Gender and Hedging: From Sex Differences to Situated Practice

In a reanalysis of women's language, Holmes (1995) has argued that women's use of hedges expresses interpersonal warmth and not, as many researchers have maintained, linguistic tentativeness. It is typically men, she suggests, who employ hedges to convey imprecision and incertitude. In this study, we investigated the use of the hedges sort of and you know in a sample of South African students. Holmes's method of analysis was applied to hedging behavior in 52 dyadic conversations. The study consisted of a 2 (Speaker Gender: Male/Female) × 2 (Audience Gender: Male/Female) × 2 (Condition: Competitive/Noncompetitive) between-subjects experimental design. The results showed that contextual influences eclipsed the effects of gender; in fact, no main effects were found for speaker gender. Fewer hedges were deployed in the competitive condition than in the noncompetitive condition. Moreover, perhaps reflecting differences in social status, both sexes used sort of to express tentativeness more frequently when talking to male addressees. When speaking to female addressees, on the other hand, men deployed facilitative you know hedges more readily than women.     

THE ACCULTURATION OF AUTONOMY EXPECTATIONS IN CHINESE HIGH SCHOOLERS RESIDING IN TWO WESTERN NATIONS•

In two studies, conducted in the United States and Australia, first- and second-generation high schoolers of Chinese descent, together with adolescents from the host culture (Euro-Americans and Anglo-Australians) and from Hong Kong were asked about their age expectations for behavioral autonomy. ANOVAS of 19 items and the total Teen Timetable score revealed that in both countries acculturation was very gradual. On many items second generation Chinese students were more like their Hong Kong than their Western counterparts. Rate of acculturation varied with domain, with age expectations for heterosexual interactions showing the least influence of the host culture. Discriminant analyses revealed that using all 19 items, the groups of subjects could be placed in their cultural/generational groups significantly better than by chance. Results were interpreted in terms of cultural beliefs and special factors faced by immigrant families.     

Differences Between Rape Victims Who Report and Those Who Do Not Report to a Public Agency1

The purpose of this study was to identify the variables that predict whether or not a rape victim will report to either a social service agency and/or the police. One hundred seventy-nine female rape victims who either reported or did not report completed a questionnaire that assessed (1) perceived outcomes of reporting a rape, (2) social expectations to report or not report, (3) individual characteristics of the victim, and (4) situational characteristics of the rape. Perceived outcomes, social expectations, and certain situational characteristics effectively predicted reporting behavior. Theoretical explanations for the findings and implications for increasing the likelihood that victims will report are discussed.     

The transition from expectancy to parenthood: Impact of the firstborn child on men and women

In this short-term longitudinal study, 31 middle-class primigravidae and their husbands were seen once during the last trimester of pregnancy and again when their infants were 6 months old. At both times, a common core of self-assessment instruments was administered: mood scales, social change ratings, anticipation/experience of parenthood, and a modified Bem satisfaction scale. Some additional items were given at parenthood. For both men and women, expectancy was marked by optimism and contentment, despite some emotional and physical strain. Similarly, as parents of an infant, subjects rated the experience as highly positive. However, the transition to parenthood involved major role upheaval with both more positive and more negative changes reported by women than men. Despite these changes, women displayed considerable stability in mood and self-satisfaction over time and situation. In contrast, measures of the anticipation and self-reported experience of parenthood revealed no consistency for women; the types of mothers they turned out to be were unrelated to their expectations. Men successfully predicted their parenting behavior on more than half of the dimensions measured. The results were discussed in terms of the stresses inherent in role changes encountered during transitions from one stage of life to the next.This research was supported by funds from the Boystown Center for the Study of Youth Development at Stanford University. Special thanks to Barbara Aschenbrenner for her assistance in all phases of the research.     

Table of criterion values (β) used in signal detection theory

A table of criterion values for use with the theory of signal detection (TSD) is presented. Criterion values (β) are presented for varying proportions of hits and false alarms. A brief explanation of signal detection theory is given, and the measures for sensory sensitivity (d′) and response criterion (β) are described.     

The effects of spatial,temporal, and control variables on the free-recall serial position curve of retardates and equal-MA normals

Memory & Cognition - In Experiment I seven pictures were sequentially illuminated at a 3-see rate through seven translucent windows. A different window provided the starting point for each of...     

The influence of shape on apparent area: a new demonstration.

It has long been recognised that the apparent area of a form is influenced by its shape, and it has generally been accepted that when a more compact and a more diverse form of the same physical area are compared, the more compact is judged smaller. Experiments are reported which demonstrate that when the apparent area of an isosceles triangle is bisected, the reverse of this principle holds. It is shown that when the apparent areas of a triangle and trapezium are being compared the relative location of the forms being judged determines the direction of the error typically found. Three theories of apparent area are discussed, and reasons for rejecting them put forward. It is concluded that no adequate theory has yet been proposed.