Kathryn N. Black

Paternal absence and sex-role development: a meta-analysis.

A meta-analysis was based on every available study that has compared father-present and father-absent children on a measure of sex typing. 67 studies produced 222 estimates of effect size. Owing to the inappropriateness of conventional statistics, Hedgess approach to meta-analysis was employed. Results show that published studies produced larger estimates of effect size than dissertations and conference papers. Effect-size estimates based on clinical and incarcerated samples were significantly different from those based on more typical samples. Generalizable differences between father-present and father-absent females were conspicuously absent. Preschool father-absent boys were shown to make less stereotypical choices of toys and activities when compared to father-present age-mates. When compared to father-present boys, older father-absent boys were more stereotypical in their overt behavior, particularly in terms of aggression. Discussion focused on interpretation of the results within a multidimensional conception of sex role.

Guidelines for Grade Advancement of Precocious Children.

Grade advancement is a legitimate and valuable method of meeting the needs of some intellectually or academically gifted students. Grade advancement is a way of bringing some gifted and talented children up to a level of instruction closer to their levels of achievement and pace. This method of acceleration is available to every school system. This article presents practical guidelines for making grade advancement decisions.

Early Admission of Selected Children to Elementary School: A Review of the Research Literature.

AbstractTwenty-one studies reporting on early admission of selected children to elementary school are reviewed and discussed in terms of methodological design and findings. Two major kinds of designs were found. Comparisons of early entrants with their unselected classmates found, in general, no negative effects. Comparisons of early entrants with matched samples suggested that early admission may be preferable. Additional research is needed to formulate an ideal policy concerning early admission.

Guidelines for Early Admission to Elementary School.

An early admission procedure is the first step in adjusting formal educational programming to meet the educational, social, and emotional needs of intellectually advanced children. In view of the benefits to the child and potential benefits to society of meeting the intellectually advanced childs needs, it is important that school systems establish early admission policies. This article presents 12 guidelines for processing an early admission applicant.

How divorce affects offspring : a research approach

Stereotypes, inconsistency and cultural bias inform our beliefs about the detrimental effects of divorce on children. This comprehensive review of empirically-based studies on this subject examines both the short-term and the long-term consequences for offspring following parental divorce.

Absence of a sex difference in algorithms for spatial problem solving

Abstract Pairs of stimuli taken from a pscyhometric measure of spatial aptitude were shown to 36 college men and 32 college women. The stimuli in pairs were (a) either identical or mirror images, and (b) presented in orientations that differed by 0–135 deg. Individuals judged, as rapidly as possible, if the stimuli in a pair would be identical or mirror images if presented at the same orientation. Replicating previous work, there was a sex difference in the speed with which problems were solved. Of greater interest was the fact that men and women were quite alike in the frequency with which they used different algorithms to solve the problems. Most individuals solved the problems using an algorithm in which an individual encodes the stimuli in working memory, mentally rotates one stimulus to the orientation of the other, compares both determine if they are identical, and responds. Two variants of this algorithm were also used by some subjects. In one variant, if comparison revealed that the stimuli were dissimilar, individuals did not respond immediately but continued processing until a self- imposed deadline was reached. In another variation, subjects only rotated the comparison stimuli when their orientations exceeded a critical angle.

The relationship between sex-role identity and beliefs in personal control

Three hundred and ten college undergraduate students completed the Bem Sex-Role Inventory and Rotters Internal-External Scale measuring locus of control. Males were significantly more internal than females. Both males and females who had high same-sex scale scores were significantly more internal than those with low same-sex scale scores. That is, males who were masculine or androgynous and females who were feminine or androgynous reported greater internal locus of control beliefs than did those males who were feminine or undifferentiated and those females who were masculine or undifferentiated. It was suggested that these findings result from different styles of power typically associated with sex-role stereotypes.

Early Admission to Elementary School: Barriers versus Benefits.

This article reports and discusses several reasons why elementary schools fail to provide for early admission of intellectually advanced children. Additionally, benefits which accrue from early admission are summarized. The early admission procedure is often advantageous for the child, schools, and society. Awareness of the benefits of early admission is viewed as a way of eliminating barriers to this procedure.

The test performance of 16 to 21-month-olds in home and laboratory settings

Young children were tested with the Bayley Mental Scale in a familiar home setting and unfamiliar research room. Thirty-six children, 18 boys and 18 girls, between 16 and 21 months were tested both at home and in the research laboratory, in two groups having different orders. Those children tested first in the laboratory and then in the home had a statistically significant increase of 9.8 points in the mean Mental Development Index; there was no increase for those tested first in the home and then the laboratory. Examination of item groupings suggested that the effect was largely upon verbal performance.

Differences that suggest female investment in, and male distance from, children

A factorial between subjects experiment was conducted with sex of respondent, level of success, sex of stimulus parent, and sex of stimulus child as the independent variables. Two hundred seventy-two undergraduates without parenting experience constituted the sample. The attributions made to explain parenting success/failure and the ratings made both of the child and the parent on the same 60 personality item were the dependent variables. Female respondents were not only especially success-oriented, but evidenced a view of parenting emphasizing deliberation and skill, whereas their male counterparts were comparatively more inclined to explain failure in terms of it being the childs fault and to overstate a childs meanness.