Leonard M. Lansky

Demography of handedness in two samples of randomly selected adults (N = 2083).

Handedness was examined in relation to sex, race, age, education, occupation, marital status, and religious preferences for two random samples of adults drawn from an urban population. There were statistically significant differences on each variable for the total of 2083 respondents as well as for many subgroups based on combinations of sex, race, and age. The results are compared to previous findings.

Left-Handedness among Architects: Some Facts and Speculation

Following some leads from casual observations, two studies of left-handedness among architects and architecture students confirmed that: (1) both groups tend to be more left-handed than would be “normally” expected; (2) all the left-handed students followed complex directions about drawing a spatial maze perfectly whereas over 50% of right-handed students erred. Perhaps the data relate to recent speculations about right-hemisphere dominance being associated with both left-handedness and greater spatial competence. How the generalization of these findings and similar questions relate to such study are for future research.

Left-handedness among architects: partial replication and some new data.

As predicted, over a 6-yr. period, more left-handed proportionately than right-handed architecture students successfully completed their 6-yr. program. Contrary to expectation, the entering class in 1976 had 21% left-handed males, 12 of 57. Lastly these left-handed men had high factor scores in a group of academic predictors, design scores, and grade point averages during the first quarter. The 45 right-handed men in the entering class had almost zero mean scores on the predictors and negative mean scores on performance. The 19 right-handed women in the class had negative scores on the academic predictors and positive ones on performance.

Body-Image and Body-Beautification among Female College Students:

Womens body-image has social and personal implications. Judgments about the body can be based on appearance (public body-consciousness), internal sensations (private body-consciousness) or body-effectiveness (body-competence). The correlates of body-image and beautification were studied in a group of 245 female undergraduates who completed a body-beautification questionnaire, the Body-consciousness Inventory, the Body-cathexis/Self-cathexis Scale, and questions on feminist identification. Significant correlations were found between public body-consciousness and beautification. Body-cathexis was also correlated with body-competence. For feminists, a competent body was correlated with awareness of internal sensations, while nonfeminists connect a competent body with appearance. Results were discussed in relation to the social and cultural pressures for women to focus on appearance.

Success in Architecture: Handedness and/or Visual Thinking.

Some data on sex and handedness in relation to academic predictors and success in the architecture program were reexamined. The new variable was the manner, “visually” or “cognitively,” of executing a simple line drawing. As expected, there were significant differences between persons using these different modes, differences which helped clarify the previous data. Implications for theories of lateralization, handedness, and modes of thinking are discussed.

External (Legal) Coercion and Internal Commitment: A Case Study of an Affirmative Action Training Program in Municipal Government

This paper describes the background, execution, and outcomes of the first year of an affirmative action training program for managers and supervisors in city government. Several pressures, e.g., long-standing hiring practices, militated against the programs success. The forces that facilitate the program included the legal pressure of Title VII, support from the city manager, an ordinance mandating that action be taken, the collaboration between the trainer (agency staff) and university consultants, and theoretical analyses of the issues. Several expected and unanticipated outcomes are described.

INDEPENDENCE, DEPENDENCE, MANIFEST AND LATENT MASCULINITY-FEMININITY: SOME COMPLEX RELATIONSHIPS AMONG FOUR COMPLEX VARIABLES

It is a common assumption that dependence is associated with femininity and/or being female and that independence or autonomy is associated with masculinity and/or being male. As a test of this assumption, 36 children, 20 boys and 16 girls, of kindergarten age, were rated by their teachers on Bellers scales for dependence (DEP) and independence or autonomous achievement striving (AAS). As a measure of manifest masculinity-femininity, Browns It Scale for Children (ITSC) was individually given, in a modified form, to each child. Similarly, Francks Drawing Completion Test (DCT) was administered as a measure of latent masculinity-femininity. There were no significant differences between boys and girls on DEP; however, girls scored higher than boys on AAS. The correlations between the four variables for each sex indicated that for girls, conforming behavior, as reflected in high AAS in a kindergarten situation, was related to manifest femininity; for girls, latent masculinity was related to DEP which, in light of the content of Bellers scales, was interpreted as representing active intrusion rather than passive dependence; the measures of manifest and latent masculinity-femininity were positively correlated for boys but not for girls.

Some comments on Shettel-Neuber and O'Reilly's "handedness and career choice: another look at supposed left/right differences" (1983).

A property of attitudes, namely, the fact that attitudes select facts, is used to comment upon a paper on handedness and career choice.

The One-Way/Two-Way Communication Exercise: Some Ghosts Laid to Rest

The well-known one-way/two-way communication exercise was examined in terms of (1) criticisms frequently made by participants and (2) the original study from which it was derived. Each of 24 groups of 7-10 college students did both a one-way and a two-way communication, with the order of diagrams and the communication mode systematically varied. As predicted, there was no difference in difficulty between the two diagrams. Further, two-way communication was, as predicted, more accurate, more satisfying, and more time consuming than was one-way communication. Finally, there was no practice effect in moving from a oneto a two-way communication, but significant transfer occurred in the reversed condition. The results are discussed in terms of the quantity and quality of communication permitted by two-way as opposed to one-way communication.

EDGE-PUNCHED CARDS: A METHOD FOR STORING AND RETRIEVING SOCIAL SCIENCE REFERENCES

This paper has presented a system which will enable social scientists to classify and store references to professional literature and to accurately, quickly, completely, and economically retrieve the information when it is needed. The procedure for setting up an edge-punched card system is described. The limitations and advantages of this system, compared with other possible systems, are explored.