The purpose of this research is to examine the gender differences that exist when male and female participants complete the mirror-tracing task. This task was chosen because it requires both spatial and psychomotor abilities and is unusual in the sense that it has a far higher correlation with standard spatial ability measures than do most other psychomotor tests. This research will focus on looking at gender differences in speed, accuracy, and practice effects. It will also investigate two personality traits that correlate with performance on the task: introversion and anxiety. Data will be collected from three studies: Experiment 2 of Ackerman&Cianciolo's (1999) study, Experiment 3 of Ackerman&Cianciolo's (2000) study, and Experiment 1 of Field's (1998) study. The results are expected to show that males complete the mirror-tracing task quicker than females during initial, intermediate, and final assessments; however, females will exhibit greater practice effects than males. The results are also anticipated to show there is no significant gender difference in the number of errors made during initial, intermediate, or final assessment. Finally, the number of errors made during initial assessment on the mirror-tracing task is expected to be negatively correlated with introversion and positively correlated with anxiety.

<p>Huruvida män och kvinnors attityd skiljer sig åt när det kommer till risk är ett ämne som det bedrivits mycket forskning kring. Dock var det först med de indivuella premiepen-sionsvalen som det för första gången kunde undersökas från ett rättvisande urval, eftersom hela befolkningen valde och gjorde så under samma period samt med samma bakgrunds information. Med implementeringen av detta nya system kom alltså en möjlighet för varje individ att själv påverka sin pension genom de indivudella valen. Informationen som varje individ erhöll innan valen innehöll risken associerad med varje fond samt fondens ursprung, dessa två variabler testas i uppsatsens empiriska analys. Följaktligen är syftet med denna uppsats att undersöka ifall kvinnor är mindre riskbenägna än män med premiepensionsvalen som analys. Resultaten visar att det inte finns några statistiska bevis som indikerar att kvinnor är mindre riskbenägna än män när det kommer till pensionsplaceringsbeslut. Dock har fondens ursprung en större inverkan på kvinnor än den har på män. Eftersom kvinnor visar en tendens att vara mer benägna att investera i Svenska fonder. Detta kan dock påverkas av faktorer som t.ex. vilken sektor man är anställd i. De erhållna resultaten gör att jag kan instämma med tidigare forskning som hävdar att det inte finns bevis som indikerar att kvinnor är mindre riskbe-nägna än män.</p> / <p>The subject of men and womens attitude difference towards risk has been thoroughly dis-cussed in previous research. However, with the individual allocation choices came an op-portunity to study this subject and to draw conclusions from a fair and representative sample for the first time. The reason is that the entire population choose and did so at ap-proximately the same time, and were given access to the same information prior to choos-ing. With this new system came therefore the opportunity for each individual to invest a portion of their pension. The information, distributed to each individual prior to choosing, contained the risk index and also the origin of the fund and these variables are tested in the empirical analysis in the thesis. Hence, the purpose of this thesis is to investigate whether women are more risk averse than men, using the individual allocation choice as analysis. The results indicated no difference between men and women indicating that there is no statistical evidence that women are more risk averse than men when it comes to individual financial decisions. However the origin of the fund has a larger impact on women in the sense that they have a tendency to be more home biased than men. However, the home biasedness seems to be a variable highly affected by e.g. place of employment. With the obtained result I can concur with previous researches that claim that women are not more risk averse than men.</p>

BACKGROUND: There have been prevailing gender differences in negative mental health outcomes for U.S. female service members (FSMs) returning from combat deployments with rates of depression and post-traumatic stress nearly twice that of their male peers. AIM: The aim of this research study was to examine the extent to which the absence or presence of social support, social conflict, and stressful life events either facilitated or hindered optimal mental health during the post-deployment period and shaped FSMs’ mental health in the context of the post-deployment experience. RESEARCH QUESTIONS: What was the nature of the relationship between social support, social conflict, and stressful life events and mental health symptoms (PTSD, depression, anxiety, and alcohol abuse) in FSMs after deployment to Iraq? And was the degree of social support or the degree of social conflict more highly associated with negative mental health symptoms (greater PTSD symptoms, greater depression symptoms, greater anxiety symptoms, and greater alcohol abuse symptoms) in FSMs after deployment to Iraq? THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK: The theoretical framework for this study was derived from Vaux’s theory of social support (Vaux, 1988) and from a model developed by Berkman and Glass (2000) that hypothesized how social support and social networks have direct effects on an individual’s physical, mental, and social health. These two frameworks were viewed from a feminist standpoint perspective. METHODS: This descriptive, correlational, cross-sectional design used a convenience sample of 150 active duty FSMs who were 6-12 months post-deployment from Iraq and stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. FINDINGS: During preliminary exploratory data analyses and statistical assumption testing, significant between group differences were found between the officer and enlisted FSMs on four variables: annual household income, stressful life events, education, and prior exposure to violence (physical assault, sexual assault, or domestic violence). Additionally, significant differences emerged in bivariate correlations between the predictor and outcome variables when the 13 officer FSMs were separated out from the original sample during statistical analyses. These findings suggested these were two distinct populations; therefore, the sample was divided into two groups based on rank. For the officer FSMs, there were no significant bivariate correlations between social support, social conflict, or post-deployment stressful life events and any of the mental health outcomes although a one-tailed analysis was conducted due to low sample size (n = 13). In contrast, the two-tailed analysis of the enlisted FSMs (n = 137) showed significant positive bivariate correlations (p < .01) between social conflict and stressful life events and the outcome variables depression, PTSD, and anxiety symptom severity. Furthermore, the analysis demonstrated a significant inverse correlation between social support and the outcome variables depression, PTSD, and anxiety symptom severity. Hierarchical linear regression of the enlisted FSM group showed that depression symptom severity was best explained by the presence of comorbid PTSD symptoms and the absence of social support. The presence of social conflict was excluded in the final model, and stressful life events were not found to be significant in explaining depression symptom severity. Overall, comorbid PTSD symptom severity and the absence of social support accounted for 71% of the variance in depression symptom severity in this group of enlisted FSMs. In contrast, greater PTSD symptom severity in the post-deployment period was best explained by greater comorbid depression symptom severity, the presence of social conflict, and greater stressful life events. The absence of social support did not significantly contribute to the model for PTSD symptom severity. Comorbid depression symptom severity, stressful life events, and the presence of social conflict, which were entered in three steps, accounted for 74% of the variance in PTSD symptom severity reported by this group of enlisted FSMs. And finally, greater anxiety symptom severity was best explained by greater comorbid depression symptom severity, the presence of social conflict, and the absence of social support. The presence of social conflict had a stronger relationship with anxiety symptom severity than the absence of social support in the final model. In addition, the presence of more stressful life events did not significantly contribute to the overall variance in anxiety symptom severity. Comorbid depression symptom severity, the absence of social support, and the presence of social conflict accounted for 68% of the variance in anxiety symptoms reported by this group of enlisted FSMs. The implications and recommendations based on these findings span strategic planning for the military, nursing practice, and future research. / text

Syftet med föreliggande studie var att undersöka positiva och negativa känslors inverkan på gymnasieungdomars sociala-, äventyrliga-, hälsomässiga- och etiska riskbeteenden. Syftet var även att undersöka könsskillnader i gymnasieungdomars positiva och negativa känslor samt riskbeteenden. Deltagarna gick på gymnasieskolor i Örebro län och var 18-21 år. Totalt medverkade 240 personer i studien. För att mäta riskbeteenden och känslor användes en enkät som bestod av två skalor. Resultatet visade att positiva och negativa känslor kombinerat förklarade 5 % av variansen i gymnasieungdomars riskbeteenden. Positiva respektive negativa känslor predicerade två typer av riskbeteenden vardera. Resultatet visade att killar sannolikt tar mer risker än tjejer i tre av fyra risktyper. Det fanns ingen könsskillnad i känslor. Sammanfattningsvis visade resultatet att känslor påverkar gymnasieungdomars riskbeteenden. / The purpose of this study was to examine whether positive and negative emotions affected high school students social, recreational, ethical and health risk behaviors. The goal was also to investigate gender differences in specific risk behaviors and positive and negative emotions. The participants were high school students in Örebro County, between 18 and 21 years old. In total there were 240 participants. To measure emotions and risk behaviors, we used a questionnaire consisting of two scales. The results showed that emotions explained 5 % of the variance in high school students risk behaviors. Positive and negative emotions predicted two types of risk behaviors each. The results showed that boys were more likely to take risks than girls in three out of four types of risks. There were no gender differences in emotions. In summary, the results showed that emotions play a role in high school students risk behaviors.

This thesis investigates gender differences in health and how they have changed between 1992 and 2002 among very old people. It explores gender differences in the association between disability and health, and gender differences in care utilization among our oldest old people. The studies are based on nationally representative data of the population in Sweden aged 77 and older (SWEOLD).  Results from Study I showed that women generally had more health problems than men. Analyses of change between 1992 and 2002 showed increased prevalence rates for both sexes, especially women. However, women’s reporting of poor global self-rated health did not increase. There were no gender differences and there was no change over time in activities of daily living (ADL). Several health indicators seem to be developing differently for women and men.  Study II showed that associations between ADL disability and other health indicators changed between 1992 and 2002, with several health problems and functional limitations becoming less disabling over time. This trend was especially true for women, while for men, the findings were mixed.  Study III found no gender differences in physician visits and dental visits, despite women’s worse health and dental status. Marriage was associated with more physician visits for men and dentist visits for women. Results imply that women and unmarried older adults may have unmet health-care needs.  Study IV examined whether the increase in life expectancy at age 65 observed between 1992 and 2002 consisted of years with or without musculoskeletal pain. Results showed that total years without pain decreased for both women and men, but more so for women. Women also had more years with pain added to life.  The results of this thesis suggest an increase of health problems, but not disability, in the oldest Swedish population. However, gender variations in the findings highlight the importance of analyzing health trends separately for women and men. / At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 2: In press. Paper 3: Manuscript. Paper 4: Submitted.

There is widespread concern for the mental well–being of adolescents. Various studies have indicated the deleterious consequences of bullying for both victims and bullies, implying the serious need for interventions to lower the incidence of bullying in schools. Descriptive data must inform the development of intervention programmes. The present study aimed to provide such data and to add to existing research on bullying in South African schools. This quantitative study investigated bullying behaviour in a parallel–medium, multi–racial high school in the North–West Province. The specific research aims were to examine the total incidence of bullying experiences and, specifically, frequency levels of being bullied according to age group and race group. Furthermore, gender differences in frequency levels of individual and group bullying, as well as gender–specific frequency levels of use of direct and indirect bullying tactics were examined. A one–shot cross–sectional survey design was employed. A randomly selected representative sample of 635 learners, comprising 274 boys and 361 girls, completed a self–report survey instrument, the Peer Relation Questionnaire (Neser, Ladikos and Prinsloo 2004), with regard to their bullying experiences. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to calculate frequencies, cross–tabulations and chi–square statistical tests. Results indicated that 52% of participants reported to have been the victims of bullying. A significant difference in distribution of bullying frequency was indicated for race groups, but not for age groups. Black and coloured learners in this school experienced a higher frequency of bullying than white learners, which indicates that racial dynamics has an important impact on bullying behaviour in this school. Bullying frequency in this high school is not significantly lower in senior secondary learners (learners 16 years and older) than in junior secondary learners (learners between 13 and 15 years), as was predicted by literature. In terms of gender differences, boys in this school were found to bully significantly more than girls. Furthermore, group bullying was found to be more prevalent than individual bullying in both genders. In this school boys and surprisingly girls too were shown to favour direct verbal bullying tactics (unpleasant teasing) and direct physical bullying tactics (hitting, kicking or pushing). This finding is a cause for concern as it is contradicted by literature which describes girls as preferring indirect bullying tactics (isolating the victim or threatening harm) to direct physical tactics, indicating that girls in this school use higher levels of physical aggression in bullying than the findings of other literature. The found high incidence levels of being bullied and bullying behaviour trends indicate a need for an anti–bullying intervention in this school, which includes learners of all age and race groups. The study's findings imply that such an intervention should include a focus on bullying of black and coloured learners and address racial dynamics in bullying. Furthermore intervention should address group and individual bullying, as well as the use of direct bullying tactics among both boys and girls, particularly direct physical tactics. Altough these findings are not generalisable to other South African schools, the need for further South African research to investigate unique trends in bullying behaviour is stressed. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Clinical Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

There is widespread concern for the mental well–being of adolescents. Various studies have indicated the deleterious consequences of bullying for both victims and bullies, implying the serious need for interventions to lower the incidence of bullying in schools. Descriptive data must inform the development of intervention programmes. The present study aimed to provide such data and to add to existing research on bullying in South African schools. This quantitative study investigated bullying behaviour in a parallel–medium, multi–racial high school in the North–West Province. The specific research aims were to examine the total incidence of bullying experiences and, specifically, frequency levels of being bullied according to age group and race group. Furthermore, gender differences in frequency levels of individual and group bullying, as well as gender–specific frequency levels of use of direct and indirect bullying tactics were examined. A one–shot cross–sectional survey design was employed. A randomly selected representative sample of 635 learners, comprising 274 boys and 361 girls, completed a self–report survey instrument, the Peer Relation Questionnaire (Neser, Ladikos and Prinsloo 2004), with regard to their bullying experiences. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to calculate frequencies, cross–tabulations and chi–square statistical tests. Results indicated that 52% of participants reported to have been the victims of bullying. A significant difference in distribution of bullying frequency was indicated for race groups, but not for age groups. Black and coloured learners in this school experienced a higher frequency of bullying than white learners, which indicates that racial dynamics has an important impact on bullying behaviour in this school. Bullying frequency in this high school is not significantly lower in senior secondary learners (learners 16 years and older) than in junior secondary learners (learners between 13 and 15 years), as was predicted by literature. In terms of gender differences, boys in this school were found to bully significantly more than girls. Furthermore, group bullying was found to be more prevalent than individual bullying in both genders. In this school boys and surprisingly girls too were shown to favour direct verbal bullying tactics (unpleasant teasing) and direct physical bullying tactics (hitting, kicking or pushing). This finding is a cause for concern as it is contradicted by literature which describes girls as preferring indirect bullying tactics (isolating the victim or threatening harm) to direct physical tactics, indicating that girls in this school use higher levels of physical aggression in bullying than the findings of other literature. The found high incidence levels of being bullied and bullying behaviour trends indicate a need for an anti–bullying intervention in this school, which includes learners of all age and race groups. The study's findings imply that such an intervention should include a focus on bullying of black and coloured learners and address racial dynamics in bullying. Furthermore intervention should address group and individual bullying, as well as the use of direct bullying tactics among both boys and girls, particularly direct physical tactics. Altough these findings are not generalisable to other South African schools, the need for further South African research to investigate unique trends in bullying behaviour is stressed. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Clinical Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

The aim of the present study was to examine whether there was a significant difference within each spouse&amp / #8217 / s reports on grief reactions after an infant death. It was also aimed to investigate whether demographic variables including gender, age, education of grieved parents, gender and age of deceased infant, presence of other children were predictors of parental grief reactions after an infant death. The sample of the present study consisted of 55 couples experiencing an infant death within the last 2 years. Sample was recruited through death records kept in hospital and municipalities of Ankara by the researcher. To test the hypotheses of the study paired samples t-test and stepwise regression analyses were performed. According to the results of the study, it was found that there was a significant difference within each spouse&amp / #8217 / s reports on despair, panic behavior, blame and anger, detachment, and disorganization as separate dimensions of grief. Mothers experienced higher levels of despair, panic behavior, blame and anger, detachment, and disorganization than fathers. There was no significant difference within each spouse&amp / #8217 / s score on personal growth. It was found that being a mother and having lost boy infant were proved as the predictors of parents&amp / #8217 / higher levels of grief reactions. Age and education of grieved parents, age of deceased infant, presence of other children were not associated with parental grief reactions. It was found that younger age of deceased infant and presence of other children were proved as predictors of grieved parents&amp / #8217 / higher levels of personal growth. The findings of the study were discussed with related literature.

In the organizational domain, it is well established that a significant relationship exists between cognitive ability and job performance (e.g., Hunter, 1986); however, there is less research surrounding the relationship between how intelligent people think they are and expectations of job performance. Although self-estimates have been used in the educational domain since the early 1900s (e.g., self-estimates of ability; Koerth & Rush, 1923; Schutte, 1929; personality traits; Cogan, Conklin, & Hollingworth, 1915; Shen, 1925) they have only recently been applied to the workplace as predictors of job search behavior and occupational choice (e.g., Prediger, 1994; Tracey & Hopkins, 2001). As a result of changing technologies and organizational structures, an employee's ability to learn new job skills is critical to his/ her continued success in the workplace. However, an employee's perception of his/ her learning potential may be as informative as or more informative than objectively measured ability for subsequent decision making (e.g., job choice). The purpose of this study was to investigate prospective estimates of job performance and learning potential, including gender differences in self-estimates, the determinants of self-estimates, and the predictive validity of self-estimates for decisions about engaging in career-related tasks. The goal of the current study was to evaluate self-estimates of job performance and learning potential for 20 jobs. A total of 153 participants watched short video clips depicting each of the 20 jobs and answered a series of questionnaires, assessing future-oriented estimates of job performance, estimates of learning potential, task interest, task value, task experience, and task engagement. Significant gender differences were found in estimates of job performance across job domains, as well as interactions of gender and self-estimates of job performance over anticipated time-on-task. Some significant relations were found between non-ability traits and self-estimates of job performance and learning potential, while significant relations were found between prior job experience and decisions about task engagement. The practical utility of this research is an understanding of how individual differences in non-ability traits such as personality, interest, and motivation may impact an individual's expectations of future job performance, and consequently, an individual's career choice decisions and job pursuits.

Faces provide cues for judgments regarding the emotional state of individuals. Using signal-detection methodology and a standardized stimulus set, the overall aim of the present dissertation was to investigate the detection of emotional facial expressions (i.e., angry and happy faces) with neutral expressions as the nontarget stimuli. Study I showed a happy-superiority effect and a bias towards reporting happiness in female faces. As work progressed, questions arose regarding whether the emotional stimuli were equal with regard to perceived strength of emotion, and whether the neutral faces were perceived as neutral. To further investigate the effect of stimulus quality on the obtained findings, Study II was designed such that the facial stimuli were rated on scales of happy-sad, angry-friendly, and emotionality. Results showed that ‘neutral’ facial expressions were not rated as neutral, and that there was a greater perceived distance between happy and neutral faces than between angry and neutral faces. These results were used to adjust the detectability measures to compensate for the varying distances of the angry and happy stimuli from the neutral stimuli in the emotional space. The happy-superiority effect was weakened, while an angry-female disadvantage remained. However, as these results were based upon different participant groups for detection and emotional rating, Study III was designed to investigate whether the results from Studies I and II could be replicated in a design where the same participants performed both tasks. Again, the results showed the non-neutrality of ‘neutral’ expressions and that happiness was more easily detected than anger, as shown in general emotion as well as specific emotion detection. Taken together, the overall results of the present dissertation demonstrate a happy-superiority effect that was greater for female than male faces, that angry-female faces were the most difficult to detect, and a bias to report female faces as happy. / At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 1: In press. Paper 2: Manuscript. Paper 3: Manuscript.