published_or_final_version / abstract / Humanities / Master / Master of Philosophy

Occupational sex segregation, the gender wage gap, and ghettoization persist despite improvements in women's opportunities since World War II. Recent research calls for a focus on the social psychological factors in early life that affect women's career attainments to help us more fully understand the persistence of women's disadvantaged positions in paid work. This dissertation synthesizes prior research to develop a multilevel model of career goal formation by examining community context, mothers' attainments, and gender beliefs as factors that shape young women's career goals. It also considers the degree to which career goals and gender beliefs influence work outcomes in later life. I study the 1979 and 1998 panels of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to identify early life factors that affect young women's career goals and to assess the extent to which these early goals influence women's employment situations in later life. This dissertation has three main findings. First, I find that young women's early career goals are influenced by women's disadvantaged position in the labor force more generally, as manifested in relationships with their mothers and women's status in the broader community. Young women with mothers who have lower occupational earnings, lower occupational prestige, and work with more women are more likely to plan to work in occupations with lower earnings, prestige, and more women themselves. Second, part of the influence of community context and mothers' attainments is indirect through young women's beliefs about gender. Third, early career goals and gender beliefs have lasting and cumulative effects on women's attainments in later life. Young women with less ambitious career goals and more traditional gender beliefs complete fewer years of education and are less likely to work full-time in later life. In turn, less education and fewer work hours are associated with employment in occupations with more women, lower median weekly earnings, lower occupational prestige, and lower hourly wages. Overall, the results provide evidence of the social embeddedness of women's career goals, and the cumulative impact of early career goals and gender beliefs on women's mid-life attainments. In addition, the results suggest that women's disadvantaged position in the labor market persists partly because the career goals of each generation are influenced by the constraints and opportunities experienced by their predecessors. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Sociology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Degree Awarded: Fall Semester, 2005. / Date of Defense: July 6, 2005. / Gender And Work, Career Attainments, Gender Beliefs, Community Context, Career Goals / Includes bibliographical references. / John R. Reynolds, Professor Directing Dissertation; Mary Ellen Guy, Outside Committee Member; Patricia Y. Martin, Committee Member; Irene Padavic, Committee Member.

Sexual arousal is a complex and dynamic element of women’s sexuality. Accounts vary, however most multidimensional models highlight the cognitive, affective and physiological components of the female sexual arousal response. While literature examining the peripheral physiological changes that occur during female sexual arousal abounds, there has been a dearth of literature pertaining to the cognitive and affective components. Thus, while many authors have included cognitive and emotions as independent components of the female sexual arousal response, there has been little empirical research to validate this approach. The aim of the current thesis was to examine the cognitive and affective components of female sexual arousal in more depth, investigating the nature of the relationship between these components under various experimental conditions. In order to do so, two integrated studies were conducted, each highlighting the effects of either external or internal variables on women’s subjective sexual arousal, absorption, positive affect and negative affect. Study One was designed to evaluate women’s emotional and cognitive processing of two elements of erotic film – foreplay and erotic context. 60 women were asked to report their subjective sexual arousal, absorption, positive affect and negative affect in response to one of four erotic film excerpts. The erotic excerpts varied in accordance with the degree of foreplay (low vs. high) depicted and the context in which the sexual activities took place (novel vs. habitual context). Women in the study responded more favourably to the high foreplay erotic film excerpt, subsequently reporting higher degrees of subjective sexual arousal, absorption and positive affect. Women also responded favourably to the erotic excerpt filmed in a novel context, reporting greater subjective sexual arousal as a result. The environment in which the sexual encounters were filmed failed to have an effect however, on women’s absorption or their positive or negative affect. The results of Study One suggest that stimulus specific variables, such as the degree of foreplay depicted, have a significant influence on female cognitive and emotional processing of erotic film. The results also suggest that a relationship exists between absorption, subjective sexual arousal and positive affect, albeit a correlational one. Specifically, there was evidence of parallel processing during sexual arousal, as participant reported sexual arousal, absorption and positive affect all increased and decreased in unison. Based on the results it was suggested that future research attempt to experimentally manipulate one of these variables, to examine its direct effect on the remaining variable. Thus, Study Two aimed to examine the effects of absorption on women’s cognitive and emotional processing of erotica. Study Two manipulated absorption at two levels (high vs. low), examining the impact of these states on participants’ subsequent absorption, subjective sexual arousal and positive and negative affect. 62 women were asked to read one of two sets of test session instructions. The first, participant-oriented instruction set, instructed participants to immerse themselves in the erotic film excerpt, as if they were active participants in the sexual exchange. The second, spectator-oriented instruction set, directed participants to observe and evaluate the erotic film. These instructions were designed to elicit high and low degrees of absorption, respectively. The utility of this approach when manipulating female absorption, was demonstrated by self reported ratings of absorption, given at the conclusion of the film presentation. Participants were also asked to report their subjective sexual arousal and positive and negative affect at the conclusion of the erotic film presentation. The findings of this study suggest that the adoption of a participant-oriented (high absorption) perspective elicits more favourable responses from participants than a spectator-oriented (low absorption) perspective, with participants in the former experimental group reporting greater degrees of subjective sexual arousal and positive affect. Negative affect was equivalent across experimental conditions, with the participants reporting that they experienced little to no aversive feelings during either of the experimental conditions. The results suggest that the degree to which a women immerses and absorbs herself in a sexual stimulus has a significant impact in her subsequent cognitive and affective processing of that stimulus. More specifically, it appears that women respond more favourably when they are highly absorbed and immersed in a stimulus, reporting greater subjective sexual arousal and positive affect. Overall, the results of Studies One and Two highlight the dynamic and complex nature of female sexual arousal. It appears that women have definite cognitive and affective responses to sexual stimuli. The magnitude of these responses may be mediated by a number of factors however, including the intrinsic qualities of the stimulus and the degree to which the woman attends to the stimulus. Both these variables act to either enhance or inhibit the sexual arousal response. There results have important implications for current sexuality literature. While women’s cognitions and emotions in response to erotic film were generally highly correlated, in some instances they differed, warranting their inclusion as separate elements in models of female sexual arousal. Furthermore, it might be suggested that the inclusion of an additional variable – absorption – into current models of female sexual arousal would prove beneficial, aiding researchers to better understand and predict the arousal process. As such, recommendations are made for a revised model of female sexual arousal. In terms of future directions, the results of the present thesis have implications for the treatment of sexual dysfunctions, suggesting that clinicians need to understand the internal and external variables that might contribute to the aetiology and maintenance of their presenting problems.

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI Company.

There is no abstract available for this dissertation.

This study was designed to investigate various antecedents of self-esteem as related to race and sex. In so doing, use was made of a two-part Modified Self-Esteem Inventory (MSEI) designed by the author. This Inventory provided information related to (a) a student's measure of perceived self-esteem (Part I), and (b) information related to various antecedents of self-esteem as indicated by a student's perception of self-peers, parents, school, and early home environment (Part II). The Modified Self-Esteem Inventory was administered to college and university freshmen and sophomores, Negro and white, male and female, seventeen through twenty-two years of age, enrolled in either Ball State University or Arkansas Agricultural, Mechanical and Normal College.Concerning race and sex factors relating to selfesteem, no significant relationship was found to exist between a student's self-esteem and his race or sex, except in the case of (a) Ball State white students and Ball State Negro students, with the Ball State white students having significantly higher self-esteem scores than the Ball State Negro students, and (b) Ball State white male students and Ball State Negro male students, with the Ball State white male students having significantly higher selfesteem scores than the Ball State Negro male students. A significant difference in MSEI scores between Ball State white males and Ball State Negro males caused a significant difference to appear to exist in MSEI scores between the Ball State white students and the Ball State Negro students. This finding was further supported by the fact that no significant difference was found to exist between the MSEI scores of the Ball State white female students and the MSEI scores of the Ball State Negro female students. Concerning various antecedents of self-esteem, this author concluded A: that students with high self esteem1. have mothers who are high in self-esteem, emotionally stable, adequate in their view of themselves as mothers, pleased with father's child rearing practices; more likely to be confided in than fathers; more apt to know most of children's friends, less apt to use corporal punishment for control, more likely to be the principle punitive agent; affectionate, harmoniously related tohusband, and more likely to have worked than not to have worked while children were in grade school.2. have fathers who are more stable in their employment.3. have parents who: appreciate academic achievement in their sons; have not had previous marriages; are not annoyed by children's unimportant problems; allow children to "enjoy" themselves.4. view parent's punishment as being effective; had a close relationship with siblings and peers; consider themselves as friendly, happy people. B. that students with low self-esteem1. have mothers who are: low in self-esteem; emotionally unstable; not very adequate in their view of themselves as mothers; not pleased with father's child rearing practices; more likely to be confided in than fathers; less apt to know most of their children's friends; more apt to use corporal punishment for control; more likely to be the principle punitive agent; manifest little affection for their children; relate poorly to husband; more likely not to have worked while children were in grade school.2. have fathers who are: less often the parent who makes day-to-day decisions; and are more often unemployed.3. have parents who appreciate academic achievement in their sons; have had previous marriages; are not annoyed by children's unimportant problems.4. do not view themselves as popular persons; have difficulty making friends; and consider themselves relatively unhappy.

Thesis--State University of Iowa, 1962. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Kassel, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis--State University of Iowa, 1962. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record.