Sex as a Status Variable in Work Settings: Female and Male Reports of Dominance Behavior

This study shows that sex is an important status variable in occupational settings. The basic hypothesis that males, because of a status prerogative, would be more likely than females to use nonverbal and verbal dominance behaviors, including intimate gestures, toward their opposite sex co-workers was confirmed. Subjects (88 female and 69 male samples from two institutions of higher learning) reported dominance behaviors (a) toward opposite sex co-workers; (b) from opposite sex co-workers; (c) toward opposite sex superiors; and (d) from opposite sex superiors. Analysis of the sexual dominance items revealed that sexual intimacy is expressable along the same continuum as traditional dominance gestures. The hypothesis that sex competes with other status variables was supported. If the sexual dominance patterns explored in this study prove widespread, institutions may wish to provide programs aimed at raising employee awareness of these interactions.     

Evaluation of the relative effectiveness of methylphenidate and cognitive behavior modification in the treatment of kindergarten-aged hyperactive children

This study of kindergarten-aged hyperactive children evaluated the effects of three modes of treatment in relation to an untreated control group. The treatments were administered over a 3-month period and included cognitive behavior modification, methylphenidate, and the two treatments combined. A follow-up assessment was done approximately 1 year later at the end of the first grade. Analyses of psychological, rating scale observational, and interview data showed that hyperactive children became less symptomatic over time;the data did not provide evidence indicating that any of the treatments studied was more effective than any other or than no treatment at all.This research was supported by grants from the Ontario Mental Health Foundation (Grant No. 701-76/78) and The Hospital for Sick Children Foundation (Grant No. 77-22). The authors wish to thank Mr. Syl Sauro, of the Etobicoke Board of Education, and Mrs. M. Stijovic, of the Etobicoke Community Health Department, for their cooperation.     

Selective information use and perseveration in the search behavior of infants and young children

Two experiments examined the early development of selective information use in search. The first experiment tested 9- and 16-month-olds on a modification of Piaget's Stage IV object permanence task. It examined infants' use of information from previous experiences with an object (prior information) and from the most recent hiding (current information) to locate a hidden object. In the second experiment, 2-, $\text{2}\text{1}\text{2}$-, and 4-year-old children received these same sources of information along with new forms of prior and current information: information about the typical locations of objects (location specificity) and verbal information. No systematic perseveration was observed at 9 months, although previous findings related to perseveration were replicated. Perseveration was found at 16 months, but there was also evidence of selectivity at that age. When errors occurred, they tended to be to the prior location, but they were infrequent in comparison to correct searches at the current location. The preschoolers, while continuing to show perseveration, were more consistently selective than the infants. They also showed considerable generality in extending their selectivity to new sources of information.     

Preferences for skill versus chance-determined activities: The influence of gender and task sex-typing

Three experiments tested the hypothesis that skill-chance activity preference by men and women is moderated by task sex relatedness. Men and women (total N = 368) opted to perform either skill or chance versions of masculine and feminine tasks, and then provided ratings of performance expectancy, importance of success, and perceptions of task characteristics. Results support the conclusion that men do not prefer skill and women chance as had been found previously, but rather that while men's skill preferences are higher than women's on a masculine taks, women prefer skill more than do men on a feminine task. Skill-chance preferences were primarily a function of the expectancy of success on skill tasks.     

EFFECTS OF CONTEXTUAL COMPETENCE ON SOCIAL INITIATIONS

The frequency of social initiations and satisfaction with interactions in three dyads, each consisting of 1 student with disabilities and 1 nondisabled peer, were assessed under two alternating conditions: Condition 1 assessed the interactions around a set of four trained computer games, and Condition 2 assessed interactions when students were playing a set of four untrained computer games. Training was conducted with a multiple baseline design across participants and was followed by social interaction probes using an alternating treatments design. The results indicated greater frequencies of social initiations by 5 of 6 participants, higher degrees of game satisfaction by all participants, and equal or higher degrees of peer satisfaction by 5 of 6 participants when playing trained games in comparison to untrained games.     

Child sexual abuse allegations during custody litigation: Conflicts between mental health expert witnesses and the law

This article describes (1) an intrafamilial child sexual abuse case and (2) the multidisciplinary research project which developed from its outcome. The research project., in existence since 1987, is a task force of the Committee an Children, Youth, and Families of the New Jersey Psychological Association and is co-sponsored by the Committee on Child Psychiatry of the New Jersey Psychiatric Association. The research aims at developing an objective behavioral assessment instrument to validate child sexual abuse allegations, and at achieving a clinical-legal consensus regarding the credibility of the instrument. Ranking, reliability, and validity studies are described.     

入手术室时的情绪状态和某些心理、生理机能的联系及其和针麻效果的关系

情绪活动和某些生理机能或心理过程的关系很久以来就已进行过大量的研究。外科手术前患者的情绪状态及其相应的生理机能的变化,也曾受到注意。患者在意识清醒状态下进行针麻手术,他的情绪状态对针麻过程及其效果的作用如何,这种情绪状态和某些心理、生理机能有什么联系?这是针麻临床上和理论上应予探讨的问题之一。本工作试图综合分析患者的情绪状态和与之伴随的某些生理生化指标变化,以探讨     

The processing of fundamental frequency in a dichotic matching task

The temporal characteristics of auditory memory were investigated using a reaction time paradigm. The study attempted to determine whether or not there are functionally distinct left and right hemisphere components of auditory memory with different capacities for the retention of nonlinguistic information, such as fundamental frequency, over the course of several seconds. The results indicated that fundamental frequency information in auditory memory remains substantially unchanged over the course of 2 sec. No evidence was found for the existence of separate left and right hemisphere components of auditory memory with different temporal characteristics. The implications of this finding for the organization of auditory memory in the brain are discussed.     

Impairment of nonverbal oral movements in aphasia

Thirty-six patients with unilateral cerebral vascular damage were required to perform a number of oral motor tasks, both verbal and nonverbal. Nonfluent aphasics were impaired in the imitation of single oral movements, as previously reported. However, on the imitation of complex nonverbal oral movements fluent aphasics were impaired as well as nonfluents. This impairment was not explicable on the basis of visual memory or perceptual deficits, nor on the basis of sensory thresholds as measured on the tongue. The findings suggest that deficits in coordinating oral movements are fundamental to most aphasic impairments, the meaningfulness of the responses not being a critical factor in the appearance of the defect.