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Gender, Empathy, and the Choice of the Psychology Major

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Abstract

We compared male and female psychology majors to psychology minors and nonmajors to understand the trends in a growing major in which women outnumber men. A total of 451 psychology majors, minors, and nonmajors from 4 institutions completed a questionnaire measuring empathy, career goals, and perceptions of the importance of empathy for therapy. Perspective taking and a desire to enter a helping profession mediated the relation between gender and major, suggesting that personality contributes to the choice of a psychology major. Highly empathic students may choose psychology because they believe that empathy is important for success in clinical and counseling psychology.

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... The present findings are also consistent with those of Harton and Lyons (2003), which indicated cognitive (but not affective) empathy was a significant predictor of selection into a psychology vocation. Understanding alternative perspectives is important for general social skill development and so people possessing high levels of cognitive empathy tend to be more outgoing and social (Jonason & Kroll, 2015). ...
... Despite cognitive empathy being important in both business and psychology, the present findings suggest that business students demonstrate lower perspective taking ability than psychology students. Cognitive empathy (including perspective-taking) is thought to be a set of cognitive skills which could be impacted upon by experiences and theoretically taught through exposure to external environments which encourage individuals to take others' perspectives (Harton & Lyons, 2003). Therefore, the present findings highlight a need for learning experiences that enhance student perspective-taking skill development to be incorporated into Australian undergraduate business education. ...
... 4.2 | Gender, age, and social desirability correlates of empathy and discipline selection Consistent with previous findings (Harton & Lyons, 2003;Jolliffe & Farrington, 2006), gender was significantly and positively correlated with both cognitive and affective empathy, with females reporting higher levels of cognitive and affective empathy than males. Gender was also a significant predictor of academic discipline selection, with females more likely to be attracted and selected into a psychology discipline than males. ...
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The attraction, selection, and attrition model posits that individuals actively self‐select into vocational and educational environments based on their personality traits and values. The present study investigated whether pre‐existing empathy and psychopathic personality trait differences in newly enrolled first year undergraduate students predicted selection into psychology and business vocational pathways respectively. An online self‐report survey collected data on levels of psychopathic traits and empathy from 380 newly enrolled first year business and psychology undergraduate students to examine whether these pre‐existing personality traits could predict academic discipline attraction and selection. Binary logistic regression analysis partially supported the proposed hypotheses. Cognitive empathy, gender, and social desirability scores were found to be significant predictors of student discipline, with females, those with higher cognitive empathy and lower social desirability scores more likely to be attracted and selected into a psychology rather than a business degree. Small to moderate effect size differences were observed, with psychology students reporting significantly higher cognitive empathy (d = 0.53) and lower interpersonal psychopathy (d = 0.27) than business students. Findings highlight specific personality trait differences present between newly enrolled business and psychology students and the importance of these pre‐existing differences in student vocational decision‐making. It is anticipated that findings may assist vocational and career counsellors in guiding prospective students in the direction of a vocational pathway that is best suited to their personality, as this is likely to result in increased student satisfaction and self‐esteem whilst reducing student attrition.
... Despite the growing popularity of psychology at the Bachelor's degree level, little research has investigated the possible influences on the choice of the psychology major. In addition, the number of females in the psychology major as well as the profession of psychology continues to increase (Harton & Lyons, 2003). With these demographic changes, a number of questions are relevant for understanding the changing composition of the psychology student population. ...
... Recent research has also explored the possible role of personality in the choice of the psychology major. Harton and Lyons (2003) explored the role of gender and empathy on the choice of the psychology major and found that highly empathic students were more likely to choose psychology as a major. Females report higher levels of empathy and Harton and Lyons (2003) suggest that this may help explain the growing percentage of females in the discipline of psychology. ...
... Harton and Lyons (2003) explored the role of gender and empathy on the choice of the psychology major and found that highly empathic students were more likely to choose psychology as a major. Females report higher levels of empathy and Harton and Lyons (2003) suggest that this may help explain the growing percentage of females in the discipline of psychology. They suggest that future research on why students choose the major should focus on the role of personality, child and adolescent experiences, and the perception of psychology as a "science" or a "helping profession." ...
Article
In order to better understand student decisions to major in psychology, 110 undergraduate psychology majors and 58 students from a variety of academic majors completed a survey of influences on college major choice and the Big Five Personality Inventory (John & Srivastava, 1999). Psychology majors were less likely than non-psychology majors to report being influenced by job preparation concerns, opportunity for a good salary, encouragement of a family member, and past experiences. In addition, male psychology majors scored significantly higher than non-psychology majors on the big five trait of openness to experience. The relevance of these findings for the changing gender composition among undergraduate psychology majors is discussed.
... e-mail may be sent to ekhalil63@hotmail.com. majoring in psychology (Harton & Lyons, 2003). By 1995, 73% of students graduating with a major in psychology were women (National Center for Education Statistics, 1999). ...
... Keyes and Hogberg (1990) suggested that this increasing feminization of psychology is partially due to male flight from the field. Harton and Lyons (2003) investigated wether part of the reason women are increasingly interested in psychology are (or at least believe they are) high in empathy which many people believe is a strength for those pursing the helping profession. The results suggested that empathy likely precedes the choice of the major and is not a consequence of taking more psychology course. ...
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The study was designed to compare the factor structure of Attitudes Toward Psychology (ATP) across gender in Egyptian and Saudi Arabia samples, and to test the invariance of the scale both across the Egyptian and Saudi males/females and across the gender within each country. Multi-group invariance analysis is used to test whether the ATP instrument provides equivalent psychometric properties across the two cultures (Egypt, and Saudi Arabia) and gender (male and female). This paper also attempts to test the differences in the latent means between the same gender across the tow countries and between males and females in each country. The results indicated that the correlated four-factor model is the best model represents the data from the two countries. The results also suggested that the ATP instrument's four factors (Desire in Studying Psychology, Affective Aspects of Psychology, Liking Psychology, and Belief in Psychology) provide partial measurement equivalence across the Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and across males and females in each country. Implications of these findings for the future research in cross-cultural research are discussed. Knowledge of the measurement equivalence of ATP instrument across national cultures can greatly enhance the cross cultural agenda. In the majority of the Arab countries, psychology is facing lack of recognition and awareness among the public. Psychology has not left a noticeable impact on industry or government. It has not been recognized as a potential contributor to development planning. Moreover, studies have revealed that image and awareness of psychology are weak among the public and even among psychology students themselves (e.g., Abou-Hattab, Al-Kamel, & Khozam, 1989; Al-Harethi, 1993; Soueif, 1983). Psychology departments in the Arab countries have rarely been able to attract high quality students, especially males. Top quality high school graduate students are generally inclined to select more prestigious and lucrative fields such as medicine, engineering and phar-macology. A second reason for shortage of male students may a raise from the fact the professional role of psychology in Arab society has generally not been clearly defined in recent decades. third reason. Women form about two-third or even more of the undergraduate and graduate psychology students body at most Arab countries (Al-Harethi, 1993). in psychology (Harton & Lyons, 2003). By 1995, 73% of students graduating with a major in psychology were women (National Center for Education Statistics, 1999). Although female enrolled in other social and physical science major has also increased during the past few years, no other majors has had great an increase as psychology (Howard et al., 1986). Keyes and Hogberg (1990) suggested that this increasing feminization of psychology is partially due to male flight from the field. Harton and Lyons (2003) investigated wether part of the reason women are increasingly interested in psychology are (or at least believe they are) high in empa-thy which many people believe is a strength for those pursing the helping profession. The results suggested that empathy likely precedes the choice of the major and is not a consequence of taking more psychology course. McDonald (1997) noticed that causes of the surge of women in undergraduate psychology programs in the last decade are complex and illusive. McDonald suggested that at the very least, there has been interaction among three relatively recent phenomena: a) how psychology is perceived by students; b) increased awareness of employment opportunities for recent graduates in selected subfields of psychology, most notably in applied areas; and c)increased demand by society for psychological services. Unfortunately, in the Arab countries the last two phenomena are absent, and the only possible explanation to the increasing number of women in psychology is how psychology is perceived by students. Attitude towards psychology (ATP) , how student perceive psychology, is another possible explanation to the increasing number of women in psychology. As noted by Janda, Eng-land, Lovejoy, and Drury (1998) ATP is one of the most important factors that determine the number of people choosing
... For psychologists, empathy is fundamental. Psychology students train to help others, regardless of the path they choose after graduating (Harton and Lyons, 2003). As a result, they are on average more empathic than students from other academic disciplines (Harton and Lyons, 2003). ...
... Psychology students train to help others, regardless of the path they choose after graduating (Harton and Lyons, 2003). As a result, they are on average more empathic than students from other academic disciplines (Harton and Lyons, 2003). The importance of affective empathic abilities is particularly evident in psychologists, counselors, and across the healthcare sector, where a high level of empathic concern and perspective taking capacity is desired, while low levels of personal distress responses can be a means to manage one's own mental health. ...
... For psychologists, empathy is fundamental. Psychology students train to help others, regardless of the path they choose after graduating (Harton and Lyons, 2003). As a result, they are on average more empathic than students from other academic disciplines (Harton and Lyons, 2003). ...
... Psychology students train to help others, regardless of the path they choose after graduating (Harton and Lyons, 2003). As a result, they are on average more empathic than students from other academic disciplines (Harton and Lyons, 2003). The importance of affective empathic abilities is particularly evident in psychologists, counselors, and across the healthcare sector, where a high level of empathic concern and perspective taking capacity is desired, while low levels of personal distress responses can be a means to manage one's own mental health. ...
Article
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Differences in empathic abilities between acting, dance, and psychology students were explored, in addition to the appropriateness of existing empathy measures in the context of these cohorts. Students (N = 176) across Higher Education Institutions in the United Kingdom and Europe were included in the online survey analysis, consisting of the Reading the Mind in the Eyes (RME) test, the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), the Empathy Quotient (EQ), and the E-drawing test (EDT), each measuring particular facets of empathy. Based on existing evidence and our understanding of the discipline practices, we predicted that acting students would perform the best at identifying people’s emotional expressions but might lack other cognitive or affective empathy skills, particularly those related to emotional reactions. This cohort thus provides an opportunity to evaluate different empathy measures. While actors showed significantly higher RME scores than dancers, the difference between actors and psychologists was marginal. Moreover, actors’ scores did not differ significantly on other empathy measures, such as their concern for others’ emotional wellbeing or fantasy, both measured by IRI subscales. Psychology students scored highest in the IRI perspective taking subscale and the data supported anecdotal evidence that psychologists were more concerned for others’ emotional wellbeing than dancers or actors. Dancers seemed the least concerned with others’ perspectives and emotional states, which we explained through a somatosensory ‘inward’ focus required by their art form. Nevertheless, compared to the general population, our groups reported higher empathic abilities on all IRI subscales except for personal distress. Altogether, our study shows that the RME, the IRI, and the EDT vary in their susceptibility to different facets of empathic abilities in acting, dance, and psychology students whereas the EQ does not. Emotions can be expressed and perceived through language, facial expressions, or behavior. As many empathy tests focus on one type of signal they might miss other strategies. Where empathy tests are applied to individuals that have a predominance to read or respond to others in a particular way, as we showed through these three disciplines, they might not capture these empathic strategies. We thus propose that empathy tests must evolve by means of integrating varied forms of communication.
... Some Gen Z students may gravitate toward the psychology major given their focus on diversity, culture, and inclusiveness (APA, 2013), their own mental health and previous experience with psychotherapy (APA, 2019), their desire to help others, or the many applied and diverse career opportunities available to psychology graduates (APA, 2018;Appleby, 2018a). Although Gen Z psychology majors have unique generational experiences, it is important to note that previous generations of psychology majors may have also shared similar reasons for choosing to major in psychology, such as high levels of empathy and interest in mental health care (Harton & Lyons, 2003). Nevertheless, the aim of the current research is to examine Gen Z psychology majors' reasons for majoring in psychology and what they expect to learn. ...
... For instance, previous generations of psychology majors chose psychology because they desired to make a difference in the lives of others, they were curious about people, and they desired for greater self-and othercare. Unfortunately, few studies have documented previous generations for selecting psychology as a major (see Harton & Lyons, 2003) or which skills and learning objectives they hope to acquire. Nevertheless, the current findings among Gen Z are informative for psychology faculty and program directors who meet with prospective psychology majors. ...
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Gen Z shares many technological, social, mental, and public health experiences which may influence their decision to major in psychology and acquire related skills and knowledge. This study interviewed and surveyed Gen Z psychology majors so programs can anticipate incoming student characteristics and their desired learning goals. In Study 1, focus groups of Gen Z psychology majors were asked open-ended questions regarding their shared characteristics, why they chose to major in psychology, and their desired skills and learning outcomes. In Study 2, an online sample of Gen Z psychology majors rated their agreement with the content-coded themes of Study 1. Study 1 revealed Gen Z psychology majors tend to be tech-savvy, socially aware, and change oriented. Reasons for majoring in psychology included a desire to improve society, increase mental health, and a curiosity about others’ behavior. The most frequently desired skills and learning outcomes included developing interpersonal and communication skills, greater perceptiveness, critical thinking, and applied knowledge. Study 2 confirmed these findings. Gen Z psychology majors share many characteristics and expectations that can inform how psychology programs relate to students and anticipate their needs. Findings may guide recruitment and other programmatic decisions.
... The general rule is that women will show higher activation than men in research about emotional resonance (Schulte-Rüther, Markowitsch, Shah, Fink, & Piefke, 2008). Gender differences in emotional resonance are sometimes found to be completely mediated by other variables such as skill in perspective taking or pre-held values and beliefs (Harton & Lyons, 2003;Smith, Shepperd, Miller, & Graber, 2016). The expectation for women to be emotionally resonant impacts women negatively in that it may cause women to experience higher levels of pressure to experience emotional resonance than men and thus higher pressure to self-report emotional resonance than they would be naturally inclined to as an individual. ...
... that socialization effects, expectations and lessons about gender roles from family, school, church and peers, etc. play a large part in explaining the differences between men and women when it comes to prosocial behavior(Rand, Brescoll, Everett, Capraro, & Barcelo, 2016). For example,Harton and Lyons (2003) conducted a study which found that women college students in general outscored male college students on measures of empathy, were more likely to choose to be psychology majors, and endorse prosocial or caring career values. However, when analyzing empathy scores among different major groups, they found that differences between women and men psychology majors in empathy scores were nonexistent. ...
Thesis
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In this study, a recalled experience of having warm and responsive parents, degree of endorsement of a generalized just world belief, and reported adolescent experiences of injustice were tested in a structural equation model for fit with predicting compassion in a sample of 201 self-identified counseling students. The participants were invited by advertisements on social media and emails to counseling programs and a counselor education listserv. All variables were measured via survey. Structural equation model results found an acceptable fitting model, χ² (113) = 317.77, p < 0.001, RMSEA = 0.095; CFI = 0.91; PNFI = 0.72. In the model, injustice experiences and a generalized just world belief were found to be significant negative predictors of compassion. Recalled parenting was not supported to be a significant predictor. Last, injustice experiences moderated the relationship between the just world belief and compassion. When a high level of injustice experiences was reported, the relationship between compassion and the just world belief was stronger (β = -0.43, t (200) = -6.12, p < 0.05) than when a low level of injustice experiences was reported, (β = -0.20, t (200) = -2.78, p < 0.05).
... The total score can vary between 0 and 63. Based on the total score, the anxiety severity of an individual could be determined at the levels of 'minimal (0-9), mild (10-16), moderate (17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29), severe (30-63)'. The validity and reliability of the scale were calculated as 0.79 (18). ...
... This study was designed to examine how wellbeing, life satisfaction, and anxiety levels of the undergraduate psychology students, enrolled in freshman and senior year evolved as a result of their four-year education. Most of the undergraduate psychology students in the first and last year at the department were found women, similar to previous studies (20,21). ...
Article
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Objective: This study was designed to explore job anxiety, life satisfaction, and subjective levels of well-being for the undergraduate students enrolled in the department of psychology at a university. Materials and Methods: Four data collection tools were implemented in addition to the sociodemographic data form when collecting data. The data collection instruments included Job Anxiety Questionnaire (JAQ), Subjective Well-Being Scale (SWS), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), respectively. Study Group: A total of 153 undergraduate students enrolled in the department of psychology at a private university in Kayseri, Turkey. 50 of them were freshman and 103 were senior students. Most participants (62%) consisting of the female. Findings and Discussion: The findings revealed that senior students had a moderate negative correlation between life satisfaction and job anxiety as well as anxiety levels. Furthermore, the subjective well-being of the participants was observed to positively affect their job anxiety levels through the last grade, on the other hand, a significant decrease appeared in the anxiety levels. Results and Suggestions: The rapid rise of subjective well-being levels for the senior year psychology students might be due to the training offered in their major. Besides, it was not surprising that seniors had higher levels of job anxiety near the graduation and anxiety levels decreased because of their training, education, and experiences accomplished in this context.
... Some wanted to pursue a career in psychology but could not fulfill the requirements [39]. Psychology students' motivations were a general interest in psychology and the desire to help others and themselves [40][41][42]. Entering either field, previous research shows that entrance exam scores correlate with later academic performance [43,44]. Since only the best potential students are admitted to a place in psychology, academic performance, especially workload and study duration, can be expected to be different from sociology. ...
Article
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In Austria, it is possible to enroll in an unlimited number of programs simultaneously and consecutively. Study duration and student performance are important performance indicators of the university system. The disciplines of psychology and sociology share similarities in their curriculum structures but are different in selectiveness due to their admission rules. They show differences in their motivations to enroll and their trajectories through higher education, leading to different constellations of “dropout” and “graduation.” The aim was to identify and compare groups of students’ outcomes in bachelor’s programs of psychology and sociology along the dimensions of workload and duration, incorporating the possibility of enrolling in multiple programs. The sample consisted of 6498 students between the academic years of 2010/11 and 2022/23 who either graduated or dropped out of one or more programs. Cluster analyses using four algorithms per individual outcome constellation, categorization, and aggregation of the results suggest a longer overall study duration for students with more than one program. In graduation–graduation and graduation–dropout clusters, groups with less overall workload could be identified. The transferability of passed exams may be an important component for students in multiple programs. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.
... In addition to addressing difficult concepts in the course, student attitudes toward the course needed to be addressed. Many psychology students aspire to help people and even become therapists, not statisticians (Harton & Lyons, 2003;Marrs, Barb, & Ruggiero, 2007). They enter the course uncomfortable with the abstract thinking of statistics, which forms the basis for answering scientific questions that guide therapy. ...
... However, the production of these shows a different reality. On the one hand, this phenomenon can be explained by the fact that women prefer to study psychology because of their higher level of empathy and because it is a life-oriented field (23). However, scientific production may show another picture, where men publish more than women in sensations and perceptions, neuroscience, clinical psychology and health; however, in developmental psychology women show greater presence (24). ...
Article
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Introduction: Psychological research can be developed by researchers and also by undergraduate or postgraduate students. In an undergraduate level, psychological research is specially challenging due to the limited ability of students to develop coherent and logical research problems and methodological approaches. Objective: The objective of this study is to identify the main research trends in undergraduate psychological theses from Peruvian universities. As a specific objective, quantitative and qualitative research design trends were distinguished. Methods: A descriptive and retrospective systematic review of psychological research thesis of Peruvian undergraduate students was conducted, starting the data extraction process starting with RENATI database for an initial screening phase. Data analysis was conducted in two phases. Results: First, data was organized in relation to its frequency of the categories of authors' sex, the universities were catalogued as universities 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 according to their ranking, the categories of years of publication, number of authors, designs, type of methodology, and area of publication were obtained. Descriptive frequency statistics were established based on these categories. In the next phase, lexicometric and statistical textual analysis were used to identify research trending topics. Discussion: The main results show that different topics are predominantly framed within the clinical and health psychology line of research, mainly those related to coping styles, psychological stress and wellbeing.
... By being empathetic, the therapist offers quality care and treatment and simultaneously is able to protect one's personal mental health [27]. Empathy has been found to be higher in women in comparison to men and related to an interest in a counseling-type career [28]. ...
Article
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Background: Mental health professionals are at risk of experiencing vicarious trauma and burnout as a consequence of the nature of their work. Studies and scholars so far have demonstrated that empathy interacts directly with burnout, and they imply an interaction with vicarious trauma. However, research has paid little attention to the interplay among vicarious trauma, empathy, and burnout in mental health professionals who practice psychotherapy. This study examines the interplay between mental health professionals' (those practicing psychotherapy) vicarious trauma and empathy and investigates the ways they contribute to burnout. Methods: The sample consisted of 214 mental health professionals (32 males and 182 females), working in the public and private sectors. Specific instruments were administered online to the sample: (a) an improvised demographic questionnaire (age, gender, education, specialty, years of experience, years of supervision); (b) the Counselor Burnout Inventory, validated for the Greek population by Kounenou et al.; (c) the Vicarious Trauma Scale; and (d) the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy. Results: Correlation analysis showed that empathy and vicarious trauma were positively related to burnout. Moreover, multiple regression analysis revealed that supervision, empathy, and, to a greater degree, vicarious trauma have a significant impact on burnout. Conclusion: Unlike relative research on burnout, gender and work experience did not seem to play a significant role in the prediction of burnout in the present study. Several suggestions for future studies, as well as implications for mental health practitioners, are discussed.
... W przypadku zawodu informatyka kompetencje związane z komunikacją i empatią nie są kluczowe (Susłow i in., 2014), natomiast znaczącą rolę empatia odgrywa w zawodach pomocowych (Derksen i in., 2013;Szymczyk, Cierpiałkowska, 2012). Odmienne zapotrzebowanie na zdolność empatii potwierdzają również wcześniej przedstawione badania (Harton, Lyons, 2003;Litten i in., 2018;Matallnares-Calvet i in., 2019;Myyry, Helkama, 2001), które wskazują, że studenci różnią się między sobą poziomem empatii. Wśród studentów kierunków pomocowych przyszli pracownicy służby zdrowia są najbardziej empatyczni (Mattelnares-Calvet i in., 2019). ...
Article
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Empatia jest cechą uznawaną za szczególnie istotną w zawodach pomocowych, takich jak lekarz, psycholog czy pielęgniarz, natomiast mniej ważną w zawodach technicznych, jak informatyk. Prezentowane badanie przeprowadzono w celu określenia różnic w poziomie empatii pomiędzy studentami kierunków medycznych (lekarski i pielęgniarski), psychologii i informatyki. W tym celu przebadano 243 studentów psychologii, pielęgniarstwa, medycyny i informatyki z wykorzystaniem ankiety internetowej zawierającej kwestionariusz Skróconej Skali Ilorazu Empatii (SSIE), mierzący empatię afektywną i poznawczą. Uzyskano wyniki świadczące o tym, że studenci psychologii, kierunków medycznych i informatyki różnią się istotnie poziomem empatii. Najwyższe wyniki uzyskano w grupie studentów psychologii, średnie w przypadku kierunków medycznych, natomiast najniższe u studentów informatyki. Ponadto w podziale próby na płeć, bez rozróżnienia na kierunek studiów, kobiety cechowały się średnio wyższym poziomem empatii niż mężczyźni, co potwierdziło dotychczasowe wyniki badań w aspekcie różnic międzypłciowych w zakresie tej cechy. Studenci zawodów pomocowych – psychologii i kierunków medycznych – wykazują wyższy poziom empatii niż studenci informatyki. Ze względu na rozbieżności w wynikach badań sugeruje się dalsze zgłębianie różnic w poziomie empatii i jego zmianach pomiędzy studentami psychologii i kierunków medycznych.
... While it was not a goal of the study to form a representative sample, the large proportion of female volunteers is potentially interesting. Harton and Lyons (2003) found that females tend to score higher on measures of perspectivetaking than males and that perspective-taking mediated the relationship between gender and the decision to study psychology at university. Furthermore, Ludick and Figley (2017) posited that people with greater empathetic ability are better at recognizing distress in other people. ...
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Background Previous research suggests that physiotherapists frequently engage with patients who experience psychological distress (e.g. feelings of depression and anxiety) and that physiotherapists find supporting these patients challenging. Objective The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of Australian physiotherapists with patients they perceived were experiencing psychological distress. Methods A ‘Big Q’ qualitative research approach was used. Twenty interviews with physiotherapists were conducted. The data were then analyzed using iterative thematic inquiry. Results The analysis produced four interrelated themes: 1) encounters with patients in distress are common and varied; 2) becoming emotionally attuned with their patients meant that distress could invoke empathetic distress; 3) physiotherapists use emotional shields to protect themselves; and 4) physiotherapists found frequent encounters with patient distress to be emotionally exhausting. Viewed together, the themes highlight how patient distress can invoke transient empathetic distress in a physiotherapist; repeated experiences of empathetic distress may lead to empathetic distress fatigue. Conclusion While physiotherapists are sometimes viewed as ‘physical’ health professionals, the experiences of these physiotherapists suggest that patient psychological distress is highly relevant to physiotherapy practice. We recommend future research explores the relationships between patient distress, physiotherapists’ empathy, and physiotherapists’ wellbeing.
... Thus, it would make sense to suggest that women's engagement with their infant's psychological states has enhanced their ability to infer psychological states in others. In addition, the latter may explain, in combination with general social expectations from western societies where women are expected to be empathic and care for others, why more women than men pursue careers in mental health professions which involve dealing with other's mental states (Harton & Lyons, 2003;Ruiz-Junco, 2017;Xheneti et al., 2019). ...
Article
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This study was set to examine the associations between psychological mindedness (PM) and social perspective taking (SPT). Previous literature suggests that these constructs contribute to an enhanced performance in the mental health profession, possibly because they are featured by a developed theory of mind. An online questionnaire was developed using the Balanced Index of Psychological Mindedness (BIPM) and two adapted versions to measure PM about other people as well as to measure PM about thoughts and behavior. A reduced version of the Situational Test of Emotional Understanding and a newly developed scale were used to measure SPT. Responses from 135 participants aged between 18 and 32 were collected. A one-way ANOVA test showed that women scored higher than men in the understanding ability of SPT. Multiple hierarchical regression analysis revealed that PM about self could not predict any dimensions of SPT (understanding and importance) while PM about other people could predict the importance dimension of SPT as well as the construct as a whole. Overall this study provides insight on to the relationship between these two theoretically-linked constructs. The practical implications of the findings and the limitations of the study are discussed with directions for future research.
... Psychology undergraduates are typically younger, less diverse, and more empathic than the broader population, which potentially limits the generalizability of our findings. 38,39 Future research should, therefore, aim to examine a more diverse adult population when exploring trolling, a behavior that is, in part, typified by empathic deficiencies. Gender is coded as women = 0, men = 1; correlations corrected using the Benjamini-Hochberg procedure. ...
Article
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Research assessing online trolling-a behavior designed to trigger or antagonize other users for entertainment-has largely focused on identifying individual differences that underlie the behavior. Less attention has been given to how situational factors influence trolling, such as the disinhibiting effects of anonymity. In this study, we evaluated the roles of both individual differences and levels of anonymity in online trolling. We assessed these through experimentation, a relatively novel approach in trolling research. Australian undergraduate students (n = 242, 167 women, 75 men, Mage = 21.18) were allocated to one of three conditions: an anonymous condition where they were not visible to one another, an identifiable condition where they were visible to one another, or an external condition where they completed the study outside of a controlled laboratory environment. Participants first read a short news article before interacting in an online group discussion where participants could chat freely. The first comment participants wrote was later coded for trolling. Participants also completed assessments of psychopathy, sadism, and a global assessment of trolling. As predicted, participants in the anonymous condition trolled more than those in the identifiable condition. No differences were seen between these two conditions and the external condition. Analyses also revealed that sadism and global trolling were positively associated with trolling in the chat room, but psychopathy showed no association. These results demonstrate the importance of both individual differences and the disinhibiting effects of anonymity when investigating the complex nature of trolling.
... In contrast majors related to helping professions, such as psychology, are often characterized by the motivation to take on more prosocial roles. These jobs are often not connected to the same levels of power, status, and monetary incentives as corporate jobs and are often altruistic in nature (e.g., mental health therapists, social workers etc.) (Harton & Lyons, 2003). Further troubling evidence shows that students planning careers in business have higher levels of academic dishonesty and greater rationalization for cheating behaviors, compared to students who intend to pursue other occupations (e.g., arts, education, medicine, public service) (McCabe & Trevino, 1995). ...
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This study examined the relationship between the Dark Triad (narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy), ethical attitudes, college major, and social desirability. Researchers investigated if business and psychology majors differed on the Dark Triad and ethical attitudes. In addition, social desirability was hypothesized to moderate the relationship between the Dark Triad and ethical attitudes. In total, 383 upper division business and psychology students from a large public university were surveyed online. Results showed a significant negative correlation between the Dark Triad and ethical attitudes. Business majors have significantly higher levels of psychopathy and lower levels of ethical attitudes compared to psychology majors, and social desirability moderates the relationship between psychopathy and ethical attitudes. Given the deleterious nature of the Dark Triad, and the negative impact of unethical behavior in the workplace, the findings underscore the need for future research that further examines differences between majors on these variables.
... Furthermore, perceived personality characteristics may also contribute to the choice of a psychology major. For example, according to Harton and Lyons (2003), highly empathetic students may choose psychology because they believe that empathy is an important professional characteristic that majoring in psychology can cultivate. ...
Article
Background During the past two decades, psychology has become a favorite school subject in many countries. This situation has led to studies on students’ attitudes and perceptions of psychology as a secondary school subject. Objective The purpose of this study was to compare motives for choosing psychology as a school subject among secondary school students (15–19 years of age) from England and Slovakia. Method In this study, we administered an online questionnaire to gather data about motivation toward studying psychology among secondary students in England ( n = 150) and Slovakia ( n = 210). Results For both groups, the most frequent motives and beliefs influencing the choice of psychology were self-understanding and understanding behaviors of others. However, significant cross-cultural differences in other motives emerged (e.g., the perception of difficulty of psychology as a school subject). Conclusion Students, regardless the cultural context, choose psychology mostly to understand how the human mind works and to understand human behavior to help people. Teaching Implications Pre-tertiary psychology teachers therefore need to accept a challenge to fulfill students’ expectations and to raise awareness of pre-tertiary students’ perceptions and beliefs about psychology among decision makers on national and international levels.
... The results demonstrate that students have equally developed mentalization capacity, regardless of their gender. This result is not in line with earlier findings, where women achieve higher scores in the Questionnaire for the mentalization capacity assessment (Harton & Lyons, 2003;Rueckert & Naybar, 2008). However, by applying canonical analysis, Dimitrijević and associates, explicate that gender does not explain to a sufficient extent the differences between helpers and non-helpers, as in the structure matrix of discriminatory function gender is at fourth place, while the mentalization capacity is at the top (Dimitrijević, Hanak, & Milojević, 2011). ...
Research
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The research deals with the establishing of the relation between the recognizing of facial expressions of emotions, attachment, and mentalization capacity. For the recognizing of facial expressions of emotions we. The research sample comprised 206 students of Preschool Teacher Training College in Kruševac. The results have demonstrated there is an association between the attachment dimensions and mentalization capacity, as well as that successfulness at recognizing facial expressions of emotions can be predicted on the grounds of tested predictors which explain 8.6% of dependent-variable variance. The anxiety dimension has a negatively-correlated significant partial contribution to this prediction, as does the total mentalization capacity.
... Gallucci (1997) found that a substantial por-56 tion (56%) of their 130 person sample of undergraduate psychology majors aspired to be clinical 57 or counseling psychologists and generated relatively favorable (as compared to recent doctoral 58 graduates) ratings regarding the job market, salary range, professional autonomy, and job secu-59 rity should they succeed. Harton and Lyons (2003) compared 192 undergraduate psychology ma-60 jors to 205 controls (drawn from four universities) with an emphasis on gender differences in 61 career choice motives as reflected in Interpersonal Reactivity Index (Davis, 1983). Psychology ma-62 jors were found to express interest in helping professions and to be more advanced in their college 63 careers with evidence of higher empathy-levels and perspective taking than their peers from other 64 majors. ...
... Our sample composition is consistent with research suggesting a higher proportion of females are entering the mental health field compared to males. 28,29 Our sample also reflects a relatively recent research study sample of mental health graduate students regarding race/ethnicity, 30 and is relatively consistent with the broader proportion of professionals in the field who identify as White. 31 Consistent with our hypothesis, the majority of our sample identified as liberal. ...
Article
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Objective Examine associations between political diversity, health, and stress in a student sample for whom examining political biases is necessary. Participants: Graduate students in mental health (N = 512) from July 2017 to June 2018. Methods: Participants completed an online survey of political views, health, and stress. Descriptive statistics reported sample characteristics; stepwise regressions tested whether political affiliation and perceived political majority/minority status predicted health and stress. Results: Students identified primarily as liberal, and perceived their counterparts as liberal. Liberal political identification generally predicted more stress and poorer health in several domains; however, those identifying as most politically conservative also reported relatively high stress. Conclusions: Liberal academic environments may relate to stress for those who identify as most politically conservative, while also not protecting liberals against broader sociopolitical stress and related health sequelae. Graduate students in mental health may benefit from increased curricular and supervisory focus on political diversity and related biases.
... Psychology may also be perceived as more welcoming to females than many other scientific subjects (Tellhed, Bäckström, & Björklund, 2017). From a skills perspective, more females may believe themselves to be empathetic and therefore suitable for clinical or counselling psychology careers (Harton & Lyons, 2003). Possible more prosaic reasons include amenability to an appropriate work-life balance or the promise of understanding everyday social interactions better. ...
Article
Academic psychology in the USA is a gender success story in terms of overturning its early male dominance but there are still relatively few senior female psychology researchers. To assess whether there are gender differences in citation impact that might help to explain either of these trends, this study investigates psychology articles since 1996. Seven out of eight Scopus psychology categories had a majority of female first‐authored journal articles by 2018. From regression analyses of first and last author gender and team size, female first authors associate with a slightly higher average citation impact, but extra authors have a 10 times stronger association with higher average citation impact. Last author gender has little association with citation impact. Female first authors are more likely to be in larger teams and if team size is attributed to the first author's work, then their apparent influence of female first authors on citation impact doubles. While gender differences in average citation impact are too small to account for gender‐related trends in academic psychology, they warn that male‐dominated citation‐based ranking lists of psychologists do not reflect the state of psychology research today.
... Additionally, findings corresponded with the results of previous studies where the researchers suggested that females tend to note higher empathy score when selfreporting instruments were utilized. 30,31 Davis as cited by Harton et al 31 noted that the belief of the women that they are presumed to be more caring might be factor behind their reporting of higher empathy score. ...
Article
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Background: Empathy is of significant importance in the dentist-patient relationship. The objective of the current study was to assess the empathy level of students at the culmination of their respective academic year, studying in first to fourth year across the undergraduate dental school of Pakistan. Methods: The cross-sectional study of undergraduate dental students was carried out at the dental school of Riphah International University in Islamabad, Pakistan in 2017. The survey was conducted with each class as they approached near the completion of their academic year. The Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy- Health Professions Student Version (JSE-HPS version), was used in the study for measuring empathy. JSE-HPS is a valid and reliable self-reporting instrument comprising of 20 items. The total score on this instrument ranges between 20 and 140. ANOVA test and Independent sample t-test were used to analyze the data on SPSS 24. Results: Two hundred and twenty-two students participated in this study. The mean empathy score of students was 101.15±13.73. The mean empathy score of the first-year dental students was the highest (104.70±15.53) followed by the scores of second year students (102.70±13.48); the third-year class had the lowest mean empathy score (98.63±11.53) that corresponded to the first year of clinical training and final year students had a score of 99.48±13.96. Dichotomization of data showed statistically significant difference between the mean empathy scores of students studying in the preclinical and clinical years. The difference in the mean empathy scores of male and female students was found to be statistically significant. The JSE-HPS was found to be reliable with Cronbach's alpha=0.77. Conclusions: The present study revealed a statistically significant decline in empathy levels of undergraduate dental students when the empathy levels of the students studying in the preclinical years and clinical years were compared. The JSE-HPS was found to be a reliable instrument for assessing the empathy levels of dental students.
... E. King & Cooley, 1995). Gender differences in personality (e.g., Feingold, 1994) can also contribute to a researcher's occupation selection (e.g., Harton, & Lyons, 2003;V. O'Brien, Martinez-Pons, & Kopala, 1999;Weisgram, Dinella, & Fulcher, 2011), which would in turn be associated with a given status (e.g., social dominance orientation; Sidanius & Pratto, 1999). ...
Article
In the present study, we sought to explain changes in the proportion of men and women working within North American psychological science in terms of a heterarchical social organization defined by norms and conventions of society, the structure of higher-education institutions, as well as scientific communities. Using archival records from psychology within the U.S., we found that the demographic shift from male-dominated to female-dominated reflects an asymptotic relationship that has been established in the last two decades. An examination of three potential indicators of status (PhD department appointments, general science awards, and scientific awards in psychology) did not indicate a similar trend compared to the ascension of women within psychological science. We believe that this reflects a heterarchical structure: disparate criteria were used to assign women’s status in the social networks of academic institutions and scientific research. Moreover, we also claim that the increase in the number of women and “female-associated” topics has resulted in a general change in the status of psychology.
... Research also suggests that students characterize psychology as a feminine field. In two studies, undergraduate students associated the field of psychology with caring, an orientation that fits with traditional understandings of femininity (Harton and Lyons 2003;Metzner et al. 1994). Thus, young men may view the field itself, like nursing, as Bwomen's work.^Discussions of why feminization is a problem for men have focused on masculinity and its association with achievement, with salary being one relevant marker. ...
Article
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Using discursive psychology as its theoretical and methodological framework, the present study explored male Canadian undergraduate students’ accounts of their reasons for studying psychology, their experiences of being male undergraduate psychology students, and their anticipated future careers. Ten men (19–29 years-old) who were at least in their second year of study in the psychology major program were interviewed. Contrary to survey research concluding that men who make gender-atypical vocational choices conform less to masculine norms than do men who make typical academic and career choices, our participants produced contradictory accounts. On the one hand, in talking about their experiences as psychology students in the context of the gender gap, they argued that gender does not matter. On the other hand, they showed that gender does matter in brief “boy moments” when they shared tacit gender knowledge with the interviewer and in justifying their academic paths toward futures that involved leaving psychology for a male-concentrated field. Thus, gender-does-not matter was the preferred argument when gender was an explicit topic of conversation, and the doing of gender occurred in unacknowledged ways.
... These meanings then act as a form of social control by defining acceptable behavior for women and men regarding work (Lorber, 1994;Ridgeway, 1997;Ridgeway & Correll, 2004). Such definitions may then lead to disparate behavior and choices, which are assumed to be the result of differences in individual-level characteristics, such as choices or aptitude, rather than the influence of society (Ceci, Williams, & Barnett, 2009;Harton & Lyons, 2003;Smith-Lovin & McPherson, 1993). In other words, gendered employment patterns reproduce themselves, and this reproduction appears to be both natural and individually chosen, as it is how "it has always been done," when in fact it is-and continues to be-socially constructed. ...
Article
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Increasing the representation of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is one of our nation's most pressing imperatives. As such, there has been increased lay and scholarly attention given to understanding the causes of women's underrepresentation in such fields. These explanations tend to fall into two main groupings: individual-level (i.e., her) explanations and social-structural (i.e., our) explanations. These two perspectives offer different lenses for illuminating the causes of gender inequity in STEM and point to different mechanisms by which to gain gender parity in STEM fields. In this article, we describe these two lenses and provide three examples of how each lens may differentially explain gender inequity in STEM. We argue that the social-structural lens provides a clearer picture of the causes of gender inequity in STEM, including how gaining gender equity in STEM may best be achieved. We then make a call to industrial/organizational psychologists to take a lead in addressing the societal-level causes of gender inequality in STEM.
... For example, one of these 7 statements is "I try to look at everybody's side of a disagreement before I make a decision". In the nonclinical population, PT-IRI scores are positively correlated with individual differences in measures of self-esteem (Davis, 1983), proneness to experience guilt (Joireman, 2004;Leith & Baumeister, 1998), prosocial behaviour (Carlo, Allen, & Buhman, 1999), propensity to forgive (Rizkalla, Wertheim, & Hodgson, 2008), age (O'Brien, Konrath, Grühn, & Hagen, 2013), the level of glutamate in the prefrontal cortex (Montag, Schubert, Heinz, & Gallinat, 2008), the likelihood of choosing the psychology major (Harton & Lyons, 2003) and the likelihood of reaching a deal in negotiations (Galinsky, Maddux, Gilin, & White, 2008). Furthermore, IRI-PT scores are negatively correlated with individual differences in measures of proneness to anger (Mohr, Howells, Gerace, Day, & Wharton, 2007), dispositional hostility (Loudin, Loukas, & Robinson, 2003;Richardson, Hammock, Smith, Gardner, & Signo, 1994), narcissism (Delič, Novak, Kovačič, & Avsec, 2011;, avoiding attachment (Corcoran & Mallinckrodt, 2000), alexithymia (Grynberg, Luminet, Corneille, Grèzes, & Berthoz, 2010), destructive conflict resolution (Arriaga & Rusbult, 1998) and social dominance orientation (Pratto, Sidanius, Stallworth, & Malle, 1994). ...
Thesis
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Perspective-taking (PT) performance is widely considered and assessed as a static and one-dimensional ability. This thesis provides evidence across 4 studies that PT performance fluctuates and is underpinned by two dimensions: (1) the ability to handle conflicts between our egocentric perspective and another person’s perspective and (2) the relative priority given to the processing of the egocentric perspective over another person’s perspective. We have highlighted the effects of task instructions, emotions, and motivation on PT performance. We also found that each of the two dimensions underlying PT can be specifically affected or associated with factors such as guilt, shame, narcissism, and self-reported PT habits. Finally, we found that individuals strongly vary independently on both dimensions so that some people are more or less efficient at perspectives conflict handling and others are altercentric (i.e. prioritizing the other person’s perspective) or egocentric perspective-takers. Overall, while investigating what influences PT performance, we demonstrated the theoretical relevance and usefulness of studying PT as a dynamic and multidimensional ability.
... Actually, it can also be said that the relatively small sample of males (n=28) at the Department of Psychology is insufficient for the differences in the levels of satisfaction with the studies to be expressed and "caught". Other studies (Harton & Lyons, 2003) demonstrated highly empathic students choose psychology studies, and that women outnumber men in students preferring psychology because they show higher level of empathy than men. ...
Article
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The conversational functional style is characterized by informality and spontaneity of the situations in which it is used. It has communicative function and, to a great extent, it depends on the situation and the interlocutors. The conversational functional style, among other things, is characterized by a great number of idiomatic expressions. The idiomatic expressions have several important specifics: they are characterized by consistency in the formation, by new, separate and unique meaning and by special stylistic value, as it is about picturesque and metaphorical way of expression. This work examines the entering of idiomatic expressions, which are used in conversational functional style, i.e. in daily, free and spontaneous communication in printed media, i.e. in journalistic sub-style, which is characterized by formality of the situations in which it is used, and it is demonstrated that this occurrence, today, is not isolated, but it is rather of massive proportions. Thus, an elaboration is also imposed on the subject of the positive or negative connotation of such use, regarding the fact that one of the roles of printed media is to promote use of the Macedonian standard language.
... There were no gender differences in the frequency of hearing the beliefs and stereotypes from friends or family members and only one difference in the tendency to agree with the beliefs and stereotypes. That item (''psychology is not suitable as a major'') might relate to the perception of students and the lay public that psychology is more appropriate for women than men (e.g., Harton & Lyons, 2003) or that it is primarily a female discipline (Pion et al., 1996). ...
Article
Very little research examines the beliefs and stereotypes students have about the discipline and major of psychology. Previous research has found that psychology majors report hearing a variety of such beliefs and stereotypes more often from their fellow students than from their family members. In the current study, psychology majors/minors and non-majors/-minors (N = 376) reported their frequency of hearing beliefs and stereotypes from friends/fellow students or family members and the extent that they agreed with those items. Majors/minors and non-majors/-minors differed significantly on their agreement with several items, such as psychology being “a dead end field,” “psychology is mostly an easy major,” and that “working with crazy people will make you go crazy.” Compared to majors/minors, non-majors/-minors were more likely to agree with the items. There was no evidence that upper-division majors/minors were less likely to believe or less likely to hear the beliefs and stereotypes than lower-division majors/minors. Students reported hearing many of the items more often from friends/fellow students than family members. We discuss the implications of these results for addressing beliefs about the psychology field and degree in introductory and careers courses.
... 3. In psychology, perspective-taking and desire to enter a helping profession mediates the choice of a psychology major for both men and women, but perspective-taking specifically mediates women's choice of a psychology major (Harton and Lyons 2003). ...
... Economists and some educators suggest that considerations of earnings potential and status attainment influence major interests [7]. Psychologists tend to focus on intrinsic factors and individual characteristics [8], [9]. Integrating elements from simplistic materialist and individual psychological explanations, Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) also incorporates the notion that interest is socially constructed [10], [11]. ...
Conference Paper
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Student, experiential-learning, engineering, competition teams (SELECT) provide an opportunity for engineering students to practice engineering technical and professional skills. The low representation of women in SELECT is often rationalized as a lack of interest by individual women rather than systemic processes that discourage or exclude women. We employ a qualitative-interpretive design and a cultural constructionist lens to bring into focus the interplay of individual interests, understandings of appropriate gender roles, and structural elements that contribute to a culture of inclusion or exclusion. Primary data consist of 90-minute semi-structured interviews of eight team members and one non-member. By interpreting the narrative portraits of two female students, we show the construction of a team culture where in general women are discouraged from participation based on stereotyped gender roles, by night campus attitudes, and by peers who challenge or ignore their skills, contributions, and interests. One woman persevered through the male-dominated culture because she received the encouragement and support of male peers who engaged as comrades and champions. This paper offers recommendations for institutions to demonstrate commitment to equitable access to experiential learning and to nurture student peer cultures that challenge historic gendered ideologies and rhetoric.
... Economists and some educators suggest that considerations of earnings potential and status attainment influence major interests [7]. Psychologists tend to focus on intrinsic factors and individual characteristics [8], [9]. Integrating elements from simplistic materialist and individual psychological explanations, Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) also incorporates the notion that interest is socially constructed [10], [11]. ...
... Instead, students place value on personal characteristics as central to the practice of psychology. There was nearly universal agreement among US psychology majors and nonmajors that empathy and perspective-taking were critical factors in the decision to become a psychologist (Harton & Lyons, 2003). Moreover, psychology majors reported possessing higher levels of those characteristics than did nonmajors. ...
Data
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Undergraduate students enrolled in their first statistics course were randomly assigned to read one of two mini-lessons about methodological confounds. In one, a therapist investigated a variable that might affect depression; in the other, a researcher investigated a variable that might affect memory. As hypothesised, the clinical lesson produced significantly higher interest in the lesson topic and significantly greater interest in the research described. Participants in the clinical lesson had a higher desire to do research in this area, though this difference only approached significance. Knowledge of the topic (number of correctly answered multiple-choice items) was not significantly different between conditions. These results suggest that placing methodological concepts in clinical contexts may provide a fruitful approach for improving the frequently reported negative student attitudes toward statistics and research methods.
... Firstly, potential students who see themselves as having more empathic concern or being better at perspective taking, may view themselves as better suited to person-centred counselling or cognitive-behavioural therapy (respectively). Alternatively, as suggested in Harton and Lyons (2003), the empathic concern may simply be a product of the counselling courses themselves. However, this is unlikely, as empathy is regarded as a stable trait (Davis, 1996). ...
Article
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Person-centred and cognitive-behavioural therapies are two divergent theoretical orientations and students of each may offer systematically different personality traits. In this study, potential variations in empathy and gender roles between postgraduate student groups (person-centred, cognitive-behavioural and social sciences) were examined. Seventy participants from UK educational institutions completed the Bem Sex-Role Inventory and two subscales of Davis’ Interpersonal Reactivity Index. Results revealed that the person-centred group had higher empathic concern, and more individuals classified as androgynous, while the cognitive-behavioural group scored higher on perspective taking. Empathy was strongly associated with femininity, regardless of the group or gender. Knowledge of how trainee therapists differ across orientations could potentially be of use in improving the working alliance, as clients could be better matched to therapists according to their personal need.
Article
The use of a drama-based pedagogical (DBP) approach, while well-documented to promote active learning and enhance students’ generic skills, is under-utilised in the context of higher education, particularly in psychology learning and teaching (L&T). A project, comprising two virtual drama-integrated learning sessions, was implemented to gauge the efficacy of the DBP approach in psychology L&T at a Hong Kong university. Aside from facilitating effective learning and application of psychological theories on the topic of classroom management in a semi-authentic setting (i.e. a drama context highly analogous to a real-life situation), this project aimed to enhance students’ creative thinking, problem-solving, communication, and critical thinking skills. A mixed-method evaluation framework was utilised to evaluate students’ feedback upon completion. The project’s quantitative analyses, while utilizing the subjective outcome evaluation approach, underscored students’ acknowledgement of DBP’s positive impact on their learning in alignment with prior research. Qualitative analyses, meanwhile, uncovered the underlying five elements through which DBP is conducive to achieving the current expected outcomes. Discussions pertaining to the possible interconnection of these five elements behind DBP and its implications on university psychology education are featured.
Article
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Although prior work has characterized creativity as a primarily agentic endeavor, we diverge from this perspective and argue for agentic and communal pathways to creativity that offer unique advantages to each gender. We draw from social role theory to predict that risk-taking and empathic tendencies—as agentic and communal mechanisms, respectively—help explain how gender influences creativity. We also identify contextual moderators that can strengthen the communal pathway—predicting a more positive relationship between empathic tendency and creativity as well as a stronger indirect effect via empathic tendency when the tasks demand perspective-taking and when usefulness is explicitly incorporated in creativity assessment. With a meta-analysis of 753 independent samples (265,762 individuals), we find support for a communal pathway (i.e., women are creative via empathic tendency) and for an agentic pathway (i.e., men are creative via risk-taking tendency). We also find that the communal pathway is stronger when usefulness is explicitly incorporated in creativity assessment. Task demands for perspective-taking did not show a moderating effect. Taken together, our findings provide a more balanced account of the gender–creativity relationship, demonstrate why men and women differ in creativity and when women can leverage the communal mechanism to enhance creativity, and inform theory and practice towards a more gender-equitable workplace.
Article
This article outlines a novel approach for career readiness which embeds a global engagement trip within a social entrepreneurship course. Utilizing an empathy driven approach, the instructional innovation exposes students to social impact and innovation in an entrepreneurial setting, provides an opportunity for rich engagements with social and micro-entrepreneurs, and facilitates connection with self and others. Reflexive assignments and dialogues are integrated throughout the instructional innovation allowing students to identify and reflect on their aspirations and intentions for creating societal impact in their career journeys. Participation in this experience has resulted in outcomes related to career goals, including new plans for building social impact into work and renewed social entrepreneurial intentions. Instructions, exercises, and evidence of their effectiveness are provided.
Article
Research demonstrates the relationship between dispositional hope and GPA, but mixed results regarding the relationship between dispositional optimism and GPA. Hope and optimism also have been shown to predict academic motivation. However, no study has yet investigated all of these factors together, and most research concerns only Western samples. In a cross-sectional sample of 129 Hong Kong university students, we administered measures of internal hope (hope regarding one's own capabilities), external-family hope (hope derived from family), optimism, and intrinsic and extrinsic academic motivation. We found significant zero-order correlations between internal hope and GPA, but not between external-family hope nor optimism and GPA. Mediation analyses showed that internal hope directly related to GPA, and did not appear mediated by academic motivation. Given our findings, future studies testing hope-based interventions in similar samples may be warranted. We discuss implications for culturally adapting hope interventions.
Article
Dating apps have the potential to facilitate access to a large pool of potential partners. However, both popular press and sexual health experts suggest that this increased partner accessibility is responsible for recent rises in sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and for encouraging short-term relationships over long-term commitments (e.g., Bloodworth, 2021 ; Sales, 2015 ). While recent studies support the idea that dating app use is associated with a greater number of sexual partners, the process underlying this association is still unclear. The main goal of this study was to test whether the association is better explained as a methodological artifact, a self-selection bias, or an accentuation eff ect. Young Canadian adults (N = 405) completed an online survey. Results suggest that most of the association comes from a methodological artefact and that the rest can be explained by the self-selection hypothesis. Overall, the relational goal motivations of young adults and their level of sexual impulsivity seem to play a more important role in their dating outcomes than the specifi c methods that they use to meet new people.
Article
Facial affect recognition (FAR) accuracy is impaired in schizophrenia and, to a lesser extent, in individuals at-risk for psychosis. Reduced reaction time and negative bias on FAR tasks are also evident in schizophrenia, though few studies have examined these measures in at-risk samples. Social dysfunction is associated with FAR deficits in schizophrenia and at-risk individuals. We aimed to elucidate the nature of FAR and social functioning among individuals from a non-clinical population reporting a range of schizotypal traits (i.e., risk for psychosis), and to examine whether FAR mediates the relationship between schizotypal traits and social functioning. Participants completed self-report measures assessing schizotypal traits and social functioning, and a computerized FAR task remotely via the Internet. High schizotypy individuals performed significantly worse than low schizotypy individuals on FAR total and neutral accuracy, demonstrated a negative bias, and reported significantly worse social functioning. Schizotypal traits were also negatively correlated with FAR performance and social functioning in the total sample. FAR accuracy did not mediate the direct relationship between schizotypal traits and social functioning. FAR may be an important social-cognitive endophenotype of psychosis risk with implications for understanding etiology of psychotic spectrum disorders, improving ways of identifying at-risk individuals, and developing preventive strategies.
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Purpose/objective: The population of adults age 65 and older is increasing at a faster rate than the rest of the U.S. Population: As such, older adults, particularly those with chronic health conditions and disabilities, will require informal care from today's college-age adults. At present, there is no research examining factors predicting college-age individuals' willingness to provide care for a family member with a chronic condition. The purpose of this study was to examine the pattern of associations among college-age adults' religiosity, family functioning, family values, and willingness to provide care for a family member with a chronic health condition. Research Method/Design: A sample of 330 undergraduate students from a major public research university completed an online survey with measures assessing these constructs. Four different structural equation models were tested. Results: The fourth model revealed good fit indices and was therefore retained. This model found that religiosity and family values were positively and uniquely associated with willingness to provide care. Family functioning yielded a significant indirect effect through family values. Conclusions/implications: The current study findings suggest religiosity, family functioning, and family values play a role in willingness to provide care, and thus, future researchers should target these constructs for intervention-based studies. (PsycINFO Database Record
Article
In this paper I will reflect on traditional 'masculine' and 'feminine' traits. I will discuss the potential import of such traits to the profession of clinical psychology, considering the opportunities and challenges masculinity and femininity present across the career pathway, including entry to the profession and progression into leadership positions.
Chapter
Psychologie als Wissenschaft des menschlichen Erlebens und Verhaltens untergliedert sich in verschiedene Disziplinen, solche, die Grundlagen erforschen (z. B. Allgemeine Psychologie, Entwicklungspsychologie, Sozialpsychologie, Differentielle und Persönlichkeitspsychologie) oder solche, die angewandte Fragen untersuchen (z. B. Pädagogische Psychologie, Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie, Klinische Psychologie und Wirtschaftspsychologie). Alle Disziplinen unterscheiden sich in ihren zentralen Fragestellungen. In jeder Disziplin gibt es unterschiedliche Vorannahmen zu dem Verhalten und Erleben von Menschen. Die Wechselwirkung zwischen den zentralen Fragen der jeweiligen Disziplinen, historischem Kontext und Menschenbildern der Forschenden bestimmt, ob und wie der Kategorie Geschlecht Aufmerksamkeit bei der Erforschung psychologischer Fragestellungen zugeteilt wird. Deswegen kann hier nicht ein einfacher Überblick gegeben werden, sondern nur ein Teil der Komplexität des Forschungsstandes dargestellt werden.
Article
Attentional-interference using emotional Stroop tasks (ESTs) is greater among individuals in the general population with positive (versus negative) schizotypal traits; specifically negatively (versus positively) valenced words, potentially capturing threat-sensitivity. Variability in attentional-interference as a function of subcategories of negatively valenced words (and in relation to schizotypal traits) remains underexplored in EST studies. We examined attentional-interference across negative word subcategories (fear/anger/sadness/disgust), and in relation to positive schizotypy, among non-clinical individuals in the general population reporting varying degrees of schizotypal traits. As hypothesized, performance differed across word subcategories, though the pattern varied from expectation. Attentional-interference was greater for fear and sadness compared to anger; and analogous for fear, disgust, and sadness. In the high schizotypy group, positive schizotypal traits were directly associated with attentional-interference to disgust. Attentional-interference was comparable between high- and low-positive schizotypy. Results suggest negative emotion subcategories may differentially reflect threat-sensitivity. Disgust-sensitivity may be particularly salient in (non-clinical) positive schizotypy. Findings have implications for understanding negative emotion specificity and variability in stimulus presentation modality when studying threat-related attentional-interference. Finally, disgust-related attentional-interference may serve as a cognitive correlate of (non-clinical) positive schizotypy. Expanding this research to prodromal populations will help explore disgust-related attentional-interference as a potential cognitive marker of positive symptoms.
Article
Using data from 120 undergraduate psychology majors and 1,916 non-psychology majors at a large Southeastern university and based on Holland's (1996) person-environment fit model, we examined whether the two groups differed on the Big Five model of personality and four narrow personality traits. For psychology majors, we investigated the relationship between personality traits and major satisfaction. As hypothesized, psychology majors scored higher on Openness to Experience, Work Drive, and lower on Tough-mindedness than non-majors. All of the traits except for Extraversion were related to major satisfaction. Possible explanations for these findings were discussed in terms of the adaptive value of each trait.
Article
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Despite much research on how interests are related to personality and creativity, comparatively little work has focused on how different college majors as categorized by the RIASEC model compare on these constructs. In this study, 3295 college students (207 Realistic, 1945 Investigative, 447 Artistic, 480 Social, and 216 Enterprising) completed a five-factor personality measure, a brief self-report of creativity, and the Compound Remote Associates Task (CRAT). Investigative and Artistic majors scored higher on openness and self-assessed creativity than Realistic and Social majors, and Investigative majors were much more agreeable than other majors.
Article
Although assessment is acknowledged as being of central importance to the student learning experience, assessment practices have been consistently highlighted as one of the weakest features by the Quality Assurance Agency and identified by many as a crisis within higher education. This paper explores the use of Patchwork Text Assessment within a level 6 undergraduate psychology module and considers the potential of this method for enhancing the learning experiences of psychology undergraduates, facilitating the process of self-reflection and allowing students to make explicit the nature of their learning ‘journey’.
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This bibliography is a continuation of those previously published in Teaching of Psychology (e.g., Berry & Daniel, 1984; Fulkerson & Wise, 1987; Johnson & Schroder, 1997; Wise & Fulkerson, 1996). We maintained similar search methods and criteria for inclusion that were used in previous bibliographies. We also continued the cumulative numbering of the items.To help the reader locate relevant articles, we arranged items into a small number of subject categories. Generally, if fewer than three items fell into a specific subject category they were relegated to a category labeled miscellaneous.
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In this article, we attempt to distinguish between the properties of moderator and mediator variables at a number of levels. First, we seek to make theorists and researchers aware of the importance of not using the terms moderator and mediator interchangeably by carefully elaborating, both conceptually and strategically, the many ways in which moderators and mediators differ. We then go beyond this largely pedagogical function and delineate the conceptual and strategic implications of making use of such distinctions with regard to a wide range of phenomena, including control and stress, attitudes, and personality traits. We also provide a specific compendium of analytic procedures appropriate for making the most effective use of the moderator and mediator distinction, both separately and in terms of a broader causal system that includes both moderators and mediators. (46 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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A questionnaire consisting of 60 false statements related to psychology was administered to 531 students at 2 universities. Students marked each statement as true, false, or don't know/no opinion. Analysis of true responses indicated a decreasing level of misconceptions as students accumulated college credit hours in general and psychology credit hours specifically. Implications for teachers of psychology are discussed.
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Dispositional empathy, job satisfaction, and perceived effectiveness at a variety of professional activities were assessed in a sample of 290 psychologists. The participants were randomly chosen from four divisions of the American Psychological Association. Analyses indicated that psychologists from divisions chosen to represent a "Practitioner" orientation (Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy), compared to psychologists from divisions chosen to represent a "scientist" orientation (Evaluation, Measurement, and Statistics), scored lower on personal distress. For females only, practitioner status was also associated with higher scores on empathic concern and perspective taking. Also, regardless of sex, among participants who reported regularly engaging in therapy, higher scores on empathic concern and perspective-taking, and lower scores on personal distress, were associated with greater satisfaction with therapeutic work. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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Asserts that the past 2 decades have witnessed demographic, social, and economic changes that have affected the nature of psychology. The Committee on Employment and Human Resources of the American Psychological Association (APA), based on an examination of available data, identified 6 trends with major implications for psychology and the APA—changes in the specialization of new doctorate recipients in psychology, the quality of doctoral training, participation in the field by minorities, participation in the field by women, the employment of psychologists, and the composition of APA. These trends and their implications are discussed. (37 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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Reviews the literature on sex differences in empathy (defined as vicarious affective responding to the emotional state of another) and related capacities (affective role taking and decoding of nonverbal cues). The literature is discussed according to method used to assess empathy and affective role taking. Where appropriate, meta-analyses were also computed. In general, sex differences in empathy were found to be a function of the methods used to assess empathy. There was a large sex difference favoring women when the measure of empathy was self-report scales; moderate differences (favoring females) were found for reflexive crying and self-report measures in laboratory situations; and no sex differences were evident when the measure of empathy was either physiological or unobtrusive observations of nonverbal reactions to another's emotional state. Moreover, few sex differences were found for children's affective role taking and decoding abilities. (156 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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When participants were asked to write brief descriptive essays about psychologists, psychiatrists, physicians, counselors, teachers, and scientists, a semantic profile of each profession was extracted. Results show psychologist to be most highly correlated with psychiatrist and least highly correlated with scientist. A 2-dimensional nonmetric scaling suggested that psychologists are thought to be tender-minded people who deal with abnormal phenomena. Favorability results ranked psychiatrist and psychologist as most favorable, in that order. It is suggested that a better informed public might think less well of psychologists but would be better able to assess the contributions made by psychologists. (3 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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Describes the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) and its relationships with measures of social functioning, self-esteem, emotionality, and sensitivity to others. 677 male and 667 female undergraduates served as Ss. Each of the 4 IRI subscales displayed a distinctive and predictable pattern of relationships with these measures, as well as with previous unidimensional empathy measures. Findings provide evidence for a multidimensional approach to empathy. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).
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In this article, we attempt to distinguish between the properties of moderator and mediator variables at a number of levels. First, we seek to make theorists and researchers aware of the importance of not using the terms moderator and mediator interchangeably by carefully elaborating, both conceptually and strategically, the many ways in which moderators and mediators differ. We then go beyond this largely pedagogical function and delineate the conceptual and strategic implications of making use of such distinctions with regard to a wide range of phenomena, including control and stress, attitudes, and personality traits. We also provide a specific compendium of analytic procedures appropriate for making the most effective use of the moderator and mediator distinction, both separately and in terms of a broader causal system that includes both moderators and mediators.
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Psychology, along with the majority of professions and scientific disciplines, has undergone dramatic shifts in gender composition over the past two decades. These changes have prompted concern that this increased participation by women may lead to erosion in the status of these occupations. This article describes the results of a case study of psychology conducted by a subcommittee of the American Psychological Association's (APA's) Task Force on the Changing Gender Composition of Psychology to examine the discipline's changing gender composition and the factors related to these shifts. Societal and disciplinary trends are examined, along with data on the patterns of men's and women's involvement in the educational pipeline and workplace. The results provide little support for the concern over the increasing representation of women and its impact on the prestige of the discipline. Rather, they suggest that changes in the nature and status of psychology per se may be at least partly responsible for the changes in male and female participation and that the nature, magnitude, and causes of these disciplinary changes require further examination. Specific recommendations for the APA prepared by another subcommittee of the Task Force are also presented in the Appendix.
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Empirical studies are reviewed, the aim being to investigate characteristics of the therapeutic relationship in cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) and to identify therapist or patient interpersonal behavior that affects treatment outcome. CBT is characterized by a more active and directive stance on the part of the therapists and higher levels of emotional support than are found in insight-oriented psychotherapies. Therapists express high levels of empathy and unconditional positive regard, similar to those expressed by insight-oriented psychotherapists. Two clusters of interpersonal behavior have been identified that are clearly associated with CBT outcome: (a) the Rogerian therapist variables--empathy, nonpossessive warmth, positive regard, and genuineness; and (b) therapeutic alliance. There is some evidence for the impact on outcome of three additional clusters of patient behavior: (a) the patients' perception of the therapist as being self-confident, skillful, and active; (b) the patients' openness to discuss their problems; and (c) the patients' pretreatment predisposition to change and to accept psychological treatment as a means of achieving this. It is further concluded that relationship factors in general have a consistent but moderate impact on CBT outcome.
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Four-hundred and fifteen 11th-grade parochial school students were surveyed to assess their mathematics self-efficacy (SE), ethnic identity, and career interests in mathematics and science. Path analysis disclosed a direct effect of gender on students' career interest (CI). In addition, CI was predicted by mathematics SE, and SE was, in turn, influenced by ethnic identity, academic achievement, and socioeconomic status. Educational implications are discussed, and recommendations are made for further study.
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Women are participating in the field of psychology in increasing numbers relative to men. This development has been referred to as the “feminization of psychology,” and it carries with it a number of implications. This article reviews statistical data relating to the changing sex ratio and discusses their implications. Participation rates of women in psychology are examined as they pertain to enrollment in doctoral programs, graduation from baccalaureate programs, and career progress within the profession. Implications of changing sex ratios for occupational prestige, income and economics, work structure, education and training, and theory, research, and practice are then discussed. In conclusion, the concept of “feminization” is challenged as questions are raised about whether the increase in the number of women in psychology is a problem, as has been alleged, or a symptom of other problems within the field.
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We surveyed psychology majors who graduated between 1967 and 1986 to investigate gender and cohort differences in current perceptions of undergraduate course usefulness, postbaccalaureate education, and occupational achievements. We found that more women than men (a) obtained bachelor's degrees in psychology during the 20-year period; (b) earned advanced degrees in psychology and psychology-related fields; and (c) in recent years, worked in psychology and psychology-related positions. The two courses most frequently named as useful since graduation were Abnormal Psychology and Methodology. Our results provide evidence for the male flight from and the resulting feminization of the undergraduate psychology major.
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This article is a data-based case study of the renewal of an undergraduate psychology program. We describe the varieties of faculty and student expectations for the major and their evaluations of the curriculum. Students' career interests and their individual differences based on gender, race, and grade point average were important factors in the changes that were made in course requirements and department services. Based on our experience, we suggest a set of questions and resources that other departments might use in evaluating their undergraduate programs.
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This article explores problems associated with increased numbers of undergraduate psychology majors and considers strategies available to psychology departments wishing to reduce these numbers. Special attention is given to an approach using multiple regression procedures to develop a prediction model for reducing the number of psychology majors. With a prediction model, a criterion such as psychology GPA at graduation is selected, and predictors of this criterion (e.g., Introductory Psychology grade and first semester GPA) are examined. The prediction model approach is illustrated with data from Holy Cross College.
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A primary goal in most introductory psychology courses is teaching students to view psychology as a science. Petty and Cacioppo's (1986) elaboration likelihood model of persuasion and Bem's ( 1 972) self-perception theory suggest that having students write an essay supporting an empirical orientation should promote attitude change in that direction. Compared to a control group, introductory students writing a proempirical essay at the beginning of the term were more likely to conduct an experiment when given a choice of assignment, and they more strongly endorsed a view of psychology as a science at the end of the term. Implications for teaching and persuasion in the classroom are discussed.
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This is a report on the surge of undergraduate Psychology majors since the early 1980s. The number of Psychology faculty has remained relatively constant in the last decade, but the number of bachelor's degrees awarded in Psychology has increased by 59% since 1985 almost entirely due to an increase in the number awarded to women, which has increased by 80%. Results of a survey indicate that Psychology departments have dealt with increasing enrollments by some combination of (a) new admissions requirements, such as completion of required Premajor courses; (b) more rigorous requirements for graduation; and (c) limiting advanced courses only to majors. Causes and long-range implications for academic Psychology are discussed.
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Records of 445 new psychology majors-and responses from 301 returned questionnaires-were used to (a) test and extend a generic model for academic pathways to the undergraduate major and (b) investigate feminization of the field. The model holds that a student's contact with basic college psychology courses is a crucial element leading to a decision to major in the field. Our data supported this formulation. Concerning feminization, 74% of the applicants were women As groups, however, women and men were not reliably different on features such as school backgrounds, psychology course histories, self-reported influences on and certain reasons for the decision to major, or plans following graduation. Feminization was thus evident in numbers, not academic characteristics.
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Training in psychology emphasizes the scientific method as the basis for knowledge claims about thought and behavior. Students are regularly evaluated in terms of their mastery of methodological and statistical Principles, bur little attention has been paid to assessing the degree to which students endorse the notion that psychology is, indeed, a science. Several studies are reported that validate a self-report measure of this construct. The Psychology as Science Scale is shown to be a reliable measure that predicts a range of construct-relevant attitudinal and performance criteria. Possible research uses of the measure, as well as broader issues surrounding the general public's epistemological assumptions concerning psychology, are discussed.
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Analysis of graduates by training level, sex, and Holland's occupational types shows a wide choice of jobs after graduation.
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[This book examines] empathy from the standpoint of contemporary social/personality psychology—emphasizing these disciplines' traditional subject matter (e.g., emotion, cognition, helping, aggression) and its research techniques (survey research, laboratory experiments). [The author's] goal was to provide a thorough, readable . . . summary of contemporary empathy research [primarily for advanced undergraduate and graduate students]. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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Psychologists have studied the psychology curriculum for several decades; reports of their studies reveal consistencies and changes both in program objectives and in how best to accomplish them / because psychology is taught in a variety of undergraduate programs with different missions, we studied the curriculum and formulated our recommendations in light of the present milieu for higher education in general and for psychology in particular / a brief overview of five previous reports will illustrate the evolution of psychologists' thinking about the curriculum and will highlight the challenges of planning a program for students with increasingly diverse backgrounds, abilities, academic commitments, and career goals (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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In this study, we examined children's cognitive role-taking in relation to their mothers' choices of techniques to solve domestic dilemmas involving children's misbehavior, social skills, and logical reasoning. Results showed that a mother's preference for the childrearing strategy known as distancing, which uses a Socratic or dialectical inquiry to create cognitive conflict in the child, bore a significant association to her child's advancement in cognitive role-taking skill. This finding is discussed in relation to theories of cognitive development that postulate that mental conflict or tension stimulates cognitive growth. Practical factors that might inhibit mothers from making effective use of the distancing technique are also considered.
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This investigation used data from Loehlin and Nichols's (1976) study of over 800 sets of twins to examine evidence for the heritability of three facets of empathy: empathic concern, personal distress, and perspective taking. Expert judges first identified sets of adjectives, included within Loehlin and Nichols's original data, which reflected each empathy construct; these items were then validated in an independent sample. Comparisons of the responses given to these items by identical and fraternal twins in the Loehlin and Nichols investigation revealed evidence of significant heritability for characteristics associated with the two affective facets of empathy--empathic concern and personal distress--but not for the nonaffective construct of perspective taking. This pattern is consistent with the view that temperamental emotionality may underlie the heritability of affective empathy.