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Magnetoencephalography was used to investigate the effect of directed attention on changes in sensorimotor mu (8-12Hz) response (mu reactivity) to non-painful electrical stimulation of the median nerve in healthy adults. Results indicated attention-related sex differences in mu reactivity, with females showing i) prolonged mu suppression when attending to somatosensory stimuli indicating active processing of the sensory stimuli; ii) task-dependent attentional modulation of the mu response, which was absent in males, and iii) a trend for greater neuronal excitability of the primary somatosensory region suggesting greater physiological responsiveness to stimulation overall. Sex-related differences in attentional modulation of sensorimotor rhythms suggest that females and males use different top-down control strategies when processing somatosensory information. These sex differences in attention may underlie well-documented sex-related biases in pain processing wherein females typically report greater sensitivity to experimental and clinical pain.

Magnetoencephalography was used to investigate the effect of directed attention on changes in sensorimotor mu (8-12Hz) response (mu reactivity) to non-painful electrical stimulation of the median nerve in healthy adults. Results indicated attention-related sex differences in mu reactivity, with females showing i) prolonged mu suppression when attending to somatosensory stimuli indicating active processing of the sensory stimuli; ii) task-dependent attentional modulation of the mu response, which was absent in males, and iii) a trend for greater neuronal excitability of the primary somatosensory region suggesting greater physiological responsiveness to stimulation overall. Sex-related differences in attentional modulation of sensorimotor rhythms suggest that females and males use different top-down control strategies when processing somatosensory information. These sex differences in attention may underlie well-documented sex-related biases in pain processing wherein females typically report greater sensitivity to experimental and clinical pain.

Inom lyckoforskningen finns kvantitativa studier däribland Veenhoven (2008) som via sin studie belyser hur lycka påverkar hälsa. Denna studies syfte är att genom en kvalitativ analys identifiera essensen i detta mångtydiga begrepp och belysa dess komplexitet. Ett antagande finns om att kvinnor tenderar att behöva mer uppskattning än män. Deltagarna var 79 kvinnor och 40 män. De beskrev en händelse då de upplevt lycka. Meningskoncentrering, tolkning och strukturering av materialet utifrån en narrativ fenomenologisk ansats resulterade i fem aspekter som visade sig vara centrala i människors upplevelser av lycka: (1) nära relationer, (2) socialt nätverk, (3) prestation, (4) uppskattning och (5) optimism. Fler män än kvinnor nämnde prestation medan fler kvinnor än män nämnde uppskattning. Samtidigt som vissa komponenter är allmänmänskliga, behövs olika komponenter för att män och kvinnor ska uppleva lycka. Denna insikt kan användas för att förhoppningsvis främja hälsa och motverka olycka.

Intrinsic motivation has been shown to contribute to participation and adherence in sport (Biddle & Mutrie, 2001). The importance of social and task cohesion within teams has also been studied in an attempt to create and maintain a bonded group (Loughead & Hardy, 2006). However, these two factors have yet to be looked at in relation to one another, especially when exploring gender as a contributing variable. The purpose of this study was to determine if gender and motivation type are related to perceptions of team cohesion. It was hypothesized that athletes’ who are more internally motivated would view the group as more cohesive. It was also hypothesized that female athletes would perceive high levels of team social cohesion regardless of motivation type where male athletes would perceive higher levels of team social cohesion when they are more intrinsically motivated. In order to answer these questions, 253 male and female collegiate athletes were asked to complete a demographics questionnaire, the Sport Motivation Scale (SMS; Pelletier, Fortier, Vallerand, Tuson, Briere, & Blais, 1995) assessing individual motivation type, as well as the Group Environment Questionnaire (GEQ; Carron, Widmeyer, & Brawley, 1985) that examined group social and task cohesion issues within sport. The results revealed that there are significant positive correlations between intrinsic motivation types and perceptions of task and social cohesion. However, gender was not a significant predictor of perceived cohesion when moderated with motivation type. These outcomes indicate that promoting intrinsic motivation, despite gender, in sport teams contributes to more positive social and task cohesion in the group. / Access to thesis permanently restricted to Ball State community only / School of Physical Education, Sport, and Exercise Science

Following the increased attention income differences/inequality has gained within the area of economic geography and among policy-planning; this study seeks to explore and analyze the factors affecting income differences in the regions of Ghana. From the use of regional (10 regions) panel data for 1960, 1970, 1984 and 2000; the results show a direct link between socio-demographic factors and regional income differences/inequality and also the impact of ethnic and religious composition on regional income differences. It was identified that ethnicity and religious compositions have different impacts on regional income differences. Christians have positive effect on regional income due to their fairly representation in almost all the regions likewise the Akans, but have negative effect on regional income. And also high population density in a region reduces the mean regional income, similarly high concentration of population aged 60years and over reduces the regional income. Evidence from the results empirically conclude that regions with high share of aged population, Akans, Muslims and high population density have low regional income compared with regions with high share of Christians.

Tidigare forskning visar att kvinnor oftare reser kollektivt och att män kör mer bil till och från arbetet. Det framgår att vanor och miljömedvetenhet förklarar en del av människors resmönster. Studier visar också att kvinnor värderar bilens symbolvärde lägre än män. I samarbete med Eskilstuna kommun genomfördes en enkätundersökning med 2299 anställda vid Eskilstuna kommun, varav 491 män. Syftet med studien var att närmare undersöka motiv bakom bilanvändning och om dessa motiv skiljer sig åt mellan män och kvinnor i Eskilstuna kommun. Deltagarna besvarade frågor som berörde personliga resurser, vanor, bilens symbolvärde och inställning till miljön. Studien visar att de som använder bil till och från arbetet, har en större tendens att använda bil även i andra sammanhang. Det visade sig även att kvinnor reser med bil i större utsträckning till och från arbetet än män, vilket vidare bör undersökas då resultatet går emot tidigare forskning.

Individuals tend to underestimate situational causes and overly rely on trait causes in explaining negative behaviors of outgroup members, a tendency named the ultimate attribution error (Pettigrew, 1979). This attributional pattern is directly related to stereotyping, because attributing negative behaviors to internal, stable causes tends to perpetuate negative stereotypes of outgroup members. Recent research on implicit bias reduction revealed that circumventing individuals’ tendency to engage in the ultimate attribution error led to reduced stereotyping. More specifically, training White participants to consider situational factors in determining Blacks’ negative stereotypic behaviors led to decreased automatic stereotype activation. This technique was named Situational Attribution Training (Stewart, Latu, Kawakami, & Myers, 2010). In the current studies, I investigated the mechanisms and moderators of Situational Attribution Training. In Study 1, I investigated the effect of training on spontaneous situational inferences. Findings revealed that training did not increase spontaneous situational inferences: both training and control participants showed evidence of spontaneous situational inferences. In Study 2, I investigated whether correcting trait inferences by taking into account situational factors has become automatic after training. In addition, explicit prejudice, motivations to control prejudice, and cognitive complexity variables (need for cognition, personal need for structure) were investigated as moderators of training success. These findings revealed that Situational Attribution Training works best for individuals high in need for cognition, under conditions of no cognitive load, but not high cognitive load. Training increased implicit bias for individuals high in modern racism, regardless of their cognitive load. Possible explanations of these findings were discussed, including methodological limitations and theoretical implications.

Forskning har visat att människor i allmänhet har positiva attityder till polisen. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka ungdomars attityder till den svenska polisen. Det undersöktes om polisens olika grad av våldsamt agerande påverkade deltagarnas uppfattningar och om attityderna skilde sig gentemot kvinnliga respektive manliga ordningspoliser. En egenkonstruerad enkät innehållande fyra olika berättelser delades ut i tre gymnasieskolor. Deltagarna var 88 unga kvinnor och 42 unga män som studerade på föreläsningsbaserade program. Resultatet visade att de flesta deltagare hade en positiv attityd. Resultatet visade även att ju mer våldsamt agerande desto mindre professionell, hänsynstagande och mer känslostyrd uppfattades polisen som. Det fanns inte någon skillnad mellan attityderna till kvinnliga respektive manliga poliser. För hänsynstagande och affekt visade dock resultatet en tendens till en interaktionseffekt mellan polisens kön och våldsamhet. Detta kan bero på att det fortfarande kan finnas stereotypa könsuppfattningar hos deltagarna för vissa attribut hos polisen.

Despite wide acceptance of the stereotype that women apologize more readily than men, there is little systematic evidence to support this stereotype or its supposed bases. In the present research, I explored whether gender differences in apology behaviour occur and, if so, why they occur. In Study 1, I used daily diaries to assess everyday apologies and found that women indeed apologized more frequently than men did. I found no difference in the proportion of offenses for which men and women apologized, however, suggesting that women may apologize more often than men do because they have a lower threshold for what constitutes offensive behaviour. In Studies 2 and 5, I replicated a gender difference in apology behaviour using hypothetical offenses and obtained evidence that this difference is mediated by different judgments of offense severity. In Study 3, I adapted a signal detection paradigm and demonstrated that women exhibit a more liberal response bias in the direction of remembering an apology. In Study 4, I found that women and men similarly associate apologies with positive outcomes, and that only women endorse the stereotype that women apologize more often than men do. Finally, in Study 6, I conducted a daily diary study with romantic couples and found that, as in Study 1, women and men apologized for a similar proportion of the offenses they reported. Together, these studies suggest that a gender difference in apology frequency is caused by different judgments of severity rather than by a difference in willingness to apologize.