Sex-specific strategy use and global-local processing: a perspective toward integrating sex differences in cognition

This article reviews the literature on sex-specific strategy use in cognitive tasks with the aim to carve out a link between sex differences in different cognitive tasks. I conclude that male strategies are commonly holistic and oriented toward global stimulus aspects, while female strategies are commonly decomposed and oriented toward local stimulus aspects. Thus, the strategies observed in different tasks, may depend on sex differences in attentional focus and hence sex differences in global-local processing. I hypothesize that strategy use may be sex hormone dependent and hence subject to change over the menstrual cycle as evidenced by findings in global-local processing and emotional memory. Furthermore, I propose sex hormonal modulation of hemispheric asymmetries as one possible neural substrate for this theory, thereby building on older theories, emphasizing the importance of sex differences in brain lateralization. The ideas described in the current article represent a perspective toward a unifying approach to the study of sex differences in cognition and their neural correlates.(VLID)156366

Factors affectin condom use among South African University students

Objective: To investigate factors affecting condom use among South African university students.Design: Cross-sectional survey.Setting: Department of Psychology, University of the North, South Africa. Participants: One hundred and forty six female and sixty first year male psychology students, mean age 20.9 years (SD=3.4), with a range from 17 to 34 years. Main outcome measures: Sexual activity and condom use (6 items), A 16-item AIDS Health Belief Scale and a 28-item Condom Use Self-Efficacy Scale.Results: Almost one third (29.2%) of the sample reported never using condoms, 35.4% always, 19.8% regularly and 8.5% irregularly in the past three months. Perceived barriers were associated with increasing age and reduced condom use intentions. In addition, perceived susceptibility was associated with past condom use. The total AIDSHealth Belief was not related with age, gender, past condom use and condom use intentions. Self-efficacy of condom use was associated with decreasing age, past condom use and condom use intentions but not with gender.Conclusion: Findings have relevant implications and are discussed in the context ofdeveloping an educational or intervention programme

Switching between forest and trees: Opposite relationship of progesterone and testosterone to global–local processing

AbstractSex differences in attentional selection of global and local components of stimuli have been hypothesized to underlie sex differences in cognitive strategy choice. A Navon figure paradigm was employed in 32 men, 41 naturally cycling women (22 follicular, 19 luteal) and 19 users of oral contraceptives (OCs) containing first to third generation progestins in their active pill phase. Participants were first asked to detect targets at any level (divided attention) and then at either the global or the local level only (focused attention). In the focused attention condition, luteal women showed reduced global advantage (i.e. faster responses to global vs. local targets) compared to men, follicular women and OC users. Accordingly, global advantage during the focused attention condition related significantly positively to testosterone levels and significantly negatively to progesterone, but not estradiol levels in a multiple regression model including all naturally cycling women and men. Interference (i.e. delayed rejection of stimuli displaying targets at the non-attended level) was significantly enhanced in OC users as compared to naturally cycling women and related positively to testosterone levels in all naturally cycling women and men. Remarkably, when analyzed separately for each group, the relationship of testosterone to global advantage and interference was reversed in women during their luteal phase as opposed to men and women during their follicular phase. As global processing is lateralized to the right and local processing to the left hemisphere, we speculate that these effects stem from a testosterone-mediated enhancement of right-hemisphere functioning as well as progesterone-mediated inter-hemispheric decoupling

Knowledge, self-efficacy and behavioural intent towards AIDS prevention behaviours among culturally diverse secondary school pupils in South Africa

Objective: To investigate knowledge, self-efficacy, and behavioural intent towards AIDS prevention behaviours among culturally diverse secondary school pupils in South Africa.Design: Randomised study.Setting: Three urban secondary schools in Pietersburg, South Africa.Participants: Three hundred and sixty six Grade 11 secondary school pupils, comprising 150 (41%) males, and 216 (59%) females, aged 17 to 24 years (mean age 19.3 years, SD=2.6). The three cultural groups were 142 Blacks, 112 Whites and 112 Asians. Main outcome measures: The questionnaire included items on socio-economic and family background, knowledge about HIV, perceived self-efficacy and behavioural intent regarding AIDS preventive behaviours.Results: Overall, the participants showed an adequate level of AIDS knowledge. However, there was considerable inaccuracy regarding AIDS transmission myths or how AIDS cannot be transmitted. The different cultural groups generally felt most self- efficacious regardinghow to protect themselves from becoming infected (75-90%) and least self-efficacious on knowing where to go for information on AIDS (72-74%). Generally, participants reported a high behavioural intent. The Whites stand second in knowledge and more or less second inself-efficacy and behaviour intent. The Blacks stand third in knowledge and more or less second in self-efficacy and behaviour intent.Conclusion: Culturally diverse knowledge, self-efficacy and behavioural intent towards AIDS prevention was found among White, Black and Asian pupils, which should inform a culturally sensitive and appropriate AIDS health promotion programme in South Africa

Who is healthier? A meta-analysis of the relations between the HEXACO personality domains and health outcomes

Researchers and practitioners have long been interested in the relations of basic personality domains with health. Whereas previous meta-analyses have focused on the Big Five traits, we provide the first meta-analysis of the relations between the HEXACO domains, as assessed by HEXACO Personality Inventories, and various health outcomes (k = 276, N = 92,319). In general, relations of the HEXACO domains were strongest with mental health, followed by health behavior, whereas relations with physical health outcomes were weak and largely non-significant. All HEXACO domains were significantly linked to mental health and health behavior outcomes. Extraversion exhibited the strongest correlation with mental health (ρ = .48), whereas Honesty-Humility (ρ = .31), Agreeableness versus Anger (ρ = .25), and Conscientiousness (ρ = .31) were most predictive of health behavior. Physical health was only significantly associated with Emotionality (ρ = −.14) and Conscientiousness (ρ = .10). Honesty-Humility explained incremental variance over the Big Five in several health behavior outcomes, whereas it had little incremental validity for mental and physical health outcomes. Finally, comparing the variance that the HEXACO and the Big Five domains explained in specific health outcomes demonstrated that each personality model occasionally exhibited superior criterion-related validity. Hence, the choice of the more useful personality model could be outcome-dependent

Sex Differences in Number Magnitude Processing Strategies Are Mediated by Spatial Navigation Strategies: Evidence From the Unit-Decade Compatibility Effect

The hybrid model of number magnitude processing suggests that multi-digit numbers are simultaneously processed holistically (whole number magnitudes) and in a decomposed manner (digit magnitudes). Thus, individual tendencies and situational factors may affect which type of processing becomes dominant in a certain individual in a given situation. The unit-decade compatibility effect has been described as indicative of stronger decomposed number processing. This effect occurs during the comparison of two-digit numbers. Compatible items in which the larger number contains the larger unit digit are easier to solve than incompatible items in which the larger number contains the smaller unit digit. We have previously described women show a larger compatibility effect than men. Furthermore, the compatibility effect is modulated by situational factors like the vertical spacing of the presented numbers. However, it has not been addressed whether situational factors and sex affect the unit-decade compatibility effect interactively. We have also demonstrated that the unit-decade compatibility effects relates to global-local processing, which in turn also affects spatial processing strategies. However, a link between spatial processing strategies and the unit-decade compatibility effect has not yet been established. In the present study we investigate, whether sex differences in the unit-decade compatibility effect (i) depend on the vertical spacing between numbers, (ii) are mediated via sex hormone levels of participants, and (iii) relate to sex differences in spatial processing strategies. 42 men and 41 women completed a two-digit number comparison task as well as a spatial navigation task. The number comparison task modulates compatibility and vertical spacing in a 2 × 2 design. The results confirm a larger compatibility effect in women compared to men and with dense compared to sparse spacing. However, no interactive effect was observed, suggesting that these factors modulate number magnitude processing independently. The progesterone/testosterone ratio was related to the compatibility effect, but did not mediate the sex difference in the compatibility effect. Furthermore, spatial processing strategies were related to the compatibility effect and did mediate the sex difference in the compatibility effect. Participants with a stronger focus on landmarks in the spatial navigation task showed a larger compatibility effect

Comparing domain- and facet-level relations of the HEXACO personality model with workplace deviance:A meta-analysis

Personality research suggests that the prediction of organizational behavior can be improved by examining the criterion-related validity of narrow personality facets. In the current study, we provide meta-analytic effect size estimates (k = 29) for the relations of all HEXACO domains and facets with workplace deviance and re-analyze available data (k = 9) to compare the criterion-related validity of the HEXACO domains with that of their constituent facets. Findings provided evidence for a masking effect among the facets of Honesty-Humility and a cancellation effect among the facets of Openness to Experience. Furthermore, facets generally outperformed domains in predicting workplace deviance. This was most notable for the Fairness facet, which explained almost as much variance in workplace deviance as all six HEXACO domains combined. These results suggest that using a few HEXACO facets to predict workplace deviance can be more efficient than using all six broad domains