Impact of counselor gender and counselor sex role orientation on perceived counselor characteristics.

Assessed the influence of counselor (C) gender (male or female), C sex role orientation (traditional or egalitarian), S's sex role orientation (masculine, feminine, or androgynous), and client problem type (sex role related or not sex role related) on female Ss' judgments of their comfort with disclosing to Cs and their perceptions of the C's attractiveness, expertness, and trustworthiness. Results show that (a) S's ratings of comfort in disclosing was greater with female rather than male and with egalitarian rather than traditional Cs; (b) female egalitarian Cs were perceived as most expert, whereas female traditional Cs were perceived as least expert, and (c) male traditional Cs were perceived as least trustworthy. The presence of C gender and C sex role effects and the absence of effects as a function of problem type and Ss' sex role orientation are discussed. Suggestions are made concerning the need for more consistent definition of sex role orientation and designation of problem type. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Counselor sex and empathic judgment.

Studies on the role of sex in the empathic process have yielded conflicting results. The present study investigated the effects of sex of judge, sex of referent, and sex-pairing of judge and referent on level of understanding, or affective sensitivity, of school counselors. Practicing counselors (71 female and 102 male) viewed the Affective Sensitivity Scale in groups and responded to a multiple-choice instrument on the affective status of males and females on the screen. Male and female counselors were found to be equally accurate in their empathic judgments. There were no detected effects of sex-pairing. Both male and female counselors demonstrated significantly more affective sensitivity to male referents than to females. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multidimensional analysis of observers' perceptions of self-disclosing behavior.

The nature of perceptions of self-disclosing speakers was examined using a multidimensional assessment procedure for scoring the basic parameters of disclosure. Ss were 168 male and 168 female undergraduates. Computation of usefulness coefficients revealed that the sex of the speaker and the amount, intimacy, rate, and affective manner of presentation of self-relevant information uniquely explained significant amounts of variance in the overall perception of disclosing behavior. Separate regression analyses by S sex were computed to determine if males and females attended to different facets of verbal discourse when judging self-disclosure. Although there was a gender-related bias affecting the ratings given to the speakers, no sex differences were found in the manner in which these judgments were made. Results are discussed in terms of the practical and theoretical importance of multidimensional assessment procedures in self-disclosure research. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stereotypes of college students toward the average man's and woman's attitudes toward women.

Investigated stereotypes of females held by 49 male and 53 female college students using role playing. Approximately 1/2 of the male and 1/2 of the female Ss responded to attitudinal items about the role of females in society as they believed the average male would respond; the remaining Ss responded as they believed the average female would respond. Results show a significant difference between the sex stereotype centroids of males and females and an interaction between sex of respondent and sex stereotype. The interaction indicates that females perceive a greater gulf between the stereotypes of females held by members of the different sexes than do males. The method employed is considered useful in identifying the loci of false perceptions of belief dissimilarity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factors affecting allocation to needy and meritorious recipients: A cross-cultural comparison.

Examined the effect of culture (India vs the US), sex of allocator, sex of allocation target, the positive or negative value of the allocation, and the short- or long-term impact of the allocation decision on respondents' distribution of money to a hypothetical recipient. 53 Indian male, 44 Indian female, 40 US male, and 44 US female undergraduates served as Ss. Results reveal that Indian Ss distributed more on the basis of need and less on the basis of merit or equality than did the Americans. Also, the Indian males and the American males and females distributed more to the needy recipient and less to the meritorious recipient when money cutbacks rather than rewards were involved. Indian females, on the other hand, gave most to the needy in all cases. Findings support the idea that perceptions of fairness are culturally relative and bound to specific socialization practices and societal norms. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teacher–student interactions: Effects of student race, sex, and grade level.

Studied quantitative and qualitative differences in students' initiating behaviors, teachers' verbal feedback, and students' available response opportunities in 63 classrooms in relation to student race (Black or White), sex, and grade level (kindergarten through 5th grade). There were 430 White males, 311 White females, 296 Black males, and 291 Black females. Interactions were collected using an observation system, and data were standardized for each classroom to account for the representation of each of the 4 sex/race categories. Results indicate that male students initiated more positive and negative interactions with teachers than did female students. Quantitatively, White female students at both the lower-elementary (LE) and the upper-elementary (UE) levels received less teacher feedback than did students in the other sex/race categories. Black female students received less teacher feedback in the UE grades than in the LE grades, as was the case for White female students. Qualitative differences in feedback indicated that male students received more negative and nonacademic feedback than did female students and that UE female students received less academic feedback than did UE male students. Findings show that UE Black female students were provided fewer opportunities to respond in the classroom than were LE Black female students. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Magnesium and the transport system

For the purpose of studying the sex differences of the human face we collected five separate images, which consist of several parts of the face, from frontal view photographs of 48 male and 52 female college students. We traced outlines of their faces with simple lines (traced items), and made reproductions of the photographs of their eyes, mouth and nose by using a copying machine (reproduced items). The test subjects were 16 males and 8 females. They looked at parts of the face shown in each image, and categorized them individually by judging on their sex. Then, we calculated the percentages of correct judgments (percentage correct) for each image. By comparing the percentage correct between male and female we concluded that the sex of the subjects did not affect the results of their judgments. In the traced items the percentage correct for the face as a whole, which contained the outlines of the eyes, mouth, nose and the lower jaw, was 69%, but it decreased to 61% when the outline of the lower jaw was removed. Hence, the outline of the lower jaw apparently has a characteristic shape easily noticed by males. In the reproduced items the percentage correct was 65% for the eyes, 68% for the mouth and 58% for the nose. The mouth, therefore, has more distinguishing characteristics than the eyes or nose, especially with females. On the other hand, there is no correlation between the percentage correct for the eye, mouth and nose items. Hence, we concluded that the sexual specificity for the shape of the young Japanese face appears on their parts independently.     

Sex differences in attributions for friendly behavior: Do males misperceive females' friendliness?

Conducted a laboratory experiment in which a male and female participated in a 5-min conversation while a hidden male and female observed this interaction. 36 sessions, involving 144 undergraduates, were completed. Male actors and observers rated the female actor as being more promiscuous and seductive than did female actors and observers. Males were also more sexually attracted to the opposite-sex actor than were females, and rated the male actor in a more sexualized fashion. Results suggest that males are more likely than females to perceive interactions in sexual terms and to make sexual judgments. Males seem to perceive friendliness from females as seduction, but this appears to be merely one manifestation of a broader male sexual orientation. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sexually dimorphic enhancement by estradiol of male urinary odor detection thresholds in mice.

We asked whether sex and adult estrogen exposure influence the detection thresholds for urinary odors used by mice to guide their social behaviors. Gonadectomized (GDX) male and female mice were trained on a two-choice food-motivated task to determine detection thresholds for male urinary odors. There was no significant sex difference in the detection of these odors by GDX subjects without hormone replacement. However, during treatment with estradiol benzoate (EB), GDX females, but not GDX males, showed an enhanced ability to detect these odors. To investigate a possible mechanism for this effect, the authors measured GDX females' odor-sampling behavior (sniffing) by monitoring intranasal pressure transients during performance of the urinary odor detection task with and without EB treatment. Under both hormone conditions, females decreased their sniffing frequency as the urinary odor concentration decreased, with this decrease being significantly greater while GDX females received EB. Thus, estradiol enhanced detection thresholds for male urine in a sex-specific manner, and this enhanced sensitivity in females was correlated with altered odor-sampling behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex role orientation and dream recall.

Compared dreams of 27 male and 32 female undergraduates categorized as "masculine" or "feminine" using Femininity scores on the California Psychological Inventory. Masculine Ss were rated higher on a general measure of maleness ("agency") than feminine Ss. Feminine males were rated higher on a measure of femaleness ("communion") than masculine males. Masculine Ss, especially males, more often had dreams of aggression. Ss, especially males, with sex role orientation contrary to stereotype had more unpleasant dreams than Ss whose sex role was congruent. Questionnaire estimations of dream recall frequency were more accurate predictors of subsequent dream recall frequency for Ss, especially males, with sex role orientations contrary to stereotype. Results support the assumption that sex role orientation rather than biological gender plays a fundamental role in determining dream content, and that the development of sex role-related aspects of life-style is more problematic for males than females. (46 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of sex, estrous cycle, and drug-onset age on cocaine self-administration in rats (Rattus norvegicus).

The influence of sex, phase of the estrous cycle, and age of drug onset on cocaine self-administration was examined. Adult male, adult female, and adolescent male rats (Rattus norvegicus) were evaluated using low fixed-ratio (FR) schedules of drug delivery with a single fixed cocaine unit dose or a range of cocaine unit doses with a single FR schedule. Sex differences in adults were observed for mg/kg consumption of the 3.0-mg/kg unit dose, with consumption being significantly less in estrus females than in males. Over the estrous cycle, mg/kg consumption of this unit dose was significantly less during estrus than during metestrus-diestrus. Differences due to age of drug onset were also observed, with mg/kg consumption of the 3.0-mg/kg unit dose being significantly less in adolescent males than adult males or adult females during metestrus-diestrus. In contrast, these various groups did not have significantly different mg/kg intakes of cocaine unit doses     

Sex differences in subclinical depression: Administration of the Beck Depression Inventory in public and private disclosure situations.

To test the idea that the preponderance of female depressives is due to a masculine tendency to avoid negative social consequences by reporting fewer depressive symptoms, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was administered to 106 male and 104 female undergraduates under conditions of public and private disclosure. It was hypothesized that males would score lower on the BDI than females in the public disclosure condition but not males in the private disclosure condition. Results of both studies fail to support the experimental hypothesis. However, ANOVA revealed a significant interaction between sex of S and sex of examiner. Results are discussed in terms of a willingness to admit more symptoms to a same-sex person due to fear of rejection by the opposite sex and in terms of gender-specific patterns of self-disclosure in first-encounter heterosexual situations. Results also suggest that BDI scores of college students can be interpreted without regard to type of administration. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender and dilemma differences in real-life moral judgment.

The authors investigated the effects of gender, gender role, and type of moral dilemma on moral maturity and moral orientation. Fifty-five female and 55 male university students were given the Personal Attributes Questionnaire (J. T. Spence & R. L. Helmreich, 1978), L. Kohlberg's test of moral judgment, and instructions to discuss a personal and impersonal real-life moral dilemma. Moral stage, moral orientation, and the relation between them varied across dilemmas. Females were more consistent than males in moral stage; males were more consistent in moral orientation. Females made higher stage and more care-based moral judgments than males made on personal real-life dilemmas. The observed variations occurred primarily because males reported more Stage 2, justice-pulling antisocial dilemmas than females, and females reported more Stage 3, care-pulling prosocial dilemmas than males. A more interactional model of moral judgment than the models of L. Kohlberg and C. Gilligan is recommended. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Handedness, sex, and eyedness as moderating variables in the relation between hypnotic susceptibility and functional brain asymmetry.

The number of eye movements to the right in response to verbal and spatial questions in an E-facing-S situation correlated moderately with measured hypnotic responsiveness for a sample of 30 male and 30 female right-handed undergraduates. This finding confirms earlier indications that hypnotic responsiveness may be a right hemisphere function in right-handed Ss. The correlation was not significant for 19 male and 11 female left-handed Ss. Further breakdowns of the sample produced much higher correlations with hypnotizability, indicating the roles of sex, handedness, and eyedness as moderating variables. Right-handed males yielded a correlation of -.68 and left-handed females a correlation of .58, while the correlations for right-handed females and left-handed males were nonsignificant. Left-handed males, if also left-eyed, showed a correlation of .52. Left-handed males who were right-eyed, however, showed a correlation of -.41. Right-handed females who were left-eyed and right-eyed produced correlations with appropriate opposite signs, but the differences were not significant. (45 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's reactions to textbook stories in which females are portrayed in traditionally male roles.

Assessed the effects of portraying a female main character in a traditionally male role on male and female children's sex role perceptions and story evaluations. 67 female and 44 male 3rd and 4th graders read a series of stories in which either the majority of main characters were female, or the majority of main characters were male, or male and female main characters were equally represented. Results indicate that (a) exposure to female main characters in nontraditional role activities increased Ss' perceptions of the number of girls who could engage in these same activities but did not affect perceptions of sex role activities not presented in the stories, and (b) story evaluations did not vary as a function of sex of the main character. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship of education to sex, managerial status, and the managerial stereotype.

Investigated the personality traits of achievement orientation, aggression, dominance, and nurturance, as measured by the Personality Research Form, to analyze sex differences when males and females achieve similar job ranks and educational levels. Ss, matched by organization and department, represented 39 firms and included 66 sets of 4 employees each: a male manager, a female manager, a male nonmanager, and a female nonmanager. Results indicate that education is significantly related to each of the 4 personality traits and interacts with sex for dominance and nurturance. Sex differences for these 2 traits practically disappeared when more educated males and females were compared; the more educated members of both sexes approximated the managerial stereotype. There was no interaction between education and managerial status for any of the personality variables. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interactive effects of sex and status on self-disclosure.

Rated the degree of self-disclosure of 40 male and 40 female undergraduates in interviews with either male or female interviewers of high or low status. A 2 * 2 * 2 analysis of variance revealed that (a) males disclosed more to females, while females disclosed more to males; (b) dyads containing a female resulted in more disclosure than all male dyads; (c) males revealed more to high-status interviewers, while females disclosed more to low-status interviewers; and (d) high- as opposed to low-status male interviewers elicited more disclosure from all Ss, while status of female interviewers resulted in no significant differences. The need for use of multiple measures in self-disclosure research and implications for client-therapist matching is noted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When boy meets girl: Sex roles and the negotiation of intimacy in an acquaintance exercise.

Sex roles in the social construction of a mixed-sex encounter were examined in an acquaintance exercise in which partners disclosed alternately, selecting on each turn from an intimacy-scaled list of topics. 74 female and 38 male undergraduates participated. Results indicate that males were the principal architects of such encounters, regardless of which partner took the 1st turn. They proceeded independently in their choice of topics, dictating the pace at which intimacy increased during the exercise, whereas females enabled a degree of consensus to emerge by matching the pace set. However, females selected less intimate topics than males and reported less enjoyment of the encounters; they also reported exercising less influence on the course the encounters took. Data also show that these interactions were subject to greater strain than similar encounters between pairs of females and that females in the mixed-sex dyads engaged in more intimate disclosure than they might have wished. Data are consistent with traditional sex role stereotypes bearing on the control of interpersonal relationships. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Illusion of control for self and others in depressed and nondepressed college students.

108 depressed or nondepressed undergraduates, as assessed by the Beck Depression Inventory and Multiple Affect Adjective Check List, judged either how much control they themselves had or how much control a male or female confederate (C) had over a noncontingent, but positive, outcome. Replicating past findings (i.e., L. B. Alloy et al, 1981) on depression and judgments of control, depressed Ss judged relatively accurately that they exerted little control over the experimental outcome, whereas nondepressed Ss overestimated their personal control. Ss' judgments of the C's control were a function of the S's mood state and sex as well as of the C's sex. With 1 exception (depressed males in the male other condition), depressed Ss tended to overestimate the C's (male or female) control over the noncontingent outcome. Nondepressed females also judged that the C (male or female) exerted a high degree of control, thus succumbing to the illusion of control both for themselves and others. Nondepressed males tended to judge more accurately that the C (particularly the female C) exerted little control and thus succumbed to the illusion of control for themselves but not for others. Findings imply that an adequate understanding of depressive and nondepressive cognition requires an interpersonal as well as an intrapsychic perspective. (48 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Allocentrism and Friendship Satisfaction: The Mediating Roles of Disclosure and Closeness.

Based on interdependence theory and the interpersonal process model of intimacy, individuals' personal attributes, perceptions, cognitions, and affect should influence relationship expectations. Self-disclosure is one form of behavioural interdependence and includes perceptions of the partner's disclosure. These behaviours (own disclosure) and perceptions (perceived partner's disclosure) should impact cognitions about the self and partner (cognitive closeness) and affect about the relationship (satisfaction). Personal attributes also determine how people react. Allocentrism, one personal attribute, refers to an individual's orientation involving emotional ties and dependence on others. A study involving cross-sex friendships tested whether allocentrism predicted own disclosure, own disclosure predicted perceived friend's disclosure, which predicted closeness, and finally closeness predicted satisfaction. A series of hierarchical regressions supported these relations and accounted for 23% of the variance in satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)