Note on Cooper's findings on initial task choice.

In the process of evaluating the construct validity of J. W. Atkinson's (1957) theory of achievement motivation, W. H. Cooper (see record 1983-32694-001) made a comparative evaluation of the adequacy of this theory and so-called cognitive theory in the area of predicting initial task choice. The choice task that Cooper used was not a measure of task preference; it was instead an implicit evaluation of task diagnosticity. The present author asserts that Cooper should have addressed "What is the basis of task preference?" Cooper's findings were thus unable to shed light on the question at hand. His finding that the task choice measure correlates with explicit ratings of diagnosticity and not with resultant valence means that there is test–retest consistency in ratings of diagnosticity and not, as Cooper suggested, that cognitive theory has won a victory over Atkinson's theory. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Statistically combining independent studies: A meta-analysis of sex differences in conformity research.

Compares traditional (literary) reviews of research in social psychology with a statistical approach. It is concluded on both abstract and practical grounds that adoption of the statistical approach would lead to theoretical progress for the research area covered. A meta-analysis "package" is described and then applied to the question of whether there are sex differences in degree of conformity. The meta-analysis is yoked to a literary analysis, and conclusions of differing direction and confidence appear. Problems in application are encountered, and appropriate courses of action are discussed. Finally, limitations on the power of the procedure are outlined. (69 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prenatal gonadal hormones and sex differences in human behavior.

Summarizes the literature on perinatal hormone influences in infrahuman mammals, reviews in detail studies on perinatal hormone influences on human behavior, and summarizes methodological procedures that have been used to compensate for problems inherent in research on clinical populations. Several studies provide evidence suggesting that some sex differences in human behavior may be related to prenatal hormone levels. In light of methodological advances and the growing number of studies in this area, it may soon be possible to define human hormone–behavior relations in sufficient detail to allow strong links to research on perinatal hormone effects in other species. Given recent identification of neural sex differences that may underlie behavioral sex differences in infrahuman mammals, such links could lead to greater understanding of the neural basis of sexually dimorphic behaviors in humans. (4 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of orthopedic disability on conformity behavior.

An experiment was conducted to measure the effect of severe orthopedic disability upon conformity behavior. The purpose was to determine whether or not individuals who were disabled would yield more to unanimously incorrect confederate opinion than would able-bodied men. The Asch technique was employed with 2 control groups and 2 experimental groups. The control groups were exclusively able-bodied or disabled; the experimental groups employed confederates whose condition contrasted with that of the naive Ss. The data indicate disabled men yield less to able-bodied confederates than they do to disabled confederates. There was more conformity in homogeneous groups than nonhomogeneous groups. (18 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Androgens and the organization of sex differences in active avoidance behavior in the rat.

Performed 3 experiments to clarify the role of androgens in the development of sex differences in the acquisition of active avoidance behavior in a total of 248 male and 231 female Holtzman albino rats. Gonadectomy in adulthood did not affect the performance of either sex regardless of the length of the postoperative recovery interval. Neonatal castration also failed to improve the avoidance performance of males, but prenatal exposure to the antiandrogen cyproterone acetate combined with neonatal gonadectomy produced males whose avoidance acquisition and open field activity scores were indistinguishable from those of control females. Prenatal exposure to endogenous androgens was sufficient to organize the avoidance behavior characteristic of normal males, but there is no compelling evidence that exposure to androgens during the prenatal period was critical to this effect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An empirical assessment of meta-analytic practice.

In the three decades after the publication of the first meta-analyses in the behavioral sciences, hundreds of articles and a number of technical guides have emerged concerning meta-analytic practice and reporting standards. The purpose of the present study is to review the practice and reporting standards of a random sample of published meta-analyses (n = 100) in psychology and related disciplines in the decade from 1994 through 2004. We focus on practice and reporting at each stage of the meta-analytic process and explore differences between psychological subdisciplines. These findings suggest that the practice of meta-analysis in the last decade has not yet converged on a set of common standards, though some expert recommendations are beginning to be heeded. Authors should be attentive to proper procedure and reporting in light of the numerous threats to the validity of a meta-analysis. Ironically, even though meta-analysts often struggle with incomplete or inconsistent reporting in primary research they are themselves not entirely consistent in reporting their methods and results. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpersonal affect and conformity behavior in schizophrenics.

A group of 28 schizophrenics Ss was equated with a group of 28 normal Ss on the factors of age and education. Each S was then tested as to the number of affectual relationships he produced on 4 Thematic Apperception Test cards. A measure of his conformity to social influence was obtained by a measure of his behavior in a group situation in which he was asked to compare the length of lines in an optical illusion study. An analysis of the data by means of multiple X2 design showed a significant interaction among all 3 factors: mental health, conformity, and affect. The factors of mental health and conformity interacted to a greater extent than did any other 2 factors taken together. Conformity and affect were more closely related to the factor of mental health than they were to each other. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some effects of feedback from the experimenter on conformity behavior.

The first experiment dealt with the importance of continuous feedback from the experimenter as a factor in conformity behavior as contrasted with discontinued feedback. Discontinued feedback was shown to be less effective but only when the feedback reinforced independence. The second experiment tested the generality of the previous finding that feedback in line with consensus has little or no effect whereas feedback in favor of objective reality drastically reduces the level of conformity behavior. It was found that reinforcement of conformity had a strong effect and that the effect of reinforcing independence was still significant but reduced. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

External validation of measure of conformity behavior.

A group measure of conformity behavior is described in which subjects are requested to choose one of two names which most aptly describes an ambiguous design, then are informed that on five "critical" designs they have chosen names with which the rest of the group disagrees. Several days later, the subjects are retested and the names chosen are compared with the result of the first test. "The results indicate that there is a significant relationship between conformity as measured by changes in judgment on an ambiguous design task and behavior in a nonlaboratory situation." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in occupational stress: A meta-analytic review.

Meta-analysis was performed on 15 studies that examined sex differences in occupational stress. Contrary to previous qualitative literature reviews, these results indicate that there are no sex differences in experienced and perceived work stress. Moderator analyses were conducted. Because null results were obtained, a discussion of empirical and theoretical shortcomings in the sex-occupational stress literature was presented for consideration by future researchers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the origins of sex differences in social behavior: Darwinian and non-Darwinian accounts.

Responds to the comments made by A. H. Eagly (1997), D. G. Cornell (1997), and M. Schaller (1997) on the author's 1996 article comparing the explanations given by social role theory and evolutionary psychology on human sex differences. The author restates the position adopted in his article and believes that there are certain misunderstandings from which the comments stem. He believes that one major point of confusion is between ultimate explanations (of origins) and proximate explanations (of causation). The author further believes that Schaller is thinking of causation or development and clarifies the original position he took in his article. The author believes that Eagly is focusing on proximate issues and he argues against that view, especially when discussing aggression, though he concedes her theories are worth considering in discussing other issues. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

More on reporting sex differences.

Expands on points made by A. Eagly (see record 1988-00051-001) on reporting sex differences in psychological literature, and suggests that (1) the majority of articles do not analyze gender differences in Ss and (2) when gender differences are found, there may be implicit biases in their interpretation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A meta-analytic review of sex differences in facial expression processing and their development in infants, children, and adolescents.

Quantitative and qualitative reviews of the literature on sex differences in facial expression processing (FEP) have yielded conflicting findings regarding children. This study was designed to review quantitatively the literature on sex differences in FEP from infancy through adolescence and to evaluate consistency between the course of FEP development and predictions derived from preliminary theoretical models. Results, which indicate a female advantage at FEP, are consistent with predictions derived from an integrated neurobehavioral/social constructivist model. These findings suggest a need for research examining both neurological maturation and socialization as important factors in the development of sex differences in FEP and related skills. Possible directions for future study are discussed, with emphasis on the need to integrate the infant literature with research focused on older children and adults. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Consumption behavior and the aspiration for conformity and consistency.

The (socio-)psychological concepts of individual aspiration for conformity and consistency are integrated into the rational choice framework. By using this integrative approach, it is shown that, after a shock, the aspiration for conformity results in a steady state that deviates from the homo oeconomicus's behavior toward the consumption of the peer group, whereas the aspiration for consistency leads to the result that the steady-state consumption is not reached at once. With the combination of these effects, a new consumption path is derived. After a shock, the individual consumption converges step by step to the new steady-state consumption. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A meta-analytic review of gender differences in perceptions of sexual harassment.

Research on gender differences in perceptions of sexual harassment informs an ongoing legal debate regarding the use of a reasonable person standard instead of a reasonable woman standard to evaluate sexual harassment claims. The authors report a meta-analysis of 62 studies of gender differences in harassment perceptions. An earlier quantitative review combined all types of social–sexual behaviors for a single meta-analysis; the purpose of this study was to investigate whether the magnitude of the female–male difference varies by type of behavior. An overall standardized mean difference of 0.30 was found, suggesting that women perceive a broader range of social–sexual behaviors as harassing. However, the meta-analysis also found that the female–male difference was larger for behaviors that involve hostile work environment harassment, derogatory attitudes toward women, dating pressure, or physical sexual contact than sexual propositions or sexual coercion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Early sex differences in empathy.

Replicated the N. D. Feshbach and S. Feshbach (see record 1969-08191-001) study which identified the tendency for 4-yr-old girls to be more empathic than boys ( p     

Interactive effects of behavior and reproductive hormones on sex differences in risk for coronary heart disease.

Examines factors accounting for why women in most industrialized countries are protected from coronary heart disease (CHD) relative to men, focusing on the effects of female reproductive hormones (i.e., estrogens) on lipid and lipoprotein metabolism and blood pressure. Epidemiological studies that statistically adjust for sex differences in lipids, blood pressure, and smoking status cannot explain sex differences in CHD morbidity and mortality. Data also show elevated risk of myocardial infarction and stroke among women who use oral contraceptives. Men who are prescribed estrogens have elevated risk of CHD, and case-control studies show that male CHD patients have elevated estradiol, compared to controls. Simple main-effect models of female protection from CHD are inadequate. Reproductive hormones are important determinants of protection from CHD, and behavioral characteristics can influence the effects of reproductive hormones on CHD risk factors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Updating meta-analytic research findings: Bayesian approaches versus the medical model.

The authors examine 3 methods of combining new studies into existing meta-analyses: (a) adding the new study or studies to the database and recalculating the meta-analysis (the medical model); (b) using the Bayesian procedure advocated by F. L. Schmidt and J. E. Hunter (1977) and F. L. Schmidt, J. E. Hunter, K. Pearlman, and G. S. Shane (1979) to update the meta-analysis; and (c) using the Bayesian methods advocated by these authors and M. T. Brannick (2001) and M. T. Brannick, S. M. Hall, and Y. Liu (2002) to estimate study-specific parameters. Method b was found to severely overweight new studies relative to the previous studies contained in the meta-analysis, and Method c was found to do the same while also requiring an assumption with a low prior probability of being correct, causing the method to violate Bayesian principles. The authors present an alternative Bayesian procedure that does not suffer from these drawbacks and yields meta-analytic results very similar to those obtained with the medical model. They recommend use of the medical model or this alternative Bayesian procedure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in cooperation: A meta-analytic review of social dilemmas.

Although it is commonly believed that women are kinder and more cooperative than men, there is conflicting evidence for this assertion. Current theories of sex differences in social behavior suggest that it may be useful to examine in what situations men and women are likely to differ in cooperation. Here, we derive predictions from both sociocultural and evolutionary perspectives on context-specific sex differences in cooperation, and we conduct a unique meta-analytic study of 272 effect sizes—sampled across 50 years of research—on social dilemmas to examine several potential moderators. The overall average effect size is not statistically different from zero (d = –0.05), suggesting that men and women do not differ in their overall amounts of cooperation. However, the association between sex and cooperation is moderated by several key features of the social context: Male–male interactions are more cooperative than female–female interactions (d = 0.16), yet women cooperate more than men in mixed-sex interactions (d = –0.22). In repeated interactions, men are more cooperative than women. Women were more cooperative than men in larger groups and in more recent studies, but these differences disappeared after statistically controlling for several study characteristics. We discuss these results in the context of both sociocultural and evolutionary theories of sex differences, stress the need for an integrated biosocial approach, and outline directions for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)