Emotional traits and recognition of facial expression of emotion

The relationship between an individual's habitual, emotional dispositions or tendencies — an aspect of personality — and his ability to recognize facially expressed emotions was explored. Previous studies have used global scores of recognition accuracy across several emotions, but failed to examine the relationship between emotion traits and recognition of specific emotion expressions. In the present study, these more specific relationships were examined. Results indicated that females with an inhibited-non-assertive personality style tended to have poorer emotion recognition scores than more socially oriented females. In contrast, for males, the relationship between traits and recognition scores was much more emotion specific: Emotion traits were not significantly related to a global measure of recognition accuracy but were related to recognition rates of certain emotion expressions — sadness, anger, fear, surprise, and disgust. For most of the emotions, males appeared to be more likely to see what they feel. Possible explanations of the findings in terms of perceptual set and other mechanisms are discussed. Implications for clinical studies and research are noted. The study also highlights the importance of separate analysis of data for specific emotions, as well as for sex.     

Co‐marital sex and the sexual freedom movement∗

Schachter's (1964) cognitive labeling model of emotions was used to make predictions about the impact of presentation order of explicit sexual stimuli and order of reporting reactions to these stimuli on sexual and affective responses. Subjects (27 males, 23 females) viewed a series of sexually explicit slides in story‐line sequence, in reversed story‐line sequence, or in a random sequence. In counterbalanced order subjects rated how sexually arousing and disgusting the slides were to themselves. Males, but not females, reported being more disgusted when they rated disgust first than when they rated sexual arousal first. Additionally, males and females who saw the random presentation sequence reported more sexual arousal than those who saw the reversed story‐line sequence. Females also were more aroused by the random sequence them by the story‐line sequence, while males in these conditions did not differ in arousal. These results indicated that Schachter's model of emotions may be useful in explaining how people respond to sexual stimuli.     

Suicide ideation,attempts and abuse among incarcerated gang and nongang delinquents

The present study examines suicide ideation and attempts as well as reported levels of physical and sexual abuse among gang and nongang-involved incarcerated youth. The self-report survey data were collected from 334 males and 61 females who were incarcerated in Nevada youth correctional facilities in the summer of 1994. Over half (58.3 percent) of the males and nearly half (45.2 percent) of the females reported being gang members. Surprisingly high rates of abuse (more than 70 percent for both physical and sexual abuse) were found among the incarcerated females of this study. Females reported significantly more suicide attempts and were more likely to have been physically and sexually abused than males. Nongang males reported significantly more suicide attempts and were more likely to report sexual abuse than gang-involved males. Among the gang-involved delinquents, females reported significantly more suicide attempts than males. In addition, gang members who reported sexual abuse were more likely to have higher levels of suicide ideationand to have attempted suicide. Implications for youth correction specialists and social workers are discussed.The data for this study were collected under Grant #000616 from the Nevada Agricultural Experiment Station.     

The Frustrating Effects of Just Missing the Jackpot: Slot Machine Near-Misses Trigger Large Skin Conductance Responses, But No Post-reinforcement Pauses

Near-misses in slot machines resemble jackpot wins but fall just short. Previous research has demonstrated that near-misses are behaviorally reinforcing despite the absence of monetary reward. We assessed the hedonic properties of near-misses by measuring the time between outcome delivery and the initiation of the next spin—the post-reinforcement pause (PRP) and skin conductance responses (SCRs) for losses, near-misses, and a range of wins (5, 15, 25, 50 or 250 credits) while participants (N = 122) played a slot machine simulator. PRPs and SCRs were compared for 40 low frequency and 22 high frequency slots players who were non-problem gamblers, 37 at risk players, and 23 problem gamblers. For winning outcomes, PRPs and SCRs tracked monotonically with win size such that progressively larger wins were associated with progressively larger PRPs and SCRs. Near-misses with jackpot symbols landing on the first two reels had significantly larger SCRs than regular losses, and other types of near misses. Crucially, PRPs for this kind of near-miss were significantly smaller than all wins, and when non-parametric statistics were used, significantly smaller than regular losses. This pattern of large SCRs and small PRPs suggest that these are highly frustrating outcomes that stimulate appetitive components of the reward system to promote continued gambling.     

Ethnic,gender, and length‐of‐residency influences on sexual knowledge and attitudes

We examined potential differences in sexual knowledge and attitudes between 702 Canadian undergraduates of Asian (n = 356) and European (n = 346) ancestry. We also examined potential influences of length of residency in Canada on these variables among Asians, and the role of gender both across and within ethnic groups. The primary purpose was to examine whether length of exposure to North American sexual values influences sexual knowledge or attitudes among Asians living in Canada. Results revealed that compared to Europeans, Asians held more conservative sexual attitudes and demonstrated significantly less sexual knowledge. Recent Asian immigrants were significantly more likely than Canadian‐born or long‐term Canadian residents to hold conservative sexual attitudes on a number of sexuality items. Among Asians and Non‐Asians, males reported more negative attitudes toward homosexuals than did females; females held more conservative sexual attitudes toward uncommitted sexual relations than did males. The findings provide partial support for a cultural explanation of the frequently reported finding that, compared with North Americans, Asians are more restricted in their expression of sexuality.     

The experience of sexual desire: Psychological correlates in a college sample

In order to elaborate on available models of sexual desire, we administered a sexual desire questionnaire to 144 college students, ages 18 to 54. Included in this measure were questions concerning the frequency of sexual desire, whether the respondent had participated in sexual activity without desire, or vice versa, experienced desire without sexual behavior, and a question assessing which cues are used by the subject to gauge sexual desire (e.g., frequency of intercourse, sexual dreams). Subjects also completed the Passionate Love Scale, Sexual Arousal Inventory, and Crowne‐Marlowe Social Desirability Scale. The results indicate that as a group, males report experiencing sexual desire more frequently than females. Males appeared to rely on similar indicators of desire as females, specifically genital arousal and sexual daydreams. For both males and females, sexual desire was significantly correlated with sexual arousal (r = 0.50, females; r = 0.44, males) while the correlation of desire and love was nonsignificant for both sexes. However, desire and sexual behavior did not necessarily co‐occur, as both males and females reported engaging in sexual behavior without desire. These data suggest that greater attention be paid to the definitional features of sexual desire in nonclinical samples, in an effort to clarify current diagnostic categories and to provide population base rates.     

Near-Misses and Stop Buttons in Slot Machine Play: An Investigation of How They Affect Players,and May Foster Erroneous Cognitions

In modern casinos, multiline slot machines are becoming increasingly popular compared to traditional, three-reel slot machines. A paucity of research has examined how the unique presentation of near-misses and the use of a stop button in multiline slot machines impact erroneous cognitions related to the perception of skill and agency during play. Our goal therefore was to determine the prevalence of erroneous cognitions pertaining to near-miss outcomes and the usage of a stop button and then to see whether the stop button affected players’ experiences of winning, losing and near-miss outcomes. We recruited 132 gamblers from a casino in Ontario. They played two versions of a slot machine simulator: one with a stop button and one without a stop button. We measured player’s arousal [skin conductance responses (SCRs), pressure on the spin-button), and behavioural responses (post-reinforcement pauses (PRPs)] to wins, losses and near-misses during play. We predicted more robust physiological SCRs and longer PRPs to wins in the stop button game. We also predicted that near-misses encountered in the stop button game would trigger greater levels of arousal and frustration in players, as indexed by larger SCRs, and greater force applied to the spin button to initiate the next spin. Erroneous cognitions pertaining to the stop button and near-misses respectively were assessed following play. Results showed that a small but meaningful percentage of players held erroneous cognitions about the stop button (13.6%) and near-misses (16%). Players depressed the spin button harder, and had larger SCRs for all outcomes when using the stop button. Players also paused longer for near-misses in the game involving the stop button. Our findings converge to suggest that the stop button encourages an erroneous perception of skill in some players, and consequentially impacts how such players perceive their outcomes in multiline slot machines.     

Gender differences in risk behaviour in financial decision-making: An experimental analysis

This paper examines whether gender differences in risk propensity and strategy in financial decision-making can be viewed as general traits, or whether they arise because of context factors. It presents the results of two computerised laboratory experiments designed to examine whether differences in risk preference and decision strategies are explained by the framing of tasks and level of task familiarity to subjects. The results show that females are less risk seeking than males irrespective of familiarity and framing, costs or ambiguity. The results also indicate that males and females adopt different strategies in financial decision environments but that these strategies have no significant impact on ability to perform. Because strategies are more easily observed than either risk preference or outcomes in day to day decisions, strategy differences may reinforce stereotypical beliefs that females are less able financial managers.     

Personality characteristics of sexual addicts and pathological gamblers

Personality characteristics of three groups were compared: sexual addicts (N=32, 6 females, 26 males, ¯x age=36.37), pathological gamblers (N=32, 13 females, 19 males, ¯x age=46.15), and non-addicts (N=38, 13 females, 25 males, ¯x age=39.65). The sexual addict group was significantly more anxious, depressed, obsessive-compulsive and interpersonally sensitive than the non-addict control group. The sexuai addict group was significantly more depressed than the pathological gambler group. The pathological gambler group was significantly more depressed than the non-addict control group, but was not significantly more anxious, obsessive-compulsive, or interpersonally sensitive. Neither addict group scored higher on levels of sensation-seeking or self-defeating behaviors than did the non-addict control group. The results supported the view that sexual addiction can be explained as a means of coping with anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsiveness and interpersonal sensitivity whereas pathological gambling may be used as an anti-depressant but there is no significant relationship between that addiction and the other above-mentioned personality characteristics.     

Gender differences in psychological,physical, and sexual aggression among college students using the revised conflict tactics scales

In response to criticisms of the Conflict Tactics Scales, Straus revised the original scale to include sexual aggression and injury. The purpose of the present study was to use this new scale to replicate and expand existing knowledge of psychological, physical, and sexual aggression in dating relationships. Four-hundred-eighty-one college students completed the Revised Conflict Tactics Scales. As expected, females reported perpetrating more psychological aggression than males; there were no gender differences in reported physical aggression; and psychological and physical aggression tended to co-occur. Contrary to previous research, there were no gender differences in injuries. As expected, males reported perpetrating more sexual coercion than females; however, females also reported perpetrating sexual aggression, and there were no gender differences in reported victimization. For males, sexual coercion perpetration (not victimization) was related to the perpetration and victimization of physical and psychological aggression. For females, both sexual coercion perpetration and victimization were related to the perpetration and victimization of psychological aggression and victimization from physical aggression, but not to physical aggression perpetration.     

GENDER AND PROSOCIAL VALUES DURING ADOLESCENCE: A Research Note

To date, relatively little is known about the prosocial values of adolescents. Research has shown that females attach more importance to certain prosocial values than males do in late adolescence but has not considered whether this gender difference is evident across stages of adolescence and whether it varies by race. We examine values that focus on doing things for others, using data from a nationwide survey of 12- to 17-year-olds. We find that girls place more importance on these prosocial values than boys at younger ages. However, we also find important patterns in this gender difference across racial groups as well as across age. White boys appear to attach less importance to prosocial values than other race and gender groups. Furthermore, the gender gap in prosocial values is larger at older ages, with older adolescent boys placing less importance on prosocial values than younger ones.     

Boys Abused in a Community Setting: An Analysis of Gender,Relationship, and Delayed Prosecutions in Cases of Child Sexual Abuse

ABSTRACT

Previous research on gender differences and delay of disclosure of child sexual abuse is inconclusive; some research has found that male victims are more likely to delay disclosure than female victims, while other studies have found no gender difference. The present archival study investigated this inconsistency by examining factors that interact with delay. Judicial outcomes of child sexual abuse cases were coded (N = 4237) for variables related to the offense, the complainant-accused relationship, and court proceedings. Males and females differed with respect to delay only when the relationship between the complainant and the accused was established in the community (e.g., sports coach) or was a stranger to the child. When the accused was a parent, other relative, or a non-relative connected to the child through the family, there was no difference in delay between males and females. Further, males were more vulnerable in the community, as evidenced by a higher proportion of accused community members with male than female complainants, even though males represented fewer than 25% of cases in the database. These findings may help explain inconsistencies in gender differences in delayed disclosure. Implications regarding education about child sexual abuse are discussed, with a focus on male victims.     

Erotic value of female distress in sexually explicit photographs

The extent to which distress of the female model contributed to the erotic value of sexually explicit photographs of women in bondage was studied for a sample of 54 young-adult college males. In addition, subjects were categorized by level of antisociality and level of facial-decoding skill with the prediction that the erotic value of a model in distress would be greatest for subjects departing most from social values (antisociality) and most capable of recognizing emotions as facially displayed by another person (facial decoding). There was an overall sadism effect. Most of the men reported pictures depicting a distressed model in bondage to be more sexually stimulating than pictures in which the female model displayed positive affect. The erotic value of distressed females in bondage was greatest when subjects combined greater anti-sociality and better facial-decoding skill.     

Characteristics of cocaine users in a private inpatient treatment setting.

Patient records were reviewed from an eighteen-month period of a private hospital adult addictive disease unit. Of 667 consecutive admissions, sixty-five (49 males, 16 females) were diagnosed with cocaine abuse or dependence; 38 percent were from rural areas. Although mean age of males and females was similar, males had a longer duration of use (8.2 years versus 5.8 years), however, females used an average of 14 grams per week versus 9.5 grams per week for males. African-American patients were over-represented among the cocaine using sample and also among the sample who chose smoking as their route of administration. A larger percentage of males had legal problems and admitted to "dealing," when compared to females. Those from rural areas were more likely to be married and less apt to have legal problems.     

Behavior problems and children's academic achievement: A test of growth-curve models with gender and racial differences

The aim of this study was to examine the longitudinal association between externalizing and internalizing behavior and children's academic achievement, particularly in terms of whether these variables varied as a function of gender and race. Data pertaining to externalizing and internalizing behavior, academic achievement, gender, and race from three waves of the Child Development Supplement of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (N = 2028) were used. Results indicate that behavior problems had a negative relationship with academic performance and some of these associations endured over time. Externalizing behavior impacted reading scores more negatively for females compared to males at baseline, but the impact of externalizing behavior on long-term reading outcomes did not vary by gender. Externalizing behavior impacted reading scores more negatively for Black children than White children at multiple points in time. Differences between males, females, Black, and White children concerning behavior and achievement are explained. Implications, limitations, and ideas for future research are also presented.     

Gambling among Croatian young people: an exploratory study of the relationship between psychopathic traits,risk-taking tendencies and gambling-related problems

The present study investigated the relationship between psychopathic traits, risk-taking tendencies and gambling problem severity and if these associations varied by gender in a community sample of Croatian adolescents (N = 282; 148 males). Results of the regression analyses showed that the Impulsive-Irresponsible behavioural style (YPI-II) and the Grandiose-Manipulative interpersonal style (YPI-GM) were the strongest postdictors of gambling-related problems. Surprisingly, independently of the YPI-II dimension, the Callous-Unemotional traits were negatively associated to gambling-related problems. By, contrast, independently of the psychopathic traits, risk-tendencies were not significant postdictors of gambling problem severity. With respect to gender differences, higher levels of the YPI-II and YPI-GM dimensions were related to more severe gambling-related problems only in males, not in females. Furthermore, while the CU traits exhibited protective features against gambling-related problems in both genders, the effect was stronger for males than for females.     

Exploring the Intention to React to Aggressive Action Among Israeli Adolescents

The aim of the current study was to explore male and female adolescents' intentions to react to verbal and physical aggression issued by other males and females of the same age. The study is based on a sample of 292 male and female adolescents from 12 classes in four schools in northern Israel, two junior‐high and two high‐schools, 46.7% were males and 53.3% females. Sixteen short scenarios were presented to the interviewees, consisting of eight verbal provocations (four by males and four by females) and eight physical provocations. The results indicated that girls and boys perceived provocation differently. Males are more “gender oriented,” whereas girls are more “content oriented,” Males attend more to details of physical aggression, whereas females to details of verbal aggression. Yet, males are most concerned with the gender of the provocateur, whereas females are more attentive to the severity of the provocation, thus differentiating between verbal and physical forms of provocation, as representing different levels of attack, and within each form, differentiating along a continuum of severity of the attack. The results are discussed within the theoretical framework of reactive aggression.     

You don't bring me anything but down: adolescent romance and depression

What accounts for the sex difference in depression that emerges during the period of adolescence? We propose that females become more depressed than males in adolescence partly as a consequence of their involvement in romantic relationships. Using two waves of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N = 8,181), a study which began interviewing respondents in 1994, we compare change in levels of depression for adolescents with and without romantic involvement between interviews. Our results suggest that males and females who become romantically involved between interviews experience a larger increase in depression than their counterparts who do not; however, females experience a larger increase in depression than males in response to romantic involvement. Our results suggest that females' greater vulnerability to romantic involvement explains a large part of the emerging sex difference in depression during adolescence.     

Sexual orientation and full-time monthly earnings, by public and private sector: evidence from Swedish register data

In this paper we explore annual earnings as well as full-time monthly earnings differentials resulting from sexual orientation. We observe that gay males are at an earnings disadvantage compared to male heterosexuals regardless of which earnings measure we use. This earnings disadvantage is found to be larger when we compare gay and heterosexual males who are working full-time. In addition, the disadvantage is larger in the private than in the public sector. Lesbians, however, earn more than heterosexual females. This earnings advantage is considerably smaller when we study full-time monthly rather than annual earnings but an earnings advantage for lesbians at the top of the earnings distribution is documented regardless of which earnings measure we use. In addition, lesbians are doing better than female heterosexuals in the public sector. To sum up, the results indicate that gay males face obstacles on the labor market that hinder them from reaching top-level positions and high earnings. The earnings advantage observed for lesbians is likely to stem from the fact that lesbians devote more time to market work than heterosexual females do.