Cross-Sectional Age Differences in Personality Among Medicare Patients Aged 65 to 100.

1,084 older Medicare recipients were orally administered the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI; P. T. Costa & R. R. McCrae, 1992). Participants were assigned to groups based on gender and age (65-79 or 80-100). An analysis of covariance showed that women had significantly higher Neuroticism, Openness, and Agreeableness scores; that older participants were significantly higher in Agreeableness; and that age differences in Agreeableness were significantly greater in men than in women. With the exception of Agreeableness, this study provides no evidence for age differences among those in the last decades of life. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes toward people with disabilities: The perspective of attachment theory.

Objective: Attachment theory was employed as the theoretical framework for the purpose of examining attitudes toward people with disabilities. Method: A total of 404 Jewish Israeli students without disabilities completed the Multidimensional Attitudes Scale Toward Persons With Disabilities (MAS) and the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale (ECR). Results: Reading a scenario about an encounter with a person with a disability gave rise to more negative emotions than reading a similar scenario about an encounter with a person without a disability, regardless of participants' attachment orientations. However, attachment orientations moderated participants' positive cognitions and distancing behaviors. Conclusions: Findings suggest a dynamic process of self-regulation when reacting to a written scenario about people with disabilities. This process consists of an initial spontaneous negative emotional response accompanied by compensatory positive cognitions and behavioral tendencies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Are parents' gender schemas related to their children's gender-related cognitions? A meta-analysis.

Meta-analyses were conducted of 43 articles (with 48 different samples) investigating the relationship between parents' gender schemas and their offspring's gender-related cognitions. The parents' offspring ranged in age from infancy to early adulthood. Offspring measures included gender self-concept, gender attitudes toward others, gender-related interests, and occupational attitudes. Overall, a small but meaningful effect size (r = .16) indicated a significant and positive correlation between parent gender schemas and offspring measures. Specifically, parents with more traditional gender schemas were more likely than parents with more nontraditional schemas to have offspring with gender-typed cognitions about themselves or others. In addition, the magnitudes of observed effect sizes were influenced by particular moderator variables, including type of parent gender schema (gender self-concept vs. gender attitudes toward others), type of offspring gender-related cognitions, parent gender, offspring gender, offspring age, and publication characteristics. The results are cautiously interpreted as suggesting a possible influence of parents on the development of their children's gender-related thinking. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of A World of Difference: Gender Roles in Perspective.

Reviews the book, A World of Difference: Gender Roles in Perspective by Esther R. Greenglass (1982). In A World of Difference, Esther Greenglass has given us an excellent social-psychological perspective on sex, gender, and sex-role differences. Greenglass clearly analyses current research on these topics with the perspective of the culture in which gender-based behaviour occurs. Equally important, however, is the discussion of the social and cultural context of the research itself. Aside from this important and useful discussion of the research in its social context, there is a very thorough review of contemporary issues relating to gender roles. This is a very readable book for students. The collection of pictures and cartoons depicting contemporary male and female roles illustrates the issues while showing their humorous side. Throughout the book, there are examples of Canadian data and Canadian research which will make the book particularly appealing to those who find that U.S. texts are too chauvinistic about the American experience. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Masculine Girls and Feminine Boys: Genetic and Environmental Contributions to Atypical Gender Development in Early Childhood.

In this genetic study of atypical gender role development, parents of 5,799 twin pairs, ages 3 and 4, rated their twin children's masculinity and femininity. Boys were selected as gender atypical if they were highly feminine (top 5%, 10%, or 15%) relative to other boys, and girls were selected if they were highly masculine relative to other girls. Gender-atypical boys and girls were each divided into 2 groups: fully gender atypical (e.g., feminine boys also low on masculinity) and partially gender atypical (e.g., feminine boys who are not low on masculinity). DeFries-Fulker (DF; J. C. DeFries & D. W. Fulker, 1985, 1988) extremes analysis yielded moderate group heritability and substantial shared environment effects for atypical gender role behavior. However, for fully gender-atypical girls, group heritability accounted for most of the variance, and shared environment had no effect. The results are discussed in light of past studies and potential implications for atypical gender development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Black and White Children's Awareness of De Facto Race and Sex Differences.

A picture rating study showed that black and white third-, fourth, and fifth-grade children (N = 60) were aware of de facto race and sex differences in American society. The most androgynous attitudes toward female behaviors were shown by girls and third-grade blacks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceptions of women and men as entrepreneurs: Evidence for differential effects of attributional augmenting.

It was hypothesized that perceptions of women who become entrepreneurs are enhanced by attributional augmenting because they adopt this role despite major obstacles to doing so. In contrast, attributional augmenting was expected to operate to a lesser degree for men who become entrepreneurs because they presumably face weaker obstacles. Three studies offered support for these hypotheses; all of these investigations used between-subjects designs in which women and men shown in standard-format photos were described to different groups of raters as being either entrepreneurs or managers. As predicted, raters assigned significantly higher scores to women, but not to men, when they were described as entrepreneurs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behavioral Inhibition and Amplification During Emotional Arousal: A Comparison of Two Age Groups.

This study investigated age differences in the ability to suppress and amplify expressive behavior during emotional arousal. Young and old participants viewed 3 film clips about medical procedures while their behavioral, autonomic, and subjective responses were recorded. Half of the participants viewed all 3 films without additional instructions; the other half was asked to suppress and amplify their behavioral expression during the 2nd and 3rd films. Except for heart rate, suppression and amplification produced similar patterns of autonomic activation. Neither suppression nor amplification had effects on self-reported emotion. There were no age differences in the ability to suppress or amplify emotional expression or in their physiological or subjective consequences. Considering that older people's unregulated reactivity was lower than that of young adults, suppression may have been easier and amplification more difficult for older adults. Voluntary emotion regulation might be one domain of human performance that is spared from age-related losses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality differences between adjusted and maladjusted college students.

A "maladjusted" group (100 college Ss) were compared to a sample of the university student body (206 Ss) and to the adjusted counseling group (100 Ss) using an adjective check list (Gough) on which each S described himself. The ACL results were compared with psychologists' judgments and showed considerable agreement. Sex differences were noted and related to a possible social desirability factor. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age and MMPI performance.

Evaluated the effects of age on MMPI scale scores with intelligence controlled. Data included MMPIs and Wechslers from 420 white hospitalized psychiatric patients. No sex differences were found in relationships among age, intelligence, and MMPI scale scores. Major findings were that T-scores on Scales 4, 6, 8, and 9 are affected by age, scores on Scales L and F by intelligence, and scores on only Scale F by both variables. Although Scale 2 T scores were not affected by age, peak-analysis showed that older patients more often have Scale 2 peaks. This results from decreases in T scores on the other scales, rather than increases on Scale 2. (15 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age, intelligence, and MMPI F scores.

This study was designed to determine the effects of age, intelligence, and other variables on the F scale, which is critical for Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) interpretation and research. Data consisted of MMPIs and Wechslers obtained from 407 white hospitalized psychiatric patients over a 7-year period. No significant sex differences on MMPI F scores were found. The major result was that F scores decrease with increasing age for low- and high-IQ subjects, but remain relatively constant for average-IQ subjects. Neither diagnosis nor educational level was found to affect F scores. The use of unrestricted distributions of age, intelligence, and F scores may account for the fact that these findings are not consistent with those reported by previous investigators. (21 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes and behaviors toward lesbian and gay persons: Critical correlates and mediated relations.

With data from 255 college women and men, this study examined the relative strength of relations of right-wing authoritarianism (RWA), social dominance orientation (SDO), and traditional gender role attitudes (TGRA) with anti-lesbian and gay (LG) attitudes. This study also tested the mediating role of anti-LG attitudes in the relations of RWA, SDO, and TGRA with LG-rejecting and -affirming behaviors. Results pointed to the importance of the relations of TGRA and RWA, but not SDO, with anti-LG attitudes and LG-rejecting behaviors. Furthermore, anti-LG attitudes mediated the links of RWA and TGRA with LG-rejecting behaviors. With regard to LG-affirming behaviors, TGRA was the only unique correlate, and anti-LG attitudes did not serve as a mediator. Implications for future research and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex Differences in Cooperative and Competitive Attitudes From the 2nd Through the 12th Grades.

In spite of a stereotype of male preference for competition and female preference for cooperation, many studies of sex differences in cooperative and competitive behavior and attitudes at different age levels and in different artificial settings have produced inconsistent findings. In this study, attitudinal data from a survey of over 2,400 students in Grades 2-12 were used to depict sex differences in cooperativeness and competitiveness in a natural school setting. Females showed consistently more positive attitudes toward cooperation in school, and males showed consistently more positive attitudes toward competition, with the greatest differences appearing in Grades 8-10. Differences ranged from about .2 to about .9 standard deviation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychologists on psychology: The inquiry beliefs of psychologists by subdiscipline, gender, and age.

Three hundred six psychologists, all members of the American Psychological Association, responded to a questionnaire on which they rated various theoretical-philosophical statements concerning the conduct of psychological inquiry. Results were considered in relation to the subdiscipline of psychology to which respondents belonged, their gender, and their decade of birth. Results for subdiscipline indicated progressively weaker relative support for naturalism, reductionism, empiricism, and experimentalism as the context of subdisciplinary inquiry became increasingly broad. Women were less attached to experimental methods than men and displayed a stronger belief in the importance of political factors in research than did their male counterparts. Finally, younger psychologists believed more strongly in the importance of presentation skills such as good writing and rhetoric with respect to research and academic success. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age and Handedness: Patterns of Change in the Population and Sex Differences Become Visible with Increased Statistical Power.

In a sample of 12,030 subjects, ranging in age from 8 to 99 years, significant decreases in both mixed and consistent left-handedness were found as age increased. There were also significant sex differences, with males more likely to be left- or mixed-handed. These age and sex differences were reported as non-significant in Porac's (1993) smaller sample of 654. Methodological issues associated with asserting the null hypothesis in handedness studies when statistical power is low are also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex, Age, and Training Modulate Spatial Memory in the Rhesus Monkey (Macaca mulatta).

The authors tested 90 rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) on a task of spatial memory, the spatial Delayed Recognition Span Test. The results showed that performance declined significantly with age, males had greater scores than females, and the rate of apparent decline with age was greater in males than in females. Both working and reference memory declined with age, but only working memory showed sex differences. The authors compared these data with that of 22 monkeys who were trained on a simpler version of the task before formal testing. Training had no effect on males but dramatically improved working memory in young females. The results confirm a male advantage in spatial working memory at a young age and confirm a greater decline with age in males than in females. It is important to note that prior training completely reverses the deficits of young females. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age and gender differences in cardiac reactivity and subjective emotion responses to emotional autobiographical memories.

This research reports age and gender differences in cardiac reactivity and subjective responses to the induction of autobiographical memories related to anger, fear, sadness, and happiness. Heart rate (HR) and subjective state were assessed at baseline and after the induction of each emotion in 113 individuals (61 men, 52 women; 66% European American, 34% African American) ranging in age from 15 to 88 years (M = 50.0; SD = 20.2). Cardiac reactivity was lower in older individuals; however, for anger and fear, these age effects were significantly more pronounced for the women than the men. There were no gender differences in subjective responses, however, suggesting that the lower cardiac reactivity found among older people is dependent on gender and the specific emotion assessed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age and race differences in the trajectories of self-esteem.

The purpose of this research was to assess age- and race-based variation in within-persons changes in self-esteem over a 16-year period. We used hierarchical linear modeling with data from 3,617 adults 25 years of age and older who were interviewed up to 4 times. Self-esteem increased, on average, over the course of the study period. At the same time, significant age variations around this trend were observed, with younger adults experiencing increases in self-esteem and older adults experiencing decreases. In general, race differences were not evident with respect to average levels or rates of change in self-esteem. However, a significant Age × Race interaction suggested that late-life declines in self-esteem were steeper for Blacks compared with Whites. These findings suggest the presence of age- and race-based stratification with respect to self-esteem. Future work in this area should examine the health and well-being effects of declining self-esteem during old age. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age of nominator and scores assigned nominees of various ages.

"By correlation analysis of the nomination scores assigned to 402 supervisory employees of various ages by higher level nominators of various ages, the possibility of age-on-age bias in an operating situation has been investigated. Although other investigators have found biases of attitudes of one age group towards another, operationally, bias as here defined was not found. Thus correlations between age of those nominated and nomination scores did not differ significantly or systematically among four nominator age groups. For these data, no 'battle of the ages' has appeared to add to the usual rating difficulties." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Food and life, pleasure and worry, among American college students: Gender differences and regional similarities.

Questionnaires on food attitudes and behavior were completed by 2,200 American undergraduates from 6 regionally dispersed college campuses. Results indicate that a substantial minority of women and a much smaller minority of men have major concerns about eating and food with respect to both weight and health. Overall, 14% of women reported being embarrassed to buy a chocolate bar in the store. A 6-factor structure emerged: weight concern, diet and health orientation, beliefs about the diet-health link, food negativity/importance of food as a source of pleasure in life, eating disordered behaviors, and natural/vegetarian food preferences. There were surprisingly few regional differences, virtually none if race and social class were taken into account. Gender was the strongest predictor of responses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)