Gender and helping behavior: A meta-analytic review of the social psychological literature.

Contends, on the basis of posited social-role theory of gender and helping, that the male gender role fosters helping that is heroic and chivalrous, whereas the female gender role fosters helping that is nurturant and caring. In social psychological studies, helping behavior has mainly been examined in the context of short-term encounters with strangers. This focus has tended to exclude from the research literature those helping behaviors prescribed by the female gender role, because they are displayed primarily in long-term, close relationships. In contrast, the helping behaviors prescribed by the male gender role have been generously represented in research findings because they are displayed in relationships with strangers as well as in close relationships. Results from a meta-analytic review of sex differences in 172 studies (appended) in helping behavior indicate that in general men helped more than women and women received more help than men. Nevertheless, sex differences in helping were inconsistent across studies and were successfully predicted by various attributes of the studies and the helping behaviors. (96 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender and aggressive behavior: A meta-analytic review of the social psychological literature.

Reviewed sex differences in aggressive behavior, using 63 studies (appended) reported in the social psychological literature, and found that although men were somewhat more aggressive than women on the average, sex differences were inconsistent across studies. The magnitude of the sex differences was significantly related to various attributes of the studies. In particular, the tendency for men to aggress more than women was more pronounced for aggression that produced pain or physical injury than for aggression that produced psychological or social harm. In addition, sex differences in aggressive behavior were larger to the extent that women, more than men, perceived that enacting a behavior would produce harm to the target, guilt and anxiety in oneself, as well as danger to oneself. It is suggested that aggression sex differences are a function of perceived consequences of aggression that are learned as aspects of gender roles and other social roles. (96 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The dependent personality: Developmental, social, and clinical perspectives.

Developmental, social, and clinical studies of dependency have produced remarkably consistent results. A review and integration of these findings allow strong conclusions to be drawn regarding the etiology and dynamics of dependency. The etiology of dependency appears to lie in overprotective, authoritarian parenting. In social settings, dependency is associated with suggestibility, conformity, compliance, interpersonal yielding, affiliative behavior, and sensitivity to interpersonal cues. Dependency predicts the onset of certain psychological disorders and follows the onset of others. It seems that the fundamental motivation of the dependent person, from which the behaviors that are exhibited in different situations are derived, is a strong desire to obtain and maintain nurturant supportive relationships. Implications of these findings for different theoretical models of dependency are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender and social influence: A social psychological analysis.

Men and women are believed to differ in how influential and easily influenced they are: Men are thought to be more influential, and women more easily influenced. In natural settings, men and women tend to differ in these ways, but these differences stem largely from formal status inequalities by which men are more likely than women to have high-status roles. Status is important because of the legitimate authority vested in high-status roles. Within appropriate limits, people of higher status are believed to have the right to make demands of those of lower status, and people of lower status are expected to comply with these demands. Yet, small, stereotypic sex differences in leadership and social influence generally have been found in laboratory experiments and other small-group settings where men and women have equal formal status. These small sex differences may occur because experience with hierarchical social structures in which men have higher status creates expectancies about male and female behavior, and these expectancies affect social interaction in ways that foster behavior that confirms the expectancies. Sex differences that occur in the laboratory as well as natural settings may stem from social structural factors—namely, from the existing distributions of women and men into social roles. (77 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ethnic conflict: Global challenges and psychological perspectives.

Introduces a special section on ethnic conflict in 5 different parts of the world. This section analyzes psychological dimensions of particular conflicts and promotes thinking about the possible contributions psychology can make in the research, practice, and policy domains. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Understanding empathy: Integrating counseling, developmental, and social psychology perspectives.

Reviews the literature of social and developmental psychology on empathy theory and research. These 2 subdisciplines differ in their definitions and measures from each other, as well as from the counseling/psychotherapy area. At the same time, all 3 disciplines identify 2 major types of empathy: (a) affective empathy, or feeling the same way as another person, and (b) cognitive or role-taking empathy. Four proposals that result from an integration of these 3 literatures are discussed: First, empathy should be viewed as a multistage interpersonal process that can involve emotional contagion, identification, and role taking. Second, empathy in children is probably different from empathy in adolescence and adulthood. Third, empathy can but does not necessarily lead to helping behaviors. Last, empathy in counseling/psychotherapy can be helpful in certain stages, with certain clients, and for certain goals. However, at other times it can interfere with positive outcomes. (79 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development, microevolution, and social behavior.

The central questions of social development—from the roots of mother–infant attachment to the plasticity of aggressive behavior—pivot on the relations between genetic and ontogenetic sources of variance. It is proposed that (a) developmental, experiential, and microevolutionary processes typically collaborate, rather than compete, in achieving social adaptation; (b) social behavior patterns are mostly closed to modification in the course of development and across generations, but avenues of vulnerability exist in ontogeny and microevolution for dynamic, rapid, and reversible changes in key features; (c) a general avenue for change is delay or acceleration in the developmental onset of one or more features of the behavior pattern, which in turn modifies the functions and properties of the adaptive configuration; and (d) the features of social behavior that are open to rapid change in ontogeny should be open as well to rapid changes in microevolution, although different underlying processes may be involved. Empirical findings from the investigation of aggressive interactions are used to illustrate this proposal on the dual genesis and coincident adaptation of social behaviors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Type A behavior, age, and psychological well-being.

Investigated psychological well-being among Type A (coronary prone) and Type B (noncoronary prone) individuals across the age span. It was hypothesized that the hard-driving, achievement-oriented lifestyle exhibited by Type A's would be adaptive in younger age groups but would lead to lower well-being in later life because of increased limitations on the range and level of activities. By contrast, the more relaxed, easygoing style of Type B's would match better the slower pace of old age but would not be as conducive to success in younger age groups. 319 adults (aged 18–89 yrs) completed a battery of instruments that included the Jenkins Activity Survey and scales of life changes and psychopathology. Results confirm the hypotheses but indicate that psychological differences may be mediated in part by differences in physical well-being. Experience with life events and the structure and function of social networks may contribute to the differences in well-being. (59 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Type A behavior, social support, stress, and physical and psychological well-being among Japanese women

The present study examined the relationships among self-report scores for Type A behavior, social support, and stress, and those for physical and psychological well-being among 152 Japanese female college students. Significant interactions were found between scores for Type A behavior and social support, indicating that individuals who report higher Type A behavior as well as higher social support tended to rate their physical and psychological well-being higher than those who reported higher Type A behavior but lower social support.     

Community psychology: Boundary problems, psychological perspectives, and an empirical overview of the field.

Argues that L. D. Goodstein and I. Sandler's (see record 1979-22507-001) conceptual analysis of the role of community psychology (CP) exacerbates the boundary problem between CP and allied fields and loses sight of the part of CP that is psychological in nature. A content analysis of published literature on CP reveals overlaps between CP and community mental health, as well as between CP and public policy, organizational, and applied psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reading difficulties, behavior, and social status.

198 boys from lower class backgrounds took part in a longitudinal study covering the 1st 2 yrs of elementary school. The research concerned the effect of reading difficulties and behavior on peer rejection and popularity. Children were rated on the Children's Behavior Questionnaire, the Adversity Index, and a sociometric inquiry, and tested with the Thackray Reading Readiness Profiles, Southgate Tests of Ward Selection, and the Columbia Mental Maturity Scale. Rejected Ss came from more adverse social backgrounds and were conceptually more limited than their more popular peers. Also examined was whether poor readers were rejected more often than good readers. Results indicate that when poor readers were rejected it was because of their antisocial behavior rather than because of their difficulties in reading. Poor readers who were stable and conformed to classroom requirements were no more rejected than good readers of equivalent behavior; however, they were less popular. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multiple personality: A social psychological perspective.

48 undergraduates were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 interview treatments that varied in the extent to which they provided cues for manifesting multiple personality and were instructed to play the role of an accused murderer throughout the interview. The most explicit treatment (Bianchi treatment) included a role-played hypnotic interview that was used in diagnosing a suspect in the "Hillside strangler" rape–murder cases as suffering from multiple personality. A less explicit hypnotic treatment and a nonhypnotic treatment were administered to the remaining role players. Most Ss in the Bianchi treatment displayed the major signs of multiple personality (e.g., adoption of a different name, spontaneous "posthypnotic" amnesia). In a later session, Ss who role played as multiple personalities performed differently on psychological tests administered separately to each role-played identity. Those who failed to enact the multiple personality role performed similarly when tested twice. Findings are discussed in terms of a social psychological formulation that emphasizes the roles of active cognizing, contextual cuing, and social legitimation in the genesis of multiple personality. (54 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship between level of disability, psychological problems, social activity, and social networks.

Objective: To test a theoretical model on the relationship between level of disability, psychological problems, social activity, and social networks. Study Design: A repeated cross-sectional study included in 2 representative studies in the general population in Norway. Structural equation modeling was applied to test different models. Results: Activity limitations contribute to the prediction of psychological problems and level of social activity over time, whereas the reverse effects were not demonstrated. However, cross-sectional associations between psychosocial variables and activity limitations were found. Conclusions: The study confirms that activity limitations predict level of psychosocial problems. Although the reverse longitudinal effect from psychosocial problems on activity limitations was not demonstrated, short-term effects cannot be ruled out with the current study design. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality, social support, and psychological distress in later life.

A conceptual model was developed to address 2 issues that have received relatively little attention in the social support literature. First, an attempt was made to assess the interrelationships among 3 types or dimensions of supportive social relations. In addition, the impact of selected psychological and social factors on social support use was examined. Findings from a nationwide survey of older adults in the United Kingdom suggest that social contact tends to increase the amount of received support, and received support in turn tends to bolster perceptions of support availability in the future (i.e., anticipated support). With regard to the second issue, social roles (especially marital status) and social extraversion emerged as potentially important correlates of social support use in later life. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Functional gastrointestinal disorders: psychological, social, and somatic features

BACKGROUND: Helminthic infections induce an IL-4-dependent polyclonal stimulation of IgE synthetization. It is still unclear, however, what role helminths play in allergic sensitization. OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine the relationship between Ascaris-specific IgE and allergic sensitization in a nontropical country. METHODS: In 2 consecutive cross-sectional surveys in 1992-1993 and 1995-1996, data from school entrants (age range, 5 to 7 years), third graders (age range, 8 to 10 years), and sixth graders (age range, 11 to 14 years) were collected. The 2 younger groups were reexamined in the second survey. Data for about 2300 children, including a cohort of 700 subjects, were analyzed. Ascaris IgE and total and specific IgE to inhalant allergens were measured, and skin prick tests were performed. Information about asthma and allergic rhinitis was collected by a questionnaire. RESULTS: Children who were Ascaris-IgE seropositive (>0.35 IU/mL) in both surveys had 10-fold higher levels of total IgE (451 IU/mL vs 45 IU/mL, P < .001) and higher prevalence rates of allergen-specific IgE seropositivity (56.3% vs 26.6%, P < .001). They also had a higher prevalence of allergic rhinitis (12.6% vs 3.7%, P < .001) and asthma (5.7% vs 1.6%, P < .05). In subjects who were Ascaris-seronegative in the first survey but seropositive in the second survey, total and specific IgE increased markedly. Sensitization to Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus increased nearly 3-fold in this group. In contrast, in children who became Ascaris-seronegative, total and specific IgE decreased. CONCLUSIONS: Contact with low doses of helminthic antigen is associated with an increase of total and specific IgE production. Helminthic infections in East German children are not the cause for a low prevalence of allergies in the former East Germany.     

Review of Spinal cord injuries: psychological, social, and vocational rehabilitation.

Reviews the book, Spinal cord injuries: Psychological, social, and vocational rehabilitation, 2nd Edition by Roberta B. Trieschmann (1988). Despite the extensive rewriting and reorganization, however, the clarity and readability of the first edition has not been sacrificed. Owners of the first edition may want to obtain this one as well. In addition to presenting the information on psycho/social/vocational dimensions of spinal cord injury (SCI) in a developmental manner, from acute onset through rehabilitation and long-term adjustment issues, the author also discusses in depth such issues as traumatic brain injury, locus of control, substance abuse, independent living, and so on. Some of the topics covered in this edition that are not dealt with in the first edition are athletics, biofeedback, community integration, gender issues, quality of life, parenting, and respirator dependency. Some topics such as aging, attitudes, family issues, and sexuality are dealt with more completely. In addition to the empirical, critical analysis of the research on SCI that the first edition was known for, the second edition also suggests ways in which the research needs to be improved and supplemented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social conflict, social support, and psychological distress: Evidence of cross-domain buffering effects.

A longitudinal study examined the relative and joint effects of perceived social support and social conflict on psychological distress in 228 college students. Women had higher perceived social support from roommates and friends and less conflict with roommates than did men; there were no gender differences in level of conflict with friends or psychological distress. Roommate conflict predicted increases in psychological distress over time; this effect was attenuated by high levels of perceived social support from friends. Friend conflict also predicted increases in psychological distress over time; this effect was attenuated by high levels of perceived social support from roommates. These results show the importance of negative and positive aspects of social experiences to emotional functioning and the importance of compensatory social support for individuals facing social conflicts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Choice behavior in social dilemmas: Effects of social identity, group size, and decision framing.

Social dilemmas appear in 2 basic forms: the public goods (PG) problem, in which the individual must decide whether to contribute to a common resource, and the commons dilemma (CD), in which the individual must decide whether to take from a common resource. The 2 forms of choice dilemma are equivalent in terms of outcomes, but because they involve different decision frames, they are not psychologically equivalent. The present experiment, with 88 undergraduates, examined framing effects on decisions involving use of a common resource pool in a 2?×?2?×?2 (PG vs CD task structure?×?small vs large group size?×?individualistic vs collective social identity) factorial design. That the 2 versions of the decision task were not psychologically equivalent was evidenced both by a main effect of task structure and by interactions involving task structure, group size, and social identity. Overall, Ss kept more of the common resource for themselves under the PG version of the task than under the CD frame. Under the CD structure, group size had no effect on choice behavior, but in the PG version, Ss in large groups kept more than did individuals in small groups. As the resource pool was depleted, the social identity manipulation had opposite effects for large groups under CD and PG frames. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)