Sexual experience and preference for males or females in the female rat

The influence of sexual experience on preference behavior was investigated in adult female rats. In the first experiment, preference behavior for sexually active males versus estrous females was investigated in female rats who were experienced with mounting behavior. Preference of these mount experienced females was compared to preference of females who were naive in this respect. Mount experience with estrous females induced a female-directed preference in ovariectomized female rats, irrespective of whether the females were treated with OIL or with testosterone-propionate (500 micrograms TP, injected once 48 h prior to testing). Sexually naive, OIL-treated females did not show a preference for males or females, but TP induced a preference for a male. Individual differences in mount frequency were not correlated with preference behavior. In the second experiment, the influence of experience with feminine sexual responses on preference behavior was investigated. OIL-treated and TP-treated females oriented equally toward males and females when they had been given the opportunity to copulate with males prior to the preference tests. The results strongly suggest that prior sexual experience is an important determinant of preference behavior. The female's behavior during sexual interactions was, however, not predictive of later preference.     

Changes in desire for control over time: Gender differences in a ten-year longitudinal study

Undergraduate students from a predominantly white middle class student body who were administered the Desirability of Control Scale in 1980 completed the scale again in 1990. Males scored significantly higher on the scale than females, indicating a higher desire for control, in the initial sample. The males' scores did not differ significantly over the ten-year period. However, the female subjects' scores increased over the course of the decade to a point not significantly different from that of the males. Possible explanations of this effect concern changes in gender role expectations in the 1980's and changes in the women's preference for control following school and career experiences.Some of the data reported in this paper were presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco, 1991.Reprint requests should be addressed to either Jerry M. Burger at Department of Psychology, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA 95053, or Cecilia H. Solano at Department of Psychology, Box 7778, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC 27109.     

Detection of a Cry for Help on the MMPI-2: an analog investigation

We compared Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2) results from 2 groups of mildly to moderately disturbed psychiatric outpatients (N=60) answering under either Standard or Cry for Help instructions. Results from previously completed intake MMPI-2 protocols were obtained for each participant. The two groups were comparable on intake MMPI-2 variables and demographic characteristics. Analysis of feedback data from the second, experimental observation indicated that the two groups had equivalent self-estimates of understanding of their role and success in simulating their role. Significant differences were found between the two groups on their experimental MMPI-2 protocols. The Cry for Help group had significantly higher scores on F, F-K, Fb, Ds2, and Fp scales as well as significantly lower scorns on the K scale. The Cry for Help group also had significantly higher scores on all clinical scales with the exception of 5, which was not tested. Cutting scores derived by Rogers, Sewell, and Ustad (1995) for the detection of a Cry for Help in outpatients were cross-validated with fairly positive results. Although these results are promising, particularly in light of the shrinkage expected on cross-validation, further research is needed in this area.     

Personality types as measured by the 16 PF

The possibility of isolating personality types using 16 PF profiles was studied by utilizing a Q-type factor analytic procedure. Four modal profiles, characteristic of major clusters of subjects, were derived and cross validated. These four major types successfully classified approximately 2/3 of the 16 PF protocols (n = 1037), and classified similar proportions of previously published profiles. Variation of classification rates as a function of race and sex was described, and strategies for utilizing the profiles for research and interpretive purposes were outlined.     

The desirability of control

The psychological construct of desirability of control was related to several theoretical statements (e.g., Kelley, 1971; White, 1959) and areas of current research (e.g., Glass & Singer, 1972; Deci, 1975) in psychology. A scale designed to measure individual differences in the general level of motivation to control the events in one's life was presented. The Desirability of Control Scale was found to have substantial internal consistency (.80) and test-retest reliability (.75), as well as discriminant validity from measures of locus of control (Rotter, 1966) and social desirability (Crowne & Marlowe, 1960). The results of an illusion of control study (cf. Langer, 1975) provided construct validation: only subjects high in the desire for control displayed a belief in personal control over chance outcomes. Construct validation was also provided from studies on learned helplessness and hypnosis. The practical, as well as theoretical, value of the instrument was discussed.This research was facilitated by National Science Foundation grant BNS78-08834 to Harris Cooper.     

The Ideological Foundations of Economic Protectionism: Authoritarianism,Social Dominance Orientation,and the Moderating Role of Political Involvement

Even though economic globalization and foreign trade are major topics in the political discourse of most societies and negative attitudes toward international trade are prevalent, there is a lack of research investigating the ideological roots of protectionist preferences from a psychological perspective. In the present research, we examined the implications of right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) and social dominance orientation (SDO) for trade attitudes. Using data from two nationally representative samples from the United States (Study 1) and Germany (Study 2), we found that RWA predicted protectionist attitudes above and beyond economic self-interest. Furthermore, we found that the relationship between RWA and opposition to international trade was moderated by political involvement. The association of SDO with protectionist attitudes was inconsistent across the two studies and was not moderated by political involvement. Taken together, these results emphasize the importance of basic ideological orientations and the psychological dispositions they reflect in explaining public attitudes toward international trade.     

Defensive aggression in terns: Effect of species,density, and isolation

Defensive aggression was examined in seven species of terns during the hatching period when young are most vulnerable and adults most responsive. Aggression toward an unfamiliar person varied with respect to species, flush distance, approach distance, number of birds overhead and diving, and number of dives per 2 min for all birds and the nest owner. Defensive aggression involved birds circling over and diving at the experimenter. Generally, flush distance was negatively correlated with nest density, while the number of birds diving was positively correlated with the nest density. The number of birds diving was positively related to the number of dives, dives by the owner, and the number overhead.     

The relationship between social anxiety and social support in adolescents: a test of competing causal models

This study compared the strength of competing causal models in explaining the relationship between perceived support, enacted support, and social anxiety in adolescents. The social causation hypothesis postulates that social support causes social anxiety, whereas the social selection hypothesis postulates that social anxiety causes social support. The reciprocal model combines the two hypotheses by arguing that the causal relationship between social support and social anxiety is largely reciprocal. This study tests a modification of the reciprocal model by specifying perceptions of support as a mediating construct. Two waves of data with an interval of three months were collected on 357 college students. Structural equation modeling was used to compare the reciprocal and mediated reciprocal causal models. The study found some support for the mediated reciprocal model, but the magnitude of the relationships were weaker than expected. Limitations and suggestion for future research are discussed.