Sex role patterns in an Irish student sample as measured by the bem sex role inventory (comparisons with an American sample)

Sex roles in 171 male and 180 female university students in Ireland were examined by the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI). The distribution of scores for masculinity and femininity showed the same general pattern as in American samples. However, the Irish males rated themselves significantly lower in masculinity and significantly higher in femininity than the American males, indicating a more androgynous profile. Irish females rated themselves significantly lower than American females in both masculinity and femininity, and were less androgynous relative to Irish males. The distribution of subjects on sex role types showed a larger percentage of androgynous males and undifferentiated females in the Irish sample than in American samples. Both the male and the female Irish students scored lower than American students on the Social Desirability Scale. Separate scores were calculated for the positive and the negative items of the Social Desirability Scale, and it was found that positive items were assigned considerably higher ratings than the negative (reversed) items in both sexes. When controlled for social desirability, the masculinity and femininity scores were found to be uncorrelated. Factor analysis of the BSRI revealed six factors, which correspond to previous findings. In general, the present results support the view that masculinity and femininity, as measured by the BSRI, can be treated as separate dimensions, but that a more complex model than the two-factor structure is required.This is a joint report from the Psychosomatic Unit of the Irish Foundation for Human Development, Dublin; the Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm; and the Department of Psychology, University of Stockholm. This collaboration was made possible by a twinning grant to Dr. John Cullen and Professor Marianne Frankenhaeuser from the European Training Programme in Brain and Behavior Research, European Science Foundation. Financial support was also obtained as grants from the Swedish Medical Research Council (Project No. 979) and the Swedish Council for Research in the Humanities and Social Sciences. The authors are indebted to Professor Desmond Swan, University College, Dublin, for his generous support, particularly during the initial stages of our work, and to Professor Liam Ryan, Maynooth College, who also gave valuable assistance.     

Children's concept of word

The development of the concept of word as a unit of speech is a metalinguistic insight that usually corresponds to the acquisition of literacy skills. Further, as a fundamental aspect of language structure, it converges as well with skills involved in bilingualism. A framework that describes the structure of metalinguistic awareness is applied to this task in order to relate the development of word concept to literacy and bilingualism. Children between 4 and 6 years old who are prereaders or early readers, and bilingual or monolingual, are given three tests of word concept. The results show that concept of word emerges gradually and is evident to some extent even in the 4-year-olds. Further, literacy and bilingualism are shown to promote specific aspects of its developmentThe research reported in this paper was unded by grant No. A2559 from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. I am indebted to Sandra Owston, who assisted in conducting the study.     

Methylphenidate and cognitive therapy with add children: A methodological reconsideration

The present doubleblind study examined the effects of methylphenidate, cognitive therapy, and their combination in attention deficitdisordered (ADD) children. Four treatment groups were compared on measures of attentional deployment and cognitive style, tests of academic achievement, and behavioral rating scales. In contrast to a previous study conducted in this laboratory, children in this study were not receiving medication during posttesting. Results were interpreted to suggest that measurable effects of stimulant medication dissipate rapidly upon discontinuation of pharmacotherapy. The combination of methylphenidate and cognitive therapy was not found to be any more efficacious than either of the treatments studied alone. Discussion suggests that medication status at follow-up is an essential feature of research design.This research was supported in full by U.S. Public Health Service Grant No. MH 37-628 from the National Institute of Mental Health, Psychopharmacology Branch, and by Biomedical Research Award No. RR 0715807 from the National Institutes of Health, each awarded to R. T. Brown. Placebo and methylphenidate were supplied by CIBA-GEIGY, Summit, New Jersey. The authors are grateful to Dr. Rute Medenis and the entire staff at the University of Illinois Pediatrics Clinic for their valuable assistance and kind support throughout the project. The authors would also like to thank Avery L. Spunt, R.Ph., College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois, for his assistance in packaging the medication and monitoring compliance; Arthur I. Neyhus, Ph.D., Coordinator of Child Study Facility, University of Illinois at Chicago, for his assistance in evaluation; and J. Scott Allen, Jimmy Bruce, Robert Miller, Michael Mazius, and Steven Orenczuk, for their assistance in training of the children.The contributions of these authors are equal.     

Adult perceptions of the infant as a function of gender labeling and observer gender

Four hundred sixty four adults rated a videotape of the activities of a 22-month-old infant whose gender was labeled differently with different subject groups. One group was told that the infant was male, a second group was told that the infant was female, and a third group was told that the infant was hermaphrodite, i.e., appeared to have the genitals of both sexes. Some subjects rated each activity as being either masculine or feminine (forced-choice method) while other subjects rated each activity with a neutral choice also available (free-choice method). The data indicate that, for both methodological groups, labeling the infant “male” resulted in significantly more activities being rated masculine than feminine, whereas the converse was true when the infant was labeled “female.” A label of “hermaphrodite” resulted in an approximately equal ratio of activities being rated as masculine and as feminine. There were no significant interaction (Gender Label × Observer Gender) for the forced-choice group, but for the free-choice group, significant interaction between child's gender label and observer's gender was found.     

Facial expressions of emotions and ethological behavioral categories

The purpose of this study was to measure the capacity of human subjects to match facial expressions of emotions and behavioral categories that represented the motivational states they are supposed to illustrate. 100 university students were shown facial stimuli they had to classify using ethological behavioral categories. The results showed that accuracy of judgment was over-all lower than what was usually found when fundamental emotional categories were used. The data also indicated that the relation between emotional expressions and behavioral tendencies was more complex than expected.     

A case against behavior modification in the ‘ordinary’ classroom

It is argued that while behavior modification techniques have proved tremendously valuable in the teaching of problem learners, there are good grounds for resisting the use of these same procedures on a casual basis with normal children in ordinary classrooms. Aside from questioning the necessity of setting up a behavioral classroom for the majority of children, it is pointed out that (a) powerful reinforcers can limit the range of behaviors in which a child will engage, and (b) in some circumstances extrinsic rewards may undermine a child's willingness to become involved in some activities.     

Roommate Compatibility: Is There An Ideal Relationship?1

Three theories of interpersonal attraction were tested for their ability to predict roommates' compatibility. The similarity hypothesis (that we are attracted to and compatible with people who are similar to our self-concepts) received moderate support; the social desirability hypothesis (that we are attracted to and compatible with people who possess socially desirable traits) received scant support. The ideal hypothesis (that we are attracted to and compatible with people who are similar to our ideals) received strong support. The utility of these theories in terms of preinteractionally matching students in order to maximize compatibility was found to be minimal because it could not be assumed that students peiceive their roommates in the same manner as their roommates perceive themselves.     

Functional significance of stimulus orientation: effects on orientation discrimination.

Children (6- and 9-year-olds) and adults were required to discriminate identical pairs of visual stimuli from mirror images. It was hypothesized that a key factor in performance would be the extent to which orientation was a functionally significant attribute of the stimuli. Two variables were manipulated, type of orientation discrimination and stimulus class. The first variable refers to the fact that the mirror images could be produced by either left/right or top/bottom reversals. Three classes of stimuli, varying in the extent to which a particular orientation was emphasized, were used: mobile objects (for which left/right orientation is assumed to be important); stationary objects (which lack comparable relevance for left/right orientation); and novel, abstract forms. The prediction was that if the discrimination task involved left/right reversals, as contrasted with top/bottom reversals, subjects would show an advantage for mobile objects, producing an interaction between stimulus class and orientation discrimination. In the first study, the subjects were children and performance was measured in terms of error rates. In the second study adults were tested, and reaction times were measured. Both studies manifested the predicted interaction. Results are discussed in terms of an information-processing framework, in which the incorporation of orientation-related features in the code representing a stimulus varies with the functional significance of the orientation to the stimulus class.     

Comparing psychological and pharmacological treatments for hyperkinetic boys and their classmates

This study compares the short-term effects of methylphenidate and of teacher consultation on the on task behavior of diagnosed hyperkinetic outpatient boys and selected classmates. Statistically significant treatment effects were found for both drug treated and behaviorally treated hyperkinetic boys; the size of these effects did not differ between the two types of treatment. Within the behavioral group, the treatment effect spilled over, so that there was also a significant treatment effect on overactive classmates of the behaviorally treated hyperkinetic children and a trend toward a significant treatment effect on their average classmates. Some implications of the findings are discussed.This study was supported by grant number MH-22659 from the National Institute of Mental Health.     

Reading deficits and intellectual patterns among children with neurocognitive dysfunctions

Reading deficits among 56 elementary aged learning disabled children with suspected neurocognitive dysfunctions were calculated. The children were grouped according to the following IQ profiles: low Verbal-high Performance, high Verbal-low Performance, and a no-difference group. Differences in reading deficits among the groups were analyzed and the results indicate that the pattern of high Verbal-low Performance IQs is associated with the least deficiency in reading and that this association is evident as early as second grade within a group of learning disabled children with concomitant central processing problems.