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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

Effects of prior contect on lexical access during sentence comprehension: A replication and reinterpretation

In a phoneme monitoring task, prior biasing context eliminates the effect of lexical ambiguity, replicating and extending the results of Swinney and Hakes (1976). It is argued, however, that the conclusions drawn by Swinney and Hakes are not justified by the data and that a different model of the effects of context on lexical processing is more theoretically plausible than theirs.     

Loneliness and Psychological Distress in Women Diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer: Examining the Role of Self-Perceived Burden,Social Support Seeking,and Social Network Diversity

Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings - The aim of the present study was to examine the role of self-perceived burden, social support seeking, and social network diversity in...     

The Combined Influence of Monitoring and Early Puberty on Disruptive Behavior Problems in African American Girls

Journal of Child and Family Studies - Adolescent girls’ disruptive behavior problems (DBP) are associated with risk for other mental health challenges and legal system involvement. Existing...     

Reshaping Couple Configurations that Get in the Way of Relationship Repair and Healing

In the context of relationship trauma, partners' reactive patterns of engagement can disrupt and derail attempts at relationship correction and healing. A circumplex typology of couple patterns of engagement in relational trauma context is defined in terms of partners' underlying views of self in relation to other (VSIRO). VSIRO is conceptualized along a continuum anchored at opposite poles by inflated (self-aggrandizing) versus collapsed (self-abnegating) VSIRO, with a balanced (egalitarian) VSIRO, characterized by accountability and forbearance, as the target position. The circumplex model delineates four problematic couple configurations—a dejected couple, a taker–enabler couple, an ultimate fighting couple, and a debtor–collector couple. Where problematic engagement occurs, therapists need to reshape couple engagement toward the balanced, egalitarian position prior to relational trauma work. Clinical vignettes depict these couples and springboard an analysis of unique needs and interventions associated with each couple configuration. Reshaping couple patterns of engagement using a circumplex model of couple configurations is an essential prerequisite to effective and ethical relational trauma work.