The determinants of parents' beliefs about the intelligence their children: A study from Hong Kong

One hundred and ninety‐three Hong Kong parents (mean age 42.2 years) were given a structured interview / questionnaire concerning their own and their children's self‐estimated overall and multiple intelligence. Previous research suggested that males tend to give higher overall “g” estimates to their children and themselves than do females, as well as higher scores on mathematical and spatial intelligence (Furnham, 2001). Further, studies in the West suggest that parents think their children are significantly brighter than they are and that their sons are brighter than their daughters. Estimates were lower than those found in Western populations but, even so, males rated their own mathematical and spatial intelligence higher than did females. Hong Kong Chinese parents did not think their sons were brighter than their daughters. The seven multiple intelligences factored into three clear factors for self and children, and regressions indicated that it was “academic” intelligence (verbal, mathematical, spatial) that was most “g” loaded. The child's age and the self‐rated overall IQ of both the parents were the best predictors of the child's overall estimated IQ. Less than a third of the parents had taken an IQ test or believed they measured IQ very well. Those who were more likely to be better educated, had taken an IQ test, and believed intelligence was inherited were more likely to award themselves higher overall IQ scores. Results are compared with the British studies in the same area.     

Initial examination of the validity and reliability of the female photographic figure rating scale for body image assessment

The present study reports on the reliability and validity of an improved body image assessment scale, namely the female Photographic Figure Rating Scale (PFRS). This scale consists of ten photographic images of real women varying in body mass index (BMI) from emaciated to obese. The PFRS was designed to overcome many of the limitations associated with line-drawn figures that are currently in use, including a lack of realism and poor ecological validity. Based on a sample of 208 adult women, the results of the present study showed that the PFRS had good validity in that all images were correctly rank-ordered by BMI. In addition, construct validity was supported by the finding that current self-ratings of body size based on the PFRS were significantly correlated with participants’ BMI and that body dissatisfaction was negatively correlated with positive body image. Finally, test–retest reliabilities showed that the PFRS remained stable after a three-week interval. The discussion focuses on the strengths and limitations of the PFRS in relation to existing scales used in body image assessment.     

Factors Affecting Allocation of Scarce Medical Resources Across Life-Threatening Medical Conditions

This study aimed to determine whether participants used different criteria to allocate scarce medical resources depending on the medical condition. Allocations of HIV antiretroviral treatment and heart-transplant surgery were examined. Participants completed 2 questionnaires requiring them to prioritize 16 hypothetical patients. Demographic data on hypothetical patients varied on 4 dimensions: age, gender, sexual orientation, and promiscuity. There were significant main effects of age, sexual orientation, and promiscuity in both medical conditions. Young people were favored over old, heterosexuals over homosexuals, and monogamous over promiscuous patients. Stronger effects of sexual orientation and promiscuity were found in the HIV treatment condition. Participants used a more utilitarian approach in their allocation decisions and demonstrated prejudice against homosexuals and promiscuous patients.     

Unattractive, promiscuous and heavy drinkers: perceptions of women with tattoos

This study examined social and physical perceptions of blonde and brunette women with different degrees of tattooing. Eighty-four female and 76 male undergraduates rated a series of 16 female line drawings that varied in 2 levels of hair colour and 8 levels of tattooing. Ratings were made for physical attractiveness and sexual promiscuity, as well as estimates of the number of alcohol units consumed on a typical night out. Results showed that tattooed women were rated as less physically attractive, more sexually promiscuous and heavier drinkers than untattooed women, with more negative ratings with increasing number of tattoos. There were also weak interactions between body art and hair colour, with blonde women in general rated more negatively than brunettes. Results are discussed in terms of stereotypes about women who have tattoos and the effects of such stereotypes on well-being.     

Can small lesions induce language reorganization as large lesions do?

Shift of the cortical mechanisms of language from the usually dominant left to the non-dominant right hemisphere has been demonstrated in the presence of large brain lesions. Here, we report a similar phenomenon in a patient with a cavernoma over the anterolateral superior temporal gyrus associated with epilepsy. Language mapping was performed by two complementary procedures, magnetoencephalography, and electrocorticography. The maps, indicated right temporal lobe dominance for receptive language and left frontal lobe dominance for expressive language. These results indicate that a small lesion, associated with epilepsy, may produce selective shifting of receptive language mechanisms as large lesions have been known to produce.     

Estimating self, parental, and partner multiple intelligences: a replication in Malaysia

Participants were 230 adult Malaysians who estimated their own, their parents', and their partners' overall IQs and 10 multiple intelligences. In accordance with both the previous literature and the authors' hypotheses, men rated themselves higher than did women on overall, verbal, logical-mathematical, and spatial intelligences. There were fewer gender differences in ratings of parents and in those of partners. Participants believed that they were more intelligent than both parents (but not their partners) and that their fathers were more intelligent than their mothers. Regressions indicated that participants believed that verbal intelligence and--to a lesser extent--logical-mathematical intelligence were the main predictors of overall intelligence. The authors discussed results in terms of the extant cross-cultural literature in the field.     

Phobic anxiety in 11 nations. Part I: Dimensional constancy of the five-factor model

The Fear Survey Schedule-III (FSS-III) was administered to a total of 5491 students in Australia, East Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Spain, Sweden, and Venezuela, and submitted to the multiple group method of confirmatory analysis (MGM) in order to determine the cross-national dimensional constancy of the five-factor model of self-assessed fears originally established in Dutch, British, and Canadian samples. The model comprises fears of bodily injury-illness-death, agoraphobic fears, social fears, fears of sexual and aggressive scenes, and harmless animals fears. Close correspondence between the factors was demonstrated across national samples. In each country, the corresponding scales were internally consistent, were intercorrelated at magnitudes comparable to those yielded in the original samples, and yielded (in 93% of the total number of 55 comparisons) sex differences in line with the usual finding (higher scores for females). In each country, the relatively largest sex differences were obtained on harmless animals fears. The organization of self-assessed fears is sufficiently similar across nations to warrant the use of the same weight matrix (scoring key) for the FSS-III in the different countries and to make cross-national comparisons feasible. This opens the way to further studies that attempt to predict (on an a priori basis) cross-national variations in fear levels with dimensions of national cultures.     

Nasal trigeminal chemosensitivity across the adult life span

Individuals can determine the side of the nose that receives an odorant during unilateral presentation (lateralize) if endings of the trigeminal nerve are stimulated. By using psychophysical methods, olfactory detection and trigeminal lateralization thresholds for 1-butanol were obtained from 142 individuals ranging in age from 20 to 89 year. Sensitivity in both chemosensory pathways declined with advancing age, especially in people older than 60 years.     

Body image dissatisfaction: gender differences in eating attitudes,self-esteem,and reasons for exercise

Two hundred and thirty-five adolescents completed a questionnaire on the subject of eating attitudes, self-esteem, reasons for exercise, and their ideal versus current body size and shape. As predicted, boys were as likely to want to be heavier as lighter, whereas very few girls desired to be heavier. Only girls associated body dissatisfaction with the concept of self-esteem. Male self-esteem was not affected by body dissatisfaction. Specific reasons for exercise were found to correlate with low self-esteem and disordered eating, regardless of sex. The results are discussed in relation to burgeoning published research in this area.