Memory for information about sex differences

To test the selective recall hypothesis, male and female adolescents listened to a tape recording of 30 “findings” about sex differences. Fifteen of the findings were pro-female and 15 were anti-female. After being given free recall and then cued recall tests, the subjects completed the British version of the attitudes towards women scale. Multiple regression analysis supported the prediction that males, and those with more negative attitudes to wards women, recalled less pro- and more anti-female items, and vice versa. The importance of selective recall to studies of social cognition is discussed.     

Hand Preference in India

The degree of asymmetric handedness was measured by a 22-item hand preference questionnaire in a sample of 442 Indian subjects. Factor analysis of the data for right-handers yielded four item-clusters: Gross activities, skilled activities (general), skilled activities (specific), and activities subject to social pressure. Identical analysis for left-handers yielded three item-clusters: Activities that are executed with difficulty, with ease, and with greater frequency. The degree of asymmetric handedness in right-handers was positively (high) correlated with an index of social pressure against left-hand use, especially for the items, writing and eating. The correlation was negative (moderate) in left-handers, however, who had preferred the right hand for eating purposes.     

Recognition of Facial Expressions of Emotion by Children with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

Interpreting and responding appropriately to facial expressions of emotion are important aspects of social skills. Some children, adolescents, and adults with various psychological and psychiatric disorders recognize facial expressions less proficiently than their peers in the general population. We wished to determine if such deficits existed in a group of 133 children and adolescents with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). The subjects were receiving in-patient psychiatric services for at least one of substance-related disorders, adjustment disorders, anxiety disorders, mood disorders or disruptive behavior disorders. After being read stories describing various emotional reactions, all subjects were tested for their ability to recognize the 6 basic facial expressions of emotion depicted in Ekman and Friesen's (1976) normed photographs. Overall, they performed well on this task at levels comparable to those occurring in the general population. Accuracy increased with age, irrespective of gender, ethnicity, or clinical diagnosis. After adjusting for age effects, the subjects diagnosed with either adjustment disorders, mood disorders, or disruptive behavior disorders were significantly more accurate at identifying anger than those without those diagnoses. In addition, subjects with mood disorders identified sadness significantly more accurately than those without this diagnosis, although the effect was greatest with younger children.     

The readability of educational materials written for parents of children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder

Health-care providers are relying increasingly on printed materials to educate patients and their families about varous aspects of their health or mental health conditions. For the target audience to be able to read and understand health brochures, they should be written at or about the 8th-grade level and incorporate variables that facilitate comprehension. The purpose of this study was to analyze brochures related to Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder to determine (a) if they were written at a level appropriate for the target audience, and (b) the extent to which they incorporated variables identified in the research literature as facilitating comprehension. The results showed that the brochures were written at a reading level beyond that of the target audience. Further, although the brochures incorporated a large number of variables which facilitate comprehension, many were not used to the extent necessary to ensure that readers would be able to understand the brochures. These results clearly indicated the need for health care materials to be written in such a way that they can be read and understood by the target audience.     

Psychocultural Profiles of Asian and Pacific Islander Americans: Implications for Counseling and Psychotherapy

This article introduces Asian and Pacific Islander Americans as disparate groups of various ethnic and cultural backgrounds. From the perspective of culturally prescribed norms, standards, and values that affect the acculturation experiences and lifestyles of this ethnic minority group, some psychocultural profiles are presented. The relevant implications for counseling and psychotherapy are also suggested.     

Minor physical anomalies and obstetrical complications: Their relationship to hyperactive,psychoneurotic, and normal children and their families

Hyperactive, psychoneurotic, and normal control boys and their families were examined for minor physical anomalies (MPA). The results revealed that the hyperactive boys and their families had more MPA than the combined group of psychoneurotic and normal control children and their families. There were no differences in the mean number of MPA within families. Hyperactive probands also had more pre- and perinatal complications than the combined proband group. Furthermore, it was quite evident that the combination of numerous obstetrical complications and a high number of MPA significantly increased the probability of a child being diagnosed as hyperactive. The results are discussed in relation to the genetic transmission of MPA and the use of MPA as high risk indicators.     

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MOTHERS AND FATHERS IN PREDICTION OF SON'S PERFORMANCE IN EASY THROUGH DIFFICULT EXAMS*

Twenty-four Indian couples predicted in confidentiality to the school principal, the performance, in very easy, ok, and very difficult exams, of several 12-year-old boys, presented as their only son. As hypothesized, pattern in the Motivation X Ability effect depended upon the experience of subjects with the task and the difficulty of the exams. Prediction by mothers conformed to the patterns of parallelism and linear fan; those by fathers conformed to the patterns of parallelism and convergence. The findings of the present research and those of past research lead to the conclusion that the egalitarian (i.e., pattern of parallelism), elitist (i.e., pattern of linear fan), and Horatio Alger (i.e., pattern of convergence) beliefs are present in Indian, as well as in North-American adults, but that Indians manifest the elitist and Horatio Alger beliefs very selectively. The implications of these results for cross-cultural research on cognitive processes and for the understanding of differences between mothers and fathers in the cognition of their son are discussed.