Sex differences in children's responses to adult pressure for achievement.

Studied the achievement-oriented behaviors of 64 1st and 64 4th graders under either a neutral or an achievement-emphasis condition and with either a female or a male E. After seeing a memory task with 7 levels of difficulty, Ss selected 1 level to try. Selection of a moderately challenging task was defined as high-achievement orientation and selection of an easy or difficult task as low-achievement orientation. Fourth graders were more achievement oriented than 1st graders and were not influenced by the sex of the E; however, when the 1st graders were encouraged to achieve, boys responded positively to the male E but negatively to the female. For the girls, the pattern was reversed. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in monitoring performance.

220 male and 220 female undergraduates monitored a visual display for 1 hr. Although the results indicate females were poorer monitors, detecting 10% fewer signals and committing more false alarms, these sex differences accounted for only 4% of the variance of detection performance and less than 1% of the variance of the false alarm measure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in interaction and achievement in cooperative small groups.

44 male and female 7th–8th graders in 2 mathematics classes worked for 2 wks in male- or female-majority groups or groups with equal numbers of males and females. Same-sex and cross-sex interactions were analyzed for giving, requesting, and receiving explanations and procedural information. Achievement and interaction results were related to the ratio of females to males in a group. Females and males showed equal achievement and similar interaction patterns in groups with equal numbers of females and males. In majority-female groups, females directed most of their interaction to males and showed lower achievement than males. In majority-male groups, males tended to ignore females and showed somewhat higher achievement than did females. Explanations for these results are considered in terms of status characteristics and expectations states, and consequences for group composition in the classroom are discussed. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in group task performance.

115 female and 118 male psychology students worked individually or in 3-person same-sex groups on a production task (requiring the generation of ideas) or on a discussion task (requiring group members to reach consensus concerning their evaluation of an issue). Because the content of the tasks was carefully selected not to favor the interests or expertise of one sex over the other, no sex differences were expected when Ss worked individually. Results show no gender differences in individual production performance. Only the creativity of the discussion problems was affected by gender; males working individually generated more creative solutions than did females. Consistent with prior research, males in groups generated more solutions to the production problems than did females; females in groups generated higher quality solutions to the discussion problem than did males. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in achievement: A test of alternate theories.

200 students in Grades 8–10 were given the following attitudinal measures regarding both math and English: self-concept of ability, subjective task value, perceived task difficulty, and continuing motivation. In a follow-up, Ss" math course enrollment decisions were assessed each year through high school. 142 of the Ss also were exposed to 2 sets of trials: a number sequence set and an anagram set. Outcome was manipulated across trials (success, failure, success). For each series, Ss provided estimates of their ability, their expectations for continued success, and causal attributions. Their response time, persistence, and accuracy were recorded. Finally, teacher estimates of learned helplessness were obtained in Year 1 of the study for all Ss. Subjective task value emerged as the strongest mediator of sex differences in achievement-related behaviors and plans. There was little support for learned-helplessness models of sex differences in achievement. There was some evidence of sex differences in ability attributions, but these differences occurred only among low-expectancy Ss. Verbal and behavioral indexes of achievement beliefs were often inconsistent. Implications for general attribution theory and for sex-difference theory are discussed. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in occupational performance

Nineteen patients with cystic fibrosis were seen in the I Department of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases during 3.5 years. There were 12 (63%) female, and 7 male, aged from 16 to 35 years (mean 23.2). Most patients were diagnosed in childhood, but 4 were diagnosed in their early adulthood. The diagnosis was confirmed by positive chloride sweat test in all cases. Molecular DNA analyses were performed in 16 cases. In 9 (56%) cases two mutations in the CFTR gene were identified. In 5 cases one mutation was identified. All patients had bronchiectases confirmed by CT. Spirometry showed lung function impairment with predominantly obstructive pattern. Mean VC was 2.57l, mean FEVI was 1.66l. In 7 (37%) cases FEVI was lower then 30% of predictive value. Hypoxemia was found in 11 (58%) cases and hypercapnia in 3 (16%) cases. Sputum cultures were positive for mucoid P. aeruginosa in 12 (63%) cases, for Staph. aureus in 16 (84%) cases. Persistent colonisation with nontuberculous mycobacteria was found in 2 (10.5%) cases. Aspergillus fumigatus was identified in sputum cultures in 2 subjects who had also positive precipitation test. Diabetes mellitus was diagnosed in 2 cases. Meconium ileus equivalent was seen in 1 case. Pneumothorax was seen in 1 case. One patient died in the endstage of the illness.     

Sex differences in the correlates of cooperative and competitive school attitudes.

Reports of sex differences in cooperative and competitive attitudes have assumed that these constructs are the same for boys and girls. Previous findings that the attitudinal correlates of these attitudes are different at different grade levels suggest that there might be sex differences in the attitudinal patterns in which cooperation and competition are embedded. In this study, subscales of the Minnesota School Affect Assessment were administered to a systematic sample of 2,432 2nd–12th graders. Attitudes toward cooperation and competition in school were correlated with other school attitudes separately for males and females. Significant sex differences were found in correlation patterns at all grade levels. Males progressively lost completely the negativistic correlates that competition had in lower grades, whereas females retained some. In senior high school, females finally showed positive correlations of competition with self-worth and internal motivation, whereas males almost lost the correlation between cooperation and self-worth. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Need for approval and popularity: Sex differences in elementary school students.

Children's Social Desirability Scale (CSD) and a sociometric measure were group administered to 192 5th- and 6th-grade Ss. Intelligence and achievement scores were also obtained. High need for approval girls (as measured by CSD) were found to be most popular, while high need for approval boys were least popular. Partialing out the effects of intelligence did not significantly alter these sex differences. Sex role theory was used to explain the findings, hypothesizing that behaviors associated with a high need for approval are consistent with the female sex role model but contrary to the male model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in children's mathematics achievement: Solving computations and story problems.

Examined the performance of 144,462 male and 142,305 female California 6th-graders (aged 135–261 mo) on 2 types of mathematics items: computations and story problems. Data represent Ss' responses to the Survey of Basic Skills, Grade 6, of the California Assessment Program. Results indicate that girls were more likely than boys to solve computations successfully, whereas boys were more likely than girls to be successful with story problems. Sex is shown to be a significant factor in predicting student success. Problem-solving success for the 2 types of items is also examined in relation to reading achievement, SES, primary language, and age. It was found that girls had higher measured reading achievement than boys; however, girls who achieved higher scores in reading were nonetheless relatively weaker in solving story problems than both other girls and boys. Little or no interaction was found between SES or language and sex. Age was not found to be a factor that contributes to sex differences in performance. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in the evaluation and performance of dominant acts.

D. Bakan (see PA, Vol 41:2200) conceptualizes 2 major modes of existence: agency and communion. In the agentic (masculine) mode, the individual is concerned with self-protection, self-assertion, and self-enhancement. Communion involves concern with the larger group of which one is a part. Two studies were conducted to explore these distinctions in the domain of dominance. In the 1st, 57 undergraduates evaluated 100 acts, previously and independently nominated as dominant, on their social desirability. Male raters judged self-enhancing and self-asserting acts (e.g., flattering someone to get one's way) as relatively more desirable than did female raters, who judged group-oriented, communal acts (e.g., introducing a speaker at a meeting) as more desirable. In the 2nd study, 83 Ss examined sex differences in the behaviors that express dominance. Dominant men tended to express their dominance through both communal and agentic acts, whereas dominant women tended to express dominance primarily through group-oriented actions. Results lend support to the agency/communion conceptualization and suggest sex-linked differentiation of dominant behavior. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in predicting final examination grades: The influence of past performance, attributions, and achievement motivation.

43 male and 41 female undergraduates reported their high school and last semester GPAs, their 1st and 2nd midterm grades, and their final exam predictions. Ss also rated the influence that ability, effort, task difficulty, and luck had on their performances and completed Mehrabian's achievement motivation scale. Regression analyses provided support for the attribution model of achievement expectations. All Ss used ability to explain their successes; however, males attributed failures to lack of effort while females often used luck to explain their performances. Although both sexes earned equal midterm scores and predicted similar final grades, males based their predictions solely on the 2 midterms. Females' predictions were significantly affected by both midterm performance and achievement motivation. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in problem-solving performance as a function of attitude differences.

Men make significantly higher scores than women on a scale of attitudes toward problem solving. Attitude scores "have some positive relationship to performance scores." From Psyc Abstracts 36:01:1GD56C. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in math achievement: Toward a model of academic choice.

Competence in mathematics has long been identified as a critical skill directly related to educational and occupational choices. Yet compared with men, fewer women elect to take advanced level mathematics courses and to enter mathematically-oriented careers. The present article summarizes the common explanations of this problem and then integrates this research into a theoretical model first proposed by J. E. Parsons et al (in press) for studying students' academic choices and decisions. Drawing on concepts used in decision-making, achievement, and attribution research, this psychological model links academic choice to expectations of success and the subjective value of a particular course. In addition, the model specifies the relations among a set of other variables that are believed to mediate individual differences in both students' expectations of success and their perceptions of the relative value of various academic options. The utility of the model for increasing understanding of course enrollment patterns and career decisions and for designing appropriate intervention strategies is discussed. (3 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Field dependence and the school achievement gap between Anglo-American and Mexican-American children.

Research supports the hypothesis that field dependence explains the poorer school achievement of Mexican-American children compared to Anglo-American children. To test that hypothesis, multiple regression and path analyses were used to interpret the relationships between culture, field dependence, and school achievement among 134 2nd-, 4th-, and 6th-grade Anglo-American and Mexican-American children. Results indicate that Mexican-Americans were significantly below Anglo-Americans in reading and math achievement, field independence was significantly correlated with both reading and math achievement, and Mexican-Americans were significantly more field dependent. Field dependence explains the cultural difference in math achievement but does not fully explain the cultural difference in reading achievement. Implications for understanding both field dependence and the nature of the observed cultural differences are discussed. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of achievement need on goal setting, performance, and feedback effectiveness.

91 undergraduates set their own goal to be attained on a perceptual speed task lasting 15 min and received feedback after 7? min of work. Ss' achievement need, as assessed through the Manifest Needs Questionnaire, significantly correlated with the goals set and total number attempted. Partial correlation between achievement need and the total number attempted was nonsignificant when goal difficulty was held constant, suggesting that achievement need affected the total number attempted through its effect on goal difficulty. Only the Ss who were higher in achievement need performed better after than before feedback. The rationale for the moderating effect of achievement need on the feedback–performance relationship and its implication for previous goal-setting findings are discussed. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex and person in achievement and moral evaluation.

Examined the effects on moral and achievement evaluations of sex of evaluator and actor, and of the evaluator evaluating himself. Data from 2 studies with a total of 220 undergraduates support the previous conclusion, with some qualifications, that achievement, relative to morality, becomes primarily an outcome-oriented reward system whereas morality becomes primarily an intent-oriented punishment system. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in the relationship between activity and weight loss in the rat.

Access to a running wheel combined with restricted feeding produced body weight loss at an equivalent rate in male and female litter-mate rats (Experiment 1). Thus, despite weighing less and running more, females were not more vulnerable to this procedure. When factors influencing weight loss were varied, no sex difference was found in adaptation to a new feeding schedule or in the effect of single versus group housing (Experiment 2). The apparent critical difference was that body weight loss increased running in males but not in females (Experiment 3). In all rats, rapid recovery of body weight occurred when food access was no longer restricted (Experiment 1), suggesting that activity-based anorexia is a misnomer for weight loss by rats in a running wheel. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in neuropsychological performance and social functioning in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Objective: To investigate sex differences in neurocognition and social functioning in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and the possible role of sex as a moderator of this relationship. Method: Participants with schizophrenia (60 women/94 men), bipolar I disorder (55 women/51 men), and healthy controls (158 women/182 men) were assessed with an extensive neuropsychological test battery and a social functioning questionnaire. Results: We found significant main effects of sex for neuropsychological tests (p     

Are there gender differences in reading achievement? An investigation using the high school and beyond data.

Investigated the relation of gender to reading achievement at the high school level. The data were drawn from the High School and Beyond (HSB) national survey that was sponsored by the National Center for Education Statistics and conducted in 1980. Reading achievement was defined as performance on the vocabulary and comprehension measures developed for the HSB study. Information on 23,362 seniors and 24,678 sophomores was analyzed by examining the amount of variance in reading achievement accounted for by gender differences. Results for both seniors and sophomores indicate that gender accounted for less than 1% of the variance in reading achievement. Findings suggest that by the time students reach high school, the magnitude of gender differences in reading achievement as assessed by the HSB survey is small. Findings apply to vocabulary and short passage comprehension and are limited in providing insight about complex reading processes and lengthy text. Results are compared with findings from the National Assessment of Educational Progress 1979–1980 report on reading and literature (National Assessment of Educational Progress, 1982). (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in the relationship between visual memory and MRI hippocampal volumes.

This study investigated sex differences in the relationships between visual memory and MRI-determined hippocampal volume data before and after right and left temporal lobectomy (TL). Preoperative visual memory and postoperative visual memory change were evaluated by the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised, and MRI hippocampal volumes were obtained in 54 right (28 men and 26 women) and 75 left (33 men, 42 women) TL patients. Preoperative visual memory and postoperative visual memory change were significantly related to the difference between hippocampal volumes (DHV) in right TL women but not right TL men. That is, extirpation of a large right hippocampus was significantly associated with a visual memory decline, but only in women. These findings support the presence of sexually dimorphic brain function and suggest that visual memory ability in women may be less plastic after a developmentally early right mesial temporal insult. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)