A frequently observed research finding is that females outperform males on tasks of verbal and language abilities, but there is considerable variability in effect sizes from sample to sample. The ...gold standard for evaluating gender differences in cognitive ability is to recruit a large, demographically representative sample. We examined 3 decades of U.S. student achievement in reading and writing from the National Assessment of Educational Progress to determine the magnitude of gender differences (N = 3.9 million), and whether these were declining over time as claimed by Feingold (1988). Examination of effect sizes found a developmental progression from initially small gender differences in Grade 4 toward larger effects as students progress through schooling. Differences for reading were small-to-medium (d = −.32 by Grade 12), and medium-sized for writing (d = −.55 by Grade 12) and were stable over the historical time. Additionally, there were pronounced imbalances in gender ratios at the lower left and upper right tails of the ability spectrum. These results are interpreted in the context of Hyde's (2005) gender similarities hypothesis, which holds that most psychological gender differences are only small or trivial in size. Language and verbal abilities represent one exception to the general rule of gender similarities, and we discuss the educational implications of these findings.
Young children living in technology-based communities are using touch-screen tablets (e.g. iPads) to engage with the digital world at an early age. The intuitive touch-screen interface, easily ...downloadable apps (applications) and mobility of tablets drive their increasing popularity with pre-schoolers. This review examines research to date on tablets, apps and emergent literacy in young children in the home and at pre-school. Evidence is building that suggests tablets have the potential to foster emergent writing and letter knowledge. Although the impact of tablets on emergent literacy is not yet fully known, developing themes highlight potential benefits and hindrances of tablets for emergent literacy. Two important considerations are the quality of emergent literacy apps and the importance of scaffolding young children's use of tablets at home and pre-school to support emergent literacy development. Directions for future research and recommendations for parents and teachers are discussed. Author abstract
Gender gaps in the development of mathematical and scientific literacy have important implications for the general public's understanding of scientific issues and for the underrepresentation of women ...in science, technology, engineering, and math. We subjected data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress to a meta-analysis to examine whether there were sex differences in mathematics and science achievement for students in the United States across the period 1990-2011. Results show that there were small but stable mean sex differences favoring males in mathematics and science across the past 2 decades, with an effect size of d = .10 and .13, respectively, for students in 12th grade. Furthermore, there were large sex differences in high achievers, with males being overrepresented by a factor of over 2:1 at the upper right of the ability distribution for both mathematics and science. Further efforts are called for to reach equity in mathematics and science educational outcomes for all students.
Exercise is beneficial for physical and psychological health, yet the majority of Australian adults are not sufficiently active to gain health benefits. Novel methods are needed to enhance the ...experience of exercise and ultimately exercise participation. The present study examined performance and psychological experiences during a (non-immersive) virtual reality cycling task that incorporated affective feedback. Female participants (N = 137, university students) received either positive, negative, or neutral virtual feedback while cycling on a stationary bicycle in a virtual reality laboratory environment under the instruction to maintain at least 70% of their maximal heart rate for as long as possible (or up to 30 minutes). Participants also responded to measures of affect, motivation, enjoyment, and competitiveness. Data were analysed with ANOVA's performed with feedback groups and trait competitiveness for the psychological and performance dependent measures. Results showed that positive feedback elicited greater interest and enjoyment during the task than neutral and negative feedback. In addition, perceived competence was greater with positive feedback than for neutral and negative feedback in low competitive participants. The type of feedback did not affect performance (cycling persistence, perceived exertion, and effort). The findings indicate the potential importance of providing positive virtual feedback and considering the interaction of individual difference factors, specifically competitiveness, to enhance virtual exercise experiences.
The underrepresentation of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)-related fields remains a concern for educators and the scientific community. Gender differences in ...mathematics and science achievement play a role, in conjunction with attitudes and self- efficacy beliefs. We report results from the 2011 Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), a large international assessment of eighth grade students' achievement, attitudes, and beliefs among 45 participating nations (N = 261,738). Small- to medium-sized gender differences were found for most individual nations (from d = -.60 to +.31 in mathematics achievement, and d = -.60 to +.26 for science achievement), although the direction varied and there were no global gender differences overall. Such a pattern cross-culturally is incompatible with the notion of immutable gender differences. Additionally, there were different patterns between OECD and non-OECD nations, with girls scoring higher than boys in mathematics and science achievement across non-OECD nations. An association was found between gender differences in science achievement and national levels of gender equality, providing support for the gender segregation hypothesis. Furthermore, the performance of boys was more variable than that of girls in most nations, consistent with the greater male variability hypothesis. Boys reported more favourable attitudes towards mathematics and science, and girls reported lower self-efficacy beliefs. While the gender gap in STEM achievement may be closing, there are still large sections of the world where differences remain. Author abstract
Virtual reality (VR) technology is being increasingly used by athletes, coaches, and other sport-related professionals. The present systematic review aimed to document research on the application of ...VR to sport to better understand the outcomes that have emerged in this work. Research literature databases were searched, and the results screened to identify articles reporting applications of interactive VR to sport with healthy human participants. Twenty articles were identified and coded to document the study aims, research designs, participant characteristics, sport types, VR technology, measures, and key findings. From the review, it was shown that interactive VR applications have enhanced a range of performance, physiological, and psychological outcomes. The specific effects have been influenced by factors related to the athlete and the VR system, which comprise athlete factors, VR environment factors, task factors, and the non-VR environment factors. Important variables include the presence of others in the virtual environment, competitiveness, task autonomy, immersion, attentional focus, and feedback. The majority of research has been conducted on endurance sports, such as running, cycling, and rowing, and more research is required to examine the use of interactive VR in skill-based sports. Additional directions for future research and reporting standards for researchers are suggested.
The gap between the demand and delivery of mental health services in mainland China can be reduced by validating freely available and psychometrically sound psychological instruments. The present ...research examined the Chinese version of the 21-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21). Study 1 administered the DASS-21 to 1,815 Chinese college students and found internal consistency indices (Cronbach's alpha) of .83, .80, and .82 for the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress subscales, respectively, and .92 for the total DASS total. Test-retest reliability over a 6-month interval was .39 to .46 for each of the 3 subscales and .46 for the total DASS. Moderate convergent validity of the Depression and Anxiety subscales was demonstrated via significant correlations with the Chinese Beck Depression Inventory (r = .51 at Time 1 and r = .64 at Time 2) and the Chinese State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (r = .41), respectively. Confirmatory factor analyses supported the original 3-factor model with 1 minor change (nonnormed fit index NNFI = .964, comparative fit index CFI = .968, and root mean square error of approximation RMSEA = .079). Study 2 examined the clinical utility of the Chinese DASS-21 in 166 patients with schizophrenia and 90 matched healthy controls. Patients had higher Depression and Anxiety but not Stress subscale scores than healthy controls. A discriminant function composed of the linear combination of 3 subscale scores correctly discriminated 69.92% of participants, which again supported the potential clinical utility of the DASS in mainland China. Taken together, findings in these studies support the cross-cultural validity of the DASS-21 in China.
•This study compared the efficacy of self-esteem and self-compassion writing tasks.•Self-compassion improved body dissatisfaction and self-improvement motivation.•Pre-intervention trait body ...dissatisfaction moderated intervention efficacy.•Self-compassion emerged as a superior approach to self-esteem in this context.
This study explored the efficacy of reflective writing tasks for reducing state body dissatisfaction and improving self-improvement motivation. Participants (N = 153) were exposed to a threatening body image scenario, after which they reported their state body dissatisfaction. Following randomisation to one of three interventions (self-esteem, self-compassion, or positive distraction control), participants completed the state body dissatisfaction measures again along with a measure of self-improvement motivation. At post-intervention, state weight dissatisfaction and appearance dissatisfaction were significantly lower and self-improvement motivation was significantly higher in the self-compassion group than in both the self-esteem and control groups. Trait body dissatisfaction moderated the efficacy of the intervention whereby the benefit of the self-compassion intervention became evident at moderate levels of trait body dissatisfaction, and was most apparent at high levels of body dissatisfaction. Self-compassion was a robust and efficacious method through which to promote immediate improvements to bodily feelings and desire to self-improve.
The use of touch screen tablets by young children is increasing in the home and in early childhood settings. The simple tactile interface and finger-based operating features of tablets may facilitate ...preschoolers’ use of tablet application software and support their educational development in domains such as literacy. This article reviews current findings on using touch screen tablets in supporting early literacy development within a theoretical framework. The evidence suggests that tablets have the potential to enhance children’s emergent literacy skills (e.g., alphabet knowledge, print concepts, and emergent writing). However, the optimal use of tablets for early literacy learning may be dependent upon the type of scaffolding used by parent or teacher and the availability and quality of literacy tablet applications. Practical implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.
Despite evidence from cognitive psychology that men and women are equal in measured intelligence, gender differences in self-estimated intelligence (SEI) are widely reported with males providing ...systematically higher estimates than females. This has been termed the
effect. The present study explored personality factors that might explain this. Participants (
= 228; 103 male, 125 female) provided self-estimates of their general IQ and for Gardner's multiple intelligences, before completing the Cattell Culture Fair IQ test as an objective measure of intelligence. They also completed the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) as a measure of sex-role identification, and measures of general and academic self-esteem. Both gender and sex-role differences were observed for SEI, with males and participants of both genders who scored high in masculinity offering higher self-estimates. By comparing estimated and observed IQ, we were able to rule out gender differences in overall accuracy but observed a pattern of systematic underestimation in females. An hierarchical multiple regression showed significant independent effects of gender, masculinity, and self-esteem. Mixed evidence was observed for gender differences in the estimation of multiple intelligences, though moderately sized sex-role differences were observed. The results offer a far more nuanced explanation for the male hubris, female humility effect that includes the contribution of sex role identification to individual and group differences.
PDF
