A perceptual defense approach to the study of gender sex related traits,stereotypes, and attitudes1

In the present study men who varied in the degree to which they viewed themselves as relatively masculine and/or feminine and the degree to which they expected others to engage in activities based on their gender sex (sex role attitude) were tachistoscopically presented pictures of a man and a woman engaged in sex role nontraditional activities. A signal detection theory analysis of the data yielded information on two aspects, the sensory (d′) and the nonsensory (β), of the subjects' perceptions of the stimulus material. The major finding was that nontraditional men defended against the anxiety-producing stimuli whereas the traditional man did not so defend. This finding was interpreted to support the concept of the “well-meaning liberal male.”     

Gender Roles and Sexual Behavior Among Young Women

This study investigates the hypothesis thatnon-traditional gender role attitudes andmasculine gender role traits or datingbehaviors are associated with unsafe sexual behaviorssuch as having a high number of sexual partners, the non-use ofcondoms and the use of alcohol or drugs before or duringintercourse. A self-report survey was completed by 400sexually active Australian women aged between 16 and 24 who attended two metropolitan FamilyPlanning clinics in Queensland, Australia. The findingsshow partial support for the hypothesis. Women with ahigher level of 'masculine' personality traits and egalitarian gender role attitudes were morelikely to have multiple partners and to use alcohol ordrugs with their most recent non-steady partner. Themultivariate relationships between gender roles and sexual behaviors are not as extensive as wouldbe proposed by gender role theory and previousresearch.     

Evaluating Sources of Ego-Threatening Feedback: Self-Esteem and Narcissism Effects

High self-esteem individuals in previous studies have tended to deny the credibility of negative evaluators. The present research examined possible explanations for this finding and compared the effects of self-esteem and narcissism on evaluations of negative feedback sources. Following bogus negative feedback, self-esteem predicted negative evaluations of a nonperson feedback source and positive affect, as expected from consistency theory; narcissism predicted negative evaluations of a person feedback source and hostile affect, as expected from threat-derogation and narcissism theory. Results indicate the importance of distinguishing between healthy and defensive self-esteem in understanding responses to negative feedback.     

Women's self-estimates of competence and the resolution of the career/home conflict

Relationships among women's role factors, self-estimates of competence, and career commitment were investigated. Eighty female business students and 111 business alumnae completed the Attitudes Toward Women Scale, the Performance-Self-Esteem Scale (PSES), and questions regarding home and career choices. As predicted, PSES scores were related to extent of career commitment, and PSES scores mediated the relationship between career commitment and women's role factors. Among high PSES subjects, career commitment was positively related to nontraditional sex-role attitudes and negatively related to family involvement. Among low PSES subjects, the relationship between career commitment and women's role factors was weaker. Implications for women's career development are discussed.     

The effects of unipolar sex-role identities and situational determinants on components of fear of success

In the present study the relationship between unipolar models of sex-role identity (i.e., the degree to which a person perceives him/her self as relatively masculine and/or feminine) and situational cues (i.e., females engaged in successful activities which vary in their sex-role appropriateness) on fear of success was investigated. An alternative, objective measure of fear of success was employed which generated 16 variables thought to reflect various theoretical and empirical components of the motive to fear success. These variables dealt with personal attributes of the successful characters, reasons for their success, and possible consequences of their success. It was found that situational rather than psychological variables are of greater importance in affecting female response to female success. However, there was some support for the notion that general diffusion of sex-role identity (undifferentiated sex-role identity group) rather than high femininity may be related to avoidance of success.     

The Cooperative Research Centre for Living with Autism (Autism CRC) Conceptual Model to Promote Mental Health for Adolescents with ASD

Despite an increased risk of mental health problems in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), there is limited research on effective prevention approaches for this population. Funded by the Cooperative Research Centre for Living with Autism, a theoretically and empirically supported school-based preventative model has been developed to alter the negative trajectory and promote wellbeing and positive mental health in adolescents with ASD. This conceptual paper provides the rationale, theoretical, empirical and methodological framework of a multilayered intervention targeting the school, parents and adolescents on the spectrum. Two important interrelated protective factors have been identified in community adolescent samples, namely the sense of belonging (connectedness) to school and the capacity for self and affect regulation in the face of stress (i.e. resilience). We describe how a confluence of theories from social psychology, developmental psychology and family systems theory, along with empirical evidence (including emerging neurobiological evidence), supports the interrelationships between these protective factors and many indices of wellbeing. However, the characteristics of ASD (including social and communication difficulties, and frequently difficulties with changes and transitions, and diminished optimism and self-esteem) impair access to these vital protective factors. The paper describes how evidence-based interventions at the school level for promoting inclusive schools (using the Index for Inclusion) and interventions for adolescents and parents to promote resilience and belonging [using the Resourceful Adolescent Program (RAP)] are adapted and integrated for adolescents with ASD. This multisite proof-of-concept study will confirm whether this multilevel school-based intervention is promising, feasible and sustainable.     

Students' Quality of Experience and Perceptions of Intolerance and Bias in the Women's and Gender Studies Classroom

Student evaluations of the quality of their women's and gender studies (WGS) experience and predictors of experience quality were studied in a sample of 326 students from 23 WGS classes. Higher initial appreciation/acceptance of diversity, capacity for interpersonal relationships, and class expectations predicted more positive experience ratings. These relationships were mediated by students' alliance with their teacher and cohesion with classmates. A small proportion of students (11.6%), spread across 14 classes, did not rate their experience positively. Perceptions of teacher and classmate intolerance and bias were assessed in this subset of students. Average ratings of intolerance were slightly positive for teachers and neutral for classmates. Implications of the findings for understanding students' WGS experiences are discussed.     

Development of dopaminergic genetic associations with visuospatial,verbal and social working memory

Dopamine transmission in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) supports working memory (WM), the temporary holding, processing and manipulation of information in one's mind. The gene coding the catechol‐O‐methyltransferase (COMT) enzyme, which degrades dopamine, in particular in the PFC, has a common single nucleotide polymorphism leading to two versions of the COMT enzyme which vary in their enzymatic activity. The methionine (Met) allele has been associated with higher WM performance and lower activation of the PFC in executive function tasks than the valine (Val) allele. In a previous study, COMT genotype was associated with performance on verbal and visuospatial WM tasks in adults, as well as with performance on a novel social WM paradigm that requires participants to maintain and manipulate information about the traits of their friends or family over a delay. Here, data collected in children and adolescents (N = 202) were compared to data from the adult sample (N = 131) to investigate possible age differences in genetic associations. Our results replicate and extend previous work showing that the pattern of superior WM performance observed in Met/Met adults emerges during development. These findings are consistent with a decrease in prefrontal dopamine levels during adolescence. Developmentally moderated genetic effects were observed for both visuospatial and social WM, even when controlling for non‐social WM performance, suggesting that the maintenance and manipulation of social information may also recruit the dopamine neurotransmitter system. These findings show that development should be considered when trying to understand the impact of genetic polymorphisms on cognitive function.     

Age of acquisition for naming and knowing: A new hypothesis

This paper reports an investigation into the age of acquisition of object names and object knowledge in a cross-sectional study of 288 children aged between 3 years 7 months and 11 years 6 months, comprising equal numbers of boys and girls. The objects belonged to four categories: animals, fruit and vegetables, implements, and vehicles. They were presented in three image types: line drawings, black-and-white photographs, and coloured photographs. In the knowledge test, five probe questions were asked for each object given the spoken name. Results showed that line drawings were more difficult to name than either black-and-white photographs or coloured photographs, which did not differ. The boys significantly out-performed the girls at naming and knowing, both overall and specifically for the category of vehicles. Naming and knowledge increased steadily with age but while young children below about 6 years 6 months showed an advantage to naming, older children showed an advantage to knowing. Similarly, age-of-acquisition measures for each item revealed a significant shift in the relationship between naming and knowing at around 80 months. We argue that differences in learning experience lead younger and older children to associate object names with different types of information, and we suggest that this difference probably accounts for the age-of-acquisition effects reported in adult object naming.