Investigation of nonverbal discrimination against women in simulated initial job interviews

This study investigated nonverbal sex discrimination in simulated initial job interviews with women applicants. It was hypothesized that experienced interviewers would exhibit more negative behaviors while interviewing a woman for a “masculine” job (an incongruent interview), but more positive behaviors while interviewing a woman for a “feminine” job (a congruent interview). It was further hypothesized that the behavior of inexperienced interviewers would remain the same across interviews. Mock initial job interviews were videotaped and nonverbal behaviors were coded. As hypothesized, experienced interviewers exhibited more negative and fewer positive behaviors in the incongruent interviews, whereas inexperienced interviewers did not. Unexpectedly, inexperienced interviewers exhibited more positive and fewer negative behaviors during incongruent interviews. Implications for training to reduce nonverbal discrimination are discussed.     

Short review and book note

John McManners, Death and the enlightenment. Changing attitudes to death among Christians and unbelievers in eighteenth-century France, Oxford University Press 1981, vii + 619 pp. £17.50

Richard Swinburne, Faith and reason, Oxford, The Clarendon Press 1981, 206 pp. £16.00

John Coulson, Religion and imagination, Oxford, The Clarendon Press 1981, 193 pp. £12.50

Irving Hexham, The irony of apartheid, the struggle for national independence of Afrikaner calvinism against British imperialism, New York, Edwin Mellen Press 1981, 239 pp

David Tracy, The analogical imagination, London, SCM Press 1981, xii + 467 pp. £12.50

K. D. Sethna Rutherford, The spirituality of the future, a search apropos of R. C. Zaehner's study in Sri Aurobindo and Teilhard de Chardin, Madison, Teaneck: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press; London and Toronto: Associated University Presses 1981. 314 pp. $28.50     

Adverse childhood experiences and autonomic regulation in response to acute stress: the role of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems

Background and objectives: After a previous report demonstrated blunted heart rate (HR) reactivity in association with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) [Voellmin, A., Winzeler, K., Hug, E., Wilhelm, F. H., Schaefer, V., Gaab, J.,?…?Bader, K. (2015). Blunted endocrine and cardiovascular reactivity in young healthy women reporting a history of childhood adversity. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 51, 58–67. doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2014.09.008], the present analysis aimed at clarifying the role of the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches of the autonomic nervous system in this relationship.

Design and Methods: One hundred eighteen healthy young women provided data on ACEs and underwent psychosocial stress testing. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA, quantified by high-frequency HR variability) were assessed as measures of sympathetic and parasympathetic cardiovascular activity, respectively. A mediation model was calculated to test the indirect effects of ACEs on HR via SBP and RSA.

Results: The effect of ACEs on HR reactivity was mediated by SBP reactivity but not by RSA reactivity. ACEs were associated with reduced SBP at rest.

Conclusions: ACEs were associated with down-regulation in a measure of sympathetic but no alteration in a measure of parasympathetic cardiovascular stress reactivity in adulthood. Future research will need to clarify whether this indicates risk or resilience.     

From philosophy to criticism of myth: Cassirer’s concept of myth

This article discusses the question whether or not Cassirer’s philosophical critique of technological use of myth in The Myth of the State implies a revision of his earlier conception and theory of myth as provided by The Philosophy of Symbolic Forms. In the first part, Cassirer’s early theory of myth is compared with other approaches of his time. It is claimed that Cassirer’s early approach to myth has to be understood in terms of a transcendental philosophical approach. In consequence, myth is conceived as a form of cultural consciousness which is constituted by specific symbolic processes. In the second part, the theoretical assumptions underlying Cassirer’s criticism of myth are discussed and compared with his earlier theory. It is argued that there is a strong conceptual and theoretical continuity between Cassirer’s early views on myth as a symbolic form and his later critique of technological use of myth.     

The Simulation of Smiles (SIMS) model: Embodied simulation and the meaning of facial expression

Recent application of theories of embodied or grounded cognition to the recognition and interpretation of facial expression of emotion has led to an explosion of research in psychology and the neurosciences. However, despite the accelerating number of reported findings, it remains unclear how the many component processes of emotion and their neural mechanisms actually support embodied simulation. Equally unclear is what triggers the use of embodied simulation versus perceptual or conceptual strategies in determining meaning. The present article integrates behavioral research from social psychology with recent research in neurosciences in order to provide coherence to the extant and future research on this topic. The roles of several of the brain's reward systems, and the amygdala, somatosensory cortices, and motor centers are examined. These are then linked to behavioral and brain research on facial mimicry and eye gaze. Articulation of the mediators and moderators of facial mimicry and gaze are particularly useful in guiding interpretation of relevant findings from neurosciences. Finally, a model of the processing of the smile, the most complex of the facial expressions, is presented as a means to illustrate how to advance the application of theories of embodied cognition in the study of facial expression of emotion.     

Age differences in choice satisfaction: a positivity effect in decision making

The authors tested the possibility that older adults show a positivity effect in decision making, by giving younger and older adults the opportunity to choose 1 of 4 products and by examining the participants' satisfaction with their choice. The authors considered whether requiring participants to explicitly evaluate the options before making a choice has an effect on age differences in choice satisfaction. Older adults in the evaluation condition listed more positive and fewer negative attributes than did younger adults and were more satisfied with their decisions than were younger adults. There were no age differences among those who did not evaluate options. This evaluation-dependent elevation of satisfaction among older adults was still present when participants were contacted 2 weeks after the experiment. Age did not influence the accuracy with which participants predicted how their satisfaction would change over time.     

A Qualitative Study of the Activities and Outcomes of Domestic Violence Coordinating Councils

Efforts to promote systems change frequently involve the creation of councils, coalitions, and other collaborative settings. However, research, to date, reports limited empirical evidence that they achieve desired outcomes (Roussos and Fawcett, Annu Rev Public Health 21:369–402, 2000). The precise nature of this evidence base has received less attention. In particular, formal investigations into council effectiveness (a) rarely highlight the specific nature of collaborative efforts; (b) emphasize fairly distal markers as the “gold standard” for effectiveness; (c) focus largely on formative “outcomes” (e.g., action plan quality); and (d) utilize primarily quantitative research approaches. The current study extends previous research by employing a qualitative approach to investigate the particular activities and proximal outcomes of 41 domestic violence coordinating councils. Study findings suggest that councils engage in six primary activities: discussing issues, sharing information, identifying weaknesses in the system’s response, providing training for key stakeholders, engaging in public/community education, and lobbying key stakeholders who are not council members. Three proximal outcomes were consistently identified in council efforts: the promotion of knowledge, relationships, and institutionalized change. Attending more directly to proximal outcomes and concrete activities in our research has important implications for conceptualizing and researching the effectiveness of councils and collaborative settings.     

When being a girl matters less: Accessibility of gender‐related self‐knowledge in single‐sex and coeducational classes and its impact on students' physics‐related self‐concept of ability

Background . Establishing or preserving single‐sex schooling has been widely discussed as a way of bringing more girls into the natural sciences. Aims . We test the assumption that the beneficial effects of single‐sex education on girls' self‐concept of ability in masculine subjects such as physics are due to the lower accessibility of gender‐related self‐knowledge in single‐sex classes. Sample . N = 401 eighth‐graders (mean age 14.0 years) from coeducational comprehensive schools. Methods . Random assignment of students to single‐sex vs. coeducational physics classes throughout the eighth grade. At the end of the year, students' physics‐related self‐concept of ability was measured using a questionnaire. In a subsample of N = 134 students, the accessibility of gender‐related self‐knowledge during physics classes was assessed by measuring latencies and endorsement of sex‐typed trait adjectives. Results . Girls from single‐sex physics classes reported a better physics‐related self‐concept of ability than girls from coeducational classes, while boys' self‐concept of ability did not vary according to class composition. For both boys and girls, gender‐related self‐knowledge was less accessible in single‐sex classes than in mixed‐sex classes. To the extent that girls' feminine self‐knowledge was relatively less accessible than their masculine self‐knowledge, their physics‐related self‐concept of ability improved at the end of the school year. Conclusions . By revealing the importance of the differential accessibility of gender‐related self‐knowledge in single‐ and mixed‐sex settings, our study clarifies why single‐sex schooling helps adolescents to gain a better self‐concept of ability in school subjects that are considered inappropriate for their own sex.