which performance shifts from counting to retrieval, children in grades 3, 4, and 6 were tested in a true/false verification task. Reaction time patterns suggested that third grade is a transitional age with respect to memory structure for addition—half of these children seemed to be counting and half retrieving from memory. Results from fourth and sixth graders implicated retrieval quite strongly, as their results resembled adult RTs very closely. Fourth graders' processing, however, was easily disrupted when false problems were presented. The third graders' difficulties are not due to an inability to form mental representations of number; all three grades demonstrated a strong split effect, indicative of a simpler mental representation of numerical information than is necessary for addition. The results were discussed in the context of memory retrieval versus counting models of mental arithmetic, and the increase across age in automaticity of retrieval processes.     

小学六年级学生写作构思策略培养的实验研究

本研究运用心理模拟法创立了写作构思活动模式,并根据心智技能按阶段形成的理论对构思策略进行了分阶段培养。结果表明:①写作构思活动的实践模式可以有效地提高学生的写作构思策略水平,并进而促进其写作技能整体水平的提高;②小学六年级学生在写作技能上不存在明显的性别差异,智力水平对写作技能也没有明显影响;③学生原有的写作技能水平对于当前的写作活动有显著影响,教师在教学前应设法了解学生的写作水平。     

Explaining sex differences in infants' preferences for groups

Social organization of a species influences myriad facets of individuals’ behavior. Much research indicates that human social organization consists of males in large groups and females in smaller groups or interacting with individuals. This study analyzed the initial factors that produce greater preferences for groups by human male versus female infants. To this end, using a looking preference paradigm, fifty-nine 6–8-month-old infants viewed individual versus group images of actual children. On the basis of several controls, results demonstrated that male more than female infants are attracted to the complex level of stimulation provided by groups. Discussion centers on further identifying male versus female patterns of group interaction from a perceptual and cognitive standpoint.     

Appropriate sex education for black teens

This article is based on a year-long study of 207 low-income black youths. The major purpose of the research was twofold: (1) to study black teens' perceptions of family relationships in an effort to identify family member(s) who had the most potential for encouraging greater contraceptive responsibility and influencing teens' decisions about being or becoming sexually active, and (2) to study dating and sexual behavior, attitudes toward contraception, and sources of information, in an effort to identify more specific sex education needs of black teens and provide a basis for delineating pertinent characteristics of an effective sex education curriculum.     

Visual preferences for sex and status in female rhesus macaques

Most primates are both highly visual and highly social. These qualities predict that visual cues to social variables, such as identity, sex, social status, and reproductive quality, would be intrinsically valuable and systematically attract attention. Supporting this idea, thirsty male rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) will forego fluid reward to view images of the faces of high-ranking males and the sexual skin of females. Whether female rhesus macaques, who experience dramatically different social pressures and reproductive costs than male macaques, also systematically and spontaneously value visual cues to social information remains untested experimentally. We probed the preferences of female rhesus macaques, given the opportunity to display an image from a known class of social stimuli or touch a second target to display a blank screen. We found that females preferred faces of high-status males and also images of the perinea of both males and females, but were not motivated to display images of subordinate males or control stimuli. These findings endorse the view that both male and female rhesus macaques—and presumably other highly social primates—seek information about other individuals in a way that matches the adaptive value of that information for guiding social behavior.     

Intimacy of disclosure topics and sex differences in self-disclosure

A 25-item self-disclosure questionnaire with items scaled for intimacy level was given to 32 male and 32 female college students. It was hypothesized that males would report disclosing less than females concerning intimate topics while there would be no sex differences in disclosure on nonintimate topics. The hypothesis was supported by the data. The results demonstrate that scoring self-disclosure scales by summing across all items can mask sex differences in disclosure patterns. Results are interpreted as supporting the assertions of several theorists that males reveal less personal information about themselves than do females.     

Expectations and preferences regarding confidentiality in the psychologist-client relationship

Two hundred and fifty-six members of the Australian public were surveyed regarding situations in which a psychologist might breach confidentiality and third parties to whom information might be disclosed. There was strong agreement between respondents' expectations about the way in which psychologists would act, and their preferences regarding how psychologists should act. While respondents supported confidentiality within the psychotherapeutic relationship, they clearly distinguished situations in which, and third parties to whom, disclosure could appropriately occur. Disclosure was expected and preferred when a client revealed a murder (planned or confessed), suicide plans, child abuse, or treason, and where the recipients of the information were colleagues of the psychologist or parents of a client younger than 13 years. Compared to nonparents, parents more strongly supported disclosure regarding illegal drug use and child abuse, and believed that parents should have access to a child's records. In general, respondents' view of the way in which psychologists should treat confidentiality issues were consistent with the guidelines prescribed by the Australian Psychological Society in the Code of Professional Conduct (1986).     

Partner preferences across sexual orientations and biological sex

This study examined how partner preferences differ across interpersonal contexts (romantic attachment and relationship expectations) based on sexuality and biological sex. Participants completed measures of attachment and behavioral expectations for their romantic partners, cross‐sex friends, and same‐sex friends. The attachment anxiety results revealed an effect of sexuality: Single heterosexuals scored higher for their cross‐sex friends than same‐sex friends, single lesbian/gay individuals scored higher for same‐sex friends than cross‐sex friends, and bisexuals' attachment anxiety was equal regardless of friends' biological sex. The behavioral expectation results revealed an effect of biological sex indicating that, regardless of sexuality, women are preferred over men for emotional/social needs. Finally, an interaction revealed that lesbians have higher expectations for their girlfriends/wives than straight men have for theirs.     

A reexamination of sex differences in job preferences

Previous research has found conflicting answers to the question of whether males and females share similar preferences for various job characteristics. It is difficult to determine if the different findings are due to the different populations sampled, the various methodologies employed, or to a real change in the phenomenon itself. This study essentially replicates earlier work by having 130 male and 84 female college students rate the importance of 10 job characteristics for both themselves and members of the opposite sex. Both sexes rated motivators as important, but females also placed importance on the hygienes. Males tended to underestimate the importance of the motivators for females, while females overestimated the importance of hygienes for males. The subject's sex could be predicted by both the importance for self and importance for opposite sex ratings, contrary to the earlier study. The difference in results and interpretation was shown to be due to the type of analyses used. Additionally, it was found that females' job preferences were related to their mothers' educational achievement.     

Inadequacy of sex knowledge of adolescents: implications for counselling and sex education

There is abundant evidence relating to the paucity of sex-oriented knowledge by the average adolescent across cultures. Investigations have demonstrated that such sex learning, generally colored with misconceptions and misinformation, is obtained almost entirely from the peer group since cultural inhibitions and puritan attitudes often prevent open discussions of the subject of sex with teachers, parents or other adults. There is also every indication that adolescents' natural interest in and preoccupation with human sexuality is on the increase, aided by the current massive circulation of pornographic literature, adult examples of sexual irresponsibility and the strong desire to conform with peer norms. This paper therefore suggests that if premature teenage pregnancy as well as social, emotional and psychological consequences of teenage genital exploration is to be avoided or controlled, then a comprehensive program of sex education and sex counselling for boys and girls in the second decade of the life cycle is overdue.     

Parental monitoring,sensitivity toward parents,and a child's mate preferences

This study investigated gender differences in parental monitoring and sensitivity toward parents and the extent to which these measures can influence children's mate preferences. In 2 samples (the United States and the Netherlands), females reported experiencing higher levels of parental monitoring and being more sensitive toward their parents' feelings regarding mate choice (e.g., being more upset if their parents did not approve of their partner) than males. Individuals displaying higher sensitivity toward parents rated parental investment and cooperation, and to a lesser extent genetic quality, as being more important in a potential mate than individuals lower in sensitivity toward parents. The level of parental monitoring did not significantly predict the importance of parental investment and cooperation or genetic quality in a potential mate.     

Group guidance on sex education

High school students participated in a group which was structured to emphasize the changes and problems associated with adolescence. The group was given the opportunity as a whole—as well as in segregated sections of boys and girls—to discuss various aspects of human sexuality. Among the major themes were sexual arousal in boys and girls, masturbation, development of sexual roles, and responsibility in sexual behavior. Individuals clarified their own values, feelings, and self-concepts through interaction with peers in a counseling atmosphere.