Investigated effects of observer presence and subject (N=96) sex on both performance quantity and quality, job satisfaction, and task perceptions. Results demonstrated significant effects on the performance measures. Results for task perceptions supported the hypothesis that the situational factors would make salient the significance of the task.…

Oxygen uptake, heart rate, and rating of perceived exertion were used to measure the effect of caffeine ingestion on active college students. The results do not support the general use of caffeine as an ergogenic aid for either males or females, although caffeine may have that effect on specific individuals. (Author/MT)

Research indicates the process of menstruation has no effect on female college students' academic performance when measured by quantitative tests, and it appears subjective complaints of paramenstrual dysfunction originate in socially mediated beliefs and expectations. Implications for academic assessment, student counseling, employment policy,…

The purpose of this study was to investigate further the effect of differential item performance by males and females on tests which have different item arrangements. The study allows for a more accurate evaluation of whether differential sensitivity to reinforcement strategies is a factor in performance discrepancies for males and females.…

An anagram task administered to high and low test-anxious subjects under varied levels of external distraction showed a significant main effect of test anxiety for the "hard" anagrams which also interacted with the subjects' sex and distraction. The effects of increments of anxiety arousal produced by distraction are discussed.…

Studied differences in pointing accuracy in computer-simulated mazes as a function of maze complexity and training effects. Results with 219 college students indicate that, although pointing accuracy remained higher for men, pointing performance can be modified by experience. (SLD)

Undergraduates in an economics course reported prior grade averages and their final exam predictions. Students rated the influence that ability, effort, task difficulty, and luck had on performance and completed an achievement motivation scale. Regression analyses provided support for the attribution model of achievement expectations. Sex…

To merge the reinforcement and competition approaches and to test the relative efficacy of reward structures, group vs individual rewarding was paired with three amounts of monetary reward for performance. The math performance of college females was consistent with the differential rewarding hypotheses, whereas males were consistent with a…

Compared the cognitions of high and low math anxious undergraduates (N=71) who were asked to think aloud while solving mathematical problems. Results showed no anxiety-related differences for either performance or 11 categories of cognitions, and no sex differences in performance or for a linear combination of cognitions. (JAC)

Investigated effects of differing performance standards (constant or accelerating) on male and female college students' intrinsic motivation in a number guessing task. Found that students with the accelerating standard continued playing the game after the task significantly more than those with a constant standard. (RC)

Performance on the Digit Span (DSP) and Digit Symbol (DSY) subtests of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) have been said to be vulnerable to the effects of anxiety, seating arrangements, and sex of subject. To determine the effects of these variables on anxiety and test performance on the WAIS-R DSP and DSY subtests, 40 male and 40…

Previous research has found that males perform better than females on the pursuit rotor. To examine whether males and females with different sex role orientations would perform differently on a motor task, 120 students (classified as androgynous, traditional sex role, cross-sexed, or undifferentiated, based on scores on the Personal Attributes…

To explore personal characteristics (achievement motivation and anxiety) which may affect performance on a recognition task, three studies were conducted using a 375-word text on dreaming. In the first study, 54 college students answered questions about the passage either with or without reading the material. Results confirmed that recognition was…

Previous research on the primacy effect in ability attribution has focused on intellectual ability, using intelligence test problems as the stimulus material. To examine ability attribution under conditions of ascending (improving), descending, and random patterns of performance on a typing task, 179 college students (69 males, 110 females)…

Some research on the stimulant effect of caffeine suggests that the amount of behavioral enhancement produced by caffeine may depend on subjects' prior experience with the task and the drug. A study was undertaken to test whether prior experience with a task while under the influence of caffeine would facilitate performance of that task. Male…