Discrimination,Internalized Homonegativity,and Attitudes Toward Children of Same‐Sex Parents: Can Secure Attachment Buffer Against Stigma Internalization?

With increasing numbers of same‐sex couples raising children in the United States, discriminatory attitudes toward children of same‐sex parents (ACSSP) are of increasing concern. As with other forms of stigma and discrimination, lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals are at risk for internalizing these societal attitudes, which can negatively affect parenting‐related decisions and behaviors and the mental and physical health of their children. Secure attachment is characterized by positive views of the self as loveable and worthy of care that are understood to develop in early relationships with caregivers. Secure attachment has been associated with positive mental and physical health, including among LGB individuals and couples. This study aimed to test the potential buffering role of secure attachment against stigma internalization by examining associations among secure attachment, discrimination, internalized homonegativity (IH), and ACSSP in an online survey study of 209 U.S. adults in same‐sex relationships. Bootstrap analyses supported our hypothesized moderated mediation model, with secure attachment being a buffer. Greater discrimination was indirectly associated with more negative ACSSP through greater IH for individuals with mean or lower levels, but not for individuals with higher than average levels of secure attachment, specifically because among those with higher levels of secure attachment, discrimination was not associated with IH. These findings build on and extend past research, with important implications for future research and clinical work with LGB individuals, same‐sex couples, and their families, including potential implementation of interventions targeting attachment security.     

Sex differences in historical knowledge and school grades: a 26 nation study

Sex differences among ninth grade school students in historical knowledge and grades were examined in 29 samples drawn from 26 countries. Boys obtained higher mean scores on the tests of historical knowledge in all samples, while girls obtained better grades in 22 of the samples.     

Auditory Stroop reveals implicit gender associations in adults and children

Gender provides a powerful social heuristic for structuring incoming information. Thus, it may be difficult to attend to aspects of a person’s sex without also activating irrelevant gender associations. In two experiments, an auditory Stroop revealed implicit gender associations. Participants categorized the sex of voices saying names and words stereotypically associated with male, female or neutral gender roles. Both adults and children were slower when the voice’s sex was stereotypically incongruent with the spoken word or name. Although both groups showed such interference, children—who are generally less flexible about gender roles—showed more interference in response to gender-stereotypical words (e.g., football) than names (e.g., Rachel), whereas adults showed the opposite pattern. Given the simplicity of this task, the auditory Stroop might be used both to tap into implicit gender associations and to investigate their development.     

Aggression: Appetite or aversion?—An ethologist's viewpoint

The term “aggression” has been used to describe practically all situations in which an organism threatens, damages, or kills another-with the exception of certain predator-prey relationships. As a result, a great deal of confusion and controversy has arisen as to the causal factors and functions of aggression. The main ethological hypotheses concerning the nature of aggression are put forward. In order to illustrate the divergence in causal factors and functions, differences in motivational, physiological, and ecological bases of aggression in two closely related fish species are described. A basic division of aggression into “self-defensive” and “property-protective” behavior is suggested, together with the parameters separating these categories on behavioral, causal, and functional bases. Mechanisms which enable motivational changes from one category to another to take place during a single encounter are discussed, these being pain stimuli and physical or psychological “cornering.” The importance of learning effects on fighting behavior are emphasized, especially their negative and positive reinforcing effects in relation to self and property defense. The biological significance of aggressive conditioning for the animal and the role of aggression in species maintenance are discussed.     

From steroids to nation states: An integrated evolutionary approach to violent crime

Most evolutionary psychologists emphasize the individual level of analysis concerning violent crime and other dependent variables. This paper outlines a strategy for evolutionary explanation of societal variation across time as well as space and applies it to crimes of violence. The central idea is that individual adaptations for reproductive competition play out differently depending both on developmental context and societal conditions, including the marriage market. Violent crimes (murders, rapes, and assaults) are substantially higher in countries with a relative scarcity of men according to research using INTERPOL and World Health Organization data [Barber, N. (2000a). The sex ratio as a predictor of cross-national variation in violent crime. Cross-Cultural Research, 34, 264–282, Barber, N. (2009). Countries with fewer males have more violent crime: Marriage markets and mating aggression. Aggressive Behavior, 35, 49–56]. This is an apparent contradiction given that males are more criminally violent and likely reflects increased direct mating competition that evokes increased testosterone production for humans as for other species. The empirical evidence is discussed in terms of direct reproductive competition and various alternative explanations, particularly the “culture of violence” and socialization experiences are considered.