Ethnic and Gender Variations in the Sources of Information Used to Evaluate Performance in the Exercise Setting1

The purpose of this study was to identify ethnic and gender differences in the types of information Anglo and Hispanic exercisers use in self-evaluation. University students in exercise classes rated the importance of norm-referenced and self-referenced sources used in self-evaluation of performance. Results showed that males rated norm-referenced sources as more important to self-evaluation, while females rated self-referenced sources as most important. A gender by ethnicity interaction showed that Anglos, especially Anglo males, preferred norm-referenced sources, while Hispanics preferred self-referenced sources. Provided with this information, instructors could more effectively motivate exercise participants.     

The Contributions of Appearance to Occupational Outcomes in Civilian and Military Settings1

Two archival studies examined the impact of people's appearance on the status and type of civilian and military jobs they hold. Study 1 found that, although appearance was not related to job status, taller men had higher incomes. Additionally, appearance was significantly related to the type of jobs people held. Attractive women and tall men held jobs requiring traits more consistent with the attractiveness halo, while babyfaced women and short men held jobs more consistent with the babyface stereotype. These effects remained after controlling for job-relevant personality and educational variables, suggesting an unjustified bias toward people with certain appearances. Study 2 found that heavier men had lower job status, as reflected in military rank attainment. However, this relationship was eliminated when controlling for intelligence and dependability. Also, babyfaced men achieved higher status through being marginally more likely to win a military award. This unexpected effect was attributed to the contrast between heroic actions and the babyface stereotype. Finally, appearance affected the type of military experience men had. Heavier men were more likely to be in situations involving gunfire or casualties. These studies make an important contribution by extending laboratory findings to the real world, exploring the effects of appearance on job type as well as status, and providing evidence that appearance effects are not solely due to covariation with bona fide job qualifications.     

Determinants of Condom Use Among High-Risk Heterosexual Adults: A Test of the Theory of Reasoned Action1

The research presents tests of traditional and augmented versions of Fishbein and Ajzen's Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), applied to condom use among adult clients of a sexually transmitted disease clinic. In a longitudinal survey, predictor variables suggested by Ajzen and Fishbein (1980), plus gender and condom use self-efficacy, were measured at Time 1. Condom use at Time 2, 3 months later, was regressed onto these variables. The traditional TRA worked well to predict condom use intentions and behavior. Support was also found for inclusion of gender and self-efficacy in the prediction of intention to use condoms, but not behavior. Implications for interventions to increase condom use among those at high risk for AIDS and other STDs are discussed.     

The relationship of spiritual maturity to level of object relations development and God image

Several theoretical studies have suggested that spiritual maturity parallels psychological maturity from an object relations perspective in that both involve a relationality that is characterized by mature dependence (Shackelford, 1978; Pingleton, 1984). In addition, previous research has suggested that there is a positive relationship between level of object relations development and God image (Rizzuto, 1979; McDargh, 1983, 1986; Birky & Ball, 1988; Brokaw, 1991). In light of this, the present study theoretically and empirically explored the notion that both level of object relations development and God image are positively correlated with spiritual maturity. The results suggest initial support for the present hypotheses. Theoretical as well as clinical implications of the results are discussed.This paper was presented at the 1994 American Psychological Association Annual Meeting, Los Angeles, CA.     

Public knowledge,attitudes, and beliefs about homeless people: Evidence for compassion fatigue?

Media reports suggest that the public is becoming impatient with the homeless—that so-called “compassion fatigue” has gripped the nation. This characterization of public sentiment could have important policy consequences—restrictive measures can be justified by growing public impatience, and progressive housing policies seem infeasible within a hostile climate of opinion. But evidence to support the compassion fatigue notion is anecdotal. We examine the issue by tracking the results of public opinion polls and by reporting detailed evidence from a nationwide random-digit dial telephone survey (N=1,507) concerning knowledge attitudes and beliefs about homeless people. To be sure, the public sees homelessness as an undesirable social problem and wants something done about it. However, although the homeless are clearly stigmatized, there is little evidence to suggest that the public has lost compassion and is unwilling to support policies to help homeless people.     

Individual differences and cheating behavior: Guilt and cheating in competitive situations

To examine whether guilt would inhibit immoral behavior, subjects were differentiated on their feelings of anticipatory (AG) and posttransgressional (PTG) guilt and subsequently placed in an anagram task shown to induce a high level of cheating. Results indicated that neither pre- nor post-test AG was related to cheating behavior, and test-retest administration indicated that the AG scale was unreliable. The PTG scale, however, was found to be a temporally reliable measure of guilt. In order to assess the relative contributions of pre-test posttransgressional guilt, the ability to persist, and gender to cheating behavior, a saturated multiple regression model of centered predictor effects and interaction terms was constructed. Results revealed a significant gender × persistence interaction. The cheating behavior of males was not significantly influenced by the ability to persist. On the other hand, females who exhibited a strong ability to persist rarely cheated, while those who were unable to persist cheated a great deal. Finally, subjects who felt the most posttransgressional guilt cheated more frequently. These findings provide additional evidence that guilt may be positively related to cheating behavior.     

The double bind of caregiving: Representation of gendered emotion in American advice literature

Parent advice books written for the traditional, intact biological family represent maternal and paternal emotion quite differently from one another [S. A. Shields and B. A. Koster (1989) Emotional Stereotyping of Parents in Child-Rearing Manuals, Social Psychology Quarterly, Vol. 52, pp. 44–55]. This study examined gender-specific references to emotion in advice books directed to adoptive parents, step-parents, single parents, and married couples in order to determine the relationship between beliefs about women's and men's emotional natures and beliefs about caregiving. The gendered representation of caregivers' emotion is remarkably consistent across time, parenting genre, and author characteristics. Books directed to parents portray women as at risk for excessive emotions (both positive and negative) that have negative developmental impact on the child. In contrast, men are largely encouraged to be emotionally expressive, and when they are cautioned about their emotional display, the caution is restricted to negative emotions that are elicited by external emotional hazards: the children, the spouse (or ex-spouse), or the situation. In contrast, marriage manuals portray spouses as mutually responsible for their own and their spouse's emotional well-being. Husbands and wives are encouraged to express unlimited positive emotion and to engage in moderated ventilation of negative emotion. In our discussion of these results we consider the role of emotion representation in promoting a culture of mother blaming.We are indebted to Diane Early, Diane Hayashino, Nancy Kohn, and Sonja Jensen for their assistance in collecting and interpreting the data. This research was supported by University of California, Davis, Faculty Research Grants to S. Shields.     

“My big sister the town supervisor”: Family leadership training is not just for boys

This study investigates gender similarity in the effects of birth order upon political leadership. Town supervisors were the leaders studied as there are a considerable number of women who attain this level of leadership. Questionnaires about birth order and family size were gained from 66 women who were town supervisors in New York State in 1992, and compared to a randomly selected sample of 57 male town supervisors. It was found that women as well as men town supervisors were more likely to have been first born in their families. However, whereas gender does not apparently influence the relevance of birth order for leadership, it clearly does exert an influence on the level of political leadership attained. Women town supervisors gained their positions in towns that were considerably smaller than the towns led by the male supervisors. Discussion concerned the nature of family experiences that contribute to leadership training, including those that may be different for girls and boys. Further research is needed to clarify barriers to female assertion of political leadership at more senior levels, because as this study shows, female leadership is being trained in families.     

A Process and Outcome Study Examining Career Indecision and Indecisiveness

Despite the abundance of research on undecided and indecisive students, there is a lack of literature on the actual change process of counseling these individuals. No published studies have applied advances in single-subject methodology to career research. This study uses both process and outcome measures to investigate the counseling process with an undecided and indecisive college student to examine (a) what specific events were the most significant in each session, (b) counselor intentions in the “best” versus “worst” sessions, (c) role of the working alliance with career clients, and (d) differential counseling outcomes. Participants were two female counselors, one male undecided student, and one male indecisive student. Results (a) support previous speculation about the differential utility of interventions for undecided and indecisive clients, (b) suggest that the relationship may be important to clients in career counseling, and (c) raise questions about previously assumed intervention strategies for career clients.     

Telling stories: metaphors of the Human Genome Project

Scientists of the Human Genome Project tend to rely on three metaphors to describe their work, each of which implicitly tells much the same story. Whether they claim to interpret the ultimate “book,” to fix a flawed “machine,” or to map a mysterious “wilderness,” they invariably cast the researcher as one who dominates and exploits the Other. This essay, which explores the ways such a story conflicts with feminist values, proposes an alternative.