GSR reactivity as a function of anxiety, instructions, and sex.

"GSR conditioning and extinction measures were obtained on 120 college Ss in a factorial experimental design in which 12 treatment groups were divided into 2 sex groups, 3 instruction groups, and high- and low-anxiety groups. The 3 instruction groups were given 3 different kinds of instruction designed to be: (a) apprehension arousing; (b) neutral; and (c) reassuring." Male Ss showed less conditioning when given reassuring instructions; female Ss showed the least conditioning with the apprehension-arousing instructions. Females showed greater GSR reactivity than males in all phases of the experiment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

DISCRIMINATION REACTION TIME AS A FUNCTION OF ANXIETY AND INTELLIGENCE.

"1. Two groups of Ss of high and low anxiety as determined by a Scale of Manifest Anxiety were given a complex discrimination-reaction-time task involving a high degree of interference. 2. While the low-anxiety group was superior in performance on the reaction-time task, it was found that this superiority could be attributed to intellectual differences rather than to differences in level of anxiety." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Male and female subjects in personality research.

Though studies have consistently demonstrated psychological differences between males and females, a review of published research indicated how little this finding influenced the selection of Ss for studies or the interpretation of results. A plea is made to include as easy a measure to obtain as the sex variable in the design. From Psyc Abstracts 36:02:2AF82C. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Isolation-induced facilitation of male sexual behavior in mice.

Compared sexual performance of 288 CD-1 male mice housed individually or in groups of 3 or 12. Exp I examined males presented at weekly intervals with ovariectomized, estrogen-primed, progesterone-treated females. Performance in isolates was consistently superior and reached an asymptote that was twice that of grouped Ss. Reversal of housing conditions reversed performance. Exp II varied intervals of isolation among Ss finding facilitation at several intervals. Exp III compared Ss under different population densities. Density did not alter the effects of isolation and grouping. In all experiments, additional tests with target males indicated that aggressive and sexual performances were moderately correlated and responded similarly to parametric manipulations. These results parallel and extend studies of isolation-induced aggression. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neuronal unit activity in the abducens nucleus during classical conditioning of the nictitating membrane response in the rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus).

Recorded neuronal unit activity from the abducens (6th nerve) nucleus during conditioning of the nictitating membrane (NM) response in 16 male New Zealand white rabbits, using a tone CS, an air puff UCS, 250-msec interstimulus interval, and 60-sec intertrial interval. Ss were given 2 days of training (104 trials in 8 blocks/day) and 1 day of extinction. Control Ss were given comparable periods of stimulus presentations, explicitly unpaired. Activity of small clusters of units—multiple unit recording—was compared with the amplitude/time course of NM response. Between-blocks comparisons of neural and behavioral responses indicated almost perfect correlation during acquisition of the CR and a slightly lower correlation during extinction for the conditioning Ss. Within-blocks comparisons indicated close correspondence between histograms of unit activity and the amplitude/time course of the NM response for the conditioning Ss in all phases of training and for controls in the UCS trial blocks. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Anxiety (drive) level and performance in eyelid conditioning.

Studies from the Iowa laboratory and elsewhere that have involved a comparison of the eyelid conditioning performance of Ss scoring at the extremes of the Taylor Manifest Anxiety (MA) scale are reviewed. In 21 of 25 independent comparisons, differences between groups were in favor of the high anxiety (HA) Ss, with the majority being statistically significant. Although these data provide substantial confirmation of the implication of the drive interpretation of MA scale that HA Ss should exhibit a higher level of performance than LA Ss, an attempt was made to ascertain what factors might be responsible for failure of the difference to occur in some studies. The major factors appeared to be small numbers of Ss and the presence of "voluntary form" responders in the samples. Significant differences appear to be related to the degree of experimental naiveté of the Ss and the extent to which the experimental situation is designed to arouse some degree of apprehensiveness. (20 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in the allocation of pay.

Examined the possibility that relative to males, females perceive less of a connection between their work and monetary rewards. In Study 1, 66 females and 60 males (respondents to an advertisement in a student newspaper) determined either their own pay or the pay of another person. Results support the hypothesis in that females paid themselves less than did males and less than other people (males or females) paid females. Results also suggest that Ss were more generous when they paid females. In Study 2, sex differences in self-pay were examined in 80 1st-, 4th-, 7th-, and 10th-grade Ss. Results replicate those of Study 1, in that at every grade level, females paid themselves less than did males. In addition, the extent to which females allocated pay the way their male counterparts did was highly related to the masculinity of their career goals. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Treatment outcome and patient characteristics in an aversion therapy program for alcoholism.

Conducted 1- and 3-yr follow-ups of 685 alcoholic patients treated with aversive conditioning during a 2-wk inpatient program followed by periodic single-day reinforcement sessions. 63% of the Ss reported continuous abstinence for 1 yr, and 31% were still abstinent after 3 yrs. Results indicate that Ss were at highest risk for relapse 3–4 mo after treatment and that continued aftercare was an important component of successful treatment. Outcomes were better for older than younger males and for married than unmarried males. Few significant differences in outcomes for males and females were apparent, and outcome was also unrelated to prior treatment history, education, or occupation. Findings support the use of aversive techniques in the treatment of alcoholism. (7 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Incidence of pup killing and parental behavior in virgin female and male rats (Rattus norvegicus): Differences between Wistar and Sprague-Dawley stocks.

Investigated the responses toward young shown by males and nulliparous females in 2 outbred stocks of laboratory rats (214 Sprague-Dawley and 166 Wistar rats) in 3 experiments. Sprague-Dawley females showed maternal behavior either spontaneously (35% of the naive Ss) or through concaveation (92% of the initially neutral virgins). Of the Wistar females, however, only 10% showed maternal behavior spontaneously, and only 29% of the neutral virgins came to behave maternally during 15 days of concaveation. Prepubertal cohabitation with lactating Ss did not facilitate maternal responsiveness in adulthood in the Wistar virgin females. Of the Sprague-Dawley males, 50% showed paternal behavior spontaneously, and only 4% killed the young. Among the Wistar males, however, only 4% showed paternal behavior spontaneously, and 76% killed pups. It is suggested that such profound differences between outbred stocks of Ss may be a source of discrepancies between the results of studies dealing with the induction of parental behavior in nonlactating rats. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sexual differentiation of play behavior in the ferret.

Three experiments examined the endocrine mechanisms responsible for sex differences in prepubertal play behavior of ferrets. In Exp I, 6 gonadally intact adolescent males exhibited higher levels of "stand-over" behavior than 6 females did in tests between 63 and 123 days of age with gonadally intact female partners of the same age. In Exp II, with 69 Ss, those Ss exposed to androgen or to ovarian steroids over Days 5–20 of postnatal life subsequently exhibited significantly higher levels of stand-over behavior in tests with females than did control females gonadectomized on Day 5 and not given steroids. None of the Ss in Exp II exhibited levels of stand-over behavior comparable to those of the gonadally intact males in Exp I. In Exp III, with 36 Ss, males gonadectomized and implanted subcutaneously with testosterone capsules on Day 70 and tested with females at 84–96 days of age exhibited levels of stand-over behavior comparable to those observed in Exp I in gonadally intact males of the same age (Weeks 12–24). Males gonadectomized on Day 70 and given no hormone at testing exhibited significantly lower levels of this behavior. Significantly lower levels were also exhibited by males gonadectomized on Day 35 and females gonadectomized on Day 70, regardless of whether they were tested with testosterone present after Day 70. Sex differences in the expression of prepubertal play behavior of ferrets apparently result from differential exposure of males and females to androgen over an extended postnatal period. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Uterine position and conditioned taste aversion.

Three experiments investigated the influence of uterine position on the performance of female offspring of female Sprague-Dawley and male Long-Evans rats in a conditioned taste aversion paradigm. 49 females that had males caudal to them in the same uterine horn (MF), 48 females with no caudal males (FF), and 24 males that had occupied a variety of different positions in the uterine horn were examined. Exps I and II confirmed a differential behavioral response by males and females during acquisition and extinction of the conditioned taste aversion. However, no differences were found between MF and FF Ss. In Exp III, in which testosterone was administered to females throughout testing, MF females showed an increased sensitivity to testosterone and a more prolonged rate of extinction than FF females. Exposure to testosterone during prenatal development heightened postnatal responsiveness to testosterone in female Ss. Results are discussed in terms of the organizational and activational effects of testosterone on behavior in a conditioned taste aversion situation. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social olfaction in male brown lemmings (Lemmus sibiricus?=?trimucronatus) and collared lemmings (Dicrostonyx groenlandicus): I. Discrimination of species, sex, and estrous condition.

Five experiments were conducted with 196 collared and 243 brown male lemmings. When tested in a Y-maze olfactometer, sexually experienced and naive Ss of both species preferred the odor of conspecific females to the odor of females of another species. Both experienced and naive males also preferred the odor of conspecific females to that of conspecific males. Only sexually experienced males showed a significant preference for estrous over nonestrous conspecific females. Sexually experienced males also discriminated between estrous and nonestrous heterospecific females of a familiar (lemming) and unfamiliar (meadow vole, Microtus pennsylvanicus) species. In conjunction with the results of earlier studies of the development of species-specific olfactory preferences, findings suggest that 2 olfactory cues mediate a male's attraction to receptive females: a species-specific odor that is learned during early development and a sexual attractant whose saliency is established as a result of adult experience with a receptive female. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Emergence of displacement activities in the male rat following thwarting of sexual behavior.

Conducted 7 experiments with Wistar rats, who were observed in a mating area equipped with a water spout, that revealed the emergence of displacement drinking and hindlimb scratching in noncopulating castrated males and in males with medial preoptic (MPO) lesions exposed to sexually attractive stimulus females. By contrast, sexually quiescent males in the postejaculatory refractory period showed no evidence of displacement activity, and anestrous females displayed only moderate increments in drinking and scratching, compared with copulating estrous females. In both castrated and MPO-lesioned males, the amount of displacement activity was inversely related to strength of masculine sexual behavior, and in castrated Ss, displacement behavior was suppressed by the subcutaneous implantation of a testosterone-filled capsule. When no stimulus females were present, no difference in drinking and scratching by control, castrated, and MPO-lesioned Ss was discerned. Sexually inactive females elicited less displacement activity in castrated Ss than did females in estrus. However, unreceptive stimulus females frequently elicited displacement behaviors in normal sexually active males. Findings are discussed in relation to current concepts of psychological organization of masculine sexual behavior. It is suggested that the emergence of displacement behavior in castrated, MPO-lesioned, and normal males paired with anestrous females may be due to the thwarting of sexual motivation. (53 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of self-body-esteem in overweight youngsters.

97 children in 3 age groups (8.5–11.4, 11.5–14.4, and 14.5–17.4 yrs) were used to examine the development of self-body-esteem in overweight and normal-weight Ss. There were 47 females and 50 males; 48 Ss were overweight (112% or more of their ideal body weight). Ss were administered the Self-Esteem Inventory and a measure of body-esteem. Results show that at the youngest age, overweight and normal-weight Ss had similar self-esteem. At the middle-age, self-esteem was adversely affected in overweight males, but not in overweight females. At the oldest age, self-esteem was affected in overweight females but not in overweight males. At all ages, overweight Ss had lower body-esteem than did normal-weight Ss. Although self-esteem and body-esteem were correlated, relative weight was the best predictor of body-esteem. Independent of relative weight, Ss in the 2 older groups who had low self-esteem tended to have low body-esteem. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conditioning and extinction of avoidance and escape behavior in neonatal dogs.

Ran 16 neonatal purebred beagles for 6.5 days in a 1-way shuttle box with cold air as the aversive stimulus. 8 Ss started at 1 day of age and 4 each started at 2 and 3 days of age. 8 Ss received escape conditioning and 8 received avoidance conditioning. Following this training, both groups were given a series of extinction trials. Both escape and avoidance conditioning and extinction were obtained. Findings are comparable to previous avoidance findings in neonatal dogs and superior to findings on neonatal mice and kittens. Results display quantitative properties found in studies of adult rats and especially adult dogs. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Subject, experimenter, and situational variables in research on anxiety.

3 organismic variables, test anxiety of Ss and of Es, and sex of S were manipulated in a verbal-learning situation. 2 siuational variables, preliminary differential-motivating instructions, and success-failure reports were also studied. High test anxious Ss performed at lower level than did low test anxious Ss, and females were superior to males. Female Ss performed best when run by low test anxious Es. Many significant interactions involving both organismic and situational variables were obtained. The results strongly indicate the need for investigations which simultaneously manipulate these variables in psychological experiments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Responses of male hamsters to odors of females in different reproductive states.

Six experiments investigated the responses of male hamsters to the odors of estrous, diestrous, pregnant, and lactating hamsters. Scent-marking by males in the soiled cages of females was less frequent when the females were estrous (Day 1 of the cycle) than when females were on Days 2, 3, or 4. Sexually experienced males preferred the odors of bedding material from the cages of estrous Ss over odors of bedding of diestrous Ss. Both of these effects were eliminated by surgically removing the vagina and thereby eliminating vaginal secretions. The quantity of vaginal secretions deposited in the vicinity of the nest may be responsible for the observed effects. In contrast, neither males with sexual experience nor males with both sexual and nonsexual experience with females demonstrated preferences for the odors of the estrous or diestrous Ss themselves. Males were, however, more attracted to the odors emanating directly from estrous Ss than to the odors of pregnant or lactating Ss. For hamsters the important sexual message may be not "estrous" vs "diestrous" but rather may be "will soon be estrous" (i.e., cycling) vs "not soon estrous" (i.e., pregnant, lactating, or acyclic). (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social comparison in adjustment to breast cancer.

Investigated 4 theoretical perspectives concerning the role of social comparison in coping with a threatening event, using 78 29–78 yr old females with breast cancer as Ss. It is noted that, according to the supercoper perspective, personal contact with comparison others is often unavailable to patients; in addition, contact with media supercopers (fellow victims presented as adjusting smoothly) may make patients feel inadequate by comparison. According to the similarity perspective, patients select comparison targets who are similar to themselves because those comparisons should be the most informative. The upward comparison perspective is predictive of comparisons to relatively advantaged or superior individuals. The downward comparison perspective leads to the prediction that, under conditions of threat, individuals make comparisons to people who are inferior or less fortunate in order to enhance their self-esteem. Ss were interviewed to determine which perspective had the most validity in terms of their experience with closed-ended questions. Ss offered spontaneous comparisons throughout the interview. Both closed-ended questions and spontaneously offered comparisons yielded a preponderance of downward comparisons. Findings support the value of using naturalistic methods for studying comparisons and suggest a more active and cognitive role for social comparison than is usually portrayed. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Unilateral lesions and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised: No sex differences.

Tested sex differences previously reported in WAIS—R scores (Verbal IQ vs Performance IQ discrepancies) in male patients with unilateral lesions by administering the WAIS—R to 31 Ss (16 males [mean age 42.6 yrs] and 15 females [mean age 38.4 yrs]) with right-hemisphere lesions and to 32 Ss (17 males [mean age 32 yrs] and 15 females [mean age 40.7 yrs]) with left hemisphere lesions. Results show that both males and females had expected discrepancies between Verbal IQ and Performance IQ. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-schemas, gender, and social comparison: A clarification of the related attributes hypothesis.

G. Goethals and J. Darley (1977) proposed that people evaluate their abilities by comparing with someone who is similar to themselves on nonability attributes that influence performance. However, research on this related-attributes hypothesis shows that people compare with same-sex others regardless of the relationship between sex and performance. The present experiment was conducted to determine if self-schemas with respect to gender (defined as organizations of self-related information about masculinity and/or femininity) could explain this finding. 184 female and 66 male undergraduates who previously had completed a self-schema measure took an ability test on which males, females, or neither sex supposedly excelled. Ss then chose which of several group norms they wanted to see to evaluate their performance. As predicted, results show that schematic Ss made same-sex comparisons regardless of the relationship of sex to performance. In contrast, the comparison choices of aschematic Ss were consistent with the related-attributes hypothesis. Thus, self-schema theory can explain why self-evaluators sometimes ignore an attribute's relevance to performance in choosing comparison others. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)