Sex ratio and mate preferences: a cross‐cultural investigation

Sex ratio is the number of men per 100 reproductive‐age women within a specified mating pool. We generated and tested two hypotheses about the cross‐cultural relationships between sex ratio and mate preferences using preference ratings of 18 characteristics provided by 9809 participants and corresponding sex ratio data secured from an international organization. The Classical Sex Ratio Mate Preference Shifts Hypothesis predicts that in imbalanced sex ratio societies, the more numerous sex will lower their standards, to facilitate acquisition of a partner of the less numerous sex. The Alternative Sex Ratio Mate Preference Shifts Hypothesis predicts that in lower sex ratio societies, men will lower their standards to secure more short‐term matings, whereas women will raise their standards to avoid deception by men seeking short‐term relationships. Results supported the Classical Sex Ratio Mate Preference Shifts Hypothesis for men, and the Alternative Sex Ratio Mate Preference Shifts Hypothesis for women. Discussion addresses limitations of the current research and highlights future directions for research on the relationships between sex ratio and mating psychology and behavior. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Examining Subtypes of Behavior Problems Among 3-Year-Old Children,Part I: Investigating Validity of Subtypes and Biological Risk-Factors

This study examined 3-year-old children who were classified as hyperactive (HYP), oppositional-defiant (OD), hyperactive and oppositional defiant (HYP/OD), and non-problem based on mothers' reports of behavior. Using fathers,' teachers,' and observers' ratings of children's behavior, concurrent validity was excellent for the HYP/OD group, moderate for the HYP group, and poor for the OD group. As predicted, both the HYP/OD and HYP groups reported more prenatal/perinatal birth complications and a greater family history of hyperactivity than did non-problem children. Furthermore, the HYP/OD group showed a greater family history of conduct disorder and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) symptoms than did non-problem children; however, the HYP group also showed a greater family history of ODD than did non-problem children. Results suggest that as early as age 3, these behavior subtypes appear to be linked to biologically-based risk-factors in ways that are consistent with theories of the development of ADHD.     

What do double dissociations prove?

Brain damage may doubly dissociate cognitive modules, but the practice of revealing dissociations is predicated on modularity being true (T. Shallice, 1988). This article questions the utility of assuming modularity, as it examines a paradigmatic double dissociation of reading modules. Reading modules illustrate two general problems. First, modularity fails to converge on a fixed set of exclusionary criteria that define pure cases. As a consequence, competing modular theories force perennial quests for purer cases, which simply perpetuates growth in the list of exclusionary criteria. The first problem leads, in part, to the second problem. Modularity fails to converge on a fixed set of pure cases. The second failure perpetuates unending fractionation into more modules.     

A systems analysis of a failure to test the effectiveness of waiting-list group therapy.

This nonexperimental effectiveness study attempted to evaluate the utility of a brief waiting-list group. The setting was a university clinic providing treatment for an inner-city population. Health delivery and staff dynamics made it difficult to conduct clinical research in this treatment-oriented setting. The nonrandom design allowed for patient choice, with few clients attending more than two group sessions, thus decreasing its impact. Managed-care pressures decreased staff cooperation with our research objectives, resulting in very low return rates in testing and follow-up data. A social systems analysis, highlighting staff and institutional ambivalence, is used to understand the failure to adequately test the effectiveness of waiting-list group therapy. Recommendations are offered to investigators who contemplate conducting clinical research with limited resources.     

Stress and smoking in adolescence: a test of directional hypotheses.

The authors conducted a comparative test of the hypotheses that (a) stress is an etiological factor for smoking and (b) cigarette smoking causes increases in stress (A. C. Parrott, 1999). Participants were a sample of 1,364 adolescents, initially surveyed at mean age 12.4 years and followed at 3 yearly intervals. Measures of negative affect, negative life events, and cigarette smoking were obtained at all 4 assessments. Latent growth modeling showed negative affect was related to increase in smoking over time; there was no path from initial smoking to change in negative affect. Comparable results were found for negative life events, with no evidence for reverse causation. Results are discussed with respect to theoretical models of nicotine effects and implications for prevention.     

A META-ANALYSIS ON THE MALLEABILITY OF AUTOMATIC GENDER STEREOTYPES

This meta-analytic review examined the efficacy of interventions aimed at reducing automatic gender stereotypes. Such interventions included attentional distraction, salience of within-category heterogeneity, and stereotype suppression. A small but significant main effect ( g  = .32) suggests that these interventions are successful but that their scope is limited. The intervention main effect was moderated by publication status, sample nationality, and intervention type. The meta-analytic findings suggest several issues worthy of further investigation, such as whether (a) other categories of intervention not yet identified or tested could be more effective, (b) suppression necessarily produces ironic effects in automatic stereotyping, (c) various indirect measures are differentially sensitive to stereotype change, and (d) automatic stereotypes about men differ in their malleability from those about women.     

A survey of university counselling in the united kingdom and some observations on evaluation

Universities were surveyed about their counselling services during 1987 using a postal questionnaire. Information is presented from 44 universities and includes the extent of counselling provision in relation to the number of students, the staffing and accountability of the services, the needs of the clients and how they are met, and some theoretical and professional concerns mentioned by the counsellors. Finally, some observations are made on the need for more systematic evaluation of the services.