OVERT, COVERT, AND SUBTLE SEXISM

The Attitudes Toward Women Scale (AWS) is routinely used as a general measure of sexism. In this article, it is argued that the AWS (Spence, Helmreich, & Stapp, 1973) actually measures overt or blatant sexism (harmful and unequal treatment of women that is intentional, visible, and unambiguous), whereas the Modern Sexism Scale (MS) measures covert or subtle forms of sexism (sexism that is either hidden and clandestine or unnoticed because it is built into cultural and societal norms). Support for this distinction is shown by way of (a) confirmatory factor analyses, (b) correlations with affective reactions to different categories of women and men (i.e., women and men in general, traditional women and men, feminists, and chauvinists), and (c) correlations with perceptions of sexual harassment. These analyses indicate that the AWS and MS scales measure distinct but related constructs.     

The detection of a tone added to a narrow band of noise: The energy model revisited

In an effort to determine whether cues related to changes in energy contribute to the detection of a tone added to a narrow band of noise, we examined the effect of level variation on detection thresholds. In the first experiment, the level of each waveform was randomly varied on each presentation. Level variation had only marginal effects on performance. In addition, detection thresholds were obtained using bands of noise with equal energy across intervals. Neither increasing nor decreasing the variance of the noise-alone and tone-plus-noise energy difference distributions altered the detectability of a tone added to noise. Thus, the changes in energy that are concomitant with the addition of the tone are not the sole cue for the detection of the tone. In a second experiment, three psychometric functions were measured. One function was determined using no level variation, one was measured in the presence of level variation, and one was measured in the context of level variation, but for trials without level variation. The context of level variation slightly reduced detectability. In a third experiment, we compared detectability in three conditions: no level variation, across-trial level variation, and across-interval level variation. The thresholds obtained in the absence of level variation were superior to those measured in the presence of level variation, regardless of the manner in which the level variation was incorporated.     

Food, mood, and attitude: reducing risk for eating disorders in college women.

Food, Mood, and Attitude (FMA) is a CD-ROM prevention program developed to decrease risk for eating disorders in college women. Female 1st-year students (N = 240) were randomly assigned to the intervention (FMA) or control group. Equal numbers of students at risk and of low risk for developing an eating disorder were assigned to each condition. Participants in the FMA condition improved on all measures relative to controls. Significant 3-way interactions (Time x Condition x Risk Status) were found on measures of internalization of sociocultural attitudes about thinness, shape concerns, and weight concerns, indicating that at-risk participants in the intervention group improved to a greater extent than did low-risk participants. At follow-up, significantly fewer women in the FMA group reported overeating and excessive exercise relative to controls.     

BODY IMAGE AND DISORDERED EATING AMONG ASIAN AMERICAN AND CAUCASIAN COLLEGE STUDENTS

Using a sample of Caucasian and Asian American college students, this research examined gender differences within race and race differences within gender with respect to a wide range of body image and disordered eating variables. Results indicated that: (a) regardless of race, women reported more problem attitudes and behaviors than did men; (b) gender differences were similar for Asian Americans and Caucasians, although Caucasians evidenced slightly more gender differences than did Asian Americans; (c) for men, race made no difference; and (d) for women, some race differences were found, with Caucasian women engaging in more dieting and binging behavior and Asian American women reporting lower self-esteem and less satisfaction with their racially defined features. Suggestions for future research are made, and implications are discussed.