Mind over muscle? Sex differences in the relationship between body image change and subjective and objective physical changes following a 12-week strength-training program

This study examined sex differences in body image change and its correlates over the course of a 12-week strength-training program. Participants were 28 men and 16 women (M age = 21.6, SD = 2.4) who completed pre- and post-intervention measures of body image (Body Areas Satisfaction Scale, Social Physique Anxiety Scale, and Drive for Muscularity Scale) and subjective and objective assessments of body fat, muscularity, and strength. They participated in a 12-week, 5-day/week full-body progressive resistance training program. Significant body image improvements were found for both sexes (p < .05). Correlates of body image change varied somewhat between the sexes. For men, body image improvements were correlated only with subjective physical changes. For women, body image improvements were correlated with subjective physical changes as well as objective increases in strength. These results suggest that although men and women derive body image improvements from strength training, they may benefit for different reasons.     

Attributions and sex differences in achievement: Problems and new perspectives

The status of research on sex differences in attribution is reviewed in light of the articles published in this issue. The authors conclude that several widely held beliefs about sex differences in attributions may be unwarranted. Various explanations for the lack of consistent results in studies exploring situational and dispositional effects on sex differences in attributions are offered. The authors conclude that alternative attributional questions need to be raised and investigated in order to understand sex differences in achievement.     

Assessing the theoretical models for sex differences in causal attributions for success and failure

Three basic models of attributional sex differences are reviewed: General Externality, Self-Derogation, and Low Expectancy. Although all of the models predict that women are unlikely to attribute their successes to ability, the models were quite different in other predictions. A meta-analysis of 21 studies examining sex differences in success-failure attributions was done to determine which of these three models had the most empirical support. Wording of attribution questions was also assessed. Results indicated only two consistent sex differences: Men make stronger ability attributions than women regardless of the outcome when informational attributional wording is used; and men attribute their successes and failures less to luck. Empirically, none of the models was well supported.     

Aging and suppression: memory for previously relevant information.

In the 1st part of the experiment, older and younger adults read a series of high-cloze sentence frames, each missing its final word (e.g., "She ladled the soup into her____."). Subjects were instructed to predict the ending for each. For critical sentences, the predicted final word (bowl) was not shown. Instead, an unexpected but acceptable ending (lap) was provided as the target. On a subsequent indirect memory test in which subjects generated endings to medium-cloze sentences, older adults showed reliable retention of both the disconfirmed (bowl) and target (lap) endings. Younger adults showed retention of only the targets. Results are consistent with the Hasher and Zacks (1988) view that the impaired inhibitory mechanisms of older adults impede the abandonment of no-longer-relevant thoughts.     

Dalí's homage to Rothko: a defense against fusion with the victim

This paper explores the thematic content of a painting by Salvador Dalí in homage to artist Mark Rothko, completed after the latter's suicide. The manifest title of the work suggests respect for Rothko, but the latent intent of the painting, the author suggests, is more of a memoriam to Rothko in a complex identification with him. Among other psychological issues, the author elaborates on two factors that may have played a part in Dalí's artistic reaction to Rothko's suicide: the death of the artist's infant brother nine months before his own birth, and his lifelong struggle against fusion with the victim (Orgel 1974a, 1974b).     

PDD Symptoms in ADHD,an Independent Familial Trait?

The aims of this study were to investigate whether subtle PDD symptoms in the context of ADHD are transmitted in families independent of ADHD, and whether PDD symptom familiality is influenced by gender and age. The sample consisted of 256 sibling pairs with at least one child with ADHD and 147 healthy controls, aged 5–19 years. Children who fulfilled criteria for autistic disorder were excluded. The Children’s Social Behavior Questionnaire (CSBQ) was used to assess PDD symptoms. Probands, siblings, and controls were compared using analyses of variance. Sibling correlations were calculated for CSBQ scores after controlling for IQ, ADHD, and comorbid anxiety. In addition, we calculated cross-sibling cross-trait correlations. Both children with ADHD and their siblings had higher PDD levels than healthy controls. The sibling correlation was 0.28 for the CSBQ total scale, with the CSBQ stereotyped behavior subscale showing the strongest sibling correlation (r = 0.35). Sibling correlations remained similar in strength after controlling for IQ and ADHD, and were not confounded by comorbid anxiety. Sibling correlations were higher in female than in male probands. The social subscale showed stronger sibling correlations in elder than in younger sibling pairs. Cross-sibling cross-trait correlations for PDD and ADHD were weak and not-significant. The results confirm that children with ADHD have high levels of PDD symptoms, and further suggest that the familiality of subtle PDD symptoms in the context of ADHD is largely independent from ADHD familiality.