The stability of individual differences in gender typing: Implications for understanding gender segregation

The stability of individual differences has important implications for understanding the origins of gender-typed behaviors. For example, if some children have a stronger preference for same-sex playmates (gender segregation) than do others, then exploring characteristics that may differentiate these children from their peers (e.g., preference for gender-typed toys or teacher proximity) should prove fruitful. Otherwise, research might be focused more appropriately on group-level processes or situational factors rather than individual differences. In the current study, 57 2 1/2- to 3-year-olds from middle-class Canadian homes were observed repeatedly during free play at their preschools. Four aspects of gender typing (gender segregation, use of masculine and feminine gender-typed toys, teacher proximity) were measured so that the stability of individual differences and relations among the measures could be assessed. Stable individual differences were found for all four measures among boys, and for two of the measures (feminine toy play, teacher proximity) among girls. In addition, boys who played most frequently with masculine toys rarely were observed in proximity to the teacher. However, there was no relation between gender segregation and the other indices of gender typing.     

The role of position in object selection in vision

Summary Within contemporary visual-information-processing psychology, two classes of selective-attention theories can be distinguished: position-not-special theories and position-special theories. The position-not-special theories postulate that attentional selection by colour, by form, and by position are equivalent selective operations. The position-special theories assume that selection by position is more basic or direct than selection by colour or by form. Examples of both types of theory are briefly described, and irrelevant and relevant evidence is critically discussed. It is concluded that the relevant evidence is directly compatible with the position-special views and that the position-not-special theories require additional extraneous assumptions. The position-special model presented in Van der Heijden (1992) is elaborated in further detail. It is shown that this model is compatible with two important and often substantiated assumptions of the position-not-special theories: the assumption that pre-attentive analysers organize the visual scene in objects against a background, and the assumption that visual-selective attention can be directed at objects isolated in this way. This position-special theory is a parsimonious theory because it can identify the mentalistic conceptselective attention with the materialistic conceptspatial position.     

The influence of perceptual and motor factors on bimanual coordination in a polyrhythmic tapping task

Summary In this study the role of perceptual and motor factors on the motor organization (integrated versus parallel) adopted by musically skilled and unskilled subjects in a polyrhythmic tapping task was investigated. Subjects tapped a 3:2 polyrhythm to match the timing of two isochronous tone trains, one tone train for each hand. Perceptual factors were examined by the manipulation of the frequency difference between the tone trains to produce either an integrated or a streamed percept. Motor factors were examined by comparison of performance on two versions of the 3:2 polyrhythm. In one (simultaneous) version, each cycle of the polyrhythm began with a simultaneous left- and right-hand tap. In the other (shifted) version a 100-ms interval was introduced between the initial left and right taps in each cycle. Examination of the pattern of variances and covariances among intertap intervals suggested that most of the subjects in this study adopted an integrated motor organization that involved interleaving the timing of the two hands. Further analysis revealed that a serial chained model described the pattern of covariances best for the simultaneous pattern, whereas a hierarchical organization described the pattern of covariances for the shifted pattern best. The finding that performance was more accurate with integrated tones than with streamed tones provides some support for a perceptual-motor facilitation hypothesis.     

A stochastic model for inter-keypress times in a typing task

A mathematical model for the inter-keypress times (IKT) in a typing task is proposed. The model, which includes a diffusion process terminated by a single response threshold, was evaluated using data obtained from typists. The differences in performance for successive cross-hand and within-hand keypresses were examined using IKT distributions and hazard functions, and it was shown that the empirical hazard functions could be fit by the theoretical hazard function derived from the convolution of normal and inverse Gaussian random variables. Some possible applications of the model for the evaluation of fatigue and strategic effects in typing are suggested.     

In search of an everyday morality: the development of a measure

Current interest in moral theorizing has been dominated by Kohlberg's cognitive-developmental view. Haan (1982) has challenged psychology's reliance on this rationalistic focus and has argued for a rethinking of morality's meaning in accord with everyday human experience. In light of this challenge, the present study gives both theoretical and empirical support to the advancement of a morality for everyday life. Specifically, a new measure called the Visions of Morality Scale (VMS) is reported. The VMS is sensitive to three dimensions which are necessary for an everyday morality: (1) a human constitutive component which is universally experienced by all human beings (empathy); (2) the inclusion of a behavioral component which reflects actual behavior (pro-social inclinations); and (3) a view of morality that is multilevel (private, interpersonal, and social). A brief sketch of the VMS is provided. Results are presented from a study of 181 high school students which relate the VMS to empathy and political orientation. Highly significant relationships were found among morality, political orientation, and empathy. In addition, results revealed numerous sex differences. Finally, the implications of an everyday morality are discussed.     

Teenage suicide in Zimbabwe

The teenage suicide rate in Zimbabwe did not change much during the 1970s, though the rate rose for female teenagers. Female teenagers used poison as a method of suicide more often than did adults, and self-immolation had increased in frequency among young women by the mid-1980s.     

The effect of social support on adolescent mothers' styles of parent-child interaction as measured on three separate occasions

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of social support on parent-child interaction in a group of 19 adolescent mothers. The subjects participated in a 20-week model demonstration program in which they worked in a preschool classroom with skilled caregivers who modeled facilitative styles of interacting with young children. Each subject was videotaped while interacting with a 1- to 2-year-old child upon entering the program, midway through the program, and at the end. Results showed that girls who were 16 years or older significantly increased their frequency of using responsive, engaging, and elaborative styles of behavior. Those under age 16 did not show significant changes in these three behaviors. Overall, subjects significantly increased the duration of time they spent observing the child's play behavior.