A Test of Bipolar and Androgyny Perspectives of Masculinity and Femininity: The Effect of Participation in an Outward Bound Program

ABSTRACT The purposes of the present investigation are to examine theoretical issues in androgyny theory by testing the effect of participation in the Outward Bound program on measures of masculinity (M) and femininity (F) Bipolar conceptualizations of MF posit that an increase in either M or F must lead to a decrease in the other, whereas androgyny theory posits M and F to be independent constructs Consistent with a priori predictions based on the nature of the Outward Bound program, participation substantially enhanced M and had a small positive effect on F The results were reasonably consistent for male and female participants, for single-sex and mixed-sex groups, and across responses to three different MF measures Results support the androgyny interpretation of MF and demonstrate the effectiveness of the Outward Bound program in changing MF The results contradict the bipolar perspective that an increase in M must be accompanied by a decrease in F     

The Attitudes Toward Women Scale for Adolescents (AWSA): A study of reliability and validity

This study describes the development of the Attitudes Toward Women Scale for Adolescents (AWSA), an instrument based on the short form of the Spence-Helmreich Attitudes Toward Women Scale (AWS). The AWSA has been tested in four samples of adolescents. Internal consistency estimates and test-retest stability indicated high reliability. Hypotheses formulated to test the construct validity of the scale were largely supported. AWSA permits the examination of how boys' and girls' attitudes toward women influence the life paths that adolescent girls begin to pursue.This research was supported by grants to A. Petersen from the Spencer Foundation, the National Institute of Mental health (MH 30252/38142), and the Judith Baskin Offer Fund.     

The Rotter locus of control scale: The comparison of alternative response formats and implications for reliability, validity, and dimensionality

Participants completed the Rotter internal/external (IE) instrument using three different response formats before and after completion of the Outward Bound program, and were evaluated by external observers at the end of the intervention. Multitrait-multimethod analyses indicated that five specific IE facets identified in previous research were consistently distinguished with each of the response formats. While responses were substantially more internal after the intervention, effect sizes varied with the IE facet and with the response format. Observer responses were significantly correlated with self-responses, and provided additional support for the construct validity of responses to the Rotter instrument and the interpretation of the intervention effect. Nevertheless, problems with the Rotter instrument were identified, and the implications for further research were discussed.     

An analysis of individual differences in similarity judgments about complex random forms

A variation of the method of graded dichotomies was used to obtain judgments of interstimulus similarity for all pairings of 21 12-turn random shapes. Using the Tucker-Messick procedure, a six-dimensional spatial model, representing individual variation in performance on the task, was derived. Six “idealized individuals” (IIs) were isolated. A five-dimensional Euclidean spatial model was obtained for each II using the Shepard-Kruskal scaling technique. The resulting psychological dimensions of perceived form were related to two sets of physical measures on the forms: the factor space suggested by Brown and Owen and a set of more basic physical measures. These basic measures allowed interpretation of most of the psychological dimensions and revealed differences between IIs in patterns of cue utilization.     

Book reviews

Encyclopaedia of Linguistics, Information and Control. Edited by A. R. Meetham with the assistance of R. A. Hudson. Oxford: Pergamon Press. 1969. Pp. xiv + 718. 300s.

The Biological Basis of Personality. By H. J. Eysenck. Springfield: Thomas. 1968. Pp. xv + 399. $18.50.

Scientific Basis of Dvug Dependence. Biological Council Symposium. Edited by H. Steinberg. London: Churchill. 1969. Pp. 429. 100s.

Minnesota Symposia on Child Psychology, Vol. 2. Edited by John P. Hill. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. 1969. Pp. viii + 172.

Memory and Attention: an introduction to human information processes. By Donald A. Norman. Chichester, Sussex: John Wiley. 1969. Pp. ix + 201. 84s. (cloth); 44s. (paper). Verbal Learning and Memory: selected readings. By Leo Postman and Geoffrey Keppel. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. 1969. Pp. 501. 12s.

Handbuch der Kinderheilkunde. Edited by H. Opitz and F. Schmidt. Rand VIII/I: Neurologie-Psychologic-Psychiatrie. Redigiert von F. Schmidt und H. Asperger. Berlin: Springer Verlag. Pp. 1060. Price DM385, S96.25.

Digital Computing. By R. S. Lehman and D. E. Bailey. London: John Wiley & Sons Ltd. 1969. Pp. xxiv + 303. 79s.

Real-Time Computers. By W. R. Uttal. New York: Harper & Row. 1968. Pp. xiv + 338. 93s.     

Development of social responses in two severely retarded children

The effect of reinforcement dependent on the social responses of two severely retarded withdrawn children was investigated. During 30 training sessions (30 min each) food and praise were administered dependent upon the children's mutual participation in a ball-rolling and block-passing task. Both children showed a progressive increase in social interaction in a non-training situation during this reinforcement period. After the reinforcement procedures were removed, social behavior decreased markedly. Response generalization to children not involved in training occurred.     

“Center-of-gravity” Tendencies for fixations and flow patterns

Fixation positions were measured for a variety of simple patterns. Generally, the spontaneous fixation tendencies hovered near the “center-of-gravity” of the pattern, providing that the overall dimensions of the figure were less than about 5 deg. “Open” figures such as angles were found to be roughly equivalent to their “enclosed” counterparts, such as triangles. The constraints imposed by the pattern upon the fixation tendencies occur at a level where the binocular inputs are processed. Of further importance was the fact that the fixation points approximate the foci observed in the same patterns when they are seen against a background of visual noise. It is suggested that the two results may be functionally related..