Analyzes empirical findings and conceptual problems to clarify how sex differences are related to communication. Finds that conceptual reasons for the muddled picture of sex differences in communication research include reliance on stereotypes, polarization of the sexes, lack of valid reasons, and dearth of theory. (SR)

Conducted a meta-analysis that included studies of gender differences in college students' attitudes toward cheating, cheating behavior, and both attitudes and behaviors. Investigated changes over 4 decades. Attitudinal gender differences were relatively large, but behavioral gender differences were small. Mean gender differences in attitudes…

Sex differences in language use have been examined for many years, but no clear-cut conclusions exist. A meta-analysis of the existing literature was conducted regarding powerful/powerless language use, including 30 studies, with a total combined sample size of 3,012. The overall correlation indicated that men use more powerful language than…

Reports a secondary data analysis of eight separate studies of cognitive editing, with regard to the question of whether males and females edit their persuasive messages differently. Finds that gender has modest direct effects on endorse-or-suppress decisions. Suggests that gender by situation interactions may have more influence. (SR)

Whether or not there are sex differences in helping behavior is a question that has attracted interest from both theoretical and applied perspectives. A meta-analysis was conducted of 172 studies of helping behavior, coded for publication date, source, sex of author, sample size, setting, type of appeal for help, availability of other helpers, sex…

Nine experiments were performed to verify and extend studies on sex differences in problem solving conducted in the 1950s by Sweeney, Carey, Milton, Nakamura, and Berry. A 20-item problem set was administered to over 1,000 college students. Results indicated a male advantage, averaging 35 percent, virtually identical with 1950s results. (Author/BS)

Reviews and evaluates the extent of gender differences in academic cheating behaviors based on previous studies that used self-report data. Findings from 21 studies suggest that substantial proportions of students cheat in high school and college, with only small differences between males and females. (SLD)

Among findings of a review of research on college students' preconceptions of male and female college teachers were that, in the majority of studies, students' global evaluations of male and female teachers as professionals were not different, though in a minority of studies, male teachers received higher overall evaluations than did female…

Both the career model and the decision model have been proposed to explain patterns of contraceptive use in teenagers. The career model views contraceptive use as a symbol of a woman's sexuality and implies a clear decision to be sexually active. The decision model is based on the subjective expected utility (SEU) theory which holds that people…

To help clarify the meaning of three social constructs (class, race/ethnicity, and gender) that have been persistent indicators of reading ability, a literature review examined 393 research reports published between 1985 and 1989 in four major journals that commonly present research on reading. Articles for the review were selected regardless of…

Meta-analysis techniques were used to summarize the results concerning gender differences reported in doctoral dissertations on visual spatial skills. Dissertations were chosen because they are not subject to the selection process of journals, which may bias results toward large effects. An analysis of 150 independent data points in 43…

Integrates research on mathematics anxiety, regarding its nature, effects, and relief by using meta-analysis. Concludes that mathematics anxiety depresses performance and that mathematics and test anxieties both relate to general anxiety. Discusses the sex difference of the anxiety and its effects on achievement. (Author/YP)

In a comprehensive review of the literature containing comparisons between boys and girls on motivation and/or achievement in science, findings were transformed into a common metric and analyzed. It was found that sex differences in both motivation and achievement are smaller than is generally assumed, but they do occur. (Author/BW)

Examines the extent to which the effect of gender of a target person on evaluators' judgments reflects evaluators' tendencies not to use the evaluee's gender because they assume case information is more valuable. Results with 144 female and 92 male college students in 2 studies demonstrate that evaluators do use gender stereotypes. (SLD)

This paper summarizes and analyzes data from studies of differential validity and differential prediction for blacks versus whites and females versus males. Forty studies on racial differences and 53 on gender differences were selected from searches of the ERIC, PsychInfo, and Dissertation Abstracts International databases; Buros' Mental…