Margaret L. Signorella

Recall and Reconstruction of Gender-related Pictures: Effects of Attitude, Task Difficulty, and Age.

SIGNORELLA, MARGARET L., and LIBEN, LYNN S. Recall and Reconstruction of Gender-related Pictures: Effects of Attitude, Task Difficulty, and Age. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1984, 55, 393405. 2 implications of Bartletts constructive theory of memory-better memory for schemaconsistent material and alteration of schema-inconsistent material-were tested. In Study 1, kindergartners, second graders, and fourth graders with either more or less stereotyped attitudes were asked to recall gender-relevant pictures. At all ages, highly stereotyped children recalled more traditional than nontraditional pictures, while less stereotyped children recalled more nontraditional than traditional pictures. Most reconstructions transformed nontraditional items to traditional, with more of these reconstructions being produced by highly stereotyped children. In Study 2, an easier recall task was given to more and less stereotyped first graders. Again, highly stereotyped children recalled more traditional than nontraditional pictures, whereas less stereotyped children showed no differential memory for picture type. As before, nontraditionalto-traditional reconstructions were most common, although the difference between highly and less stereotyped children was not significant. These findings, combined with those of Liben and Signorella, suggest that as task difficulty increases, memory becomes more schema consistent.

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

Abstract 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.

A meta-analysis of children's memories for own-sex and other-sex information

Gender schema theories predict that memories will be biased toward information associated with ones own sex. Meta-analyses were performed on the association between a childs sex and memories for (1) items depicting stereotypically masculine and feminine actions, characteristics, or objects, and (2) male and female characters. Same-sex biases were evident in memories for masculine and feminine items, especially after a delay and when the memory task was recall, and in memories for male and female characters. The same-sex bias in memory for male characters was larger when the characters were not engaged in gender-stereotyped activities. The implications of these results for gender schema theories and for the preparation of educational materials are discussed.

Single-Sex Versus Mixed-Sex Classes and Gender Schemata in Children and Adolescents: A Longitudinal Comparison

Positive effects for women and girls of all-female schools have been proposed, although there is relatively little clear empirical support for these beneficial results. Much of the cited research is based on elite all-female institutions or on parochial schools. This study takes advantage of the change of a private, nonparochial school from all girls to both sexes. Longitudinal data from grades 2 through 12 were collected over the course of the academic year to study the results of this transition. Stereotyping declined with age and over time in both types of classrooms. Girls in single-sex classrooms showed some tendency to be more stereotyped in their perceptions of mixed-sex classrooms than did the girls who were actually in that setting. Thus, none of the measures showed any significant increase over time in stereotyping among girls in mixed-sex classes. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Sex-typing and spatial ability: The association between masculinity and success on piaget's water-level task

A sample of 58 college women and 43 college men were tested on Piagets water-level task and asked to complete the Bem Sex Role Inventory. The instructions for the water-level task were varied so as to emphasize or deemphasize the scientific laboratory character of the task. Subjects were classified by sex, sex-role orientation (masculine, androgynous, feminine), task description condition, and water-level performance. A log-linear analysis of the resulting 2×3×2×2 multidimensional contingency table revealed significant main effects for both sex of subject and sex-role orientation. Males and those males and females with masculine sex-role orientations were more likely to succeed with the water-level task than females and those with feminine sex-role orientations. The effect of sex role on water-level performance emerged most clearly among highly sex-typed individuals and the effect of sex was significant only among those with androgynous sex-role orientations.

A Short Version of a Spatial Activity Questionnaire.

Newcombe, Bandura, and Taylor developed a questionnaire measuring participation in space-related activities. The activities were classified as masculine, feminine, or neutral in gender stereotyping. A short version of this questionnaire was developed based on an item analysis of the responses by 485 introductory psychology students (236 women and 249 men). The 10 masculine, 10 feminine, and 10 neutral items chosen for the short form were given to 60 subjects (28 women and 32 men), along with a measure of spatial performance (Piagets water-level task). Reliabilities (by coefficient alpha) were .79, .77, and .75, for the masculine, feminine, and neutral activity subscales, respectively. As with the original scale, women had a greater preference than men for feminine activities, men had a greater preference than women for masculine activities, and women and men had an equal preference for neutral activities. Masculine activity preference was associated with better water-level performance, with the relationship significantly stronger for women (r=.50) than for men (r=.10). Uses for the questionnaire in research on sex-related differences in spatial performance are suggested.

Multidimensionality of gender schemas: Implications for the development of gender-related characteristics.

The developmental implications of J. T. Spences (e.g., 1985) gender identity theory were tested with a meta-analysis. Available data on the interrelations of gender schema measures were examined to determine if gender schemas become more differentiated with age. No clear age-related patterns emerged. However, the interpretation of the lack of age differences must await future research because there was little age variation present in these samples. Even the significant age effects that occurred must be interpreted with caution because of small numbers of samples and restricted age ranges. Thus, no sufficient data exist yet to test adequately the developmental aspect of

A Note on Gender Stereotyping of Research Topics

Women and men in general psychology classes were surveyed about their interest in signing up for psychological research. The topics in the survey previously had been judged as masculine, feminine, or neutral Women had a greater preference for feminine topics than did men, while men had a greater preference for masculine topics than did women. Thus, it is possible that men and women are volunteering differentially for gender-stereotyped research topics. Implications of this potential sample bias for the study of sex differences are discussed.

Cognitive consequences of personal involvement in gender identity

Classification as masculine, feminine, high androgynous, or low androgynous on the basis of a single measure of gender identity was not related to cognitive performance or activity preferences in a sample of college students (n=190). Subjects for whom a traditional gender identity was high as a self-concern (“more involved”) were then identified by the consistency of their responses across three gender identity measures and by the extremity of their self-descriptions. Subjects for whom a traditional gender identity was low as a self-concern (“less involved”) were identified by the inconsistency in their responses and the lack of extremity in their self-descriptions. More involved men performed significantly better on the number test, and had a significantly higher preference for masculine activities than more involved women, less involved men, or less involved women. Less involved men and women also preferred significantly more masculine activities than did more involved women. More and less involved men reported taking more years of mathematics in high school than did more and less involved women. No effects for sex or involvement were observed on verbal performance or preference for feminine activities. The implications of these findings for the evaluation of inconsistencies between gender identity and behavior were discussed.

Book Review: The separation solution?

American television programs often reflect dominant cultural values as well as influence and challenge the values of their viewers. Feminist researchers have analyzed television programs to examine how they have reflected traditional gender-role rules and relationships and have helped perpetuate the subordination of women. Kristi Humphreys provides an alternate feminist view of the roles of women as mothers in television programs. While she acknowledges that television shows did reflect the values and views of a male patriarchy, she argues that these analyses ‘‘diminish the fact that women did and do, in reality, find joy, fulfillment, power, and strength in certain aspects of these domestic activities . . . ’’ (p. 12). Humphreys uses qualitative methodologies to identify the housework themes conveyed in four decades (1950s, 60s, 70s, and 80s) of American television comedy shows. More specifically, she aimed to ‘‘examine televised housework through a postfeminist lens . . . ’’ (p. 17) and to give ‘‘a comprehensive understanding of the relationships between housework, gender, love, preservation, and familial roles in our visual culture’’ (p. 3). For each of these four decades, she examines the most popular U.S. comedy shows according to how they depicted housework in relation to who does it, what its function is, and how it influences the family role of the person(s) who do it. Her analysis of televised comedies from across these four decades suggests that women had active and central roles vis-àvis their performance of housework. She concludes that in these television shows, caretaking associated with women doing housework was ‘‘not limiting, but rather fulfilling’’ (p. 51) for the female characters and that the self-sacrifice involved in this caretaking represents a strength of the women doing them. Her analysis shows how love and strength are depicted in the housework activities performed by the female characters. Thus, the performance of housework is in the service of caring for others and of preserving life (i.e., ‘‘preservative love’’). The principal theme derived from her analysis is that preservative love is love enacted to help preserve and support the lives of one’s family members and, by extension, future generations. Her analysis also shows how societal changes are reflected across these four decades. For example, male characters participate more in the housework in the 50s than in the 1970s and, interestingly, in the latter of these decades, more emphasis is placed on housework as being women’s domain and, thus, as a natural attribute for women. Despite the patriarchal elements evident in these depictions, Humphreys asserts that the preservative quality of housework is evident and reflects the strengths of the female characters. For me, the intended audience for this book seems unclear. First, I do not believe that her academic writing style will appeal to lay audiences. Humphreys appears to be targeting gender researchers by reviewing some of the relevant literature and by using qualitative research-type theme identification for her analyses. While she is careful to show how her own lived experiences and perspectives may have influenced her analyses, Humphreys does not describe the qualitative methodology approach she used to derive her themes. Nor does she give a rationale for choosing televised comedies as her focus, rather than other types of shows (e.g., dramas). Thus, researchers will find important parts needed to evaluate and use her research missing. Given that I was the first generation to grow up with television, and since my television watching spanned the four decades that Humphreys reviewed, as a feminist I was excited to begin reading Humphreys’ analyses. While I enjoyed revisiting the television of my youth and young adulthood, I struggled with the lack of societal context in her analyses. While she explains that she wanted to go beyond other writers’ examination of the influence of patriarchal structures on televised programming, I still wanted her to better integrate her women’s strengths perspectives within these patriarchal societal dynamics. For example, while I agree that (unpaid) housework functions can be used as a way of showing preservative love, assigning it to women traps both women and men in gender boxes, depriving men of access to its positive outcomes and making women financially vulnerable. Thus, readers will have to decide whether they agree with Humphreys that doing housework enacts preservative love ‘‘whether her status is chosen or imposed by a male patriarchal society’’ (p. 21). For me, I was reminded how important a complete contextual analysis is to feminist perspectives.