Perceptions of current and ideal body shape of athletes and nonathletes

This study was done to examine the relationship between sex and perception of body image among athletes and nonathletes. A total of 211 men and women athletes and nonathletes completed a questionnaire which asked them to identify from a nine-figure body-silhouette scale their current image and the image that they thought was most ideal. t tests showed no significant differences for men based upon athletic participation and that both athletes and nonathletes were satisfied with their body image. However, when comparing current image and ideal image, significant differences were found for women athletes and nonathletes. These data support previous research documenting women's dissatisfaction with their body images and show athletic participation is not associated with this perception.     

Tactile attention and the perception of moving tactile stimuli

Three experiments investigated the ability of subjects to identify the direction of movement of a pattern across the skin. In Experiments 1 and 2, subjects were required to identify the direction of movement of a pattern presented to one fingerpad while another moving pattern was being presented to an adjacent fingerpad. Subjects were instructed to attend only to the target location. The results showed that accuracy was consistently higher and reaction times were consistently faster when the two patterns moved in the same direction than when they moved in opposite directions. Both effects were largest when the two patterns were presented simultaneously. In Experiment 3, the nontarget location was the contralateral hand. In this case, performance was not affected by the presentation of the nontarget. Combined, the results suggest that movement information is processed across adjacent fingers even when subjects are explicitly instructed to attend only to one finger. Subjects do appear to be able to restrict attention to a single hand.     

Gender differences in performance attributions: Students' explanations for personal success or failure

Women are often said to exhibit an externality bias in their performance attributions. To test this hypothesis, male and female college students made effort, ability, luck, and task difficulty attributions for their performance on a recent course examination. Measures of the students' affective reactions toward their performance were also obtained. Successful students, whether male or female, made internal attributions and were pleased with their performance. Stronger internal attributions were associated with more positive affective reactions for these students. Unsuccessful female students made external attributions, were displeased with their performance, and felt better when they attributed their failure to unstable factors. Unsuccessful male students were also displeased with their performance, but tended to make more internal attributions for their failure, and felt better as a result. These findings, which suggest the influence of an internality bias among men, rather than an externality bias among women, were interpreted in terms of the male sex role.     

The role of imagery in the representation of linear orderings

Two experiments were carried out to investigate whether visual imagery was used in representing transitive linear ordering relationships. Subjects were presented with passages describing either a linear ordering or a set inclusion relationship, while being subjected to either visual or verbal interference. Performance was tested by asking subjects to judge the truth or falsity of statements concerning both the information presented in the passages and inferences that could be drawn from this information. In neither experiment was there any evidence for the linear ordering material being selectively disrupted by the visual interference task, as would have been predicted by the imagery theory. Thus it is concluded that linear orderings are probably not represented as visual images.     

Discriminant and convergent validity of the SCL-90 in psychiatric inpatients

Examined the convergent and discriminant validity of the SCL-90 in a group of 113 psychiatric inpatients and determined the degree of reactivity to several common response sets. The nine SCL-90 dimensions were found to correlate with analogous measures from other tests, and thus showed convergent validity, but were also found to correlate with nonanalogous measures, an indication of low discriminant validity. In addition, the dimensions correlated with the three MMPI validity scales, suggesting their reactivity to response bias. These findings were interpreted as indicating that the SCL-90 has limited use with psychiatric inpatients at present, although it may be useful as a brief screening device for disposition and referral.     

The impact of exposure to nontraditional vocational role models on the vocational role preferences of five-year-old children

During a two-week period, 17 kindergarten children in an experimental group were exposed to nontraditional role models and curricular materials and a control group, consisting of 22 kindergarten children, was exposed to a curriculum unrelated to vocational or sex roles. A comparison of the pretest and posttest scores of the two groups, using a t-test for correlated means, indicated that neither group made a significant change in their vocational role preferences. The data indicated that following the treatment, the experimental females were slightly less traditional (p < .24) while the experimental males were more traditional (p < .09). These findings are related to developmental and socialization factors. Implications for further research and for family life education are presented.