Motivated to penalize: women's strategic rejection of successful women

Two studies tested the hypothesis that females penalize women who succeed in male gender-typed jobs to salvage their own self-views regarding competence. The authors proposed that women are motivated to penalize successful women (i.e., characterize them as unlikable and interpersonally hostile) to minimize the self-evaluative consequences of social comparison with a highly successful female target. Results supported the hypothesis. Whereas both male and female participants penalized successful women, blocking this penalization reduced female--but not male--participants' self-ratings of competence (Study 1). Moreover, positive feedback provided to female participants about their potential to succeed (Study 2) weakened negative reactions to successful women without costs to subsequent self-ratings of competence. These results suggest that the interpersonal derogation of successful women by other women functions as a self-protective strategy against threatening upward social comparisons.     

The Role of Harsh Discipline in Explaining Sex Differences in Conduct Disorder: a Study of Opposite-Sex Twin Pairs

In the current study, two hypotheses about the role of harsh discipline (HD) in explaining the sex difference in the prevalence of conduct disorder (CD) were evaluated: that boys exhibit more CD than girls because (1) they are exposed to more HD and/or (2) there is a greater association between HD and CD in boys. These hypotheses were evaluated in a sample of male and female adult twins from different families (N = 3,502) as well as a sample of adult twin brothers and sisters (N = 655) in order to examine the extent to which sex differences remained after controlling for between-family differences. Retrospective reports of HD experienced between ages 6–13 and DSM-IV CD symptoms experienced before age 18 were obtained via structured psychiatric telephone interviews. Boys reported higher mean levels of HD and CD than girls, both between and within families, and the results of model-fitting analyses suggested that differences in the use of harsh disciplinary practices for sons versus daughters may partially explain the sex difference in the prevalence of CD. Between families, the relation between HD and CD was greater for girls than boys, but within families, there was no evidence of a sex difference in the relation between HD and CD. Inconsistent between-family and within-family results suggest that factors that differ between families are confounded with sex differences in the relation between HD and CD. A more stringent test of sex differences involves eliminating these between-family differences by studying boys and girls within the same family.     

Recollection in an episodic-like memory task in the rat

Episodic memory in humans is the conscious recollection of a past event. Animal models of episodic-like memory assess the memory for "what"happened, "where" it happened, and either "when" it happened, or in "which" context it happened, although recollection on such tasks is often difficult to measure. Here we present the first evidence of successful recollection of a past event in a rat in a task which is easily performed, requires little training, and is easily adaptable for other commonly used laboratory species.     

Comparing an interdependent and dependent group contingency to increase physical activity in students during recess

Physical activity produces important physiological, mental health, academic, and cognitive benefits in children and youth. Despite these advantages, a large proportion of this population does not meet the recommended amount of physical activity. Recent studies have shown that the interdependent (IGC) and dependent (DGC) group contingencies improve physical activity; however, no comparison of the effects of these contingencies on physical activity has been conducted. We used a multielement within a concurrent multiple baseline design across three classes to compare the effectiveness of group contingencies on physical activity. Both group contingencies increased physical activity, with the IGC producing slightly higher overall levels of physical activity at the classwide and individual levels of analyses. We also compared participants' positive and negative statements and found that, regardless of the group contingency in effect, participants emitted higher levels of positive statements about the contingency when they earned the reward than when they did not, suggesting that reward delivery influenced statements more so than the group contingency arrangement. Results are discussed within the context of treatment decisions and future research.     

Joy is a distinct positive emotion: Assessment of joy and relationship to gratitude and well-being

In three studies we investigated joy and its relationship to subjective well-being (SWB). We developed measures of joy based on recent conceptualizations of joy in the humanities and social sciences. In Studies 1 and 2 we developed reliable measures of state and trait joy. In Study 3 we used a two-month prospective design to investigate the relationship of joy to gratitude and SWB. We found that dispositional gratitude predicted increases in state joy over time. We also found that trait joy predicted increases in state gratitude, providing evidence for an intriguing upward spiral between joy and gratitude. Finally, we found that trait joy was associated with increases in SWB over time. Factor analyses indicated that joy loaded separately from other positive emotions. We conclude that joy is a discrete positive emotion, it can be measured reliably with self-report instruments, and that it may be an important component of well-being.     

Wimpy and undeserving of respect: Penalties for men’s gender-inconsistent success

Results of an experimental study varying the sex of the employee and the gender-type of the job demonstrated that men, as well as women, are penalized when they are successful in areas that imply that they have violated gender norms. But the nature of these penalties differed. When depicted as being successful at a female gender-typed job, men were characterized as more ineffectual and afforded less respect than women successful at the same job or than men successful in a gender-consistent position. Women, in contrast, were more interpersonally derogated and disliked when said to be successful at a male gender-typed job. Regardless of these differing characterizations, both men and women successful in gender-inconsistent jobs were reported to be less preferable as bosses than their more normatively consistent counterparts. These results suggest that success, when it violates gender norms, can be disadvantageous for both men and women, but in different ways.