NO QUICK FIXES: ADDING CONTENT ABOUT WOMEN TO ECOLOGY COURSE MATERIALS

This study reports on a three-semester model project designed to assess the impact of enriched content related to Women's and Gender Studies on students enrolled in an undergraduate ecology course. The two constructs of interest were (a) students' attitudes toward women in science and society and (b) students' assessment of the classroom climate for women. The data included 398 matched pretest and posttest survey responses from a control group, a minimal enrichment group, and an increased enrichment group. Findings indicated that, although small course revisions did not influence students' attitudes toward women in science and society, such revisions had a positive influence on students' assessments of the classroom climate.     

PERCEPTIONS OF RELATIONAL AND PHYSICAL AGGRESSION AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS: EFFECTS OF GENDER OF PERPETRATOR, TARGET, AND PERCEIVER

This study examined gendered perceptions of relational and physical aggressive behaviors and personal experiences with both types of aggression. Prior research suggested that physical aggression by males and relational aggression by females would be perceived most negatively. College students (186 female, 128 male) rated the acceptability and harmfulness of aggression in scenarios in which type of aggression and perpetrator and target gender were varied. As predicted, relational aggression by female characters and physical aggression by male characters were rated as less acceptable and more aggressive/harmful than the same behavior by the other gender. Thus, expectations regarding the gender-appropriateness of aggression appear to affect perceptions of such acts. Despite popular conceptions that females use and are harmed by relational aggression more than males, there was no gender difference in experience with relational aggression, nor were female targets viewed as more harmed by such aggression than their male counterparts.     

Adult age differences in the ability to cope with situations of high arousal in a precision sport

Three field experiments are reported in which skilled miniature golf players varying in age were studied in three types of activities: training, minor competitions, and large competitions. Performance (i.e., number of shots) and arousal (heart rate and subjective ratings of anxiety) measures were registered in all types of activities. The major finding was that the level of performance of older adult players deteriorated in the large competitions, whereas groups of younger adult players, junior players, and youth players performed at the same level in all three events, although all of the groups exhibited a similar increase in arousal from training and minor competitions to large competitions. We suggest that older players may have a deficit in the ability to compensate for the negative effects of nonoptimal levels of arousal because of impairments in a variety of cognitive abilities critical to successful performance.     

Thermographic studies with fluid crystals in peripheral nerve damage

Common peripheral neurogenic lesion in various locations and of different origins were examined thermographically and the results were compared with those obtained by clinical and electromyographic methods. Lesions in the regions of the N. ulnaris and N. medianus can, except in the case of carpal tunnel syndrome, be identified without difficulty by thermography. The results obtained in the case of paresis of the radialis are non-specific, and thermographic examination of radicular lesions are also sometimes ambiguous. Damage in the plexus-brachialis and root region yield impressive results which, however, are not particularly useful.