Male-female differences in neuropsychological functioning and whether there exists a differential cerebral lateralization between sexes has recently received much attention in the literature. Further research is needed because much of this literature has been plagued by poor experimental design and statistical analyses, and reliance upon measures with little practical significance. The current experiment addresses the question of whether male and female adults with unilateral cerebral lesions have differing neuropsychological profiles and whether these profiles support the hypothesis of differential cerebral lateralization. Subjects were adults with independent neurological evidence of either no brain damage or a unilateral cerebral lesion of either neoplastic or vascular origin. There were 48 with right hemisphere damage, 48 with left hemisphere damage and 28 controls. Each group had equal numbers of males and females, for a total of six sub-groups. The distribution of age, education, lesion locus and severity, and handedness was controlled for all groups. Subjects were administered the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Test Battery for Adults. The measures from the Halstead-Reitan Battery were divided into groups of variables representing major aspects of neuropsychological functioning. Results for each variable grouping were subjected to multivariate analysis of variance and appropriate post-hoc procedures. Intra-individual patterns of lateralization (Verbal I.Q.-Performance I.Q. differences) were also examined. Contrary to previous reports, the results failed to produce evidence of a differential lateralization of cognitive functions between sexes. Also, the intra-individual patterns of lateralization showed similar patterns among males and females with unilateral cerebral lesions, although the magnitude of the VIQ-PIQ differences were smaller for females than for males. Several significant sex differences consistent with earlier research were found. Of these, a slight female advantage was found on the Digit Symbol test as well as Tactile Finger Recognition of the right hand. Males performed better than females on Finger Oscillation with the dominant hand and made fewer mistakes in reporting on double simultaneous stimulations. It was concluded that although small differences in neuropsychological functions do exist between sexes, they do not reflect major differences in cerebral organization or overall higher cognitive abilities.

Thesis (B.A.)--Haverford College, Dept. of Psychology, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references.

Five tachistoscopic studies were conducted to investigate patterns of hemispheric specialization for different types of word pair comparisons among monolinguals and fluent bilingual adults. Bilinguals were further grouped as "early" or "late" depending on whether their second language was acquired in infancy or in adolescence. All groups were faster at making orthographic comparisons for left visual field input but were faster in the right visual field for phonological and syntactic judgments. Semantic comparisons yielded no visual field asymmetries for monolinguals or late bilinguals but yielded a left visual field superiority for early bilinguals. Group differences in response strategy were also noted whereby early bilinguals favoured semantic processing and late bilinguals surface processing. The results are interpreted to suggest that lateralization patterns are primarily influenced by task-related processing demands but that early versus late onset of bilingualism predisposes the use of different processing strategies for performing a particular task.

Thesis (B.A. Hons.))--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Psychology, 1979.

Thesis (M.S.)--Central Connecticut State University, 1997. / Thesis advisor: Dr. Philip Halloran. " ... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Mathematics Education." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 27-28).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Department of Psychology, December 1999. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.A.)--The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2010. / Directed by John Seta; submitted to the Dept. of Psychology. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Jul. 13, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 25-29).

This dissertation explores historical and contemporary occurrences of glossolalia or 'speaking in tongues', the production of a series of phonetically transcribable language-like but generally, non-cognitive sounds in a variety of (primarily religious; settings. The main issues are why some are susceptible to glossolalia, some may learn it, some crave the ability but cannot do so, and others are repelled. Divided into three parts, Part I of the dissertation considers the phenomenon of glossolalia itself and moves on to historical and cross-cultural contexts, relating glossolalia to that other realm often described as divine or mystical or supernatural or, as here, paranormal. While vocalizations of various kinds seem common to states of religious ecstasy cross-culturally, as a particular kind of vocalization (which need not occur in ecstasy) giossolaiia seems to be largely confined to, and has acquired a special significance in, Christianity. Further, it is regarded by modern Pentecosta1ists as a rite of passage known as a Baptism of the Holy Spirit which gives access to additional paranormal gifts: powers of wisdom, knowledge, prophecy, healing, exorcism. Part II examines theological, linguistic, and anthropological perspectives, and focuses on: the hostile attitudes of ecclesiastical orthodoxies towards glossolalia and the claims of glossolalists; the non-cognitive nature of glossolaliia despite the claims of Pentecostalists (albeit glossolalia may be a reiigious or 'praise' language) that glossolalia is cognitive and may be interpreted; the concept of taboo in its double sense of forbidden 'because dangerous/therefore attractive'; the validity of that basic assumption of social science, the psychic unity of mankind, in relation to intuitions of the dual nature of human personality and scientific knowledge of the nature and functions of the two hemispheres of the human brain. Giving particular attention to the cultural aetiology of glossolalia, especially in relation to authority, Part III analyses a series of interviews with, and C.L.E.M. tests of, glossolalists, would-be glossolalists and others, relating the results to present knowledge concerning the nature and functions of the Right and Left hemispheres of the human brain. While most people everywhere, responding to the requirements of their cultures, tend to activate their Left hemispheres, the research suggests that, in general, access to the paranormal, supernatural, or divine seems to be a function of the Right hemisphere, and in particular, that glossolalists tend to be Right hemisphere dominant. / Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies / Graduate

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