Gender Comparisons in the Perception of Self-Competence Among Four-Year-Old Children

The purpose of this study was to determine the presence of gender differences in the perception of self-competence among 4-year-old children. Sixty-one 4-year-olds (27 girls and 34 boys) from predominantly European American backgrounds participated in the study. The children's self-competence was measured using the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for Young Children (Preschool version; S. Harter & R. Pike, 1984), which has 4 separate subscales: (a) cognitive competence, (b) physical competence, (c) peer acceptance, and (d) maternal acceptance. A within-subject 2-way analysis of variance with repeated measures of 4 (subscales of perception of self-competence) × 2 (gender) was performed to determine if gender differences existed in the children's perception of self-competence. Analyses of the data showed no significant gender differences in the scores on the 4 subscales for the perception of self-competence among the children. These results could be interpreted as being due to a less gender-stereotyped society and androgynous environment for these preschoolers.     

A longitudinal study of the intrusiveness of cognitions in test anxiety

Medical students who had to undergo an important set of examinations were asked to fill out two questionnaires, the first early in the term, the second 1 or 2 wk before the exams. Students whose anxiety increased substantially between the two questionnaire administrations reported that their thoughts had become more intrusive on a number of parameters including distress, frequency and dismissability. Subjects whose anxiety increased only moderately or not at all reported correspondingly smaller changes in intrusiveness. There was considerable stability in reported cognitions over time, but changes in anxiety were related to changes in reports of thought content. The perceived probability of negative outcomes did not vary over time. These results indicate that changes in anxiety levels over time are related to several parameters of intrusiveness as well as thought content.     

Gender comparisons in the perception of self-competence among four-year-old children

The purpose of this study was to determine the presence of gender differences in the perception of self-competence among 4-year-old children. Sixty-one-4-year-olds (27 girls and 34 boys) from predominantly European American backgrounds participated in the study. The children's self-competence was measured using the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for Young Children (Preschool version; S. Harter & R. Pike, 1984), which has 4 separate subscales: (a) cognitive competence, (b) physical competence, (c) peer acceptance, and (d) maternal acceptance. A within-subject 2-way analysis of variance with repeated measures of 4 (subscales of perception of self-competence) x 2 (gender) was performed to determine if gender differences existed in the children's perception of self-competence. Analyses of the data showed no significant gender differences in the scores on the 4 subscales for the perception of self-competence among the children. These results could be interpreted as being due to a less gender-stereotyped society and androgynous environment for these preschoolers.