Sexual overstimulation as a cause of unstable gender identity in men: a case report

A phase in the analysis of a young man is presented, demonstrating evidence of maternal sexual overstimulation from infancy through early adulthood. A consequence of this overstimulation was a regression to an unstable gender identity. The developmental line of gender identity proved useful in understanding this man's conflicts.     

Expectancies for counselors as a function of counselor gender specification and subject sex.

20 male and 20 female undergraduates were randomly selected at each of 2 time periods for inclusion in each of 3 experimental groups: male counseling psychologist (CP), female CP, and gender-unspecified CP. Ss filled out a modified version of the Expectations About Counseling (EAC) questionnaire that included a reference to the sex of the CP for the appropriate groups. An additional sample of 92 Ss was enlisted to aid in a manipulation check; on completion of the EAC, they were queried as to whether the sex of the CP had been mentioned. Results indicate that specification of the counselor's gender had no significant effect on Ss' expectations, but that sex of S was a potent factor. Females expected stronger facilitative conditions, more personal involvement in counseling, and a more positive counseling outcome than did males. The importance of Ss' sex and interpersonal style and the CP's professional role in expectation-setting processes are discussed. (17 ref) (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)     

The impact of dependent-care responsibility and gender on work attitudes.

On the basis of a survey of 18,120 federal employees in dual-income households, six 5-stage hierarchical multiple regression analyses, controlling for 10 demographic variables, assessed the impact of child care, elder care, and gender on work–family balance and various facets of job satisfaction. Elder-care responsibility was associated with lower levels of satisfaction with perceived organizational support, pay, leave benefits, and work–family balance, whereas the negative main effects of child care were limited to leave benefits and work–family balance. However, child-care responsibility also interacted with gender: Its negative influence was greater on women's work–family balance and leave satisfaction. Decrements in satisfaction associated with dependent care on the "sandwich generation" were additive, not interactive. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sexual satisfaction in males following spinal cord injury as a function of locus of control.

Examined the variance in mens' sexual satisfaction following spinal cord injury as it relates to their beliefs in their ability to control the reinforcements received from sexual experience. It was hypothesized that greater degrees of internal locus of control (LOC) would be associated with greater sexual satisfaction, taking into account the relative value that sexual experience has for the individual and the degree of impairment of sexual function. Questionnaire data were gathered on 118 paraplegic and quadriplegic men (aged 21–69 yrs). A hierarchical multiple regression analysis demonstrated that greater internal sex-related LOC accounted for a significant proportion of the variance in sexual satisfaction. However, value of reinforcement did not have the predicted effect on the relationship between the variables. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Defensiveness on the MMPI as a function of the warmth of test introduction.

Hypothesized that a warmer introduction to the MMPI would reduce defensiveness as measured by the K and F-K scores and permit the revelation of more psychiatric symptoms. Over a 7-mo period the MMPI with either a warm or cold introduction was administered to a total of 61 mothers and 47 fathers of children being evaluated in a child psychiatric clinic. The K scores were significantly higher and the F-K scores significantly lower for the cold-form group. Mothers who received the warm form scored higher on the F scale, while fathers did not differ across forms. It is concluded that, while an increase in honesty resulted from the manipulation of the forms, there was little evidence to indicate that there was also an increase in the acknowledgment of psychiatric problems. It is suggested that high K and low F-K scores, rather than indicating the covering up of symptoms, are an assertion of psychological health. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Speed of form recognition as a function of stimulus factors and test anxiety.

This study evaluated the usefulness of several theories about Rorschach color shock. Using an arabic-greco-latin square design, the influence of color, pattern of color, figure, and anxiety level on response time was investigated in 192 Ss. "The influence on response time of stimulus attributes affecting complexity was confirmed. The hypotheses that highly anxious persons are greatly affected by colors are not confirmed. Partially verified were predictions made from Hullian behavior theory. It was found that drive level and figure difficulty were related to response time in that highly anxious persons became slower with increasing difficulty of figure during warm-up trials. During the test series, however, the predicted relationship was not found." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Child sexual abuse: victim age, victim gender, and observer gender as factors contributing to attributions of responsibility

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of victim gender, and observer gender on the tendency to attribute responsibility for extrafamilial child sexual abuse to the victim and the nonoffending parents. METHOD: A 2 (Victim Age) x 2 (Victim Gender) x 2 (Observer Gender) between-subjects design was employed. Undergraduate students (N = 145) read a vignette describing a sexually abusive interaction between an adult male neighbor and a child. In this vignette, the child's gender and age (6 years old, 13 years old) varied. After reading the vignette, participants used a 5-point scale to indicate the degree to which they believed the victim and the parents (a) were responsible for, (b) were to blame for, (c) caused, and (d) could have prevented the abuse. RESULTS: Greater responsibility was assigned to older than younger victims. Both parents were ascribed similar levels of responsibility, and were ascribed greater responsibility when the child victim was younger than older. Male observers attributed greater responsibility and causality to the victim and the parents than did female observers. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that responsibility attributions directed toward the victim and the nonoffending parents may be a function of the victim's age. In addition, the findings support previous research suggesting that male observers may tend to hold victims more responsible for their abuse than female observers. Implications for treatment and research are discussed.     

Sexual orientation and gender as factors in socioculturally acquired vulnerability to body dissatisfaction and eating disorders.

Investigated the hypothesis that gay men and heterosexual women are dissatisfied with their bodies and vulnerable to eating disorders because of a shared emphasis on physical attractiveness (PA) and thinness that is based on a desire to attract and please men. Although men place priority on PA in evaluating potential partners, women place greater emphasis on other factors, such as personality, status, power, and income. Therefore, lesbians and heterosexual men are less concerned with their own PA and, consequently, less dissatisfied with their bodies and less vulnerable to eating disorders. Several instruments measuring body satisfaction, the importance of PA, and symptoms of eating disorders were administered to 250 college students. The sample included 53 lesbians, 59 gay men, 62 heterosexual women, and 63 heterosexual men. Multivariate and univariate analyses of variance were used to examine the differences among the scores of lesbians, gay men, heterosexual women, and heterosexual men on these various constructs. Results generally confirmed the research hypothesis. The implications and ramifications these findings have for the understanding of both the psychology of lesbians and gay men and the prevention and treatment of eating disorders are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Acute and chronic distress and posstraumatic stress disorder as a function of responsibility for serious motor vehicle accidents.

In this study on the effects of attributions of responsibility for traumatic events, stress, coping, and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were measured, including intrusive thoughts among 130 victims of serious motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) 14-21 days and 3, 6, and 12 months after their accident. MVA victims and 43 control participants were categorized by accident and attribution of responsibility for their accidents (self-responsible, other-responsible, and control). Although initially all MVA victims reported higher levels of intrusive thoughts and were more likely to meet criteria for PTSD diagnoses, only other-responsible participants continued to demonstrate increased distress 6 and 12 months postaccident. Self-responsible participants used more self-blame coping than other-responsible participants, although within the self-responsible group, use of self-blame was associated with more distress. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Consulting firm responsibility in reporting test validation studies.

"There are two reasons why the following questions should be asked: 'Are management consulting firms reporting the results of test validation studies?' and 'If not, why not?' One reason has to do with professional responsibility and the other reason has to do with public relations." Only about 1 in 7 of the consulting firms offering psychological services has reported test validation studies in the last decade. 7 reasons are suggested for the lack of such reporting. From Psyc Abstracts 36:02:2LD45F. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Race differences on nonverbal analogy test performance as a function of verbal strategy training.

Hypothesized that the relatively poor performance of Black students on nominally nonverbal reasoning tests (A. R. Jensen's Level II) (see record 1974-24027-001) may be due to their failure to use verbal problem-solving strategies efficiently and spontaneously. 200 4th and 5th graders, both Black and White, showed no race differences on Level I ability (digit-span memory). Half of the Ss of each race were then trained to use a verbal strategy on nonverbal analogies. For Ss who received no special training there were significant race differences on the analogies test (p     

The effect of gender on left ventricular function immediately after the wingate test

The effect of gender on left ventricular systolic function and exercise haemodynamics in healthy young subjects was studied during 30-s all-out sudden strenuous dynamic exercise. A group of 22 men [19.3 (SD 1) years] 20 women [19.1 (SD 1) years] volunteered to participate in this study. Two-dimensional direct M-mode and Doppler echocardiograph studies were performed with the subject in the sitting position. The Doppler examination of flow was located with continuous-wave, interrogating ascending aorta measurements. The subjects completed the study without showing any electrocardiograph abnormalities. An interaction effect with stroke volume (P < 0.05) was characterized by a decrease in the men and an increase of stroke volume in the women. Cardiac output rose significantly (P < 0.05) up to 14.5 (SD 6) 1.min-1) for the men and 12.1 (SD 4) 1.min-1 for the women compared to the rest values [5.8 (SD 0.4) and 4.7 (SD 0.5) 1.min-1, respectively]. Flow velocity integral and acceleration time differed significantly between the two groups at rest (P < 0.05). During exercise these differences showed an interaction effect (P < 0.05). These results would indicate that normal men and women respond to sudden strenuous exercise by reducing their left ventricular systolic function, with a significantly greater decrease in women (P < 0.05). The gender differences in the haemodynamic responses during the present study, may, as suggested by others, be attributable to differences in energy metabolism. In addition, changes in Doppler parameters of aortic flow, haemodynamics and blood pressure responses during sudden strenuous exercise differed markedly from those seen before with endurance exercise.     

Reaction-time behaviour as a function of internal-external control of reinforcement and control of test administration.

Tested 168 undergraduates in 2 self- vs. E-controlled RT experiments. Ss with internal vs. external control of reinforcement expectancies were compared across these conditions. Internal-external proved to be irrelevant to condition effects, whereas sex of S proved important. Female Ss were quicker in self-directed conditions in both regular and irregular RT procedures, while always slower than males in general. When instructions were embellished to facilitate performance for a 3rd sample, external Ss did show some improvement. Data indicate support for previous research that has emphasized responsiveness of external Ss to E's structuring of tasks. External Ss seemed more affected by motivating directions especially in the other-directed condition, at the shortest preparatory interval. No clear-cut support, however, was found for the hypothesized interaction between internal-external and self- vs. other-controlled conditions. (French summary) (19 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Employment battery performance of Hispanic applicants as a function of English or Spanish test instructions.

Identified 1,300 Hispanic applicants for operator/clerical jobs in northeastern, southern, and southwestern US regions, and determined their language preference. Ss who indicated a preference for receiving the employment test battery with Spanish instructions were allocated to 2 groups; the 1st group was administered the battery with Spanish instructions, and the 2nd group received the same test battery with English instructions. The battery included arithmetic, word meaning, filing, coding, and marking subtests. Comparisons of test performance under the 2 conditions suggest that Spanish instructions resulted in small but significant gains in scores, especially on the marking subtest. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An empirical test of Heider's levels in attribution of responsibility.

2 experiments were conducted to examine variables in attribution of responsibility (AR). In Experiment I, 41 children and 41 adults were presented 20 stories, 4 at each of 5 levels (2 with positive and 2 with negative outcomes). Each story included only the minimum factors necessary to elicit AR at a given level. Story content was relevant to the juvenile population. AR varied significantly with Populations, Levels, Outcomes, and their interactions (p     

Sexual orientation and childhood gender nonconformity: Evidence from home videos.

Homosexual adults tend to be more gender nonconforming than heterosexual adults in some of their behaviors, feelings, and interests. Retrospective studies have also shown large differences in childhood gender nonconformity, but these studies have been criticized for possible memory biases. The authors studied an indicator of childhood gender nonconformity not subject to such biases: childhood home videos. They recruited homosexual and heterosexual men and women (targets) with videos from their childhood and subsequently asked heterosexual and homosexual raters to judge the gender nonconformity of the targets from both the childhood videos and adult videos made for the study. Prehomosexual children were judged more gender nonconforming, on average, than preheterosexual children, and this pattern obtained for both men and women. This difference emerged early, carried into adulthood, and was consistent with self-report. In addition, targets who were more gender nonconforming tended to recall more childhood rejection. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Size contrast as a function of conceptual similarity between test and inducers

In four experiments, the effect of the semantic relationship between test and inducing stimuli on the magnitude of size contrast in an Ebbinghaus-type illusion was explored. In Experiments 1 and 2, the greatest illusion was found when test and inducing stimuli were identical in shape and differed only in size. Decreased size contrast was found when inducing stimuli were drawn from the same category as the test stimulus, but were not visually identical. Even less size contrast was found when inducing stimuli were from a near conceptual category, with the least effect when they were drawn from a completely different category. In Experiment 3, it was demonstrated that even if test and inducing stimuli are drawn with identical geometric elements, the size contrast illusion is greatly reduced if they represent apparently different conceptual categories (through the manipulation of orientation and perceptual set). In Experiment 4, any geometric or spatial confounds were ruled out. These results suggest that size contrast is strongly influenced by the conceptual similarity between test and inducing stimuli.     

Prejudice as a function of self-organization.

This article reviewed the traditional psychoanalytic theories of the development and maintenance of prejudiced attitudes and affects. To this body of understanding, the authors offered a self psychological perspective. They described the treatment of Sandy, a woman who presented with extreme expressions of prejudice, to illustrate how self psychology provides a framework for understanding the narcissistic roots of her prejudice and a therapeutic stance for promoting the transformation of her prejudiced attitudes and affects. From this perspective, prejudice is understood not as the displacement or projection of aggression, but as an expression of a vulnerable, fragmentation-prone self-organization struggling to overcome a traumatic developmental history. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)