FEMINISM AND WOMEN'S FRIENDSHIPS

The ideology of "sisterhood" within the feminist movement suggests that feminists' and nonfeminists' same–sex friendships would differ profoundly. This assumption was tested by examining the friendships of 45 heterosexual nonfeminists, 43 heterosexual feminists, and 38 lesbian feminists from a large midwestern city. Participants ranged in age from 19 to 46. Using objective measures, differences were found between feminists and nonfeminists for some structural dimensions of friendship, including number of cross–generational friendships, degree of equality, and amount of privacy preferred with a best friend. Lesbian feminists preferred more privacy with their friends than nonfeminists, but rated their friends as lower on relationship quality and degree of equality than heterosexual feminists and nonfeminists. The three groups did not differ on the affective content of friendship, including liking, loving, satisfaction and commitment. However, feminists subjectively perceived their feminism as having contributed to both structural and affective changes in their friendships.     

Neuroanatomical correlates of performance in a state‐wide test of math achievement

The development of math skills is a critical component of early education and a strong indicator of later school and economic success. Recent research utilizing population‐normed, standardized measures of math achievement suggest that structural and functional integrity of parietal regions, especially the intraparietal sulcus, are closely related to the development of math skills. However, it is unknown how these findings relate to in‐school math learning. The present study is the first to address this issue by investigating the relationship between regional differences in grey matter (GM) volume and performance in grade‐level mathematics as measured by a state‐wide, school‐based test of math achievement (TCAP math) in children from 3rd to 8th grade. Results show that increased GM volume in the bilateral hippocampal formation and the right inferior frontal gyrus, regions associated with learning and memory, is associated with higher TCAP math scores. Secondary analyses revealed that GM volume in the left angular gyrus had a stronger relationship to TCAP math in grades 3–4 than in grades 5–8 while the relationship between GM volume in the left inferior frontal gyrus and TCAP math was stronger for grades 5–8. These results suggest that the neuroanatomical architecture related to in‐school math achievement differs from that related to math achievement measured by standardized tests, and that the most related neural structures differ as a function of grade level. We suggest, therefore, that the use of school‐relevant outcome measures is critical if neuroscience is to bridge the gap to education.     

Contextualizing the History of Yoga in Geoffrey Samuel’s The Origins of Yoga and Tantra: A Review Symposium

International Journal of Hindu Studies -     

System-justifying ideologies and academic outcomes among first-year Latino college students

The present study examines the relationship between system-justifying ideologies and academic outcomes among 78 first-year Latino college students (21 men, 57 women, mean age = 18.1 years) attending a moderately selective West Coast university. Endorsement of system-justifying ideologies was negatively associated with grade point average (GPA); however it was positively associated with feelings of belonging at the university. In addition, system-justifying ideologies were negatively associated with perceptions of personal discrimination. In contrast, ethnic identity centrality was unrelated to GPA, feelings of belonging, and perceptions of personal discrimination once the relationship between system-justifying ideologies and these outcomes was statistically taken into account. The results of the present study suggest that endorsement of system-justifying ideologies may be a double-edged sword for Latino college students, involving trade-offs between academic success and feelings of belonging.     

Statistical classification of black-capped (Poecile atricapillus) and mountain chickadee (Poecile gambeli) call notes

Both black-capped (Poecile atricapillus) and mountain chickadees (Poecile gambeli) produce a chick-a-dee call that consists of several distinct note types. In some regions, these 2 species live sympatrically, and it has been shown that 1 species will respond weakly to songs of the other. This suggests that chickadee song, and potentially other of their vocalizations, contains species-specific information. We tested the possibility that call notes were acoustically sufficient for species identification. Black-capped and mountain non-D notes were summarized as a set of 9 features and then analyzed by linear discriminant analysis. Linear discriminant analysis was able to use these notes to identify species with 100% accuracy. We repeated this approach, but with black-capped and mountain D notes that were summarized as a set of 4 features. Linear discriminant analysis was able to use these notes to identify species with 94% accuracy. This demonstrates that any of the note types in these chickadee calls possesses sufficient information for species classification.     

Probing the limits of tool competence: Experiments with two non-tool-using species (Cercopithecus aethiops and Saguinus oedipus)

Non-human animals vary in their ability to make and use tools. The goal of the present study was to further explore what, if anything, differs between tool-users and non-tool-users, and whether these differences lie in the conceptual or motor domain. We tested two species that typically do not use tools-cotton top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus) and vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops)-on problems that mirrored those designed for prolific tool users such as chimpanzees. We trained subjects on a task in which they could choose one of two canes to obtain an out-of-reach food reward. After training, subjects received several variations on the original task, each designed to examine a specific conceptual aspect of the pulling problem previously studied in other tool-using species. Both species recognized that effective pulling tools must be made of rigid materials. Subsequent conditions revealed significant species differences, with vervets outperforming tamarins across many conditions. Vervets, but not tamarins, had some recognition of the relationship between a tool's orientation and the position of the food reward, the relationship between a tool's trajectory and the substance that it moves on, and that tools must be connected in order to work properly. These results provide further evidence that tool-use may derive from domain-general, rather than domain-specific cognitive capacities that evolved for tool use per se.     

Unilateral concessions from the other party: concession behavior, attributions, and negotiation judgments

This article examines the effects of the other party's concession behavior on a negotiator's satisfaction and judgments. The timing of the concessions (immediate, gradual, delayed) and the justifications provided by the other party (negotiator skill vs. external constraints) were manipulated using a scenario method (Study 1) and a role-playing experiment (Study 2). Study 1 showed that concession timing influenced valuation of the object and satisfaction with the partner and the outcome. Justifications about why the concession was made interacted with concession timing to influence participants' attributions. Participants' attributions for why the concession was actually made, in turn, had a main effect on satisfaction and judgments of the negotiation. Study 2 replicated some, but not all, of these findings.     

Gender differences in automatic in-group bias: why do women like women more than men like men?

Four experiments confirmed that women's automatic in-group bias is remarkably stronger than men's and investigated explanations for this sex difference, derived from potential sources of implicit attitudes (L. A. Rudman, 2004). In Experiment 1, only women (not men) showed cognitive balance among in-group bias, identity, and self-esteem (A. G. Greenwald et al., 2002), revealing that men lack a mechanism that bolsters automatic own group preference. Experiments 2 and 3 found pro-female bias to the extent that participants automatically favored their mothers over their fathers or associated male gender with violence, suggesting that maternal bonding and male intimidation influence gender attitudes. Experiment 4 showed that for sexually experienced men, the more positive their attitude was toward sex, the more they implicitly favored women. In concert, the findings help to explain sex differences in automatic in-group bias and underscore the uniqueness of gender for intergroup relations theorists.     

Perceived exertion during resistance exercise by children

This pilot study examined the validity of a new scale of perceived exertion during acute bouts of resistance exercise in young children. The researchers developed an 11-point numerical scale with five pictures representing youths at various levels of exertion while lifting weights. 26 children (M age 10.1 +/- 1.2 yr.) performed one set of 10 repetitions at 35%, 55%, and 75% of their one-repetition maximum on the chest press and leg press exercises using child-size weight training machines. Scaling procedures for the perceptual anchors on the perceived exertion scale were based on one repetition maximum testing. Children could use this scale to translate into numbers their perceptions of physical exertion during upper and lower body resistance exercise. Perceived exertion distributed as a positive linear function of the percent of one repetition maximum on the chest press and leg press exercises (rs = .70 to .77), and perceived exertion increased significantly across all three exercise intensities on both exercises. These preliminary findings provide partial evidence for validation when this scale was used during resistance exercise with children. Additional validation regarding perceived exertion during resistance exercise with children is warranted.     

Auditory-visual interactions in the perception of a ball's path

We carried out two experiments to measure the combined perceptual effect of visual and auditory information on the perception of a moving object's trajectory. All visual stimuli consisted of a perspective rendering of a ball moving in a three-dimensional box. Each video was paired with one of three sound conditions: silence, the sound of a ball rolling, or the sound of a ball hitting the ground. We found that the sound condition influenced whether observers were more likely to perceive the ball as rolling back in depth on the floor of the box or jumping in the frontal plane. In a second experiment we found further evidence that the reported shift in path perception reflects perceptual experience rather than a deliberate decision process. Instead of directly judging the ball's path, observers judged the ball's speed. Speed is an indirect measure of the perceived path because, as a result of the geometry of the box and the viewing angle, a rolling ball would travel a greater distance than a jumping ball in the same time interval. Observers did judge a ball paired with a rolling sound as faster than a ball paired with a jumping sound. This auditory-visual interaction provides an example of a unitary percept arising from multisensory input.