Gender bias in clinical judgment: An assessment of the analogue method's transparency and social desirability

The main purpose of this research was to determine whether clinicians discern the intent of an analogue study of gender bias in clinical judgment and, if so, whether they respond in a socially desirable manner. A total of 147 psychologists responded to a national mail survey in which they were instructed to make clinical ratings of a case summary describing either a female or male client. In one condition (the Social Desirability condition), clinicians were informed of the study's intent and instructed to respond in a socially desirable fashion. In another condition (the No Social Desirability condition), the study's intent was not revealed and clinicians were asked to guess the study's hypothesis following their ratings. Results indicate that only 10 of 100 clinicians reported having deduced the purpose of the study. The small number of guessers prohibited examination of whether guessing the intent leads to socially desirable responses. Results provide no evidence that either therapist or client gender influenced clinical judgment. Implications for evaluating experimental findings which fail to support gender bias in clinical judgment are discussed.This research was supported in part by a Biomedical Research Grant awarded to the first author when he was a faculty member at the University of Southern California. Thanks are due to Bernie Weiner and Rena Repetti for their comments on early drafts.     

Metrical information load of lines and angles in line patterns

Summary Acute angles and long lines are more complex than obtuse angels and short lines. This source of complexity is called metrical information, for which a measure was proposed by Leeuwenberg (1982). According to this measure, the metrical information of a static pattern is specified as the sum of the mechanical impulses necessary to move an object according to this pattern. The perceptual relevance of this metrical load was tested in an experiment in which judged complexities were gathered for a number of simple line patterns.     

Perception of sweetness and bitterness in different vehicles

In the present study, we investigated taste-taste, taste-vehicle, and simultaneous taste-vehicle-taste mixtures. Subjects made estimates of the sweetness and bitterness of 27 stimuli. Sucrose (292, 585, and 1170 mM), caffeine (13, 26, and 52 mM), and binary mixtures of low (292-13 mM), middle (585-26 mM), and high (1170-52 mM) levels of both components were dispersed in water, carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) 1% w/v, and gelatin 6% w/v. The sweetness and bitterness of the sucrose-vehicle-caffeine combinations were significantly weaker than the respective sucrose-vehicle and caffeine-vehicle combinations. The emerged mutual suppressive effects were asymmetrical and persisted when both tastants were presented in CMC and gelatin. Moreover, the increase in vehicle consistency and the simultaneous addition of another taste reduced the perceived intensity of a taste either presented alone or dissolved in water. For both sweetness and bitterness, the total taste suppression observed was always significant.     

Turbo Pascal timing routines for the IBM microcomputer family

Two Turbo Pascal (versions 3.0 and 4.0) software timers for the IBM microcomputer family are described: one with a 55-msec resolution and another with a 1-msec resolution. Both can be implemented without additional hardware requirements. The 55-msec timer makes use of the system-time-of-day clock; the 1-msec timer is a Turbo Pascal translation of the timer described by Bührer, Sparrer, and Weitkunat (1987). The logic of each timer is shown by a short demonstration program.     

Sex differences and bilateral electrodermal activity

The present study was aimed at replicating the results of a previous work on sex differences and electrodermal asymmetry from our laboratory (Román,et al. 1987). Skin conductance was bilaterally recorded in a sample of 44 dextral volunteers (22 males and 22 females) during a stimulus-free period, and the performance of two tasks (verbal and spatial). Subjects were grouped into two groups of right-hand and left-hand dominance in their electrodermal responses (EDRs) in accordance with their laterality coefficient scores at rest. During the tasks subjects appeareed clearly differentiated by their lateralization in the magnitude and frequency of EDRs independently of gender: right-hand responders showed higher electrodermal activity on their right hand, while left-hand responders showed higher electrodermal activity on their left hand. Sex differences were not observed within each responsiveness pattern. The orientation of phasic electrodermal changes remained constant throughout the different conditions.     

A gestural repertoire of 1- to 2-year-old human children: in search of the ape gestures

Animal Cognition - When we compare human gestures to those of other apes, it looks at first like there is nothing much to compare at all. In adult humans, gestures are thought to be a window into...     

Testing the Work Environment Hypothesis of Bullying on a Group Level of Analysis: Psychosocial Factors as Precursors of Observed Workplace Bullying

The present paper scrutinises the work environment hypothesis of bullying by examining relationships between psychosocial factors at work and bullying within departments on a group level of analysis, as compared to the many studies executed on an individual level of analysis. Relationships between quantitative demands, job control, role demands, leadership behaviour and social climate, and observed bullying were studied in a convenience sample consisting of 276 departments with a total of 4,064 respondents. Between‐group bivariate correlations showed relatively strong relationships (r > .52) between the predictors social climate, leadership behaviour, and role demands, respectively, and observed bullying in the department. A two‐factor higher‐level model was formulated for the independent variables yielding two latent factors reflecting an interpersonal domain and a task‐oriented domain, where the former was strongly associated with observed bullying at a group level of analysis (Beta =?.73), while the last factor yielded an insignificant contribution. The results confirm that a poor social work environment exists within departments in which bullying takes place, hence, yielding further support to the work environment hypothesis. In line with the present results, future studies on workplace bullying should include a group level of analysis.