Children's expectations about training the approximate number system

Humans possess a developmentally precocious and evolutionarily ancient approximate number system (ANS) whose sensitivity correlates with uniquely human symbolic arithmetic skills. Recent studies suggest that ANS training improves symbolic arithmetic, but such studies may engender performance expectations in their participants that in turn produce the improvement. Here, we assessed 6‐ to 8‐year‐old children's expectations about the effects of numerical and non‐numerical magnitude training, as well as states of satiety and restfulness, in the context of a study linking children's ANS practice to their improved symbolic arithmetic. We found that children did not expect gains in symbolic arithmetic after exercising the ANS, although they did expect gains in ANS acuity after training on any magnitude task. Moreover, children expected gains in symbolic arithmetic after a good night's sleep and their favourite breakfast. Thus, children's improved symbolic arithmetic after ANS training cannot be explained by their expectations about that training.     

Do your Dark Side Traits Fit? Dysfunctional Personalities in Different Work Sectors

This study investigates differences in “dark side” traits between those in the public and private sectors, as well as between managers in three distinct industries. In all, 5,693 British adults were tested, roughly half of whom clearly worked in public sector jobs and half in the private sector. We also tested three groups of people (total 1,102) working in very different sectors: finance, insurance, and emergency services. They all completed the Hogan Development Survey (HDS; Hogan & Hogan, 1997), which is a measure of dysfunctional personality styles or potential management derailers. It has 11 dimensions and three higher order factors. Multivariate and univariate analyses of co‐variance (controlling for sex, age, and social desirability) and logistic regressions showed many significant differences, with private sector employees scoring higher on the factor Moving Against/Cluster B and lower on the factor Moving Away/Cluster A. The analysis of the three groups showed that those in the emergency services differed on most traits while Finance and Insurance industry personnel were very similar.     

BELIEFS ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES OF MATERNAL EMPLOYMENT FOR CHILDREN

This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Beliefs About the Consequences of Maternal Employment (BACMEC) scale in a sample of 570 pregnant women and 550 of their husbands/partners. Both the costs and benefits subscales showed excellent internal consistency reliability. The two subscales emerged as two separate factors in factor analyses, both for the mothers'data and for the fathers'data. Construct validity was indicated by moderate correlations with a scale assessing traditional versus egalitarian sex-role attitudes. The two subscales significantly differentiated a group of mothers who favored early entry into childcare from a group who favored later entry. Fathers'scores were quite close to those of mothers, indicating that they have similar beliefs about the consequences of maternal employment for children.     

Tomboyism

The meager research available on tomboyism is based on the assumption that it is rare and abnormal. Following an initial observation that 78% of a group of undergraduate women reported having been tomboys in childhood, the frequency of tomboyism was assessed in two samples, one of junior-high girls, the other of adult women. In the junior-high sample, 63% reported being tomboys, while 51% of the adult women reported having been tomboys in childhood. Tomboyish behaviors such as a preference for active, outdoor games, playing with boys, and wearing jeans were also very frequent. It was concluded that tomboyism is statistically quite common and there is little indication that it is abnormal.     

PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS

This article reviews policy issues involved in maternity leave or parental leave. Findings from the Wisconsin Maternity Leave and Health Project, a longitudinal interview study of 570 women and 550 of their husbands/partners, are discussed, focusing especially on the issues of maternity leave and women's mental health, and fathers' patterns of taking parental leave. I stress the importance of empirical research if feminist psychologists are to have an impact on public policy.