Gender differences in visual attention to television form and content

Formal features (i.e., rapid action, dialogue, and animation) and content variables (i.e., violence, theme, and sex of characters) were analyzed as possible determinants of gender differences in children's television viewing. Two studies are reported. In Study 1, 5- and 7-year-old boys' and girls' visual attention was observed during four animated programs representing four combinations of high and low action with high and low violence. Boys' visual attention was greater than girls'. Attention was higher to high violence than to low violence. Boys' attention did not vary across treatments, but girls attended more to programs with low action than with high action. In Study 2, nine earlier laboratory studies, each with an independent sample, were subjected to a secondary analysis. The procedures were similar to Study 1; the samples ranged from 3 to 11 years old. Across experiments, boys attended significantly more than girls. The secondary analysis was designed to identify program form and content variables that might account for gender differences. Most content and form attributes failed to account for the pattern of gender differences in attention across or within studies. There was weak support for the notion that violent content and animation appeals more to boys than girls. Boys' greater visual attention was not associated with greater comprehension relative to girls'. It was proposed that girls focus more on the verbal auditory content of television, and boys focus more on the visual content.     

Early—but modest—gender differences in focal aspects of childhood temperament

The best evidence for gender differences in child temperament is in the broad areas of effortful control and surgency, and to an extent negative affectivity, domains that encompass temperament dimensions of inhibitory control, activity level, and shyness. We examined the influence of child gender in a methodologically comprehensively assessed twin sample. We used mother, father, and Laboratory Temperament Assessment Battery (Lab-TAB) ratings to assess temperament in 3 year-olds. Boys had higher levels of activity level and lower levels of shyness and inhibitory control than girls across all methods of assessment. Then, more rigorous testing showed that patterns of mean gender differences for opposite-sex twin pairs in our sample were very consistent with overall sample gender differences and the magnitude of these gender differences was consistent across assessment methodology. We then asked: are these more gendered dimensions of temperament associated with one another, and are associations different across gender? The answer to both questions is, yes. Shyer children have lower activity level and higher inhibitory control, and those with higher inhibitory control are less active. Gender differences did appear in the intercorrelations between parent ratings of shyness and inhibitory control with only girls showing significant associations within and across these dimensions.     

The relation of gender-role classifications to the prosocial and antisocial behavior of Chinese adolescents

The author investigated the relation between gender-role classifications and prosocial and antisocial behavior for 505 Chinese adolescents in grades 7 to 12. The author found that (a) boys were more antisocial than girls were, (b) there was no significant gender difference in prosocial behavior, (c) prosocial behavior was associated positively with both masculinity and femininity, (d) delinquent behavior was associated positively with masculinity, (e) gender-role classification that was consistent with one's biological gender (e.g., femininity in girls) was more salient in predicting one's prosocial behavior than was a gender-role classification that was not consistent with one's gender (e.g., femininity in boys), (f) delinquent behavior in the feminine group was significantly lower than it was in the other 3 gender-role groups (masculine, androgynous, undifferentiated), and (g) adolescents in the undifferentiated group tended to be less prosocial and fairly antisocial, and their social behavioral pattern was the least favorable among the four gender-role classifications.     

Parental autonomy granting during adolescence: exploring gender differences in context

This study investigated the ways in which 2 indicators of parental autonomy granting, adolescents' decision-making input and parental knowledge of adolescents' daily experiences, differed as a function of contextual factors (i.e., parents' gender role attitudes or sibling dyad sex composition) and boys' and girls' personal qualities (i.e., gender, pubertal status, developmental status, or birth order) in a sample of 194 families with firstborn (M = 15.0 years) and second-born (M = 12.5 years) adolescents. Firstborns were granted more autonomy than second borns, especially in families with firstborn girls and second-born boys. Girls in families marked by traditional maternal gender role attitudes were granted fewer autonomy opportunities. Postmenarcheal second-born girls were granted more opportunities for autonomy than were premenarcheal second-born girls, but only in families with less traditional maternal gender role attitudes.     

Gender differences in mathematics performance: a meta-analysis

Reviewers have consistently concluded that males perform better on mathematics tests than females do. To make a refined assessment of the magnitude of gender differences in mathematics performance, we performed a meta-analysis of 100 studies. They yielded 254 independent effect sizes, representing the testing of 3,175,188 Ss. Averaged over all effect sizes based on samples of the general population, d was -0.05, indicating that females outperformed males by only a negligible amount. For computation, d was -0.14 (the negative value indicating superior performance by females). For understanding of mathematical concepts, d was -0.03; for complex problem solving, d was 0.08. An examination of age trends indicated that girls showed a slight superiority in computation in elementary school and middle school. There were no gender differences in problem solving in elementary or middle school; differences favoring men emerged in high school (d = 0.29) and in college (d = 0.32). Gender differences were smallest and actually favored females in samples of the general population, grew larger with increasingly selective samples, and were largest for highly selected samples and samples of highly precocious persons. The magnitude of the gender difference has declined over the years; for studies published in 1973 or earlier d was 0.31, whereas it was 0.14 for studies published in 1974 or later. We conclude that gender differences in mathematics performance are small. Nonetheless, the lower performance of women in problem solving that is evident in high school requires attention.     

3～4岁幼儿冷热自我调节的发展趋势及性别差异——一项纵向研究

自我调节是个体发展和社会化的重要标志,在学前阶段发展迅速。研究选取白天-黑夜、头脚任务、延迟等待等实验范式,考察219名3岁幼儿一年内（3次测试）冷热自我调节的发展趋势及性别差异。结果表明：（1）二因素模型拟合显著好于单因素模型,冷热两成分中度相关;（2）幼儿的冷自我调节中度稳定,热自我调节中低度稳定;（3）幼儿的抑制控制与延迟等待随年龄增加而提高,女孩的延迟等待提高后保持稳定;（4）整体来看,幼儿的抑制控制和延迟等待存在显著性别差异,但具体来看,女孩的抑制控制仅在早期高于男孩,在延迟等待方面却始终高于男孩。结论：3~4岁女孩的冷热自我调节发展不同步,女孩的“性别优势”只在热自我调节上始终存在。     

3～4岁幼儿冷热自我调节的发展趋势及性别差异——一项纵向研究

自我调节是个体发展和社会化的重要标志,在学前阶段发展迅速。研究选取白天-黑夜、头脚任务、延迟等待等实验范式,考察219名3岁幼儿一年内（3次测试）冷热自我调节的发展趋势及性别差异。结果表明：（1）二因素模型拟合显著好于单因素模型,冷热两成分中度相关;（2）幼儿的冷自我调节中度稳定,热自我调节中低度稳定;（3）幼儿的抑制控制与延迟等待随年龄增加而提高,女孩的延迟等待提高后保持稳定;（4）整体来看,幼儿的抑制控制和延迟等待存在显著性别差异,但具体来看,女孩的抑制控制仅在早期高于男孩,在延迟等待方面却始终高于男孩。结论：3~4岁女孩的冷热自我调节发展不同步,女孩的“性别优势”只在热自我调节上始终存在。     

Development of learning-disabled and normally achieving children's causal attributions

The causal attributions of learning-disabled (LD) and normally achieving (NA) children in grades 3 through 8 were compared. Attributions were measured by two scales that asked children to attribute hypothetical academic failure situations to factors that were either within (e.g., insufficient effort) or beyond (e.g., insufficient ability, blaming others) their control. Consistent with a learned helplessness hypothesis, LD girls, regardless of age, were more likely than NA children to attribute their failures to factors beyond their control. In contrast, LD boys' explanations for their failures paralleled those of NA children. That is, with increasing age the LD boys were more likely to attribute their failures to insufficient effort. Explanations and implications of sex differences in developmental patterns of LD children's causal attributions are discussed.The authors wish to thank Ruth Dusseault and Betty Wallace for their help in conducting this research. We also wish to thank the teachers, children, and administrators from the Leon County Schools for their cooperation.     

A meta-analytic review of gender variations in adults' language use: talkativeness, affiliative speech, and assertive speech.

Three separate sets of meta-analyses were conducted of studies testing for gender differences in adults' talkativeness, affiliative speech, and assertive speech. Across independent samples, statistically significant but negligible average effects sizes were obtained with all three language constructs: Contrary to the prediction, men were more talkative (d = -.14) than were women. As expected, men used more assertive speech (d = .09), whereas women used more affiliative speech (d = .12). In addition, 17 moderator variables were tested that included aspects of the interactive context (e.g., familiarity, gender composition, activity), measurement qualities (e.g., operational definition, observation length), and publication characteristics (e.g., author gender, publication source). Depending on particular moderators, more meaningful effect sizes (d > .2) occurred for each language construct. In addition, the direction of some gender differences was significantly reversed under particular conditions. The results are interpreted in relation to social-constructionist, socialization, and biological interpretations of gender-related variations in social behavior.     

Gender Differences in Positive and Negative Feelings Between Adolescents and Their Fathers and Mothers

Given the connections between feelings and well-being within the family, we addressed gender differences and similarities of feelings within the family. We explored adolescents’, mothers’, and fathers’ positive and negative affect within a community sample of 224 families from the southeast of the United States. Adolescents ranged in age from 12 to 19 years. Findings suggest more gender differences in positive and negative affect for parental gender (i.e., mothers versus fathers) than for adolescent gender (i.e., boys versus girls). There were more consistent associations within the family for positive affect as opposed to negative affect. We discussed the results in the context of gender differences within the family within the family systems theoretical perspective.     

Bashful Boys and Coy Girls: A Review of Gender Differences in Childhood Shyness

Shyness is a temperamental trait characterized by a fear of novel social situations and self-consciousness in situations of perceived social evaluation. From early childhood to adolescence, shyness is associated with a host of negative outcomes including poor peer relationships (e.g., exclusion, victimization), internalizing problems (e.g., anxiety, depression), and school adjustment difficulties (e.g., lack of academic success, school avoidance). It has been suggested that shyness may be less socially acceptable for boys than for girls because it violates gender norms related to male social assertion and dominance. In the current paper, we review the empirical support for this assertion. More specifically, we examined: (1) possible gender differences in the prevalence of shyness; (2) how important others (i.e., parents, teachers, peers) might respond differentially to shyness in boys compared to girls; and (3) potential gender differences in the implications of shyness across multiple domains. Most of this research has been conducted with school-aged children from Canada and the United States. However, we also explore findings from emerging cross-cultural studies in this area. Possible conceptual mechanisms that may underlie differences in the potential implications of shyness for boys and girls are then discussed, as well as several prospective directions for future research.     

Gender typing of game choices and qualities of boys' play behavior

Relationships between gender choices and both movement patterns and social behavior were studied in first- and second-grade boys. Three-child, structured play groups were each composed of a boy whose mother saw him as high masculine in play preference on the Games Inventory, one seen as average, and one low masculine. Behaviors rated from videotapes included gender presentation variables, (e.g., leg separation), indicators of dominance and personal comfort (e.g.,range of movements), and indicators of social skill and peer response (e.g., interaction initiations). The low masculine boys were found to be the most feminine in their gender presentation, least dominant and aggressive, and the least socially successful of the boys. The greatest difference was between the low and the high masculine boys. The average masculine boys' scores were generally intermediate,but more similar to the low masculine boys on some variables and more similar to the high masculine boys on others. These conclusions apply to a group interaction play task, but not to an initial noninteractive play task. A secondary study in which girls played with low and average masculine boys is also reported. Here it was found that low masculine boys were generally intermediate between average boys and girls on gender presentation and dominance variables, but lowest of the groups on social interaction variables. The authors appreciate the comments of Peter Bentler and Spencer Thompson on a draft of this paper, the assistance of Laura McCain in running subjects and scoring tapes, and the expertise of Shu-Yeng Wong for computer programming.     

Kindergarten self-control mediates the gender reading achievement gap: A population-based cohort study

Could superior self-control explain the gender difference in reading achievement favoring girls? To test this idea, we drew on a unique population-based sample (N = 11,336) where self-control was measured in kindergarten using a multimethod battery of assessments. Girls showed substantially higher levels of self-control in kindergarten (β = 0.47) and outperformed boys on standardized tests of reading achievement in third/fourth grade (β = 0.20). Further, kindergarten self-control prospectively predicted reading achievement throughout elementary school (β = 0.37). Connecting these findings, our mediation analyses revealed that the female self-control advantage in kindergarten could account for subsequent gender differences in reading achievement. Our results suggest that early gender differences in self-control may represent a key pathway through which gender disparities in reading skills, vocabulary knowledge, and reading comprehension occur.     

The Relationship Between Narcissism and Friendship Qualities in Adolescents: Gender as a Moderator

The present study explored the gender characteristics of narcissism as well as its relationship with friendship quality dimensions (i.e., trust & support, validation, and disclosure & communication) among 485 (197 boys and 288 girls) junior high and high school adolescents in a Southwest province in China. Significant gender differences were found, such that boys were more narcissistic than girls,while girls reported higher levels of friendship qualities, including validation and disclosure & communication. To examine gender moderations in the relationships between narcissism and friendship quality dimensions, multiple-group (by boys and girls) structural equation modeling were conducted. The results revealed the significant gender moderations in the associations between narcissism and friendship quality dimensions, while controlling for adolescent grade level. Specifically, narcissism significantly and positively related to the three aspects of friendship qualities (i.e., trust & support, validation, and disclosure & communication) among boys, but was not related to friendship quality among girls. Discussions are provided for an understanding of the current findings in the Chinese cultural context.     

The Developmental Course of Distance,Time, and Velocity Concepts:A Generative Connectionist Model

Connectionist simulations of children's acquisition of distance (d), time (t), and velocity (v) concepts using a generative algorithm-cascade-correlation-are reported. Rules that correlated most highly with network responses during training were consistent with the developmental course of children's concepts. Networks integrated the defining dimensions of the concepts first by identity rules (e.g., v = d), then additive rules (e.g., v = d - t), and finally multiplicative rules (e.g., v = d ÷ t. The results are discussed in terms of similarity to children's development, the contribution of connectionism to the study of cognitive development, contrasts with alternative models, and directions for future research.     

Gender and Ethnic Differences in Smiling: A Yearbook Photographs Analysis from Kindergarten Through 12th Grade

Previous research has demonstrated that women smile more frequently and more broadly than men (Abel 2002; LaFrance et al. 2003). However, little research has focused specifically on the age at which this gender difference first emerges, and even less on the ethnic differences in smiling. This study attempts to identify the age when gender differences in smiling emerge among European American and African American children and teenagers. Additionally, we looked at the level of diversity within each school and its relation to smiling behavior. In total, 18,201 yearbook photographs ranging from kindergarten through 12th grade from 17 schools in the state of Michigan were evaluated for smile type: full smile, partial smile or no smile. Results suggest that a significant gender difference in smiling emerges around age 11. In contrast to other studies (e.g., LaFrance et al. 2003) and our own expectations, differences in smiling were found to be larger between African American boys and girls than between European American boys and girls. In addition, we found that African American girls’ smiling behavior did not differ as a function of school diversity while African American boys from predominantly African American schools displayed less smiling compared to those from mixed or predominantly European-American schools. This study provides insight into the emergence and progression of gender differences in smiling and indicates that gender as well as ethnicity and ethnic diversity are influential factors in smiling behavior.     

A multivariate model of gender differences in adolescents' internalizing and externalizing problems.

Gender differences observed in interpersonal and self-critical vulnerabilities, reactivity to stressful life events, quality of relationships, and self-concepts inform a multivariate theoretical model of the moderating effects of gender on internalizing and externalizing problems in adolescence. To test this model, data were collected in a 1-year prospective study from an ethnically diverse sample of 460 middle school students. Increases in girls' internalizing symptoms, compared with boys', were partly explained by greater stability in girls' interpersonal vulnerabilities and greater magnitude in coefficients linking girls' relationships with parents and peers and internalizing problems. Boys' risks for externalizing problems, compared with girls', were partly explained by the greater stability in boys' vulnerability to self-criticism. Coefficients for most pathways in the model are similar for boys and girls.     

A gender difference in the false recall of negative words: women DRM more than men

Gender differences in susceptibility to associative memory illusions in the Deese/Roediger-McDermott paradigm were investigated using negative and neutral word lists. Women (n=50) and men (n=50) studied 20 lists of 12 words that were associates of a non-presented critical lure. Ten lists were associates of negatively valenced lures (e.g., cry, evil) and ten were associates of neutral lures (e.g., chair, slow). When asked to recall the words after each list, women falsely recalled more negative lures than men, but there was no gender difference in the false recall of neutral lures. These findings suggest that women reflect on associations within negative lists to a greater degree than men and are thereby more likely to generate the negative critical lures.     

Gender differences in self-esteem: a meta-analysis.

Two analyses were conducted to examine gender differences in global self-esteem. In analysis I, a computerized literature search yielded 216 effect sizes, representing the testing of 97,121 respondents. The overall effect size was 0.21, a small difference favoring males. A significant quadratic effect of age indicated that the largest effect emerged in late adolescence (d = 0.33). In Analysis II, gender differences were examined using 3 large, nationally representative data sets from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). All of the NCES effect sizes, which collectively summarize the responses of approximately 48,000 young Americans, indicated higher male self-esteem (ds ranged from 0.04 to 0.24). Taken together, the 2 analyses provide evidence that males score higher on standard measures of global self-esteem than females, but the difference is small. Potential reasons for the small yet consistent effect size are discussed.     

When men and women differ in self-esteem and when they don’t: A meta-analysis

A meta-analysis of gender differences in self-esteem (1148 studies from 2009 to 2013; total N = 1,170,935) found a small difference, g = 0.11 (95% CI = 0.10–0.13), favoring males. Additionally, (1) the gender difference increased with age until late adolescence, and declined afterwards; (2) Whites, Hispanics, and Asian Americans showed the same gender difference whereas African Americans and marginal groups (e.g., immigrants) did not show any difference; (3) the gender difference was larger in more developed countries characterized by values that espouse equality and freedom; and (4) inspection of previous reviews showed that the gender difference emerged after the 1970s, increased until 1995, and declined afterwards. A three-stage model of comparison processes was proposed to account for these results.