The socialization of sex-differentiated skills and academic performance: A mediational model

Using a multifactorial model, sex differences in academic performance were examined in a sample of 347 elementary school children. As expected, girls' academic performance averaged higher than boys'. Path analysis confirmed initial hypotheses that girls' advantage is partially due to their characteristic of greater responsiveness to social cues and compliance with adult direction. This advantage was partially offset in this model by boys' greater visual-spatial skill, which also was a predictor of academic success. Access to stereotypic masculine toys and activities at home was, for both sexes, a predictor of children's visual-spatial ability. As expected, socioeconomic variables, including mothers' occupation and fathers' level of education, also influenced the environmental, social, and cognitive factors predicting academic success. These results indicate that boys' and girls' differential development of specific cognitive and social skills may play an important role in establishing sex differences in academic performance.     

Detection of change in nonstationary binary sequences

The present study was designed to investigate the ability of humans to detect changes in the underlying probability structure of binary sequences of events. Four Ss were presented with sequences of 30 events (zeros and ones) which had been generated by two underlying probability values. P₁ was the probability of a one in the first i events, P₂ was the probability of a one in the last 30-i events, and the distribution of i was uniform from 1 to 29. The Ss indicated, without feedback, where the transition point from P₁ to P₂ took place for four sets of problems in which P₁ and P₂ took on the following pairs of values: (.40, .60), (.20, .80), (.05, .60), and (.50, 1.00). Estimates by Ss were compared with true transition points, i, and with maximum likelihood estimates of i. The difference between P₁ and P₂ and the closeness of at least one P value to the boundaries, either zero or unity, interacted in determining the difficulty of the problem for Ss.     

Employee self-esteem: A review of the literature

Theories and empirical findings about self-esteem derived from the work role and its activities are reviewed. First, self-esteem is defined and problems inherent in its measurement are discussed. Theoretical perspectives relating self-esteem to the work role and activities are then outlined. Problems of a methodological nature, common to most of the evidence, are highlighted prior to reviewing the intrinsic and extrinsic job characteristics which influence self-esteem. The evidence pertaining to the moderating effects of chronic global self-esteem on such relationships is incorporated. The attitudinal and behavioral correlates of high employee self-esteem are then presented, followed by the influence of chronic self-esteem level on occupational choice. Suggestions are made for future research in line with the methodological and conceptual problems encountered.     

Self-esteem,self-perceived abilities,and vocational choice

This research tested the theory that self-esteem acts as a moderating variable in the occupational choice process. The theory was not supported when the relationships between self-esteem, self-perceived abilities and abilities perceived as required in occupations were examined. Rather, the data were consistent with the self-implementation theory of vocational choice. However, it was found that those with high self-esteem were more likely than those with low self-esteem to see themselves as possessing the abilities they saw as necessary in their chosen occupations.     

Semantic organization in the young child: Evidence for the development of semantic feature systems

In two experiments, 5-, 7-, 9-, and 11-year-old children and college students were presented on each trial with a sentence followed by a probe word. Their task was to indicate whether the probe was in the sentence or not. Of primary interest were the false recognitions and the correct latencies that occurred when the probe word was a synonym or antonym of one of the words in the sentence (Experiment I) or when the probe was a subordinate, superordinate, part, or whole (Experiment II). The younger children were more affected by synonymy than antonymy, although the older children and adults were not. At all ages, the categorical relationships caused more recognition confusion than the partwhole relationships. Subjects were more affected when the probe was a superordinate than when it was a subordinate, and somewhat more affected when the probe was the whole than when it was the part. These results suggest that children as young as 5 years of age have well-organized conceptual systems based on shared meaning components.     

Language and imitation in development

Noting the central role accorded imitation in the origins of symbolic functioning, language development, and identity formation, as well as its relationship to aspects of individuation, the authors have reviewed the problem of imitation from both cognitive developmental and psychoanalytic perspectives. They have specifically delineated piagetian views regarding the origins of imitation and traced its relationship to the emergence of language, while attempting to clarify various psychoanalytic formulations on this topic. This dual theoretical perspective is then reconsidered within the framework of the current empirical infancy literature. Pathological sequelae of imitation are also reviewed in relation to their impact upon ego formation and the process of socialization. Tracing a cognitive developmental line, the authors then discuss the relationship between imitation and the emergence of language; language is also considered as an important vehicle of communication which furthers and enhances ego development and object relations. The authors conclude with a partial integration of piagetian and psychoanalytic hypotheses regarding imitation and identity formation with the aim of stimulating further discussion on this topic.     

A comparison of stress-reduction behavioral counseling and contingent nocturnal EMG feedback for the treatment of bruxism

This study compared the efficacy of two treatment modalities (stress-reduction behavioral counseling and contingent nocturnal EMG biofeedback) on night-time bruxism. The 16 subjects (Ss) were assigned sequentially to one of four treatment groups: (1) stress-reduction behavioral counseling: (2) nocturnal biofeedback; (3) stress-reduction behavioral counseling and nocturnal biofeedback; and (4) waiting-list control group. A portable EMG unit was used to record the nightly total of electrical activity (?20 μV) from the masseter muscle 10 days before and after treatment. The three treatment procedures were found to be significantly superior to no-treatment control group. The outcome of the two treatments which made use of stress-reduction behavioral counseling, although better than the treatment which solely used nocturnal biofeedback, was not significantly better. This study demonstrates that stress-reduction skills learned while awake can have a generalized effect on stress-induced muscle activity during sleep. Implications for further research are discussed.     

Violent groups

This article reviews relevant empirical studies and theoretical formulations in an effort to gain insight into the many violenceprone groups that have come to public attention in recent years. Research findings show group members tend to score high on variables like anger at family members and overcontrolled hostility, often are in developmental transition at the time they join the groups, and gain relief from significant emotional distress through group membership. Leader characteristics, group norm forming and group control processes particular to these kinds of groups are also described in an effort to develop further understanding.Parts of this paper were presented in New York City at a September 1979 symposium on forensic psychology and psychiatry sponsored by the New York Academy of Science.