A mediated-moderation model of stereotype threat was tested. Domain identification and motivational orientation were treated as moderators of the threat effect on self-efficacy and cognitive interference, which were hypothesized to mediate the threat-performance relationship. Participants were primed with stereotype-consistent, stereotype inconsistent, or no information regarding sex differences in mathematical abilities. While significant performance differences were found between males and females in the control and threat conditions, no differences were found in a female benefit condition that described a math task as favoring females. Significant sex differences in domain identity and self-efficacy were also found. Post-hoc analyses revealed that domain identification and self-efficacy explained significant amounts of variance in sex differences in math performance. The results provide general support for Steeles theory of stereotype threat and resulting disidentification with the task domain among targets.

It is the objective of this paper to present the facts concerning the current status of Canadian women in science, to review the theories which have been put forth to explain gender disparities in science participation, to outline the findings of research in the area of gender and science, and to suggest ways in which science teachers could respond to these research findings. / 79 p. ; 28 cm.

Female intercollegiate basketball players experience a three times greater rate of ACL injuries than their male counterparts. This investigation hypothesized that women and men perform the cutting maneuver differently with respect to ground reaction forces and knee range of motion.The subjects performed a ninety degree cut on a force platform while being video taped. The male subjects exhibited a 23.1 percent greater (p=.0167) knee flexion angle than did the female subjects. The female subjects exhibited a 25.5 percent greater (p=.0022) braking force than did the male subjects. The impact maximum was not statistically significant (p=.3290).The performance characteristics exhibited by the female subjects in this study would suggest that the cutting maneuver is more dangerous for female basketball player. Female athletes should be taught correct performance of the cutting maneuver. I addition to technique, strength training should be encouraged to develop a stronger secondary stabilization mechanism for the knee. / School of Physical Education

This research investigates the differences between how men and women greet and take leave of someone of the same sex in Saudi Arabia, a gender segregated society. Age, social status, relationship between participants, and setting were also tested to see if they have any effect on how Saudis greet and take leave of each other.A total of 237 participants: 127 males and 110 females were recorded in naturally occurring conversations. The participants were from all social classes and included three age groups: 18-30, 31-50, and over 50. Relationship between participants included close friends, relatives, acquaintances, and strangers. Data was collected in social and family gatherings, work, school, and the hospital. The data was analyzed in light of Brown and Levinson's (1987) politeness theory. Variables like formulaic expressions, length, and hyperbole were also tested.The results of the study indicate that age had a significant affect on how Saudis greet, take leave/reply to a leave-taking of someone of the same sex. Based on my corpus, social status had no significant affect on how Saudis greet/reply and take leave/reply of someone of the same sex. The relationship between participants showed a significant correlation with how Saudis greet/reply and take leave/reply of someone of the same sex. Setting had no significant affect of how Saudis greet and take leave of someone of the same sex. But it did show a significant affect of how Saudis reply to greetings and leave-takings of someone of the same sex. Gender did not on any significant affect on how Saudis greet and reply to greetings of someone of the same sex. Whereas, gender showed a significant correlation with how Saudis take leave and reply to a leave-taking.Results of the study indicate that women consistently took longer to greet and take leave of someone of their own sex, regardless of age, social status, relationship between participants, or setting. Women also used more metaphors and superlatives while greeting or taking leave of someone of their own sex. Women were found to repeat their greetings and leave-takings more than men. / Department of English

This study explores online dating by studying the relationship between self-disclosure and self-efficacy in an online dating environment. This research study examines the way self-disclosure, self-efficacy, self-esteem, and gender interrelate in an online dating environment. This study includes, but is not limited to, discussion of the type of correlation between self-efficacy and self-esteem, the relationship between self-disclosure and self-efficacy, and the differences between men's and women's self-disclosure in an online dating environment. From conducting this study, the researcher was able to determine that there is a statistically significant relationship between gender and how it relates to self-disclosure and self-efficacy. With the results from the study, the understanding of how different variables relate to online dating and romantic relationships has been taken one step further as it helps fill the gap in the literature.

The literature on descriptive and substantive representation focuses on elected representatives, but overlooks the gender of those who play an integral role in policy process (agenda-setting) and outcomes (implementation): The elected’s chief of staff, senior policy advisors, and, in council-manager systems, the city manager. This thesis examines the role policy staff and city manager gender plays in substantive representation. After analyzing staff composition and agenda priorities — gleaned from State of the City addresses — for mayors of the 50 most-populous cities in the United States, I found substantial evidence to support my hypotheses that the chief of staff’s gender, not the elected’s gender, will drive the overall gender of staff as well as the gender characterization of policy agendas. Mayors — regardless of gender — with female chiefs of staff in this dataset have more female staffers and more neutral policy agendas. Mayors — regardless of gender — with male chiefs of staff have more male staffers and mostly masculine policy. In weak mayor systems, city managers’ gender strongly influences mayoral policy agendas, especially in small cities; since most city managers are male, those policy agendas are more masculine, regardless of the mayor’s and chief of staff’s gender. Thus, I find that staff who are involved in the intricacies of policy process and outcome have a stronger influence on policy than the public-facing elected official. These results, supplemented by interviews with mayors and chiefs of staff from across the country, could change the importance scholars place on descriptive representation, and alter scholars’ approach to studying both substantive representation for women and American democracy in general.

No description available.

Master of Science / Department of Kinesiology / Craig A. Harms / Expiratory flow limitation (EFL) during exercise can limit exercise tolerance. We have recently reported a high prevalence of EFL independent of sex in prepubescent children (Swain et al. 2010) that greatly exceeds that reported in adults. It is unknown how maturation and growth from pre- to post-puberty affects pulmonary function, specifically EFL, during exercise. The purpose of this longitudinal study was to investigate the changes in cardiopulmonary function from pre- to post-puberty in boys and girls. We hypothesized that EFL prevalence would decrease from pre- to post-puberty (with boys exhibiting a greater decrease than girls) and that the decrement could be explained by an increase in pulmonary function and a decrease in VE/VCO2. Twenty-one children (ages 12-16 yrs; 11 boys, 10 girls) were recruited from 40 prepubescent children who completed testing in our laboratory ~5 years ago. Subjects completed pulmonary function tests before and after an incremental exercise test to exhaustion (VO2max) on a cycle ergometer. EFL was determined using the percent tidal volume (VT) overlap method. Nineteen of the 21 subjects (10 boys, 9 girls; 90%) exhibited EFL pre-puberty, while only 7 of the 21 subjects (5 boys, 2 girls; 33%) exhibited EFL post-puberty. Of the subjects who experienced EFL post-puberty, all had experienced EFL pre-puberty. Boys had a significantly greater vital capacity (VC) than girls both pre- (~15%) and post-puberty (B: 4.73 ± 0.53; G: 3.80 ± 0.29 L). Maximal aerobic capacity (VO2max) significantly increased (~110% in girls and ~120% in boys) from pre- to post-puberty and was greater (p<0.05) in boys post-puberty (B: 2.76 ± 0.43; G: 1.94 ± 0.35 L/min). VE/VCO2 also significantly decreased (~13%) in both boys and girls. Post-puberty subjects regulated tidal breathing at higher lung volumes (greater ERV/FVC and lower IRV/FVC) during exercise compared to pre-puberty. None of the subjects experienced significant arterial desaturation pre-puberty or post-puberty. Our findings suggest that the prevalence of EFL declines as children mature from pre- to post-puberty, likely due to increases in lung size, decreases in VE/VCO2, and/or changes in breathing mechanics that are greater than increases in maximal ventilation that occur with increased pulmonary gas exchange.

Master of Science / Department of Psychological Sciences / Mary Cain / Novelty-seeking and sensation-seeking are traits implicated in initial drug experimentation and relapse in human populations. To research the neurobiological substrates that are implicated in novelty/sensation-seeking that predispose an individual to drug use, a rodent model was used. Recently, 50 kHz ultrasonic vocalizations (USV) have been identified as indices of affective state and are evoked by several drugs of abuse, specifically when these drugs of abuse have their pharmacological effects in the mesolimbic dopamine path. Secondly, genetic breeding of high and low vocalizers suggests not only are they different in the calling frequency, but also to drug sensitivity, suggesting ultrasonic vocalizations may be a behavioral marker for individual differences in the mesolimbic dopamine circuit. Two sensation/novelty seeking screens and an ultrasonic vocalization screen were used in rats to predict the locomotor and 50 kHz USV response to a low (.3 mg/kg) and high dose (1.0 mg/kg) of amphetamine. Correlation analysis revealed none of the novelty screens were correlated. Simultaneous regression analyses indicated amphetamine dose-dependently increased locomotor activity acutely and chronically but did not increase 50 kHz USV. The USV assessment predicted USV response to amphetamine acutely and chronically but was not dose dependent. No interactions among any predictors were observed. Previous research has dichotomized the novelty/sensation-seeking trait and found significant differences between high and low novelty responders. The current research provides evidence for maintaining continuous individual difference variables, and suggests each screen measures a different trait implicated in addiction.

For many, listening to music is an enjoyable experience pursued throughout one’s lifetime. Nearly 200 years of music psychology research has revealed the various ways music listening can impact human emotional states, as well as cognitive and motor performance. Music in video games has come a long way from the first chiptunes of 1978 to the full scores written specifically for games today. However, very little is understood of how background game music impacts game performance, behavior and experience. Even less is known for how music variables might affect performance, behavior and experience by individual differences, such as personality type. In this study, 78 participants scoring in the top 30% for their age range of either extraversion or introversion played a cognitive-training game in four music conditions (silence, low tempo, medium tempo, and high tempo). Performance, game play behavior, and flow experience scores were analyzed for each music condition by level of extraversion. While no statistically significant differences were found in game performance scores by level of extraversion, there were statistically significant differences found for play behavior (physical mouse motions) and flow experience for the music conditions. These results suggest that music can both alter the nature of physical game inputs and also provide a more engaging game experience, while not necessarily impacting one’s ability to perform in a game.