Sex differences in math performance: The role of children's approach to schoolwork

This research examined whether the tendency for girls to outperform boys in the classroom is due to differences in how girls and boys approach schoolwork. In 5th grade and then again in 7th grade, children (N=518) reported on how they approach schoolwork (i.e., achievement goals and classroom behavior), their learning strategies, and their self-efficacy in math; math grades and achievement test scores were also collected. Girls were more likely than boys to hold mastery over performance goals and to refrain from disruptive classroom behavior, which predicted girls' greater effortful learning over time. The sex difference in learning strategies accounted for girls' edge over boys in terms of grades. Girls did not do better on achievement tests, possibly because self-efficacy, for which there was also no sex difference, was the central predictor of performance on achievement tests.     

Social transmission of flavor preferences in two species of hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus and Phodopus campbelli)

Golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) and dwarf hamsters (Phodopus campbelli) interacted with a conspecific demonstrator that had recently consumed a flavored food. When given a choice between their demonstrator's flavor and another flavor, the dwarf hamsters preferred the flavor their demonstrator had eaten. Golden hamsters did not prefer their demonstrators' diets when the demonstrators were unrelated adults or littermates, but they did when the demonstrator was their mother. Videotaping the interactions between demonstrators and observers revealed that adult golden hamsters did not investigate foods hoarded by their demonstrators whereas dwarf hamsters did. These results are interpreted in terms of the stimuli that activate feeding behavior systems in these 2 hamster species.     

Written on the body: Deliberate self-harm as communication

The inability to manage distress would be problematic at any time; but it is especially problematic when distress is accompanied by (or made up of) feelings of rage, cruelty and self-hatred. I will argue here that people who self-harm are communicating rage and hostility to themselves and others in ways that often leave them frustrated and hopeless; and leave professional carers aghast. I will conclude with some ideas about psychological therapies that may help such people; drawing very much upon the work of colleagues in the forensic psychotherapy field: especially Anne Aiyegbusi (2004 Aiyegbusi, A. 2004. “Forensic mental health nursing: Care with security in mind”. In A matter of security: The application of attachment theory to forensic psychiatry and psychotherapy, Edited by: Pfafflin, F. and Adshead, G. 167–192. London: Jessica Kingsley.  [Google Scholar]), Anna Motz (2008 Motz, A. 2008. The psychology of female violence: Crimes against the body, 2nd edn, Hove: Brunner Routledge.  [Google Scholar], 2009 Motz, A. 2009. Managing self harm: Psychological perspectives, London: Routledge.  [Google Scholar]) and Estela Welldon (1992).     

That community becomes you? An examination of community differences in self-objectification and related variables

The authors surveyed women from 2 communities: Anchorage, Alaska (N =51), an urban area, and Haines, Alaska (N=41), an isolated rural community. Participants from Haines scored lower on measures of self-objectification, internalization of sociocultural attitudes toward appearance, participation in beauty enhancement behaviors, and perceived normative beauty enhancement behaviors. Women from Haines also engaged in more empowering exercise (i.e., yoga and outdoor exercise). Internalization of sociocultural attitudes toward appearance mediated the relation between perceived normative beauty enhancement behaviors and self-objectification for women living in both communities. The current study suggests that communities may present opportunities to engage in activities that influence one's predisposition to self-objectify. The nonexperimental nature of this study, however, prevents the definitive establishment of the direction of causality between variables.     

Comparison of barriers self-efficacy and perceived behavioral control for explaining physical activity across 1 year among adolescent girls.

The absence of longitudinal data about correlates of physical activity during adolescence has hindered the identification of key mediator variables that can be targeted by interventions. Building on the authors' previous report of a cross-sectional analysis, this study compared barriers self-efficacy and perceived behavioral control as predictors of change in 2 levels of physical activity across a 1-year period among a sample of Black and White adolescent girls (N=1,038). Self-efficacy did not predict change in either moderate or vigorous physical activity. In contrast, perceived behavioral control exhibited a longitudinal, independent relationship with change in vigorous physical activity. The authors concluded that perceived behavioral control is an independent predictor of change in vigorous physical activity levels across a 1-year period among a sample of Black and White adolescent girls and warrants study as a potential mediator variable in interventions designed to increase or maintain physical activity.     

Putting Communication into the Study of Group Memory

In the spirit of viewing human memory as a social process, Pavitt (2003) revisited the idea of group memory—recollection of information that occurs collaboratively in groups. This paper outlines and supports Pavitt's 5 major points about group remembering: (a) groups outperform individuals, (b) communication allows the group to know all knowledge of its members, (c) groups do not perform as well as a rational model predicts, (d) process losses increase as group size increases, and (e) group interaction does not guarantee optimal performance. The research on which these conclusions are based examines group memory in a simple input‐output function. Communication scholars may extend the group memory literature by studying the structure and content of discussion during collective remembering.