Sex differences in the effects of visual contact and eye contact in negotiations

Previous research has proposed that the ability to see others would benefit negotiations. We argue that this view is too narrow and that the impact of visual contact on negotiated agreements depends on the meaning individuals ascribe to either its presence or absence. Based on previous research showing that females are more likely to understand others in the presence of visual contact while males understand others better in the absence of visual contact, we explore how visual contact, eye contact, and sex affect the quality of negotiated agreements in a meta-analysis (Study 1) and a laboratory experiment (Study 2). The two studies combined show that because direct communication via the face facilitates a shared understanding for two unacquainted females, their agreements are of higher quality when they have visual contact compared to when they do not (Study 1), and if they have visual contact, their agreements are better when they have eye contact than when they do not (Study 2). Because communication via the face increases discomfort between two unacquainted males, their agreements are of higher quality when they do not have visual contact (Study 1), and if they do have visual contact, their agreements are better when they have no eye contact than when they do (Study 2).     

Comprehension of argument structure and semantic roles: evidence from English-learning children and the forced-choice pointing paradigm

Research using the intermodal preferential looking paradigm (IPLP) has consistently shown that English-learning children aged 2 can associate transitive argument structure with causal events. However, studies using the same methodology investigating 2-year-old children's knowledge of the conjoined agent intransitive and semantic role assignment have reported inconsistent findings. The aim of the present study was to establish at what age English-learning children have verb-general knowledge of both transitive and intransitive argument structure using a new method: the forced-choice pointing paradigm. The results suggest that young 2-year-olds can associate transitive structures with causal (or externally caused) events and can use transitive structure to assign agent and patient roles correctly. However, the children were unable to associate the conjoined agent intransitive with noncausal events until aged 3;4. The results confirm the pattern from previous IPLP studies and indicate that children may develop the ability to comprehend different aspects of argument structure at different ages. The implications for theories of language acquisition and the nature of the language acquisition mechanism are discussed.     

The Flynn effect puzzle: A 30-year examination from the right tail of the ability distribution provides some missing pieces

The Flynn effect is the rise in IQ scores across the last eighty or more years documented in the general distribution of both industrialized and developing nations primarily on tests that require problem solving and non-verbal reasoning. However, whether the effect extends to the right tail (i.e., the top 5% of ability) remains unknown. The present study uses roughly 1.7 million scores of 7th-grade students on the SAT and ACT as well as scores of 5th- and 6th-grade students on the EXPLORE from 1981 to 2010 to investigate whether the effect operates in the right tail. The effect was found in the top 5% at a rate similar to the general distribution, providing evidence for the first time that the entire curve is likely increasing at a constant rate. The effect was also found for females as well as males, appears to still be continuing, is primarily concentrated on the mathematics subtests of the SAT, ACT, and EXPLORE, and operates similarly for both 5th and 6th as well as 7th graders in the right tail. These findings help clarify the nature of the effect and may suggest ways that potential causes can now be more meaningfully offered and evaluated.     

A longitudinal study of sex differences in intelligence at ages 7, 11 and 16 years

This paper presents the results of a longitudinal study of sex differences in intelligence as a test of Lynn’s (1994) hypothesis that from the age of 16 years males develop higher average intelligence than females. The results show that at the ages of 7 and 11 years girls have an IQ advantage of approximately 1 IQ point, but at the age of 16 years this changes in the same boys and girls to an IQ advantage of 1.8 IQ points for boys.     

Effects of low survivability cues and participant sex on physiological and behavioral responses to sexual stimuli

According to life history theory, environmental cues indicating that one's future survivability is low increase reproductive effort. This suggests that exposure to low survivability cues will increase people's preparedness to engage in sex. However, according to sexual selection theory and parental investment theory, evolutionary pressures favored a more conservative sexual strategy among women compared to men. We therefore hypothesized that men, but not women, would respond to low survivability cues with increased sexual preparedness. Accordingly, both subliminal and supraliminal death primes (as compared with control primes) led men, but not women, to exhibit increased physiological arousal in response to sexual images (Study 1), and stronger approach-oriented behavioral responses to sexual images (Study 2). Theoretical implications for life history theory are discussed.     

Did you have sex with him? Do you love her? An in vivo test of sex differences in jealous interrogations

Abundant evidence suggests that between sex differences exist in the degree to which cues to sexual and emotional infidelity trigger jealousy. A criticism of this research is that this commonly found sex difference is a consequence of the hypothetical scenario and forced-choice methodology that is commonly employed. This study used a novel method to explore the nature of jealousy-fueled interrogations (N = 75) in the face of actual infidelities captured on video in the syndicated reality program Cheaters. Fifty-one episodes of Cheaters were content analyzed by six coders trained to watch each episode. As predicted, men were more likely than women to inquire about the sexual aspect of their partners’ infidelities, whereas women were more likely than men to inquire about the emotional aspect of their partners’ infidelities. These results suggest that humans have sex-differentiated damage assessment strategies dedicated to investigating the nature of their mates’ extra-pair relationships. Although previous studies have found sex differences in jealousy using prospective and retrospective reports, this is the first study to demonstrate sex differences in romantic jealousy in vivo. These findings refute the criticism that sex differences in jealousy are mere methodological artifacts. Discussion focuses on the benefits and limitations of content-analyzing Cheaters.     

Virtual HR: The impact of information technology on the human resource professional

Accelerated investment and innovation in information technology (IT) offers prospects for conducting business in ways that are radically different from the past. Despite the growing presence of IT within organizations, however, we do not have a clear understanding of how IT impacts the role of professionals. We address this issue by investigating how jobs in one professional occupational segment, human resources (HR) professionals are influenced by extensive use of IT within the human resource department. Specifically, we examine how HR professionals handle HR information as well as the expectations placed on them resulting from an increased reliance on IT. Our findings suggest that IT enables HR professionals to more efficiently access and disseminate information while it also influences what is expected of them. Implications and future directions are discussed.     

Scientist versus Practitioner–An abridged meta-analysis of the changing role of psychologists

This study investigated factors of conflicting expectations and roles of the current psychology practitioners, as well as how these factors were associated with the founding principles of the scientist-practitioner model. Data were gathered from ten published journal articles and then interpreted using an abridged meta-analysis methodology. Results revealed: (a) the scientist-practitioner model needs to adapt to survive, preferably with the aim of becoming more versatile; (b) The majority of graduate level clinical psychology training programs are based on a flawed version of the scientist-practitioner model, which renders the training inadequate and ineffective; (c) The identity of clinical psychology should remain firmly grounded in mental health care, and so not encroach on the territory of any other psychological divisions. Implications of these findings and suggestions for psychology practitioners are also discussed.     

Incest,Inbreeding, and Intrafamilial Conflict: Analyzing the Boundaries of Sexual Permissiveness in Modern North America

Our ability to critically analyze the effect of incestuous activity on society is complicated by the fact that such activity may take place in several different types of relationships, each of which play somewhat different roles within the family and community. Thus, if we are to analyze this effect in any meaningful manner, we must first take care to differentiate the various forms of incest from one another, and to study their consequences separately so that any effects due to relationship status, rather than to incest per se, can be taken into account. We must also ensure that we separate our definition of incest from that of non-consensual sex—that is, incest that occurs in couples in which one partner is too young to legally consent should be distinguished from incest that occurs between two consenting adults (i.e. incest per se), and the effects of these two variants of incest should as well be assessed separately. Using these careful definitions, it can be logically argued that incest on its own should not be prohibited in modern North American society, as the damage to our freedom that such a prohibition would entail cannot be justified by what little unambiguous evidence there is to support its case.

Is Silence More Golden for Women than Men? Observers Derogate Effusive Women and their Quiet Partners

Couples in which the woman is more verbally disinhibited than the man (man-more-inhibited couples) report lower satisfaction than couples in which the man is more verbally disinhibited (woman-more-inhibited couples). A violation of traditional gender roles is hypothesized to underlie this phenomenon. It was predicted that members of man-more-inhibited couples would be rated less likeable than woman-more-inhibited couples, and disinhibited men would be rated more competent than other males and females. To test these hypotheses, 95 undergraduate participants from a southwestern US university viewed a videotaped conflict between a man-more-inhibited or woman-more-inhibited couple. As predicted, members of man-more-inhibited couples were rated less likeable than members of woman-more-inhibited couples and disinhibited husbands were rated more competent than all other targets.