Athletic self-concept and mathematics achievement in girls

Several researchers have suggested that girls' mathematics performance may be mediated by an assertive sex role or "masculine interest." The present study made the assumption that girls' athletic self-confidence reflects "masculine interest" so girls' test scores for perceived athletic competence would be related to their mathematics achievement scores. A total of 207 boys and girls in Grades 4, 5, and 6 were tested for their perceived athletic ability using the Athletic Competence subscale of Harter's 1985 Self-perception Profile, and these scores were correlated with their mathematics achievement as measured on the Metropolitan Achievement Test and term grades. A low but significant correlation with Athletic Competence scores was found for girls on both measures of mathematics achievement. Although boys scored higher on the Athletic Competence subscale, there were no sex differences on either measure of mathematics achievement. Results are discussed in terms of both sex-role theory and cognitive development.     

The analysis of one-way between effects in fluency research

In fluency research, the potential for extreme variance heterogeneity exists when comparing stutterers to other disordered or control populations. There is now a growing concern on the part of statisticians that the F statistic is not nearly so robust to violations of the homogeneity of variance assumption as was once thought. Together, these two circumstances represent potential for compromise on the statistical conclusion validity of fluency research. In this first of two papers, alternatives to the usual analysis of variance are described for the research design involving a single between effect. A second paper will be a similar treatment of the two-way between effects design.     

The lateralization of language comprehension using event-related potentials

Event-Related Potentials were recorded over occipital and parietal scalp from left- and right-handed adults presented with a language and a non-language visual stimulus using a divided field, "oddball" paradigm. The major finding of interest was that the P300 component was larger over the left than the right hemisphere of the right-handers when the language stimulus was presented to the left hemisphere; there were no hemispheric differences for the left-handers, regardless of field of presentation. These results are discussed in the context of developing noninvasive measures to lateralize language function.     

Adolescents' attitudes toward confidentiality between the school counsellor and the adolescent client

It is increasingly acknowledged that confidentiality is relative rather than absolute in any counselling relationship. This is particularly the case for minors receiving counselling at school, where third parties such as parents and teachers frequently have access to information about an adolescent client. The Australian Psychological Society's Code of Professional Conduct (1986) states that minors are unable to provide voluntary, informed consent in consulting relationships, although current research does not necessarily support this view. The current study investigated adolescents' attitudes to confidentiality in situations that may commonly arise in school counselling. The study also investigated the third parties to whom adolescents believed information should be disclosed by a counsellor. Respondents were 303 male and 254 female students attending three single-sex nongovernment schools. Ages ranged from 13 to 18 years. Results suggested that the adolescents' attitudes to confidentiality generally corresponded with adult views. Many adolescents wanted more autonomy regarding disclosure of information obtained in a counselling situation than the APS code provides. Parents were the only third party to whom the adolescents generally believed disclosure should be made. There were few age differences, but a wide range of opinions were evident, with female adolescents consistently more strongly in favor of confidentiality than males.     

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.     

Vibrotactile pattern discrimination and communality at several body sites

In a series of experiments, the effects of spatial layout on vibrotactile pattern perception were explored by testing the ability to discriminate between two sequentially presented patterns that share active elements in the same spatial locations. Two-dimensional displays were used in order to examine the functional relationship between discrimination performance and patterncommunality, defined as the sharing elements, on different body sites. Accuracy of discrimination judgments was inversely proportional to communality, regardless of the number of pattern elements. For compact arrays fitted to the finger, palm, and thigh, the effects of communality appeared equivalent. The similarity between finger and thigh functions is remarkable, considering the dramatic differences between these sites in receptor components and structure. When these data were compared with those from arrays with distributed contactors, performance was substantially better with well-separated pattern elements. Such findings help to explicate how information from apposed patterns can best be delivered to the skin through tactile communication systems.     

Effects of surface texture on weight perception when lifting objects with a precision grip

In this paper, we show that, when lifting an object using a precision grip with the distal pads of the thumb and index finger at its sides, the perceived weight depends on the object’s surface texture. The smoother the surface texture, the greater the perceived weight. We suggest that a smoother object is judged to be heavier because the grip force, normal to the surface, required to prevent it from slipping is greater. The possibility of there being an influence of surface texture per se is excluded by a second experiment that employed a variant of the precision grip in which the thumb supports the weight of the object from underneath. With the grip oriented in this way, there is no need to match grip force to surface texture and, under these conditions, there is no effect of surface texture on weight perception. In the first two experiments, the test and comparison weights were lifted successively by the same hand. In a third experiment, the effect of surface texture was replicated for sequential lifts made with separate hands. Thus, the effect is not restricted to comparisons made with the same hand.     

Dispositionai Optimism as a Protective Factor in Resisting HIV Exposure in Sexually Active Inner-City Minority Adolescents1

Recent investigations have explored dispositional optimism as a determinant of various health-related behaviors, though such research has been infrequently conducted in populations where pessimism would be expected to be prevalent. The present study examines optimism and unsafe sexual behavior in 230 sexually active inner-city minority adolescents. Findings suggest that dispositional optimism is a protective factor regarding adolescents' intentions to avoid engaging in unsafe sex. Further, the benefits of optimism appear to be explained by those who are more optimistic having higher levels of perceived condom use self-efficacy and stronger negative expectancies toward unsafe sex. Future interventions may need to address optimism in concert with behavioral-specific determinants to increase the probability of reducing unsafe sexual behavior in high-risk populations.