Predicting spatial performance from gender stereotyping in activity preferences and in self-concept.

Tested competing hypotheses, derived from Bem's gender schema theory and Spence's gender identity theory. Two samples of college students were given a spatial task (either Piaget's water-level task or the Card Rotations Test) and self-report measures of participation in gender-stereotyped, space-related activities and of stereotypical masculine and feminine personality traits. Used causal modeling techniques to test the adequacy of the path models associated with the predictions from Bem's and Spence's theories. In both samples, sex, self-concept, and spatial activities made significant direct contributions to the prediction of spatial performance, supporting Spence's theory. The tendency of those with higher masculine trait scores to perform better on the spatial tasks was sometimes moderated by sex and feminine trait score. Implications of the results for the question of the origin of sex differences in spatial performance are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Masculinity, femininity, androgyny, and cognitive performance: A meta-analysis.

Reviewed studies on the relation between gender self-concept and performance on spatial, mathematical, and verbal tasks to evaluate S. C. Nash's (1979) hypothesis that individuals will perform better on cognitive tasks when their self-concepts match the gender stereotyping of the tasks. Meta-analytic techniques were used to estimate the average effect sizes and to determine the significance of the combined probabilities. The influence of Ss' sex and age, date of study, type of spatial task, and type of self-concept measure on these associations was also examined. In general, the results from spatial and mathematical tasks, which are usually stereotyped as masculine, support Nash's hypothesis. Higher masculine and lower feminine self-concept scores were associated with better performance. These relations were observed more consistently for females than for males. There was some evidence of better spatial and mathematical performance among adolescent boys who described themselves as feminine. Nash's hypothesis was not supported for verbal tasks. There was no evidence that androgyny, defined either as high masculine and high feminine scores or as a balance between masculine and feminine scores, is associated with better cognitive performance. (3? p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender-schematic processing in children: The role of initial interpretations of stimuli.

When processing gender-related information, children have difficulty remembering materials that are counterstereotypic or that are associated more strongly with the other sex. The question of whether encoding difficulties account for these memory problems was investigated. Children (kindergarten through Grade 3) were shown pictures of men and women in traditional, nontraditional, or neutral roles. Some children were given stimulus labels at acquisition to simplify the encoding task. Free-recall data revealed biases in the direction of gender stereotypes, irrespective of label vs no-label conditions (Studies 1 and 2) and of slower vs faster presentation rates (Study 2). Results suggest that an inability to encode at acquisition is probably not the major cause of gender-related biases observed in later recall and have implications for the development of intervention programs designed to reduce gender-schematic processing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in the correlations among field dependence, spatial ability, sex role orientation, and performance on Piaget's water-level task.

In a study with 8th-grade boys and girls, significant sex differences were found on measures of spatial ability (Card Rotations Test), water-level performance, and sex-role orientation (Bem Sex Role Inventory), but not field dependence (Group Embedded Figures Test). For boys, correlations among field dependence, spatial ability, and water-level performance were significant, while for girls they were not. In contrast, sex role orientation was significantly related to field dependence and water-level performance for girls but not for boys. Results suggest a sex difference in the basis for mastering the water-level task. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Subject selection and analyses for sex-related differences: 1968–1970 and 1975–1977.

Examined psychological research to determine whether changes have occurred in S selection and data analysis from the 1960's to the 1970's. Compared with studies published in 1968–1970, those published in 1975–1977 were more likely to specify sex of S and include both males and females and less likely to include only males. Both male and female first authors showed such changes, although female authors in both time periods were more likely than male authors to study both sexes. (6 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Email end users and spam: relations of gender and age group to attitudes and actions

As the problem of spam email increases, we examined users’ attitudes toward and experience with spam as a function of gender and age. College-age, working-age, and retirement-age men and women were surveyed. Most respondents strongly disliked receiving spam yet took few actions against it. There were fewer gender differences than predicted, but age was a significant predictor of several responses. Retirement age men rated themselves as significantly lower in expertise than did working age men, and the oldest and youngest age groups took fewer actions against spam, used the computer less often, and spent fewer hours online than did the working age respondents. Older respondents were more likely than younger ones to report making a purchase as a result of a spam email and received the same amount of spam as other age groups in spite of lower overall use of the computer. The results suggest both that older computer users may be more vulnerable to spam, and that the usability of email for all users may be threatened by the inability of users to effectively take action against spam.