Sex, competitiveness, and intimacy in same-sex friendship in Hong Kong adolescents

One of the alleged reasons that males report lower intimacy in same-sex friendships than females is that males tend to be more competitive than females, but this assumption has not been empirically tested. In the current study, 121 Hong Kong adolescents filled out Chinese versions of the Intimate Friendship Scale and the Competitiveness Index. As predicted, females reported having more intimate same-sex relationships than males, and they scored lower on competitiveness than males. However, the correlations between scores on the Competitiveness Index and the Intimate Friendship subscales were small and nonsignificant, suggesting that the sex difference in intimacy was not a function of competitiveness.     

Manual laterality and hitting performance in major league baseball.

Asymmetrical hand function was examined in the context of expert sports performance: hitting in professional baseball. An archival study was conducted to examine the batting performance of all Major League Baseball players from 1871 to 1992, focusing on those who batted left (n = 1,059) to neutralize the game asymmetry. Among them, left-handers (n = 421) were more likely to hit with power and to strike out than right-handers (n = 638). One possible account, based on the idea of hand dominance and an analogy to tennis, is that batting left involves a double-handed forehand for left-handers and a weaker and more reliable double-handed backhand for right-handers. The results are also interpretable in the light of Y. Guiard's (1987) kinematic chain model of a between-hands asymmetrical division of labor, which provides a detailed account of why left batting is optimal for left-handers.     

Verbal and spatial short-term memory: common sources of developmental change?

Verbal and spatial span, articulation and tapping rate, and verbal and spatial speed-of-search tasks were administered to sixty 6- to 12-year-olds. A variance-partitioning procedure was then used to identify age-related and age-invariant components of variance in span. Outcomes were very similar for verbal and spatial span, in particular, (i) most of the age-related variance was shared by the speed-of-search and rate predictors, (ii) articulation rate provided an age-independent contribution, (iii) changing-state versions of predictor tasks did not account for variance over steady-state versions, and (iv) predictors of the same modality as the span task did not outperform predictors of the other modality. We conclude that verbal and spatial short-term memory appear to rely on similar processes when serial recall is required and that developments in span are closely tied to increases in processing speed.     

"I" Value Freedom, But "We" Value Relationships: Self-Construal Priming Mirrors Cultural Differences in Judgment

The distinction between relatively independent versus interdependent self-construals has been strongly associated with several important cultural differences in social behavior. The current studies examined the causal role of self-construal by investigating whether priming independent or interdependent self-construals within a culture could result in differences in psychological worldview that mirror those traditionally found between cultures. In Experiment 1, European-American participants primed with interdependence displayed shifts toward more collectivist social values and judgments that were mediated by corresponding shifts in self-construal. In Experiment 2, this effect was extended by priming students from the United States and Hong Kong with primes that were consistent and inconsistent with their predominant cultural worldview. Students who received the inconsistent primes were more strongly affected than those who received the consistent primes, and thus shifted self-construal, and corresponding values, to a greater degree.     

Self and body esteem perception in multiple sclerosis

Self esteem and body esteem were examined in a group of 35 relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) patients using the Body Esteem Scale (BES) and the Eysenck Self Esteem Scale (ESES) and compared to age and sex matched normal controls. There were 23 females and 12 males in the MS patient's group; average age 38.9 years (range: 22-52). All participants completed the self-rated BES evaluating the following subscales: females - sexual attractiveness, physical condition and weight concern; males - physical attractiveness, physical condition and upper body strength. In addition all participants were scored, following a semi-structured interview, on the ESES. Psychiatric co-morbidity was excluded using a semi-structured interview by the consulting psychiatrist. All evaluations were carried out during the remitting phase. Statistical analysis, comparing patients to healthy controls, demonstrated lowered self-rating of the physical condition (males < 0.05, females < 0.001). On the other hand, no significant differences were found in the physical (male) or sexual (female)?attractiveness subscales. The mean ESES score in the patients group was 23.2 ± 4.0, slightly above the reported average. The controls mean ESES was 28.4 ± 3.6, (P < 0.05). No correlation was found between self and body esteem amongst M.S. patients. This study emphasizes impaired perception of body esteem in multiple sclerosis patients even in remission. The preservation of physical and sexual attractiveness may be related to the non-disfiguring nature of the disease. Preservation of self-esteem in MS patients suggests that body-esteem should be the focus of supportive treatment.     

Odogenic change of blood coagulation in humans.

The blood coagulation time as an integral sign of human homeostasis is revealed to be influenced by conscious or unconscious olfactory stimuli through autonomic mechanisms. The hemostasis of subjects with predominance of sympathetic activity is more sensitive to the olfactory stimuli than that of subjects with vagal prevalence. The effects of the olfactory stimuli upon hemostasis in humans support the viewpoint that simultaneous information and physico-chemical processes act together in parallel to play and important role in life activities of human organism (Simonov, 1981; Sudakov, 1995). Emotions, therefore, are essential in the transfer of information from the environment (Anokhin, 1966; Miltner et al., 1994). It is not excluded that even very weak stimuli which are subthreshold for conscious perception might be informational for the organism as those engaging emotional response.     

Perfectionism, perceived weight status, and self-esteem interact to predict bulimic symptoms: a model of bulimic symptom development

An interactive model of perfectionism, perceived weight status, and self-esteem was tested on 342 female undergraduates to predict bulimic symptoms. Using a longitudinal design, the authors tested the model on data collected at 2 points: the spring of participants' senior year of high school and during participants' first year of college. The authors hypothesized and found that self-esteem moderates the interaction between perfectionism and perceived weight status in predicting bulimic symptoms. Women who are high in perfectionism and who consider themselves overweight exhibit bulimic symptoms only if they have low self-esteem (i.e., if they doubt they can attain their high body standards). High self-esteem women with the same diathesis-stress conditions are less likely to exhibit bulimic symptoms. These findings clarify the role of perfectionism in bulimic symptomatology.     

Time perspective of female prisoners related to success in a training program.

This study compared scores on future time perspective of 50 female prison inmates who were participating in a vocational training program within the Julia Tutwiler Prison. There was no control group. Zimbardo's measure of future time perspective, administered a year earlier, was associated with success or failure in the program. Associations of future time perspectives with education, age, and ethnicity were investigated. An analysis of covariance between the 21 graduates and 16 dropouts while controlling for education was significant. Despite the incomplete design, some implications are of interest.     

Effects of Minority Stress on Group Identification and Collective Action among Sexual Minorities: A Longitudinal Test of the Rejection-Identification Model

Minority stress remains pervasive in various aspects of life among sexual minorities. Driven by the awareness of social injustice, some sexual minority individuals may undertake collective action to counteract discrimination, but this does not apply to all members of sexual minorities. The present study used a prospective, longitudinal research design to examine how different dimensions of minority stress (i.e., perceived discrimination and internalized stigma) interact to affect group identification and collective action. A total of 628 sexual minority individuals in Hong Kong were involved in the study. The results showed that prior discriminatory experiences were positively associated with collective action at follow-up through increased levels of group identification and commitment to social justice. The moderating effect of internalized stigma was found in which perceived discrimination was not significantly related to group identification and collective action among those with high levels of internalized stigma. The study extends the literature on the rejection-identification model by understanding collective action as a form of group-level coping in the face of discrimination. It highlights the importance of fostering group identification, strengthening collective action, and mitigating internalized stigma among sexual minorities in psychological practice.