“When You Talk About Virginity It’s About Females”: Views on Virginity Among University of Ghana Students

This qualitative article examines views of students at the University of Ghana on the topic of virginity with specific focus on its gendered meaning and relative significance in modern times. One-on-one interviews were conducted with 30 purposively selected research participants with the aid of an interview guide. Through thematic analysis, the results indicated that the majority of the respondents believed that virginity has been stereotyped on women due to the patriarchal cultural systems and the significance of the hymen. It was also found that the participants constructed their perspectives on virginity based on religious obligations, repercussions of sex and sexual health. Reactions to virginity loss also differed on gender. Implications of this study include the need for public conscientization on the repercussions of sexual activities, direct parent–child discourse about sex and the need for counseling centers within social institutions to offer advice and support to the youth on the subject matter.     

Increasing student interest by the use of interactive computer simulations

Two methods of increasing the involvement of introductory social psychology students with the topic of “person perception” were implemented and compared. Students either experienced two computer simulations of situations which illustrated person-perception principles or participated in a typical person-perception experiment. Students with computer experience, perhaps because of the individualized nature of the simulations, rated “person perception” as more interesting and more important than the experiment-participation students. Knowledge concerning person perception did not differ between groups.     

Evaluating cognitive–behavioral group counseling to improve elementary school students' self‐esteem,self‐control,and classroom behavior

The objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of cognitive–behavioral group counseling provided to behaviorally disruptive elementary school children. Fifty‐two referred children received protocol‐based cognitive–behavioral group counseling provided by the first author, a school social worker. Students were randomly assigned to receive either immediate (IT) group counseling or delayed treatment (DT). The two groups were roughly equivalent on most demographic and outcome measures at the first assessment. Following group counseling, the IT groups' self‐esteem, perceived self‐control, teacher, and teacher aide grades of classroom comportment significantly improved, while similar measures of the DT children did not appreciably change. The DT children then received the same group program the IT group was exposed to three months earlier, and when group counseling was completed (third assessment) the IT groups' gains had been maintained, and the DT group gained improvements similar to those obtained by the IT group. In conclusion, cognitive–behavioral group work can be an effective intervention with behaviorally disruptive elementary school students. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Are perceived school climate dimensions predictive of students’ engagement?

Students’ engagement is known to be associated with academic success and to prevent school dropouts. While many studies have considered this variable when examining school trajectories, more research is needed to investigate the factors that may sustain and promote engagement in school, regarded as a multidimensional construct (affective vs. cognitive vs. behavioral engagement). In the present cross-sectional study, associations between students’ perceptions of school climate dimensions and their level of engagement were explored. The differential effects on these associations of sex and social background were also examined. Results from a sample of 955 high-school students showed that a model incorporating six dimensions of perceived school climate explained a large proportion of the variance in students’ engagement, especially affective engagement. The perceived climate of relations between teachers and students appeared to be highly predictive of students’ engagement. Analyses also revealed that the predictiveness of school climate factors for affective, cognitive and behavioral engagement varied slightly according to sex and social background. These results highlight important levers associated with students’ engagement in school.     

Socially triggered negative affect impairs performance in simple cognitive tasks

The aim of this research was to investigate the influence of a social-evaluative context on simple cognitive tasks. While another person present in the room evaluated photographs of beautiful women or landscapes by beauty/attractiveness, female participants had to perform a combination of digit-categorization and spatial-compatibility task. There, before every trial, one of the women or landscape pictures was presented. Results showed selective performance impairments: the numerical distance effects increased on trials that followed women pictures but only, if another person concurrently evaluated these women pictures. In a second experiment, using the affective priming paradigm, the authors show that female pictures have a more negative connotation when they are concurrently evaluated by another person (social-evaluative context) than when they are not evaluated (neutral context). Together, these results suggest that the social-evaluative context triggers mild negative affective reactions to women pictures which then impair performance in an unrelated task.     

The sex-->aggression link: a perception-behavior dissociation

Four studies suggest that priming may yield directionally different effects on social perception and behavior if perceptual and behavioral experiences with the stimulus diverge. This seems true for sex and aggression: Men are more likely to behave aggressively than women, whereas women are more likely to perceive aggressive behavior than men. Using a sequential priming paradigm, Study 1 demonstrates that a basic semantic link between sex and aggression exists for both genders. This link, however, has opposing behavioral and perceptual consequences for men and women. Studies 2 and 3 demonstrate that sex priming facilitates aggressive behavior only for men. Study 4 shows that only women perceive the ambiguously aggressive behavior of a male target person as more aggressive after sex priming. Thus, the perceptual and behavioral responses to sex priming are consistent with the experiences men and women typically have with sex and aggression.     

Use of Photovoice in Processing Race-Based Topics in a Multicultural Counseling Course

This phenomenological study assessed master-level students’ experiences of using photovoice, a creative learning activity, in a race-based multicultural counseling course. Students were asked to engage in weekly written reflections regarding a course-related photographic image, with the goal of more deeply processing cognitive and affective reactions to the course. Data analyzed included focus groups, student written responses, and photos. Findings indicated use of photovoice as a means for processing cognitions, which allowed students to deepen learning by extending a racialized lens outside of the classroom. Students also indicated use of the tool to process emotional reactions at various stages of the course, allowing learners to creatively and visually express feelings as they surfaced.     

Association of exercise counselors' sex with exercise session attendance in women enrolled in a cognitive behavioral treatment system

Attendance rates from two groups incorporating a cognitive behavioral treatment system (male counselor group, n=53; female counselor group, n=56) and a control group using standard methods of exercise counseling (n =56) were contrasted with new and returning female exercisers (overall M age=40 yr.). Analysis of variance with follow-up Scheffé tests indicated significantly greater attendance for the treatment groups (54 and 58%) than for the control group (37%) over 6 months. No significant difference between the treatment groups was found. Findings suggest that the sex of exercise counselors does not appear to influence attendance of exercise sessions.     

Comparison of two group counseling approaches to enhancing confidence in planning careers by undecided Taiwanese college women

This is a report of research comparing two approaches to enhance the career confidence of undecided female college students. 30 women who requested enrollment in career counseling were assigned to two counseling groups (a cognitive reconstructing intervention group and a career decision-making skills training group) and one no-treatment control group based on time of request. After participating in the two career counseling groups for eight sessions in a month, the female college students rated their mean confidence as increased over that of the no-treatment group. Analysis indicated that the indecisive female college students benefitted from career group counseling with an emphasis on self-efficacy and that the cognitive reconstructing intervention was more effective.     

Sex Differences,Weapon Focus,and Eyewitness Reliability

Abstract

Two aspects of eyewitness identification were tested: sex differences in eyewitness reliability and an explanation of the weapon focus effect that is based on object salience. One hundred ninety-one male and female American college students watched a slide sequence that depicted a male or female target person enacting a simple behavioral progression while holding various objects. Afterward, the subjects attempted to identify the target person in a photospread and to recall physical details about him or her on a questionnaire. The results confirmed a predicted own-sex identification bias effect (p < .001) but did not support the object salience hypothesis. An interaction between subject sex and object indicated that men and women attended to and were distracted by different types of objects (p < .009).     

The perception of women's status in Israel as a social problem

This study examines the perception of the status of women in Israel as a social problem, its cognitive structure and its correlates. The 994 respondents included a sample of university students, nurses, and female army officers. In general, the results suggest that feminist issues are perceived as less severe than most other social problems and that men perceive feminist issues as significantly less severe than do women. Factor analyses indicate that men and women think about social problems differently and that women have a broader more integrated conception of sex inequality. Sex, religiosity, education, and occupational context were all found to be significant predictors of perceptions of women's issues as social problems.     

Body movements of male and female speakers and their influence on perceptions of personality

Men and women score differently on some personality traits and people’s behavior reflects who they are. Therefore, males and females could be expected to express themselves differently on a behavioral level. To test this idea we turned the public performances of speakers (20 female and 20 male) into stick figure movies. Students of the University of Vienna (n = 150) rated these movies on scales measuring the Big Five personality traits. The participants experienced difficulties in ascribing the correct sex to the stick figures. Nevertheless, stick figures representing male speakers received higher ratings for extraversion and emotional stability than stick figure animations of female speakers. In addition, gender stereotypes seemed to influence the participants’ ratings. Agreeableness, for instance, was preferably classified as female trait. In conclusion, our results suggest that body motion conveys social information, that men and women present themselves differently, and that people’s judgments are influenced by gender stereotypes.     

Social neuroscience evidence for dehumanised perception

Dehumanisation describes perceiving a person as nonhuman in some ways, such as lacking a mind. Social psychology is beginning to understand cognitive and affective causes and mechanisms—the psychological how and why of dehumanisation. Social neuroscience research also can inform these questions. After background on social neural networks and on past dehumanisation research, the article contrasts (a) research on fully humanised person perception, reviewing studies on affective and cognitive factors, specifically mentalising (considering another's mind), with (b) dehumanised perception, proposing neural systems potentially involved. Finally, the conclusion suggests limitations of social neuroscience, future research directions, and real-world consequences of this all-too-human phenomenon.     

A meta-analysis of the published research on the affective, cognitive, and behavioral effects of corporal punishment

The present study is a meta-analysis of the published research on the effects of corporal punishment on affective, cognitive, and behavioral outcomes. The authors included 70 studies published between 1961 and 2000 and involving 47,751 people. Most of the studies were published between 1990 and 2000 (i.e., 53 or 68%) and were conducted in the United States (65 or 83.3%). Each of the dependent variables was coded, and effect sizes (ds) were computed. Average unweighted and weighted ds for each of the outcome variables were .35 and .20 for affective outcomes, .33 and .06 for cognitive outcomes, and .25 and .21 for behavioral outcomes, respectively. The analyses suggested small negative behavioral and emotional effects of corporal punishment and almost no effect of such punishment on cognition. Analyses of several potentially moderating variables, such as gender or socioeconomic status, and the frequency or age of first experience of corporal punishment, the relationship of the person administering the discipline, and the technique of the discipline all had no affect on effect size outcome. There was insufficient data about a number of the moderator variables to conduct meaningful analyses. The results of the present meta-analysis suggest that exposure to corporal punishment does not substantially increase the risk to youth of developing affective, cognitive, or behavioral pathologies.     

Fat,Four-Eyed,and Female: Stereotypes of Obesity,Glasses, and Gender1

In a between-subjects design, 46 male and 101 female Australian university students rated a target person described as male or female, overweight or average weight, and wearing glasses or not, on twelve 7-point rating scales. As predicted, a negative stereotype of the overweight person and a complex one of the person with glasses were found. However, there was no significant effect of sex of target except on the ratings of masculine and feminine and no interaction of sex of target with either the glasses or obesity variables. Nor did sex of subject influence the ratings. The results suggest that, although stereotypes of obesity and glasses do exist, they may be as severe for men as for women.     

Rape: A sexual stigma?

The primary purpose of this study was to identify individual differences affecting perceptions of a rapist and a rape victim. It was hypothesized that sex of observer, attitudes towards women, sexuality, the rape itself and perceptions of the targets on a number of behavioral dimensions would predict target perception. Each subject rated one of four persons: a male rapist, a female rape victim, a male control target, or a female control target. The ratings reflected personal impressions of the target and degree of social distance desired. Not surprisingly, the rapist was perceived least favorably. The rape victim did not receive ratings different from the female control target. However, when individual differences were taken into account, it was found that negative attitudes towards women, belief in rape myths, and perceived target behavior (e.g. responsibility) were related to stigmatization of the rape victim, and predicted more favorable perceptions of the rapist. Sex of the observer and attitudes towards sexuality were not among the major predictors of target perception. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

Gender-related effects in the perception of anger expression

The purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of sex of stimulus person, sex type of subject, and sex of subject on the social perception of anger expression. One hundred and sixty-six female and 100 male subjects completed a questionnaire that consisted of 10 vignettes depicting the expression of anger by either a female or a male stimulus person. For each vignette, subjects rated the psychological balance, expected frequency of behavior, perceived degree of anger, and appropriateness of behavior. Overall, female stimulus persons were rated higher on all dependent measures, but only male raters significantly differentiated between male and female stimulus persons. Generally, female subjects gave higher ratings, but viewed angry behavior as less appropriate than did male subjects. Ratings were also found to be related to subjects' scores on Extended Personal Attributes Questionnaire scales that involved socially undesirable traits. Post hoc analysis indicated that the type of anger response (“aggressive” or “nonaggressive”) was also an important variable, especially for the female subjects.     

Sex differences on the revised Beck Depression Inventory for outpatients with affective disorders

The revised Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was administered to 174 male and 276 female psychiatric outpatients diagnosed with affective disorders. The mean BDI scores, mean number of symptoms claimed, and corrected item-total correlations were comparable for both sexes, and the coefficient alpha for each sex was .88. Principal components analyses found four dimensions of depression underlying both sexes' BDI item-intercorrelation matrices. Although men and women had comparable dimensions with respect to weight loss, self-blame, and somatic-performance symptoms, men had affective and performance symptoms loading on the same factor, whereas women had affective and cognitive symptoms loading on the same dimension.     

Sex Differences on the Revised Beck Depression Inventory for Outpatients With Affective Disorders

The revised Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was administered to 174 male and 276 female psychiatric outpatients diagnosed with affective disorders. The mean BDI scores, mean number of symptoms claimed, and corrected item-total correlations were comparable for both sexes, and the coefficients alpha for each sex was .88. Principal components analyses found four dimensions of depression underlying both sexes' BDI item-intercorrelation matrices. Although men and women had comparable dimensions with respect to weight loss, self-blame, and somatic-performance symptoms, men had affective and performance symptoms loading on the same factor, whereas women had affective and cognitive symptoms loading on the same dimension.