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The present research explored cross-cultural differences in postdecisional confirmation bias. I hypothesized that, following a personal decision—one that entails consequences for the decision maker only, Euro-Canadians would be more likely to seek out confirmatory information than would Japanese, whereas following an interpersonal decision—one that entails consequences for those closest to the decision maker, Japanese would be more likely to do so than Euro-Canadians. In Study 1, Euro-Canadians and Japanese university students were randomly assigned to either the self or friend condition. Participants in the self and friend condition selected a movie for which they or their friend would ostensibly receive a free pass to see in theatres, respectively. After selecting a movie, participants were presented with a list of 12 movie reviews that either confirmed or disconfirmed their choice. Participants then indicated which of the reviews they wanted to read further. Study 2 employed the same paradigm as did Study 1 and also included a measure of participants’ information processing goals. For Study 1, the results of a series of one-sample t tests revealed that Euro-Canadians in the self condition exhibited confirmation bias as well as did those in the friend condition, albeit this latter trend was not significant. In contrast, Japanese in both conditions showed no preference for confirmatory or disconfirmatory information. For Study 2, Japanese continued to exhibit a balanced search. However, Euro-Canadians in the friend condition preferred confirmatory information, whereas Euro-Canadians in the self condition exhibited a slight, non-significant preference for disconfirmatory information. Regarding participants’ information processing goals, those in the friend condition were more concerned with affirming and convincing others of the correctness of their choice than were those in the self condition. Also, Euro-Canadians indicated that they were motivated to be accurate more than did Japanese. The present research indicates that Euro-Canadians and Japanese differ in terms of the decisions that they seek to confirm (albeit not in the predicted direction). Reasons for such discrepant findings and limits of the present research are discussed. / Thesis (Master, Psychology) -- Queen's University, 2010-09-02 12:51:18.396

The present study examined the emotional responses of 112 dyads of same-sex friends in early and middle childhood as they competed against each other on 3 identical games, enabling each child in the pair to experience 3 outcome conditions: winning, losing, and tying. Emotional reactions were videotaped and rated for degree of enjoyment and discomfort. In addition, following the 3 games, children were individually interviewed and asked to report their levels of happiness regarding winning, losing, and tying. The social context of a dyad is more closely associated with female social interaction which tends to be egalitarian. It was hypothesized that boys' well-documented greater comfort with competition relative to girls would be attenuated in the context of a dyad. Results indicated that boys showed more comfort and enjoyment throughout the competitive process than did girls. However, both boys and girls showed equal levels of comfort and enjoyment for the win and tie outcomes, indicating boys, like girls, were also concerned with doing the same as their friend. A developmental difference was also seen as the children in middle childhood reported less happiness than the kindergarten children when they experienced the win outcome. The results are discussed in terms of the necessity of considering the social context in which competition occurs when investigating gender differences in competition.

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Recent genetic studies indicate an association between Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and the dopamine transporter gene (DAT1) with possible preferential relation to hyperactivity and impulsivity behaviours. The present study investigated attention-related behaviours in a non-clinical sample to determine whether the modulation of these behaviours is associated with genetic variability of the DAT1 within the normal population. A secondary question explored whether gender was associated with the measured attention-related behaviours. Twenty-six children were observed in the classroom during performance of independent academic work. Motor behaviours during task performance were scored using the Restricted Academic Situation Scale. Major behavioural problems were scored using the Conners' Teacher Rating Scale-Revised: Short Form (CTRS-R:S). All participants were genotyped for the DAT1. The results yielded no significant genotype group differences, although an association was found between oppositional behaviour (CTRS-R:S) and gender. These preliminary results are discussed within the current context of genetics research in ADHD.

In Experiment 1 preschool children were videotaped playing in groups of same-sex friends. Responses to Vulnerability were coded and content analyzed. Sex differences were examined to explore whether girls display more responses to Vulnerability than boys and whether girls and boys differ in Responses to Vulnerability in their play. No sex differences were found in amount of time responding to Vulnerability; however, some support was found for sex differences in types of Responses to Vulnerability. / Experiment 2 experimentally examined girls' and boys' preferences for vignettes representing Categories of Response to the same Vulnerability Situation: Dominant Mastery, Nurturant Mastery, and Sharing Problems. Preferences for two Vulnerability Situations were examined. Boys were expected to show a preference for Dominant Mastery responses and girls a preference for Sharing Problems as well as Nurturant Mastery responses. Several marginally significant results were found. Discussion focuses on adult consequences and implications for later male and female interactions.

The current study explored gender differences in groups of boys and girls in a limited resource context. Forty same-sex groups of four children from kindergarten and grade four were observed during sessions in which groups played first with two different toys and then two different games. The toy and game sessions were constructed so children had to negotiate for a scarce resource (attractive toy and game winner's certificate). In the case of one of the toys the end of a player's turn was obvious to group members (explicit turn-taking toy), in the case of the other toy the end of a turn was not obvious to group members (nonexplicit turn-taking toy). Resource use (time with toy), group variability in resource use, positive affect and self-report measures were collected. Results of the toy sessions revealed both genders were very similar on all the measures; however, girls were significantly more likely to have greater group variance in distributing the nonexplicit turn-taking toy. The two games, one competitive and one noncompetitive, involved players trying to reach a finish line. For the competitive game, only one player could win, but for the noncompetitive game all players could win. During both games, a player could potentially interfere with another player's goal to win. Resource use (interfering), group variability in resource use, positive affect and self-report measures were collected. Results of the game sessions revealed both genders were very similar on all measures, however, during the competitive game, girls were more likely to have greater group variance in interfering. The results are discussed in terms of considering aspects of the context when investigating gender differences in competition.

This report presents the initaitvies made by teachers in form of questions during four lessons in a highschool class. A class in senior highschool was filmed during six hours with four different teachers. The number of questions and other initiatives were counted. The dialogue was transcribed with CA regarding examples from questioning and dialogue. The study examined how many closed(open and rhetorical questions the teacher initiate. The initiatives from pupils in form of questions where also examined. The aim was to see whether or not there were any gender differences. The result show that the teacher dominate the classroom dialogue with more than 68% of the speech acts and that the closed questions still dominate the classroom. There were no gender differences in the total amount of classroomtime, but in the math session the boys dominated. Regarding initiatives from pupils there were no gender differences, but there were many comments and answers who were spoken out loud in the classroom without any order. The conclusion from this report is that the old patterns with the tacher domination in the classroom communication remains and that there are very few open questions which could benfit dialogue and democatic values.

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