Female Ss Research Articles

The Effects of Situational Variables on Judgments of Crowding

In an attempt to determine the relationship of situational variables to judgments of crowding, 40 male and 40 female Ss were instructed to place wooden figures in model rooms until they believed the room was crowded. Eight situations were tested, each being related to the variables of degree of acquaintance, situation type and activity type. Specific hypotheses were: a) situations in which the participants were assumed to be acquainted with each other would produce a greater number of model placements than situations involving strangers; b) situations in which the participants were interacting would accommodate a greater number of placements than situations involving an independent activity; and c) a recreational activity would produce a greater number of placements before being considered than a work situation. The results confirmed all of the hypotheses. Many approaches have been taken to determine the effects of on behavior. Calhoun (1962) examined the effects of over-population on rats and found extreme negative effects associated with high density populations: high infant mortality rates, small litters, inadequate nest building, abandonment of young, cannibalism, and abnormal behavior. Defining crowding as an increase in the intensity of competition for space, Christian (1963) tested the effects of on the biology of rats and woodchucks. When crowded rats gave birth, the litters were smaller and the animals weighed less, fewer infants

Preferred tempo in performance of repetitive movements.

Within- and between-S variability in performance of repetitive movements at a self-paced tempo was studied. Male and female Ss (Ns = 75) performed 36 consecutive arm swings at an individually chosen tempo. Differences between Ss' selected tempos of performance were considerably greater than the amount of variation in Ss' motor response times, indicating that individuals have preferred tempos of voluntary movement which differ from those of other individuals. No sex differences were evidenced in either preferred tempo or consistency of performance.

An Attempt to Validate a Measure of Structure in Adolescence

AbstractEighty male adolescents were given a structure inventory (CASI) devised by the author, and also the Locus of Control (I-E) instrument, and the Adjective Check List (ACL), in an attempt to validate the first-named inventory. A number of hypotheses were offered as to the relationship which would be found between scores on the CASI and the I-E and ACL tests. Fourteen of the eighteen predicted correlations were found to be significant, and in the direction anticipated; Treatment of the scores by canonical correlation indicated a moderate underlying relationship between WS and HS subscale scores of the CASI and the other variables tested. Use of a multiple linear regression analysis indicated that these variables are more predictive of WS than of HS scores. Further validation studies, including those involving female Ss, are suggested.

Is the "Women's Movement" Erasing the Mark of Oppression from the Female Psyche.

Failures to replicate the Goldberg "female bias against females" effect led to the hypothesis that the "women's movement" has caused women to give lip service to equality. To test this hypothesis 42 American female college student Ss were asked to rate the capability of women and men to perform in various common professions. There were three conditions: bogus pipeline (BP), bogus pipeline control (RR), and questionnaire (Q). Equal or profemale ratings were expected in Q, profemale ratings in RR, and antifemale ratings in BP, because the expression of public (fashionable) attitudes was assumed appropriate in Q, but the expression of private attitudes was assumed appropriate in BP. Results indicated profemale bias in Q, but no sex bias in BP and RR. It was suggested that possible salutary effects of the women's movement are overestimated by typical questionnaire procedures.

Task-Related Differences in Children's Performance on Three Verbal Mediation Problems.

The present study was an investigation of the generalizability of the theoretical construct verbal mediation. Sixty third-grade male and female Ss performed three tasks: category clustering, paired-associates (A-B, B-C, A-C paradigm), and intermediate-size transposition. These tasks have been theoretically related to mediational processes, since verbal mediation has been hypothesized to facilitate performance at each of the tasks. The performance data across the three tasks and intelligence test scores were submitted to a correlational analysis. None of the correlations were significantly different from zero. It was concluded that theoretical explanations derived from performance on one type of task may not generalize to describe performance on other related types of tasks.

Cognitive Factors and Their Interaction with Instructional Mode

Aptitude tests measuring cognitive factors from Guilford's Structure-of-Intellect model were given to 119 ninth-grade students who then studied 1 of 2 programmed units–one in a figural mode, the other verbal–for 3 class periods. Dependent variables were scores on a learning test administered the following day, as well as scores on a retention test four weeks later. Regression analysis revealed 17 instances of disordinal interaction of which 13 occurred on the test of retention and 11 were related to semantic factors. 8 of 9 sex-related interactions involved male students; however, as a group, female Ss scored higher on 5 of 6 criterion measures. Based on these findings, further study of memory factors, semantic factors, and sex difference is indicated.

The effect of signal probability, food intake, sex, and smoking on gustation, as measured by the theory of signal detection.

The possibility of applying Signal Detection Theory (SDT) to gustation was investigated by testing the effect of three variables--smoking, signal probability, and food intake (confounded with time of day)--on the taste sensitivity to sucrose of 24 male and 24 female Ss. No main effects or interactions were significant. The study indicated a "warm-up" effect, while adaptation was questionable. An analysis of false alarm (FA) reports was undertaken and discussed. Correlations were obtained between numerous variables and sensitivity. None of the correlations was statistically significant. It was concluded that although SDT is theoretically applicable to the gustatory modality, it is not practical for large-scale research.

Interpersonal attraction as a joint function of primacy and recency effects

Empirical primacy-recency inconsistencies between Byrne's reinforcement affect model of attraction and Anderson's information integration model of personality impression formation were explored. Thirty-six male and female Ss gave attraction responses to sequences of blocks of similar and dissimilar attitudes arranged in increasing or decreasing proportions of similarity and increasing or decreasing levels of topic importance. Results generally supported the hypothesis that attraction is a joint function of the proportion of similar attitudes within each block (recency) and cumulative proportion of similar attitudes before each response (primacy). This joint occurrence of primacy and recency effects was interpreted in terms of an affect neutralization hypothesis.

Sex Differences in the Solution of Achromatic and Chromatic Embedded Figures

20 male and 20 female Ss were given a 6-item embedded-figures test. Half of each sex received chromatic and half achromatic format. Female Ss proposed significantly more incorrect solutions and required significantly more time to reach correct solutions. There were no differences due to color format and no interactions.

How to Obtain the Right of Way: An Experimental Analysis of Behavior at Intersections

Conflicts of interest over who shall assume the right of way at unmarked intersections may be viewed as a subset of a more general class of conflicts whose resolution is shaped by various strategies of deterrence. In order to examine the effects of five variables upon the determination of right of way, a simulated driving situation was developed in the laboratory, involving the presentation of a series of slide photographs of two vehicles, A and B, approaching an unmarked intersection. Male and female Ss were asked to act either as the driver of one of the two vehicles (A) or as the observer of both vehicles; in addition, the size of the second vehicle (B), the sex of its driver, as well as driver B's maintenance or avoidance of eye contact with A were varied. Ss predicted, with greater confidence, that Vehicle B would cross the intersection first (that driver A would be deterred from seizing the right of way) when B was the same size as A, rather than a vehicle either larger or smaller; when driver B was female, rather than male; and when driver B avoided, rather than maintained, eye contact with A. In addition to these three main effects, a number of interactions emerged between the eye contact variable and one or more of the other four. Several of these findings were interpreted as lending support to Schelling's description of the strategic efficacy of “binding oneself” to a course of action.

Sex Differences and Effects of Irrelevant Auditory Stimulation on Performance of a Visual Vigilance Task

80 Ss participated in a visual vigilance task under one of 4 background-noise conditions. Results indicated that (a) female Ss showed a greater time-related performance decrement in correct detections than males in the regular-intermittent background condition, (b) RTs increased with time, (c) males responded more rapidly than females, (d) intermittent noise attenuated time-related changes in incorrect detections, (e) males made more incorrect detections than females in the intermittent background conditions but not in the constant-background conditions, and (f) there was a sex × trial block interaction in the constant noise condition. Several correlations between and within response measures were reported.

Physical Activity and Visual Field-Dependency

5 active male, 5 active female, 5 inactive male, and 5 inactive female Ss were given the rod-and-frame test. Unexpectedly, no significant sex differences were found. The difference between active and inactive Ss showed the inactive Ss had more difficulty in adjusting the rod to true verticality on the 1 trial given. Data suggest physically inactive Ss may be more dependent on the visual field than the active Ss.

Conservative attitudes and reactions to menstruation.

As a part of a research project on the emotional and somatic consequences of the menstrual cycle, which has been reported elsewhere (Schneider-Diiker, 1973), some material was collected which demonstrates the influence of social and socio-psychological factors on the reactions to menstruation. In this note some preliminary results are presented on the relation between conservative attitudes and measures of menstrual complaints. In a pilot study done by Ullrich (1973) a German version of the Wilson-Patterson Conservatism Scale (Wilson, 1973) was given to 48 female Ss together with a questionnaire asking for information about menstrual concomitants. All but two Ss were students of the University of the Saar. Their mean age was 23 yr. (range 19 yr. to 31 yr.). The degree of menstrual impairment war estimated by using 10 statements describing somatic, emotional, and behavioral reactions to menstruation. A significant product-moment correlation of .31 ( p < .05) was observed between the conservatism scores and the number of menstrual complaints. In another study (Schneider-Diiker, 1973) concerning the influence of the menstrual cycle on performance, an extended version of the menstrual complaints questionnaire, the above mentioned conservatism scale, and a scale measuring the attitude toward menstruation were administered to 1 2 women from a non-student population. These women aged between 25 and 39 yr. From the 30 items of the menstrual complaints questionnaire two summed scores were computed for each S: 2 2 statements concerning somatic and psychic complaints, e.g., abdominal pain, irritation, formed one component; 8 statements describing chosen behavioral acts or consequences like 'If I can arrange i t I spend some time in bed during the menses' were put together as a further measure. Spearman rank correlations were computed. A significant rho of ,709 ( p < .05) was found between conservatism and behavioral consequences of menstruation while the relation between conservatism and the measure of somatic and ~sychic complaints did not reach significance (fa = ,337). Furthermore, attitude toward menstruation neither correlated with somatic and psychic menstrual complaints ( r . = .117) nor showed any significant relation to behavioral consequences (r. = -.061) and the conservatism scores (r. = ,022 ) . These values suggest that, if there is a true relation between social attitude and reactions to menstruation, conservative attitudes do not so much influence the somatic and psychic experience of the menses but determine to a certain degree the way of handling possible somatic and psychic consequences. Women who during their periods depend on or demand a more indulgent trearment from their social environment, receive higher scores on the conservatism scale.

An adjusted measure of achievement motivation for males and females and effects of future orientation on level of performance

An adjusted measure of achievement motivation was devised with the combined use of the Mehrabian Achievement Scale ( Educational and Psychological Measurement, 1968 , 28, 493–502) and the Mandler and Sarason ( Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 1952 , 47, 166–173) Test Anxiety Questionnaire. Contingent instructions, in which Ss were told success on a test was necessary to qualify for opportunities to succeed on subsequent tests, were contrasted to performance in equivalent noncontingent situations and relative to adjusted achievement motivation for both male and female subjects. In noncontingent situations Ss were told performance on any one test did not affect their opportunity to take subsequent tests. Support was obtained for the use of the above mentioned scales as a predictor of performance for both sexes but not for the Mehrabian by itself. Both male and female Ss high in achievement motivation consistently scored significantly higher than Ss low in achievement motivation in all conditions. The expected interactions between treatments and motive groups were not found but t tests between extreme motive groups within conditions revealed significant differences in the expected directions. These results do not provide statistically reliable support to the elaborated theory of achievement motivation.

The Effects of Lighting, Distance and Intimacy of Topic on Verbal and Visual Behavior

This experiment examined how Ss assess degree of intimacy and how they respond to intimacy. Forty female Ss answered 3 non-intimate questions in a baseline interview and 3 intimate questions in an experimental interview, in which they sat far from or near to E in a brightly or dimly lit room. Dependent variables included verbal and visual behavior and questionnaire responses. Ss reduced verbal disclosure and eye-contact during the intimate inverview. They rated the Dim and Near conditions as more intimate and less appropriate than the Bright and Far, respectively, and they preferred the Near over the Far condition. In the Dim condition, Ss decreased eye-contact and increased latency to talk, but the Near-Far distinction did not affect behavior. Intimacy may be independent of appropriateness and preference, and may affect verbal and visual behaviors d ifferently.

Sex Differences as Artifact in the Prisoner's Dilemma Game

Female subject pairs have often been found to compete more than either male pairs or mixed sex pairs in the Prisoner's Dilemma (PD) game. It was hypothesized that sex differences in the PD were in part a function of the sex of the experimenter. Three males and three females served as experimenters. The hypothesis was supported for, although females evidenced higher competition with male Es, no sex differences were found with female Es. Female subject pairs were, however, the only pairs which evidenced significant differences in level of competition under male and female Es. Results were discussed in terms of greater sensitivity on the part of female Ss than male Ss to characteristics of both the partner and the E. Implications for the design of experimental investigation of sex differences were also considered.

Color-mood associations in young adults.

Studies have suggested that colors are associated with mood-tones. The following research was conducted to determine the extent to which color-mood associations exist for 200 college-aged adults. Significant differences in performance on a color-mood association task were found between 154 male and 46 female Ss of the same academic discipline as well as between 154 men and 46 women of two different disciplines.

Overextinction of the evoked skin conductance response: an EEG study.

ABSTRACTThe present study was designed to investigate Sokolov's (1963) proposal that overextinction of the orienting response (OR) is related to sleep onset. A series of 80 auditory stimuli was presented to 22 male and female Ss. Although re‐evocation of the skin conductance response (SCR) component of the OR occurred, in the majority of Ss, after 40–50 stimulus presentations, this was not accompanied by any change in cortical alertness as measured by integrated EEG output in three frequency bands (2–4, 4–8, and 8–13 Hz). However, the results did indicate that Ss displaying SCR return required more stimulus presentations before initial SCR habituation and displayed more spontaneous fluctuations in skin conductance during the prestimulus period than did non‐return Ss. Within the return group, latency of SCR return was negatively related to both spontaneous activity during the prestimulus period and number of stimuli to initial habituation.

Sex Prejudice Injury Simulation

Summary This study of 84 male and 101 female college students tested the hypothesis that male and female Ss respond differentially to male and female defendants in a criminal jury trial. Ss read a synopsis of a murder trial in which the defendant was either a man who allegedly murdered his wife or a woman who allegedly murdered her husband. Ss were asked to render verdicts and sentences (if appropriate) either individually or in like-sex groups of three. There was a significant interaction between sex of S (juror) and sex of defendant in the rendering of the verdicts: Ss were less likey to find a defendant of their own sex guilty than they were to find a defendant of the opposite sex guilty. The possible effect of this finding upon the guarantee of “equal justice under law” was discussed.

A Comparative Study of Measures of General Anxiety and Death Anxiety among Three Medical Groups Including Patient and Wife

A problem not yet extensively researched among hemodialysis patients and their families concerns matters of dying and death. This paper presents a comparative study of general and death anxiety among three different groups of physically ill males (center and home hemodialysis patients and surgery patients) and their wives. The MMPI, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and Templer's Death Anxiety Scale were administered to all S's. In addition a Death Questionnaire was used in a structured interview setting with dialysis patients and their spouses in their homes. General and death anxiety scores of male and female Ss were compared. Husband-wife correlation coefficients were determined for measures obtained. Inter-correlations of the measures used were also determined.