Character Attacks and Their Effects on Perceptions of Male and Female Political Candidates

The study examined the perceptions of political candidates (male and female) who make negative statements about the personality and integrity of their political opponents. Male and female participants (Sex of Participant factor) indicated their impressions of a male or female political candidate (Sex of Candidate factor) who either attacked or did not attack the character of his/her opponent (Attack factor) in a political leadership debate. Participants who read a speech given by a candidate of their own gender tended to rate the candidate as having greater integrity when the candidate attacked his/her opponent than when he/she did not. When judging a candidate of the opposite gender, participants tended to rate the candidate who attacked his/her opponent as having less integrity than a candidate who did not attack his/her opponent. Results are discussed with regard to the impact that aggressive campaign tactics can have on voter perceptions, and how similarity between voters and candidates may affect perceptions of such tactics.     

A critical commentary on follow-up studies and “desistance” theories about transgender and gender-nonconforming children

ABSTRACT

Background: It has been widely suggested that over 80% of transgender children will come to identify as cisgender (i.e., desist) as they mature, with the assumption that for this 80%, the trans identity was a temporary “phase.” This statistic is used as the scientific rationale for discouraging social transition for pre-pubertal children. This article is a critical commentary on the limitations of this research and a caution against using these studies to develop care recommendations for gender-nonconforming children.

Methods: A critical review methodology is employed to systematically interpret four frequently-cited studies that sought to document identity outcomes for gender-nonconforming children (often referred to as “desistance” research).

Results: Methodological, theoretical, ethical, and interpretive concerns regarding four “desistance” studies are presented. The authors clarify the historical and clinical contexts within which these studies were conducted to deconstruct assumptions in interpretations of the results. The discussion makes distinctions between the specific evidence provided by these studies versus the assumptions that have shaped recommendations for care. The affirmative model is presented as a way to move away from the question of, “How should children's gender identities develop over time?” toward a more useful question: “How should children best be supported as their gender identity develops?”

Conclusion: The tethering of childhood gender diversity to the framework of “desistance” or “persistence” has stifled advancements in our understanding of children's gender in all its complexity. These follow-up studies fall short in helping us understand what children need. As work begins on the 8th version of the Standards of Care by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, we call for a more inclusive conceptual framework that takes children's voices seriously. Listening to children's experiences will enable a more comprehensive understanding of the needs of gender-nonconforming children and provide guidance to scientific and lay communities.     

Effects of inhibiting of response on Tower of London performance

The purpose of this study was to determine if inhibiting responses improves performance on the Tower of London (TOL). The TOL has been assumed, though not experimentally proven, to be a measure of problem-solving ability. Problem solving involves inhibiting responses. Finding inhibition to be a factor in successfully completing TOL tasks would help to validate this tool and the research that utilizes it. Student volunteers were randomly assigned to two groups. Inhibition was induced in one of the groups by experimenter suggestion before each trial. The mean performance of the inhibited group was significantly higher, which suggests inhibiting responses increases TOL performance.     

A note on the analysis of subjective judgment matrices

Saaty (1977–1983) presents an eigenvector (EV) procedure for analyzing matrices of subjective estimates of the utility of one entity relative to another. The procedure is an especially effective tool for analyzing hierarchical problems where the dependence of the entities at one level on the entities in adjacent levels is estimated subjectively. Despite the absence of a formal proof that the procedure has desirable qualities as an estimator of the underlying relative utilities, the process has gained an active following. This paper derives a comparable estimate, the geometric mean (GM) vector (also known as the logarithmic least squares method or LLSM), that can be applied to hierarchical problems in exactly the same way but is developed from statistical considerations. It is shown to be optimal when the judge's errors are multiplicative with a lognormal distribution. The GM shares the desirable qualities of the EV and is preferable to it in several important respects.     

Acceptance of male rape myths among college men and women

College students (157 men and 158 women; predominantly white middle class) from psychology courses at a midwestern university rated their agreement with statements reflecting myths that male rape cannot happen, involves victim blame, and is not traumatic to men. Statements varied by whether the rape perpetrator was a man or woman. Results showed that a majority of subjects disagreed with all myth statements, but most strongly with trauma myths. Percentages of disagreement with myths for subject groups ranged from 51% to 98%. Women were significantly more rejecting of rape myths than were men. Subjects were more likely to accept myths in which the rape perpetrator was female rather than male. Subjects' past victim experience with sexual coercion was not related to rape myth acceptance. Results are discussed in terms of societal attitudes toward rape and sex role stereotypes.     

Can You Say Condom?: It Makes a Difference in Fear-Arousing AIDS Prevention Public Service Announcements1

The study investigated the effect of adding a recommendation to use condoms to fear-arousing AIDS public service announcements (PSAs) on subjects’ intentions to use condoms and taking of free condoms. Sexual content of the AIDS PSA and subject gender were also varied. A sample of 112 men and 107 women rated the effectiveness of 1 of 8 fear-arousing AIDS PSAs. Four PSAs ended with a message to “Use condoms to reduce the risk. For more information call_____.” An identical set of PSAs ended with only the telephone number for more information. Results showed that the recommendation had no effect on intentions to use condoms. However, men exposed to a fear-arousing PSA with the recommendation took significantly more condoms than men in the no-recommendation condition. Men also took significantly more condoms than women in the recommendation condition. The results are interpreted in terms of the AIDS risk reduction model (Catania, Kegeles, & Coates, 1990).     

Can subjects maintain a constant criterion in a memory task?

In two recognition memory experiments, subjects rated how certain they were that a given test item had been shown previously. Subjects either received standard instructions about their rating criteria or were explicitly instructed to maintain criteria defined in the manner of Healy and Jones (1973) or along the lines of signal detection theory. When a priori probability varied, subjects in all instruction groups held constant the criteria defined by signal detection theory at the expense of shifting the criteria proposed by Healy and Jones. The results were taken as evidence for the psychological validity of recognition memory analyses based on signal detection theory.     

Factors affecting the acquisition and elimination of children's donating behavior

Thirty-five 6- to 10-year-old children with initial low rates of donating to help a peer either simply received a fine for each failure to donate (n = 7) or also were informed of the contingency between the fine and failure to donate (n = 28). Explanation of the contingency was necessary to increase children's donation rates. Donations continued at high rates during a gradual, unannounced removal of the fine contingency, but decreased when children were informed that fines were no longer in effect, particularly for children who had failed to donate at least once during training and had actually been fined. Overall, addition of a distraction or an inequity procedure did not reduce donating below rate reductions due to the announced extinction procedure alone.     

Uncertainty During Organizational Change: Types, Consequences, and Management Strategies

This research tested a model that classifies change uncertainty into three interrelated types: strategic, structural, and job-related. We predicted that control would mediate the effects of job-related uncertainty upon psychological strain, and that management communication and participation in decision-making (PDM) would reduce uncertainty and increase feelings of control. The model was tested in a public sector organization and the results supported it. Control was found to mediate the effects of job-related uncertainty upon psychological strain. Management communication was negatively related to strategic uncertainty, whereas PDM was negatively related to structural and job-related uncertainty, suggesting different mechanisms to deal with the types of uncertainty during change. Finally, PDM was positively associated with feelings of control and negatively associated with psychological strain. These results suggest that PDM can short-circuit the damaging effects of uncertainty by allowing employees to have a say in change related organizational affairs, thereby instilling a sense of control over their circumstances.     

Cultural influences on responses to items on the strong interest inventory

This study examined racial/ethnic group differences on an interest inventory at the item level using differential bundle functioning (DBF) analyses. Specifically, responses of males and females from five different racial/ethnic groups (N=3750) on the General Occupational Themes of the Strong were examined. Items were grouped together based on substantive considerations to determine if they functioned differentially due to racial/ethnic group differences in role modeling, perceptions of opportunities/barriers, familiarity with activities, and cultural expectations, as opposed to true racial/ethnic group differences in interests. Very high levels of DBF were found for most of the item sets considered in this study, implying that diverse cultural groups have a different conditional probability of endorsing some sets of items due to the items measuring a secondary trait in addition to the main trait the scale was designed to measure.