Standardized playroom measures as indices of hyperactivity

A group of 16 children from a normal community population was compared with two groups of 16 children referred for clinical evaluation of hyperactivity. These three groups were matched on age, sex, and race. One of the clinic groups was matched with the community sample on IQ and social class as well, while the children in the other clinic group were mentally retarded and of somewhat lower social class. All children were observed in a standardized playroom for two 15-minute sessions, one under free play instructions and the other under instructions restricting activity and toy-changing behavior. The two groups of children referred for evaluation of hyperactivity had significantly higher playroom activity scores than controls under both instructional conditions and significantly higher toy-change scores under restrictive instructions. Parental ratings of activity were also significantly higher in both clinic groups than in the community group. The mentally retarded clinic sample did not differ from the other clinic sample on any of the measures of activity or toy switching.A preliminary version of this article was presented at the meeting of the American Psychological Association, Chicago, Illinois, August 30, 1975, as part of a Symposium on Hyperactive Children: Assessment, Treatment, and Outcome. This research was supported by U. S. Public Health Service, Maternal and Child Health Project No. 916 and by Grants HD-03110 and ES-01104.     

An examination of how one's attitudes toward women are reflected in one's defensiveness and self-esteem

The Berger Self-Esteem Measure, the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale, and Spence's (1972) Attitudes Toward Women Scale (AWS) were used to test 96 undergraduates. Subjects were divided according to sex and median split scores on the personality measures. Analysis of variance revealed a significant main effect for sex and defensiveness and approached significance for the sex × self-esteem effect (p<.10). Males and females were found to respond significantly differently on the AWS scale. Highly defensive males were more discriminating toward women and self-concept appeared to be an influential variable. However, self-esteem alone did not seem to have any significant effects.