Sources of discrimination among employees: A survey investigation.

Interviewed 588 state employees to determine the types of discriminatory feelings that exist in the work environment. Using a 2–4 repeated measures design, it was found that race, sex, age, and competence were significant forms of discrimination. Employees would prefer not to work with Blacks, women, older individuals, or barely competent persons. One significant interaction, sex by competence, was found. Employees made little distinction between barely competent males and females, but in the choice between highly competent males and females, they indicated a clear preference for highly competent males. When the sample was split on the basis of the demographic characteristics of sex, age, and race, it was found that Blacks preferred working with other Blacks, whereas females preferred working with other females. Older employees indicated that age made no difference in their preference for fellow employees. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Young children's responses to guilt displays.

Displaying guilt after a transgression serves to appease the victim and other group members, restore interpersonal relationships, and indicate the transgressors' awareness of and desire to conform to the group's norms. We investigated whether and when young children are sensitive to these functions of guilt displays. In Study 1, after 4- and 5-year-old children watched videos of transgressors either displaying guilt (without explicitly apologizing) or not displaying guilt, 5-year-olds appropriately inferred that the victim would be madder at the unremorseful transgressor and would prefer the remorseful transgressor. They also said that they would prefer to interact with the remorseful transgressor, judged the unremorseful transgressor to be meaner, and, in a distribution of resources task, gave more resources to the remorseful transgressor. The 4-year-olds did not draw any of these inferences and distributed the resources equally. However, Study 2 showed that 4-year-olds were able to draw appropriate inferences about transgressors who explicitly apologized versus those who did not apologize. Thus, 4-year-olds seem to know the appeasement functions that explicit apologies serve but only when children have reached the age of 5 years do they seem to grasp the emotions that apologies stand for, namely, guilt and remorse, and the appeasement functions that displaying these emotions serve. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of sex guilt, repression, sexual "arousability," and sexual experience on female sexual arousal during erotica and fantasy.

Hypothesized that, among women who were asked to fantasize about sex, erotic preexposure would facilitate arousal during the fantasy, and arousal would be greater among those who had less sex guilt, those who were more arousable, those who were more experienced, and sensitizers. 62 female Ss (aged 18–53 yrs) were randomly assigned to view either an erotic or a nonerotic videotape. All Ss then imagined and wrote out a sexual fantasy. Sexual arousal was measured subjectively by self-report ratings and physiologically by continuous vaginal photoplethysmograph recording. Ss high in sex guilt reported less arousal but showed significantly greater physiological arousal during the erotic videotape than did Ss low in sex guilt. For the high sex-guilt Ss, the erotic videotape facilitated physiological arousal during fantasy. Ss low in sexual arousability and low in sexual experience followed a similar pattern. No significant differences were found for repression-sensitization. Results point toward a pattern of behavioral inhibition that facilitates increased response to forbidden erotica. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Females' affective responses to reading erotic literature.

The affective states of sexual arousal, guilt, anxiety, and 11 Nowlis mood factors were studied in 72 college females before and after reading either an erotic or an academically oriented literary passage, with a female E either present or absent, and as a function of the personality disposition of sex guilt. Ss who read the erotic passage showed a significant increase in sexual arousal. High sex guilt Ss significantly increased their affective state of guilt when they read the erotic passage in comparison to the Ss in all of the other cells. Anxiety increased as a function of reading the erotic passage in the presence of E. Conceptual distinctions between sexual behavior and sexual arousal, between guilt as personality disposition and as state, and between affective states of fear and guilt are discussed. (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predicting potential client treatment preferences.

Undergraduates who completed inventories assessing for test anxiety and depression were given feedback about their level of test anxiety and asked to rate their preference for receiving an effective treatment for test anxiety. Half of the participants received effectiveness information about the potential treatments. Overall level of symptomatology was found to affect preference ratings, with higher levels of symptomatology being related to preference for a greater number of techniques. It was also found that individuals with greater levels of test anxiety were more eclectic in their preferences and tended to prefer techniques from several theoretical orientations. Effectiveness information did not influence treatment preferences, however. The need to include levels of symptomatology and more salient information about the techniques' effectiveness in future treatment preference research was discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Affect, sex guilt, gender, and the rewarding–punishing effects of erotic stimuli": A reanalysis and reinterpretation.

Exception is taken at several points to W. Griffitt and D. L. Kaiser's (see record 1980-00280-001) conclusions concerning the relationships among sex guilt, gender, positive and negative affect, and preference for erotic stimuli. It is argued that neither the correlation nor the regression analyses directly tested the models of human behavior proposed by Griffitt and Kaiser. A causal modeling reanalysis of their data contradicts their conclusions but offers some support for their theory concerning responsivity to erotic stimuli. Sex guilt is found to have a direct influence on positive affect, negative affect, and preference for erotic stimuli, as well as an effect on preference for erotic stimuli through its impact on positive and negative affect. It is concluded that researchers must choose statistical models that are consistent with their hypothetical models of human behavior. This is particularly important when the investigation involves intervening variables or mediating factors that are under observation. (6 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reduction of interindividual-intergroup discontinuity: The role of leader accountability and proneness to guilt.

Two experiments contrasted interactions between group leaders with interactions between individuals in a mixed-motive setting. Consistent with the idea that being accountable to the in-group implies normative pressure to benefit the in-group, Experiment 1 found that accountable leaders were more competitive than individuals. Consistent with the idea that being unaccountable to the in-group implies normative pressure to be cooperative and that high guilt proneness provides motivation to be moral, Experiment 2 found that when guilt proneness was high, unaccountable leaders were less competitive than accountable leaders and did not differ significantly from individuals. In other words, the robust interindividual-intergroup discontinuity effect was eliminated when groups had unaccountable leaders who were high in guilt proneness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Students' sex preferences and sex role expectancies for counselors.

Examined sex role expectancies for counselors as a function of sex of student, preference for counselor's sex, and sex of counselor being rated. 128 male and 249 female college students were asked what sex of counselor they would prefer if they were seeking help with personal or social concerns, and then they were randomly assigned to rate their sex role expectancies for either a male or a female counselor, using the Bem Sex Role Inventory with modified instructions. Results indicate that male students expected counselors to be less masculine than did female students, that male counselors were expected to be masculine while female counselors were expected to be psychologically androgynous, and that students with sex preferences for counselors had more stereotyped expectancies for counselor characteristics than did students with no preference. Implications of these findings for the counseling setting are discussed. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex guilt in abortion patients.

Mosher's Forced-Choice Sex Guilt Inventory was administered to 45 clients of a university problem pregnancy counseling service who were planning to have abortions and to 47 sexually active nonpregnant university coeds. Sex guilt was found to be significantly higher for abortion Ss than for nonpregnant Ss. It was also found that for each type of contraceptive, abortion Ss had higher sex guilt than nonabortion Ss. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On interpreting the effects of transgression upon compliance.

Several recent experiments have shown that individuals induced to damage another person were subsequently more willing to comply in a simple request. Interpretation of this transgression-compliance effect in terms of "guilt" is considered premature because guilt has imprecise conceptual status, independent checks on alleged guilt manipulations have been lacking, and the obtained results do not fit derivations from a guilt formulation. An alternative explanation is proposed in which it is assumed that an individual who has affected the fate of another will do so again, if situationally appropriate, to maintain social consistency. (18 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interaction of fear and guilt in inhibiting unacceptable behavior.

80 male college students completed the Mosher Incomplete Sentences Test which was scored for sex guilt. The Ss were assigned by alternation to a fear-reduction or fear-induction experimental condition which preceded a perceptual defense task. The results supported the prediction derived from social learning theory that the inhibitory behavior of Ss who score low on a measure of sex guilt is more influenced by situational cues relevant to the probability of external punishment for sex-related behavior than is the inhibitory behavior of the high-sex-guilt group. The results suggested that the high-sex-guilt S is relatively insensitive to situational cues concerning the probability of external punishment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences and age trends in occupational preference and occupational prestige.

Studied sex differences and age trends in the relationship of occupational preferences and aversions and occupational prestige in 1,531 male and 988 female middle- and upper-middle-class 9-17 yr old Ss to test the hypothesis that females learn early to avoid high-prestige occupations. Rank-order correlation coefficients between empirically established prestige rankings and preference and aversion rankings were calculated separately for each sex at each age. The relationships between preference and prestige were positive and stronger for the males than for the females; those between aversion and prestige were positive and stronger for females than for males. Sign tests for both relationships were significant. It is concluded that males learn to prefer prestigious occupations; females learn to avoid them. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sexual fantasies of females as a function of sex guilt and experimental response cues.

Investigated the effects of response cues (erotic, romantic, or neutral) and level of sex guilt on the self-reported sexual fantasies of 90 undergraduate females. Ss completed a sex guilt inventory (Masher Forced-Choice Guilt Inventory—Female Form), the Nowlis Mood Adjective Check List, the Fantasy Theme Checklist, and ratings of their affective responses and physiological arousal associated with the writing of the fantasies. High sex guilt Ss preferred fantasy themes indicating a lack of responsibility for engaging in sexual interaction. Ss in the erotic fantasy condition wrote more explicit fantasies and described more varied content. Arousal seemed to be affected by the response cuing in the predicted direction but not by the Ss' guilt levels. Sex guilt level seemed to be a better predictor of affective responses, such as guilt and embarrassment, than the response cuing. Results suggest that sexual fantasy behavior may be part of a cluster of sexual behaviors governed by an individual's level of sex guilt. It is suggested that the demonstration that fantasy production seemed to be influenced by situational demands has implications for collection and use of fantasy information by both clinicians and researchers. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Therapist qualities preferred by sexual-minority individuals.

Psychotherapy research concerning lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals has focused on matching clients on gender and sexual orientation, yet has not considered how factors such as therapeutic skill, presenting problem, and cohort membership may influence preference for therapists. This study was designed to identify those therapist qualities that sexual-minority individuals prefer and to determine how the presenting problem influences therapist choice. Forty-two nonheterosexual adults between 18 and 29 years old ranked 63 therapist characteristics from "Extremely Uncharacteristic" to "Extremely Characteristic" when seeking treatment for a problem in which their sexual orientation was salient and one in which it was not. The analyses of both conditions yielded clusters of items reflecting therapist characteristics that participants considered unfavorable, neutral, beneficial, and essential. Participants valued therapists who had LGB-specific knowledge as well as general therapeutic skills, whereas they indicated that they would avoid therapists who held heterocentric views. Application of these findings to clinical practice and future directions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological correlates of unwanted pregnancy.

Explored several psychological factors assumed, on the basis of clinical observation, to be related to undesired pregnancy because of failure to take contraceptive precautions. Differences in risk taking, use of denial as a defense, masochism, and sex guilt were explored among 3 groups of White college women: 33 who had voluntarily sought an abortion, 25 using medically prescribed contraceptive methods, and 26 unselected with regard to their sexual activity or contraceptive practices. Measures used included the Choice Dilemmas Questionnaire, Defense Mechanisms Inventory, and Mosher Forced-Choice Guilt Inventory. Significantly higher scores on scales reflecting use of denial and masochism were found in the abortion group, but no support was found for greater risk taking or sex guilt. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The white coat in pediatrics: link between medical history and preference for informally dressed physicians

OBJECTIVE: To find out if children show a preference for a doctor in a white coat or an informally dressed doctor, and what factors influence this preference. Further to determine if children show a preference for a physician of their own or of the other sex. METHOD: A series of 20 pairs of photographs showing varying combinations of a male and a female doctor in a white coat or in informal dress was presented to test subjects: 37 children without a medical history, 28 children with a minor and 16 with an extensive medical history, aged between 6 and 12 years. Out of each pair of photographs, the test subjects were invited to choose the doctor they would prefer. RESULTS: On average, the test subjects opted for a doctor in a white coat more often than for an informally dressed doctor (p < 0.05). There was a significant difference in dress preference between children with a less and with a more extensive medical history (p = 0.001): children with no medical history more often chose a doctor in a white coat. Children with an extensive medical history more frequently showed preference for informal dress. The children opted more frequently for a doctor of their own sex (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The preference of children for a doctor in a white coat or for an informally dressed doctor depended on their medical history. The more extensive the medical history, the more the preference shifted to an informally dressed doctor. Also, the children preferred a doctor of their own sex.     

The Darwin is in the details.

Comments on the article by A. H. Eagly and W. Wood (see record 1999-05337-002) which examined the origins of sex differences in human behavior. Eagly and Wood argued that social structural theory can explain the origin of psychological sex differences. The present authors suggest that evolutionary models of sex differences are based on a much broader foundation that Eagly and Wood imply. They note that Eagly and Wood misconstrued previous age preference findings as supporting the "common knowledge" that men prefer younger women. Eagly and Wood also showed that as societies approach gender equality in resource access, some sex differences in mate preferences decrease; however, as the current authors note, evolved mechanisms are not environmentally insensitive. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Schedule induction conditions not only exaggerate intake but also enhance drug solution choice

In previous research, rats exposed to daily, 3 h sessions of schedule-induced polydipsia (SIP) self-administered high doses of cocaine orally. However, a strong and durable preference for cocaine solution to water requires training in addition to mere oral self-administration exposure. If cocaine is dissolved in a preferred vehicle solution, and the vehicle is subsequently faded to water, then a strong preference for cocaine remains. A similar preference can be instituted for lidocaine solution. Such preferences may develop because the gustatory property of a drug becomes associated with the preferred vehicle and remains to function as a durable conditioned reinforcer after vehicle fading. To determine if drug preference is solely a function of this posited conditioning mechanism, or whether it also depends upon the SIP condition, rats were exposed to daily, 3 h sessions of single-ration feeding, rather than the SIP condition. A preferred vehicle (glucose/saccharin solution) was slowly faded from a 0.19 mg/ml lidocaine solution, which was presented concurrently with a choice for water. Although a preference for lidocaine solution to water could be generated, it occurred for only 5 out of 9 rats, and the preference was relatively unstable. By contrast, in two previous studies using SIP, 26 out of 27 rats maintained a preference for lidocaine solution. Thus, SIP not only exaggerates the amount of drug solution ingested but also contributes to the fixation of the associative drug solution choice.     

The role of sexual arousal and sexual partner characteristics in HIV+ MSM's intentions to engage in unprotected sexual intercourse.

Objective: This study investigated the effects of sexual arousal and sexual partner characteristics as determinants of HIV+ men who have sex with men's (MSM) intentions to engage in unprotected sex. Design: In a computer-based controlled experiment, 67 HIV+ MSM underwent a sexual arousal manipulation and indicated their intentions to engage in unprotected sex with hypothetical partners who differed in terms of HIV serostatus, physical attractiveness, relationship type, and preference for condom use. Main Outcome Measures: Computer-delivered questions assessed HIV+ MSM's intentions to engage in various sexual acts with each hypothetical partner. Results: As predicted, sexually aroused HIV+ MSM indicated stronger intentions to engage in unprotected sex than nonaroused HIV+ MSM; and having a partner who was attractive, HIV+, long term, or who preferred not to use condoms, also led to riskier intentions. Several significant interactions among these factors were found, which were generally consistent with predictions and with theory and research on cognitive processing and decision making. Conclusions: These findings have implications for understanding risky sexual behavior among HIV+ individuals and for the development of interventions to reduce this risk. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)