Adolescent Depression: The Under Acknowledged Disease

Adolescent Depression: The Under Acknowledged Disease

        Depression is a disease that afflicts the human psyche in such a way

that the afflicted tends to act and react abnormally toward others and

themselves.  Therefore it comes to no surprise to discover that

adolescent depression is strongly linked to teen suicide.  Adolescent

suicide is now responsible for more deaths in youths aged 15 to 19 than

cardiovascular disease or cancer (Blackman, 1995).  Despite this

increased suicide rate, depression in this age group is greatly

underdiagnosed and leads to serious difficulties in school, work and

personal adjustment which may often continue into adulthood.  How

prevalent are mood disorders in children and when should an adolescent

with changes in mood be considered clinically depressed?

        Brown (1996) has said the reason why depression is often over looked in

children and adolescents is because "children are not always able to

express how they feel."  Sometimes the symptoms of mood disorders take

on different forms in children than in adults.  Adolescence is a time of

emotional turmoil, mood swings, gloomy thoughts, and heightened

sensitivity.  It is a time of rebellion and experimentation.  Blackman

(1996) observed that the "challenge is to identify depressive

symptomatology which may be superimposed on the backdrop of a more

transient, but expected, developmental storm."  Therefore, diagnosis

should not lay only in the physician's hands but be associated with

parents, teachers and anyone who interacts with the patient on a daily

basis. Unlike adult depression, symptoms of youth depression are often

masked.  Instead of expressing sadness, teenagers may express boredom

and irritability, or may choose to engage in risky behaviors (Oster &

Montgomery, 1996).  Mood disorders are often accompanied by other

psychological problems such as anxiety (Oster & Montgomery, 1996),

eating disorders (Lasko et al., 1996), hyperactivity (Blackman, 1995),

substance abuse (Blackman, 1995; Brown, 1996; Lasko et al., 1996) and

suicide (Blackman, 1995; Brown, 1996; Lasko et al., 1996; Oster &

Montgomery, 1996) all of which can hide depressive symptoms.

        The signs of clinical depression include marked changes in mood and

associated behaviors that range from sadness, withdrawal, and decreased

energy to intense feelings of hopelessness and suicidal thoughts. 

Depression is often described as an exaggeration of the duration and

intensity of "normal" mood changes (Brown 1996).  Key indicators of

adolescent depression include a drastic change in eating and sleeping

patterns, significant loss of interest in previous activity interests

(Blackman, 1995; Oster & Montgomery, 1996), constant boredom (Blackman,

1995), disruptive behavior, peer problems, increased irritability and

aggression (Brown, 1996).  Blackman (1995) proposed that "formal

psychologic testing may be helpful in complicated presentations that do

not lend themselves easily to diagnosis."  For many teens, symptoms of

depression are directly related to low self esteem stemming from

increased emphasis on peer popularity.  For other teens, depression

arises from poor family relations which could include decreased family

support and perceived rejection by parents (Lasko et al., 1996).  Oster

& Montgomery (1996) stated that "when parents are struggling over

marital or career problems, or are ill themselves, teens may feel the

tension and try to distract their parents."  This "distraction" could

include increased disruptive behavior, self-inflicted isolation and even

verbal threats of suicide.  So how can the physician determine when a

patient should be diagnosed as depressed or suicidal?  Brown (1996)

suggested the best way to diagnose is to "screen out the vulnerable

groups of children and adolescents for the risk factors of suicide and

then refer them for treatment."  Some of these "risk factors" include

verbal signs of suicide within the last three months, prior attempts at

suicide, indication of severe mood problems, or excessive alcohol and

substance abuse.

Many physicians tend to think of depression as an illness of adulthood. 

In fact, Brown (1996) stated that "it was only in the 1980's that mood

disorders in children were included in the category of diagnosed

psychiatric illnesses."  In actuality, 7-14% of children will experience

an episode of major depression before the age of 15.  An average of

20-30% of adult bipolar patients report having their first episode

before the age of 20.  In a sampling of 100,000 adolescents, two to

three thousand will have mood disorders out of which 8-10 will commit

suicide (Brown, 1996).  Blackman (1995) remarked that the suicide rate

for adolescents has increased more than 200% over the last decade. 

Brown (1996) added that an estimated 2,000 teenagers per year commit

suicide in the United States, making it the leading cause of death after

accidents and homicide.  Blackman (1995) stated that it is not uncommon

for young people to be preoccupied with issues of mortality and to

contemplate the effect their death would have on close family and

friends.  

        Once it has been determined that the adolescent has the disease of

depression, what can be done about it?  Blackman (1995) has suggested

two main avenues to treatment: "psychotherapy and medication."  The

majority of the cases of adolescent depression are mild and can be dealt

with through several psychotherapy sessions with intense listening,

advice and encouragement.  Comorbidity is not unusual in teenagers, and

possible pathology, including anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder,

learning disability or attention deficit hyperactive disorder, should be

searched for and treated, if present (Blackman, 1995).  For the more

severe cases of depression, especially those with constant symptoms,

medication may be necessary and without pharmaceutical treatment,

depressive conditions could escalate and become fatal.  Brown (1996)

added that regardless of the type of treatment chosen, "it is important

for children suffering from mood disorders to receive prompt treatment

because early onset places children at a greater risk for multiple

episodes of depression throughout their life span."

        Until recently, adolescent depression has been largely ignored by

health professionals but now several means of diagnosis and treatment

exist.  Although most teenagers can successfully climb the mountain of

emotional and psychological obstacles that lie in their paths, there are

some who find themselves overwhelmed and full of stress.  How can

parents and friends help out these troubled teens?  And what can these

teens do about their constant and intense sad moods?  With the help of

teachers, school counselors, mental health professionals, parents, and

other caring adults, the severity of a teen's depression can not only be

accurately evaluated, but plans can be made to improve his or her

well-being and ability to fully engage life.

References

        Blackman, M. (1995, May).  You asked about... adolescent depression. 

The Canadian   Journal of CME [Internet].  Available HTTP: 

http://www.mentalhealth.com/mag1/p51-dp01.html.

        Brown, A.  (1996, Winter).  Mood disorders in children and

adolescents.  NARSAD Research Newsletter [Internet].  Available HTTP: 

http://www.mhsource.com/advocacy/narsad/childmood.html.

        Lasko, D.S., et al.  (1996).  Adolescent depressed mood and parental

unhappiness.  Adolescence, 31 (121), 49-57.

        Oster, G. D., & Montgomery, S. S.  (1996).  Moody or depressed:  The

masks of teenage depression.  Self  Help & Psychology [Internet]. 

Available HTTP: 

http://www.cybertowers.com/selfhelp/articles/cf/moodepre.html.

Adolescence and Delinquency

Adolescence and Delinquency

I couldn't begin to cover all the possible reasons that may cause an 

adolescent to become a "juvenile delinquent."  During my research, I found 

that the term juvenile delinquency is defined a number of ways.  Mosby's 

Medical Nursing, and Allied Health Dictionary summed up juvenile delinquency 

best with this definition;  "resistant antisocial, illegal, or criminal 

behavior by children or adolescents to the degree that it cannot be 

controlled or corrected by the parents, endangers others in the community, 

and becomes the concern of a law enforcement agency"(1994). 

I found that most theories about what causes delinquency in children and 

adolescents originate with families and parenting.  Many statistics and 

studies have been conducted comparing the number of youths that had chosen a 

delinquent life style, with single parent households, or parents who were 

drug and alcohol dependant.  It is my belief that three out of four parenting 

styles that we have studied in our text, when taken to extremes, can be just 

as damaging to an adolescent as a parent suffering from drug or alcohol 

addiction.  Parents who exhibit an indifferent parenting style send the worst 

possible message to their children.  "When permissiveness is accompanied by 

high hostility, the child feels free to give rein to his most destructive 

impulses"(Craig, 1996, p.316).  And where exactly in the question of 

causation does nature Vs nurture fit in.  What about the child who seemingly 

has balanced, consistent authoritative parents, and still chooses a 

delinquent lifestyle. 

I'm going to address some of these issues in the pages to follow, beginning 

with an external factor that may influence some of our younger children; TV.

    The impact of television violence has been debated since TV first arrived 

in America.  According to a study highlighted in US News and World Report, 

the more violent TV programs children watch, the more likely they are to 

commit violent crimes.  "The greatest impact is on pre-adolescent children 

who do not yet have the capacity to gauge what is real and what is not" 

(Zuckerman, Aug. 2,1993).  The theory states, that combined with a lack of 

parenting by "plugging" children into the TV, these children later in life 

will be conditioned to violence, regarding it as exciting, charismatic, and 

effective.  Opponents of this theory argue the "solution to the problem of 

television violence may be to reinforce the traditional institutions of 

church, family and neighborhood, which provide the moral armor against bad 

influences from other sectors of society" (Bender @ Leone, 1997,p.57). These 

advocates sort of differentiate between good and bad violence on TV.  One 

example is the popular television show Law and Order, which is divided into 

two sections.  In each episode is the depiction of a crime, followed by a 

trial of the accused.   

    Probably the most controversial focus of juvenile delinquency causation 

can be attributed to the breakdown of families, giving rise to a large number 

of single parent households.  According to Robert L. Maginnis, a link does 

exist between single parent families, juvenile delinquency and crime.  

"Children from single-parent families, he argues, are more likely to have 

behavior problems because they tend to lack economic security and adequate 

time with parents" (Maginnis, 1994).  "Children from single-parent families 

are two to three times more likely to have emotional and behavioral problems 

than are children in two parent families" (Bender, Leone, 1997 p.64).  This 

report goes on to say these children "are more likely to drop out of school, 

to get pregnant as teenagers, to abuse drugs, and to be in trouble with the 

law."  Bender and Leone cite a study from the Journal of Research in Crime 

and Delinquency that reports the most reliable indicator of violent crime in 

a community is the proportion of fatherless families.  Fathers typically 

offer economic stability, a role model for boys, greater household security, 

and reduced stress for mothers.  " When compared to children from two-parent 

families, children from single parent homes are more prone to crime:

    · They use drugs more heavily and commit more crimes  

      throughout their lives. 

    ·They are more likely to be gang members.

    ·They make up 70% of juvenile delinquents in state reform  

     institutions.

    ·They account for 75% of adolescent murders.

    ·They are 70% more likely to be expelled from school" (Bender @ Leone, 

p.64).  Bender and Leone go on to cite a 1991 research review published in 

the Journal of Marriage and Family saying, "growing up in a single-parent 

family is linked with increase levels of depression, stress, and aggresssion; 

a decrease in some indicators for physical health; higher incidence of 

needing the services of mental health professionals; and other emotional and 

behavioral problems."  

    Of coarse, with every theory of delinquency causation, there is a counter 

theory.  Kevin and Karen Wright contend in their Washington DC Brief on 

Delinquents and Crime, that "Not only is data contradictory and inconclusive, 

the authors contend that much of the research conducted during the 1950's and 

60's was flawed by bias against single mothers."  What a tangled web we 

weave.  I was a single parent for ten years.  I have no doubt that my sons 

are lacking in some ways from experiencing the fullness of a loving 

two-parent household. On the other hand, Faith and God were always part of my 

modeling, and possibly from his grace my sons were, and are "good boys."  

    Theories regarding causation of juvenile delinquency and violence cite 

biological factors ranging from inherited personality traits and genetic 

defects to biochemical imbalances and brain damage.  Some studies indicate 

that biological factors, including genetics, may predispose a child to commit 

violent crimes.  Scientists have recently been exploring the role of certain 

neurochemicals- particularly serotonin, a brain transmitter that regulates 

mood and emotion in triggering violence.  Another study claims to have found 

a "dramatic connection between lead poisoning, which can impair brain 

function, and juvenile crime" (Bender @ Leone, 1997 p.79).  Other biological 

factors claim undiscovered brain damage early in childhood development can 

increase the risk of juvenile delinquency or violence.  "Head injuries could 

damage a part of the brain that helps curb aggressive impulses, or general 

impairment of the brains abilities, making it harder for a child to 

comprehend societal rules, or to function well in school" (Bender @ Leone, 

1997. p. 79).  

    Environmental theories regarding juvenile delinquency generally support 

the idea that most violent behavior is learned behavior.  The top three 

detrimental influences include violent and permissive families, unstable 

neighborhoods, and delinquent peer groups.  I noticed that single parent 

families weren't at the top of the environmental list.  All of these 

influences supposedly teach children delinquent behavior.  Theories about 

learned violence often go back to family situations when the child is very 

young, often citing spanking as the first "no-no."

    Another possible cause of juvenile delinquency is a lack of moral 

guidance.  The general foundation for this theory is, in my opinion, 

tragically credible.  Authors Bender and Leone describe moral poverty in this 

quotation:

        "Moral poverty is the poverty of being without 

          loving, capable, responsible adults who teach

          you right from wrong.  It is the poverty of 

          being without parents and other authorities 

          who habituate you to feel joy at others' joy,

          pain at others' pain, happiness when you do 

          right, remorse when you do wrong.   It is the

          poverty of growing up in the virtual absence

          of people who teach morality by their own 

          everyday example and insist that you follow suit."

This quotation, unfortunately says it all.  In extreme moral poverty, a child 

may grow up surrounded by deviant, delinquent, and criminal adults.  It gets 

worse.  They may also be in abusive and violent settings.  This moral vacancy 

is said to create children who live for the present moment, and have no 

concept of the future, nor do they have feelings of remorse or 

awareness of consequences.  When you add to this equation the fact that guns 

are more available to our children now, than ever before, the result is 

meaningless random violence.  According to the Journal of American Medicine 

Association dated June third, 1998, "Access to firearms and other weapons has 

been cited as an important factor contributing to the rise of violence- 

related injuries among adolescents" (JAMA, 1998, p.167).  Young children are 

accounting for more violent crime than ever before.  This kind of violence 

makes me very afraid for my wife and children.  I have seen and talked with 

morally vacant children at my job at the Oregon Health Sciences University.  

My hart sinks to my stomach at times.  

    There are probably many possible causes of delinquency that I haven't 

mentioned in this paper.  It is my belief that parents my unknowingly push 

their children toward delinquency by simply using poor parenting styles.  I 

believe, as the text, the most damaging parenting model is when parents show 

no interest in their role as a parent, and combine this with a 

low level of affection.  This indifferent parenting style offers absolutely 

no guidance to an adolescent, leaving plenty of room for those environmental 

factors to take over.  A clearly more 

effective parenting style models the authoritative style highlighted in our 

text.  Children brought up under this framework have a much better chance of 

avoiding the pit falls of delinquency.  There has also been legislation 

introduced to use public funds to empower religious institutions to act as 

safe havens for at risk children.

    Many deterrents have been tried to reduce the effects of juvenile 

delinquency.  More youths are being tried as adults in certain cases, and 

curfews are being enforced now more than ever.  Law enforcement agiencies 

aggressivly enforce truency laws, and most officers I talk to are very 

intollerent of the slightest sign of disrespect when approaching suspect 

youths.  Child and family counseling techniques have changed to fit more 

complex and extreme situations.  The fact is that we live in an imperfect 

world, and final solutions to this problem will probably not be found by men, 

but by God.

 

Abusive Parents

Researchers at the University of

Toronto have taken important steps toward

producing a profile of an abusive parent. Prof.

Gary Walters and doctoral student Lynn

Oldershaw of the Department of Psychology have

developed a system to characterize parents who

physically abuse their children. This could

ultimately allow social service professionals to

identify parents in child abuse. Over the last five

years, Walters and Oldershaw, in collaboration

with Darlene Hall of the West End Creche, have

examined over 100 mothers and their three to

six-year-old children who have been physically

abused. In the laboratory, the mother and child

spend 30 minutes in structured activities such as

playing, eating and cleaning-up. The family

interaction is video-taped and later analyzed. The

researchers have developed a system which

allows them to record the effectiveness of

parenting skills. They are particularly interested in

disciplinary strategies because abuse most

commonly occurs when the parent wants the child

to comply. "It's a question of trying to determine

which type of parent produces which type of child

or which type of child elicits which type of parental

behaviour," explains Oldershaw. As a result of

their work, Walters and Oldershaw have identified

distinct categories of abusive parents and their

children. 'Harsh/intrusive' mothers are excessively

harsh and constantly badger their child to behave.

Despite the fact that these mothers humiliate and

disapprove of their child, there are times when

they hug, kiss or speak to them warmly. This type

of mothering produces an aggressive, disobedient

child. A 'covert/hostile' mother shows no positive

feelings towards her child. She makes blatant

attacks on the child's self-worth and denies him

affection or attention. For his part, the child tries to

engage his mother's attention and win her

approval. An 'emotionally detached' mother has

very little involvement with her child. She appears

depressed and uninterested in the child's activities.

The child of this type of mother displays no

characteristics which set him apart from other

children. In order to put together a parenting

profile, the two researchers examine the

mother/child interaction and their perception and

feelings. For instance, Walters and Oldershaw

take into account the mother's sense of herself as a

parent and her impression of her child. The

researchers also try to determine the child's

perception of himself or herself and of the parent.

Abusive parents are often believed to have

inadequate parenting skills and are referred to

programs to improve these skills. These programs

are particularly appropriate for parents who,

themselves, were raised by abusive parents and as

a result are ignorant of any other behavior toward

her child. One of the goals of the psychologists is

to provide information to therapists which will help

tailor therapy to the individual needs of the abusive

parents. "Recidivism rates for abusive care-givers

are high," says Walters. "To a large extent, abusive

parents which require a variety of treatment. "

Their research is funded by the Social Sciences

and Humanities Research Council. Contact: Gary

Walters (416)978-7814 Lynn Oldershaw

(416)978-3528

Abstract

This report will briefly examine violence in sports. It will give possible reasons for the increase in violence, why violence seems to be growing and what we can do to curb this disturbing tend. While not all theories can we examined here, the most relevant to the topic will be examined and discussed.

Introduction

The purpose of this report is to bring into light one of the most talked about problem in sports today, violence. Many people, spectators, coaches, players and referees, of nearly all contact sports, have noted that there is been a large increase in the number of violent encounters. Some believe that this is a reflection of the problems with society today as a whole; that our aggressions are simply let out on the playing field. Other people believe that violence stems from the breakdown of basic family values at home. Whatever philosophy you are inclined to believe, it is obvious that this is a growing, and alarming problem. This is a problem that must be dealt with, to not only protect players and referees, but to find out why we seem to be such an angry society today. This topic is very close me, because I am a professional soccer referee. I have dealt with numerous violence situations over the past eleven years. In some cases, I have merely been a witness. In other cases, I was the one whom the violence was committed upon.



Hypothesis

My goal here is to determine why violence starting to take over our once, fun and enjoyable sporting events. I believe that this outpouring of violence is directly related to society. I believe it all comes down to a lack of respect; Lack of respect for authority, for each other and for ourselves. I expect to find out also, that our up bringing, and those that influence us, will have a direct impact upon whether or not we become involved in violence in sports.

Method

The type of research used primarily was observational and literature investigations. I used many of my own experiences and knowledge to compose several of my ideas. Also, I wanted to find as many outside sources as possible to either support with claim to disprove it. Given the time period given to complete endeavor, I believe that not all theories will be investigated. However, all data collected is impartial and objective.



Analysis of Results

Sports violence can be defined as behavior which causes harm, occurs outside of the rules of the sport, and is unrelated to the competitive objectives of the sport (Terry and Jackson, p.2).( Leonard p. 165) identifies two forms of aggression in sports. Instrumental aggression is non-emotional and task-oriented. Reactive aggression has an underlying emotional component, with harm as its goal. Violence is an outcome of reactive aggression.

An increase in both frequency and seriousness of acts of violence has been well documented. Violence is most prevalent in team contact sports, such as ice hockey, football, and rugby. While most occurrences of violence emanate from players, others, including coaches, parents, fans, and the media, also contribute to what has been described as an epidemic of violence in sports today (Leonard, p. 166).

Considerable research has been done on spectator violence. A central issue is whether fans incite player violence or reflect it (Debenedotte, p. 207). The evidence is inconclusive. Spectators do take cues from players, coaches, cheerleaders, and one another. Spectators often derive a sense of social identity and self-esteem from a team. Emulation of favorite players is an element of this identification. Group solidarity with players and coaches leads to a view of opposing teams as enemies and fosters hostility towards the "outgroup" and, by extension, its supporters, geographical locale, ethnic group, and perceived social class (Lee, p. 45).

Mass media also contribute to the acceptability of sports. (Leonard p. 166) maintains that the media occupies a paradoxical position. On the one hand it affords ample exposure to sports-related violence via television, magazines, newspapers, and radio, thus providing numerous examples to children who may imitate such behavior. It glamorizes players, often the most controversial and aggressive ones. Its commentary is laced with descriptions suggestive of

combat, linking excitement to violent action. On the other hand, the exposure given to sports violence by the media has stimulated increased efforts to control and prevent such behavior.

There are several leading theories about sport violence. The following are the best examples that I encountered.

There are three major theories that seek to explain violent aggression in sports (Terry and Jackson, p. 27; Leonard, pp. 170-71). The biological theory, proposed most notably by Nobel Prize winner Konrad Lorenz, sees aggression as a basic, inherent human characteristic. Within this context, sports are seen as a socially acceptable way to discharge built-up aggression, a safety valve.

The psychological theory states that aggression is caused by frustration; it is situational. Frustration results when one's efforts to reach a particular goal are blocked (Leonard, p. 170). In sports, frustration can be caused by questionable calls by officials, failure to make a particular play, injuries that interfere with optimum performance, heckling from spectators, or taunts by coaches or players.

The social learning theory has received the most empirical verification (Leonard, p. 171) and maintains that aggressive behavior is learned through modeling and reinforced by rewards and punishments. Young athletes take sports heroes as role models and imitate their behavior. Parents, coaches and teammates are also models that may demonstrate support for an aggressive style of play.

According to Terry and Jackson (p. 30), reinforcement for acts of violence may come from three sources: (a) the athlete's immediate reference group--coaches, teammates, family, friends; (b) structure of the game and implementation of rules by officials and governing bodies; (c) attitudes of fans, media, courts, and society. Reinforcement may take the form of rewards, such as praise, trophies, starting position, respect of friends and family. Vicarious reinforcement may be derived from seeing professional players lionized and paid huge salaries, in spite of, or because of, their aggressive style of play (Leonard, p. 171). Players who don't display the desired degree of aggressiveness may receive negative reinforcement through criticism from parents and coaches, lack of playing time, harassment by teammates, opponents, or spectators.

These theories provide a basis for interventions that may curb excessive aggression, especially among young athletes. Terry and Jackson (p. 35), suggest that socialization forces, particularly reinforcement, offer the best focus for intervention. In addition, psychological forces can be addressed by modifying or controlling situations that produce frustration.

What is the impact of children participating in sport?

Ideally children's participation in team sports should be fun, contribute to their physical development and well being, help to develop social skills, and promote a desire for continued involvement with physical activity. The objective of physical

education in schools should be to encourage development of appropriate exercise habits, with emphasis on the recreational aspects of physical activities (Roskosz, p. 7).

Unfortunately, compelling evidence suggests that, for many children, the pressures associated with sports produce low self-esteem, excessive anxiety, and aggressive behavior. Children may eventually experience "sports burnout" and develop a lifelong avoidance of physical activity (Hellstedt, p. 60, 62).

In Hellstedt's opinion (p. 62), these negative outcomes of sports involvement are caused by adults, particularly parents and coaches. Lip service is paid to sportsmanship and having fun, but rewards are reserved for winning. Often, encouragement to pursue victory is accompanied by direct and indirect signals that aggressive behavior is acceptable to achieve it. Hellstedt also suggests that anxiety about winning impedes performance and makes players more susceptible to injury. Physicians have noticed an increase in sports-related injuries in children (Hellstedt, p. 59).

What can be done to curb the outpouring of violence in sports?

Physical educators and coaches are in a key position to lay the groundwork for positive attitudes in sports. Guidelines for teaching children to shun violent behavior in sports include:

(a) Put sports in perspective. Coaches should not emphasize winning at all cost. Enjoyment and the development of individual skills should be the objective. Coaches should be alert to and praise improvement. Athletic performance should not be equated with personal worth (Coakley, p. 106). Players should not be encouraged or allowed to play when injured or ill, as a demonstration of stoic virtue.

(b) Stress participation. Hellstedt (p.70) cites studies that show that many children ages 9-14 drop out of sports because they spend too much time on the bench and not enough on the field. They perceive themselves as unsuccessful because their level of performance doesn't earn them more playing time. A study of young male athletes indicated that 90% would rather have an opportunity to play on a losing team than sit on the bench of a winning team.



(c) Present positive role models. Sports violence is most prevalent in professional sports. Coaches should avoid symbolic associations with professional teams--e.g. names, logos. They should not model their own coaching techniques on those of professional coaches (Coakley, pp. 107-8). Weiser and Love (p. 5) recommend that school coaches implement strategies to foster feelings of team ownership among players, replacing the traditional hierarchy--authoritarian coach, submissive players--that governs the coach-player relationship in professional sports. Encourage input, permit participation in decision-making, and listen to player feedback. Feelings of team ownership foster team cohesiveness, which in turn leads to better performance.

(d) Integrate values-oriented intervention strategies into the curriculum. Waldzilak cites a number of intervention strategies, utilizing Kohlberg's moral development model and social learning theories, which have been shown to produce improvement or modification of behavior, moral reasoning and perceptions of sportsmanship (Wandzilak et al., p. 14). Teachers and coaches should commit themselves to actively teaching positive sports-related values, and devise curricula that do so.

(e) Involve parents. As the earliest and potentially the most influential role models, parents can have a critical impact on a child's attitudes towards sports. Physical educators and coaches should inform parents of curricular activities and goals, alert them to signs of anxiety or aggressive behavior, encourage positive attitudes toward competition and physical activity, and promote realistic expectations for performance (Hellstedt, pp. 69-70)

Conclusion

An analysis of all this information suggests that this problem can be solved. While there is not an easy solution to the problem, there is hope. While Leonard suggests that the violence in sports is part due to media coverage and the violent events get the publics attention. Lee submits that the aggression towards even a single person, either on or off the field, may lead to hostility towards that person ethnic group, supporters, fans and even their perceived social class.

While there seems to be three central theoretical explanations to violence in sports, the social learning theory has the most empirical support, according to Leonard. Do we really reward people for aggressive behavior? Have we created this problem by supporting it? I believe that we have.

The only true conclusion is that we are all partly responsible for the violence we witness in sports today. We reward winning; we only pay lip service to sportsmanship, which to many is a lost art. Sports were at one time about the enjoyment of the game, learning the game and having fun. Now the message we send to children is, win at all costs. If you lose, you are a failure. No one wants to watch a failure.

Until we as I society like the error of our ways, and acknowledge that we have a serious problem on our hands, little will change. Until be remember why we have sports, entertainment and for fun, I fear that this problem will only grow worse in the future.

Discussion

I wrote this report because I am interested in this problem. As a professional soccer referee, I see this problem virtually every time I step on the pitch. I see children of ten years be told that winning is everything; you only have fun if you win, winning is the only thing. I see professional players not only disrespecting others, but themselves as well. Professionals are supposed to be the examples for young people to look up to. What do they see? They see players fighting, players following spectators into the stands to fight. They see player spitting at referees. And what happens to these players? Nothing. They blame everyone else for there actions. The referee was terrible, the fans are stupid. Whatever their excuses are, that is just what they are, excuses. Only when people take responsibility for their actions will this problem start to fix itself. I would not want my children, or anyone for that matter, see me spitting at a referee. But that is the problem; people don’t care. We have become a society of people that take no responsibility for our actions, the blame others for our stupidity. It is becoming a very sad state of affairs. These sports used to be fun and enjoyable. Now, if you don’t win, you are nothing. What a great message to send to that six year old watching the game. What are we teaching our children? I am afraid to ask.







Bibliography

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Hellstedt, Jon C. (1988, April) Kids, Parents and Sport: Some Questions and Answers. The Physician and Sportsmedicine, 16 (4) 59-71. EJ 376 620.

Lee, Martin J. (1985) From Rivalry to Hostility Among Sports Fans. Quest, 37 (1) 38-49.

Leonard, Wilbert Marcellus. (1988) A Sociological Perspective of Sport (Third Edition). New York, Macmillan Publishing Company.

Roskosz, Francis M. (1988, Late Winter) The Paradoxes of Play. The Physical Educator, 45 (1) 5-13. EJ 371 284.

Terry, Peter C. and Jackson, John J. (1985) The Determinants and Control of Violence in Sport. Quest, 37 (1) 27-37.

Wandzilak, Thomas (1985). Values Development Through Physical Education and Athletics. Quest, 37 (2) 176-85.

Wandzilak, Thomas, et al. (1988, October). Values Development Through Physical Activity: Promoting Sportsmanlike Behaviors. Perceptions and Moral Reasoning. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 8 (1) 13-21.*

Weiser, Kathy and Love, Phyllis (1988, September-October). Who Owns Your Team? Strategies, 2 (1) 5-8

Abortion

Birth Control or Legal Murder?Approximately 1.6 million murders are committed legally each year. Withthe exception of laws in few states, the mutilated bodies of the victims arethrown into dumpsters like pieces of rotten meat. While these victims laywaiting in the infested dumpsters to be hauled off to a landfill, themurderers are in their offices waiting for their next patient--theaccomplice to the murder. This is the murder of an innocent child by aprocedure known as abortion. Abortion stops the beating of an innocentchild's heart. People must no longer ignore the scientific evidence thatlife begins at the moment of conception. People can no longer ignore themedical and emotional problems an abortion causes women. People must stopdenying the facts about the procedure, and start hearing the silent screamsof unborn children.

The argument by the pro-abortion side is that the unborn child is nottruly a child. Many people who are pro-abortion justify their beliefsthrough the concept that a fetus is only a blob of tissue until it is born,or the statement: life begins at birth. Abortion is not as simple asremoving a "blob of tissue" (as the pro-abortion activists put it) from awoman's body. Abortion is the destruction, dismembering and killing of ahuman life--an unborn baby. "But it is scientific and medical fact based onexperimental evidence, that a fetus is a living, growing, thriving humanbeing, directing his or her own development" (Fetal Development). A fetus isnot just a blob of tissue, rather a fetus is Latin for "offspring or youngone." Human life begins at fertilization, therefore it is wrong to murderthe innocent child in the womb. At a US Senate Judiciary Subcommitteemeeting, most scientists said that life begins at conception or implantationof the embryo. No scientist at the meeting claimed that life begins at birth(Factbot). Professor Hymie Gordon of the Mayo clinic stated "' . . by allcriteria of modern biology, life is present from the moment of conception'"(Fetal Development). In a 1963 Planned Parenthood pamphlet entitled 'PlanYour Children' it states "an abortion kills the life of a baby after it hasbegun. It is dangerous to your life and health" (Factbot). Even thoughabortion is dangerous to a woman's life, and it kills her baby, PlannedParenthood still offers it as a safe solution. This statement contradictswhat most abortion clinics say. It is not possible for abortion to beoffered to women as a safe solution, when it not only puts her life indanger, but it also kills her child.Not only has science proven that a fetus is truly a human, the simplefacts also confer abortion kills the life of a human being. Life begins atconception because of the fact that life in the womb does not change atbirth. There are no special procedures or changes that occur during birth tomagically change the fetus to a baby. It is already a baby--a human life."'If a fertilized egg is not by itself a full human being it could notbecome one, because nothing is added to it,'" said Dr. Jerome Lejeune(Factbot). Most of all the development also takes place before one is born.Of the 45 generations of cell divisions before adulthood, 41 have takenplace before a person is born (Factbot). Fertilization is just the beginningof a long process of growing and maturing. "Life in a continuum. From themoment the egg is fertilized a new life has begun. All of the geneticinformation is present to construct a unique individual. Gender, physicalfeatures, eye color have already been determined. The baby's heart beginsbeating regularly at 24 days. Babies in the womb hiccup, cry, play, andlearn" (Factbot). Life continues from the day of fertilization until death.Nothing is added to a person during a lifetime. "'Conception confers lifeand makes that life one of a kind,'" said Dr Landrum Shettles father of invitro fertilization (Factbot). Abortion is wrong because it ends the life ofa human being. The day of conception marks the beginning of a new humanlife. "'The zygote is the first cell of a new human being,'" said Keith L.Moore. There is no way that the fetus is just a "blob of (Factbot) tissue."Scientific and medical facts prove that the fetus is living. They prove thatthe fetus is a person, a human, and functions separate from the mother.According to our law murder is wrong, therefore it is unlawful to kill anunborn child. The child in the womb deserves the right to life.The fetus is a real human being and deserves all the rights and freedomgiven to people under the Constitution. This right is evident in theFourteenth Amendment that states, "The State shall not deprive any person oflife, liberty, property, without due process of the law; nor deny any personwithin its jurisdiction the equal protection of the law" (Factbot). Abortiondenies babies equal protection under the law, and is depriving a person oflife. Thomas Jefferson stated human rights best when he wrote, "We holdthese truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that theyare endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that amongthese are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" (Factbot). All unbornbabies have the right to life guaranteed to humans under the constitution.No other person has the right to take away the unborn child's life, nomatter what the situation is. One must not sacrifice a life to make one'sown life better.Many argue that most of the babies that are aborted are unwantedbabies. They believe that they would be abused and neglected. This is whyabortion is okay to them. They believe abortion is saving the child fromabuse. Abortion, however, is the most severe case of child abuse. 



Theprocedures are painful to the child and intentionally end in death (exceptin cases where the procedure results in a living child. "About once a day,somewhere in the US, something goes wrong and an abortion results in a livebaby" (Factbot)). The fetus is alive and has the capacity to feel thepainful abortion procedure. The US Department of Health and Human Servicesreported that after nine weeks unborn babies can feel pain, yet 48 per centof all abortions are done after this point ( Fetal Development). The babycan feel all the pain put on it by the painful procedures. The ultra soundshows the baby struggling to survive. Abortionist doctors such as JosephRandall admit that seeing the abortion ". . . of the baby on the ultra soundbothered me more than anything else. The staff couldn't take it. Women werenever allowed to see the ultra sound" (Factbot). Women should be allowed tosee this. They should see the struggling of the life they are killing. Anearly abortion takes about five minutes and is performed six to fourteenweeks after a woman's last period. The procedure is called a suctionaspiration. It is like a vacuum cleaner. "'A hollow plastic tube with asharp edge is placed into the uterus. The suction tears the baby apart, andthe sharp edge is used to scrape the placenta from the wall of the uterus.Everything is sucked out into a bottle'" (Whitney 94). The other commonmethod is dilation and curettage. "'A curette, which is a loop-shaped steelknife, is inserted into the uterus, and the baby and the placenta are cutinto pieces and scraped out. Both procedures are usually done under generalanesthesia, so they're not painful for the mother. Of course we know thechild feels pain'" (Whitney 94). Another method that is not performed muchanymore is the saline injection; a long slow death process of poisoning thebaby. The saline injection was developed in the Nazi Concentration Camps(Factbot) The most controversial form of abortion is the partial-birthabortion. Using an ultra sound the abortionist grabs the baby's legs withforceps and pulls them out into the birth canal. The abortionist thendelivers the entire baby except for the head and continues by jammingscissors into the baby's skull. The scissors are then opened to enlarge thehole. The scissors are removed and a suction is inserted. The baby's brainsare sucked out causing the skull to collapse. The dead baby is then removed( Partial). It has been proven that babies can feel pain in theseprocedures. The fetus can feel pain because it is alive and growing like ahuman. Something that is not living cannot feel pain. If one crushes a popcan as the abortionist crushes a baby, the pop can feels no pain because itis not living. The baby feels pain because it is a living human being.Abortion is wrong because it deprives the baby of rights and happinessbecause of the suffering it must go through during the abortion.Women who have these painful abortions suffer emotional stress, andyears after having the procedure they discover that they destroyed a humanlife. The women finally realize after many years of emotional stress thecause of it. "After 5-10 years 54 per cent of mothers choosing abortion hadnightmares and 96 per cent felt they had taken a life" a from study by DrAnne Speckhard of the University of Minnesota. People need to listen to thewomen who have had abortions in the past to hear what they are really about.From them people can learn much more than a clinic can teach. After havingan abortion, many women can tell a person the true facts--abortion ismurder. "'Recent evidence indicates many women harbor strong guilt feelingslong after their abortions. Guilt is one important cause of child batteringand infanticide. Abortion lowers women's self-esteem and there are studiesreporting a major loss of self-esteem in battering parents,'" said Dr.Phillip Ney. There are places that give abortion counseling. However, manyof these places do not give accurate information Accurate information isneeded so women, and men, know that abortion will take away a human life.Ninety-five percent of women who had abortions said their Planned Parenthoodcounselors gave ". . . little or no biological information about the fetuswhich the abortion would destroy." Where 80 percent of women who have hadabortions from Planned Parenthood said little or no health information wasgiven to them about potential health risks (Factbot). Women need to be toldthe true facts of abortion. They need to see the fetal monitors. In manyclinics they are not allowed to see the ultra sound. The doctors do not wanta woman to see that the baby inside of her is alive. This is wrong becauseit not only denies the child the rights such as the right to be heard andseen, it denies women the truth. The truth must be told and shown. ShariRichard, an Ultrasonographer, said, "'In fact many women will come to meconsidering an abortion, and I have been personally told that I am to turnthe monitor away from her view so that seeing her baby jump around on thescreen does not influence her choice'" (Factbot). Abortion clinic staffmembers are taught how to sell abortions, told never to give alternatives,and told to tell the women how much trouble a baby is. Women are not toldthe facts. It is obvious from the ultra sound that the baby they arecarrying is alive, and abortion kills the baby. If the clinic can clearlysee that the baby is alive, the mother should also see. Abortion isdescribed as a decision between a women and her doctor. Yet over 90 percentdon't even see the doctor until he appears to abort their baby. This shouldnot be the case. The clinics are hiding and withholding the true facts.Clinics need to shape-up and tell the truth to women: Abortion is wrong.Abortion is one of the key issues facing the human race today. Thisissue, like many, forces people to take sides against each other, and is oneof the main factors people look at when voting. In a 1973 court ruling,known as Roe v. Wade, abortion became legal. Since this ruling the number ofteen pregnancies has increased from 4.94 per cent in 1972 to 9.92 per centin 1990. The number of teen abortions has doubled from 19.9 per thousandteenagers in 1972 to 43.8 per thousand teenagers in 1990 while the number ofteen births has increased from 22.8 to 42.5 per thousand. The number ofbirths to unmarried women has increased 7.3 per cent during the yearsfrom1972 to 1990 while the number of abortions increased 11.7 per centduring those years (Factbot). Abortion should no longer be legal. It israpidly becoming a form of birth control. No longer must women worry aboutprotection, if they should conceive a child, they can choose to take itslife. One-third of all babies (Planned Parenthood) are aborted, whichentitles the abortion industry to $500 million a year in income in theUnited States (Factbot). Abortion is the most frequent surgical operation inthe US, and the leading cause of death in Minnesota (Factbot). Currentlythere are two million couples waiting for adoption in America, yet there are30 abortions for every one adoption (Factbot). These statistics are true.Abortion needs to be stopped.There are arguments against the stopping of abortion. However, thereare solutions. Many say abortion should be legal if the woman's life is indanger. Only three percent of all abortions are done for the mother'shealth, where 40 percent of women who have abortions will have more thanone, and 50 per cent use it as their sole means of birth control (Factbot).As for the argument that women will do them illegally in the back alleysendangering their lives, 72 per cent said they would definitely not havesought an abortion if they were illegal, and death happens during a legalabortion too; maternal death rates for first trimester abortions are 61 per100,000 cases (Factbot).Abortion is clearly the taking of a human life, an action that is wrongunder the United States constitution. Women must stop being denied the factsand start being told the truth. The people of the US must start standing upfor the rights of all people, born and unborn. "Abortion concerns not onlythe unborn child , it concerns every one of us." said former President ofthe United States Ronald Reagan (Factbot). Abortion concerns all of us.People need to start caring for the women who are hurting as a result of anabortion, and women who are struggling over the decision. People must tellthem the facts, and work at making the conditions better for women, because84 per cent would keep their babies under better circumstances (Factbot).America needs to open her ears to the screams of the 1.6 million babiesmurdered each year.BibliographyCan abortion be justified? San Diego: Grenhaven Press, Inc., 1991."Factbot." Netscape. Online."Fetal Development." Netscape. Online.Harrison, Maureen, and Steve Gilbert, eds. Abortion Decisions of the UnitedStates Supreme Court: The 1990's. Beverly Hills: Excellent Books, 1993.Is abortion immoral? San Diego: Grenhaven Press, Inc., 1991."LIFE at the University of Illinois." Netscape. OnlineMelville, Keith, ed. The Battle Over Abortion. Dubuque: Kendall/HuntPublishing Company, 1990."Partial-Birth Abortion." Netscape. Online.Should abortion remain a personal choice? San Diego: Grenhaven Press, Inc.,1991.Should abortion remain legal? San Diego: Grenhaven Press, Inc., 1991.When does life begin? San Diego: Grenhaven Press, Inc., 1991.Whitney, Catherine. Whose Life?. New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc.,1991.--------------------------------------------------------------

A Review Of Psychology Articles

In this paper I will review four articles, one movie, and one experiment conducted in class. The issue's all this information covers is sex differences and the degree to which they exists in men and women and why they are present. There will be varying points of view for all these issues with each article having its own studies or theory 's to support its beliefs. The method for presenting this information will first be summaries of the media gathered then a general discussion where I will draw my own conclusions about what I have read.

Summaries

Sex and Gender (Deaux, 1985)
The purpose of this article was to come to solid conclusions about the issue of sex and gender differences. Deaux arrived at these conclusions through comprehensive review of studies conducted on the issue in the past. The criteria he used to review this information was he only used psychological literature, he ignored broad physiological data unless related to a specific behavior, and did not use clinical or therapeutic research. As well he only dealt in areas of sex differences where there was wide spread research and held the most promise to explain how sex and gender influenced behavior. In addition he only focussed his research on adult studies leaving adolescent studies for other scientist. I will handle the summary of this article by breaking it up into the same sub-topics Deaux did and writing summaries of what he found about each.

Cognitive Skills:

-Mathematical Ability: In this area he found that men tend to be able to do some specific mental tasks better, such tasks were metal rotation and tests the involved horizontally-vertically manipulating objects. He found no differences in spatial visualization that required more sequential and analytic strategy. As well there was evidence that training could alter performance for men or women.
-Verbal Ability: Finds that women may have better verbal ability, but this difference is weak at best.
-In general: Finds that over the past twenty years women have been making gains in cognitive skills relative to men, this caution's the belief that behavior differences are indeed biological.
Personality Traits and Disposition:
-Achievement: Finds that women score higher in work and men are significantly higher on both mastery and competition. Finds subjective task value is the better predictor of both male and female choices in achievement domains.
-Masculinity and Femininity: Finds that this area is very broad and any reliable empirical system for measuring these differences will probably not be possible.
-Moral Development: Finds that actual differences are small but men show violence imagery in response to affiliation themes where achievement situations are more likely to elicit violence imagery in women.
Social Behaviors:
-Aggression: Finds that there is generally a 5% difference in males being more aggressive but in actuality it depends on the situation, weather attacking, defending or other variants. As well there is supportive evidence in the amount of aggressive crimes committed by men in comparison to women. As well Deaux notes that this difference seems to be biological in nature with differences noticed at the age of 6 and below.
-Conformity and Social Influence: Finds that women will more easily conform. There is 1% difference/variance in behaviors accounted for by sex.
-Non-verbal Behavior: found that women have superiority in both encoding and decoding non-verbal cues, although explained variance is relatively small. Encoding is particular marked in visual cues for women, as decoders of visual cue's women don't do as well.
Central Issue's:
-Meaningfulness of Difference: Finds that it is very hard to correlate all the studies because of all the variables involved, as well noted that bias is going to exists in investigators so it may be very hard to get any truly unbiased research making the conclusions they find less credible.
-Comparisons Of Laboratory and Field Studies: Finds that it is important to distinguish between the two and that some of the questions asked in one setting may not apply to the other, because of this it is always important to reference difference in the context of which they were found.
-Causes of Sex Difference: Finds that no one side of the nature/nurture argument wholly justifies sex difference and more research is starting to recognize this
Gender Belief Systems:
-Attitudes Towards Roles of Men and Women: Finds that attitudes of roles are changing, more so of women then men, finds attitudes are more likely to be held by older, less educated, lower income and high in church attendance people.
-Representations of Men and Women: Finds that women in media still fall into general stereotypes, as male figures are still more common in both human and animal forms.
-Gender Stereotypes: Finds that people who are highly sex typed will more likely categorize people based on sex.
Context, Structure and Process:

-Martial Roles: Finds that studies are more often based on dual career couples and how it effects division of labor. As well these studies seem to tend to focus on the middle class couples much more then any other income brackets. In addition the issue of the balance of power in a relationship has been focused on but most studies leave out personal and social environmental factors which make some studies incomplete.
-Occupational Structures: Finds that increasing trends in female employment has caused a number of studies, economical and otherwise of the workforce. The results showing division is still a major issue even though overall female employment in the work force has increased.
-Sex Ratio's: Finds that sex ratios do indeed have an effect on behavior, for example in the 60's and 70's when the women population was in "overflow" we saw a sexual liberalism, lower values on marriage and family and an increase in feminist ideology.
-Power and Gender: Finds that sex operates as a diffuse static characteristic, implying lesser competence and thus resulting in lower status for females in comparison to males.
-Gender and Social Interaction: Finds that both men and women are equally able to demonstrate behaviors depending on the internal or external expectations. Also finds that other peoples believes can indeed effect behavior depending on the level of expectancy.

 Sex Differences In Imagery and Reading (Colheart, 1975)

In this article using "pure techniques" the investigators attempt to prove weather the supposed sex difference of women performing better at verbal tasks; men at spatial tasks is justified. Because the procedure, which they use, is complicated I broke them up into there three different parts. The findings of his experiments follow in consecutive order.
1) For his first experiment to test verbal ability he has subjects to proceed mentally through a-z and count in their heads the number of letters containing the sound "ee". For his first experiment to test Visio-spatial ability he has subjects go through a-z in their head and count the uppercase letters with a curve.
2) For his second experiment he tested verbal and visual ability by having his subjects read through prose and cross out all occurrences of the letter H.
3) For his third experiment he had subjects read a row of letters and press a button saying "Yes" or "No" if it was an English word. Within the list of letters there were words that looked like English words but one letter was misplaced and some that didn't look English at all. To monitor all the responses the machine was hooked up to computers to measure the response times as well as correct answers.
Findings:
1) In the first experiment he found that females completed the verbal task faster where males completed the visual tasks faster. When correctness was measured males excelled in visual scores were females excelled in verbal tasks.
2) In the second experiment he found that the number of pronounced 'H's' missed was very similar in men and women. But for silent H's he found women scored significantly worse then men. This indicated women's dependence on the verbal aspect of the test.
3) In the third experiment the NO response for words that sounded like English were slower for both sexes then words that didn't, but women were overall slower in making the decision. As well women were slower then men in responding to yes words. These results showing how a women is dependent on here verbal capabilities.
 
Sex Difference and Cross-Culture Studies (Fleming, 1986)

In this article Fleming attempts to see weather generally "accepted" sex differences are still true outside of the western culture or people who are not "white products of male-dominant industrial societies." If they were not true it would follow that gender not sex is the influencing factor in behavior. Fleming gets his results by reviewing both western and non-western studies and drawing conclusions from the two. As above I will do my summaries in the same categories that the researcher put the info into.
-Basis of Interpretation: Finds that because there are more men the women in the field of psychology that bias would be a factor in any results up to date, because of this even the most accurate studies should not be considered 100% valid.
-Spatial Orientation: Finds that although western civilization men have better spatial organization in a study between three tribes; Eskimo, Scot and Temme tribes. The culture that treated women as equal's and without abuse contained an equal skill in spatial ability. Because of this more research has to be done in this area before any solid claim to men's spatial dominance can be made.
-Mathematical Ability: Finds that in western studies men do excel in mathematical ability starting at adolescence, although the difference is still not that great. As well he finds that the data is almost completely American and does not include UN-industrialized third world countries at all. Because of this Fleming says how can anyone generalize the rest of the world on such a vastly incomplete study.
-Aggression: Finds that men are built physically better to deal with aggression as well counteract if aggressed against. But also goes on to say that women are traditionally taught not to be aggressive where men are allowed and even encouraged to be physically aggressive. Also because women in most societies are under men they have to keep hostilities to there-selves which usually causes them to express this aggression in self-destructive behavior such as over eating or suicide etc. Unless repressed aggressiveness in taken into account and a more static definition of aggression is agreed upon this characteristic should not be considered as concrete as it is.
-Verbal Abilities: Finds that again not enough cross-cultural studies have been made to account for the socialization factors. In the western studies that have been done they have shown that women do indeed have better verbal abilities but the one cross-cultural study that was done demonstrates that this difference was not pronounced at all.
-In Conclusion: Fleming finds that without cross-cultural studies we cannot make a universal understanding of sex differences because we have not taken into account the whole "universe" for which these current opinions hold in.

The Sexual Brain [(Video) Bingham, 1988]



In this video the purpose was to explore through various studies if biology or culture effected behavior. He does this by going through various actual videos to support arguments as well he makes use of statistical fact to collaborate. Because most of his evidence was spoken I will present his words in paragraph form.  
To start he says that initially men and women should have different ways of thought and behavior because the most basic element of life, reproduction, is different for both men and women. By this he means because men have relatively little to loss in reproduction they do not have to be as careful as women do, because of this difference men and women demonstrate different behavior. To follow if behavior is different perhaps this is reflective of a difference biologically. To support this he tells how brains in female rats are different then those of male rats. Specifically he mentions the hypothalamus, which controls what hormones are produced in the body. He then showed by changing the hormones in rats that you could cause them to exhibit different behavioral tendencies. In birds, rats as well as monkeys by switching the hormones of males and females experimenters could cause their behaviors to reverse as well. This behavior effectively shows how behavior is indeed somewhat genetic. As well because our bodies develop because of our environment perhaps our ancestral roots have something to do with our current differences in certain activities. As humans were developing in Africa it was women who would stay in a centralized area and men who would hunt. Because women had to stay together more often perhaps that is why they have developed various verbal skills over men, and men intern developed higher aggression do to the constant need to be active and hunt. More recently studies of females who received male hormones during a birth defect tend to demonstrate physical behavior that is typical of a boy at that age. As hormones are a biological aspect, it would follow that behavior is seemingly effected greatly by nature and not so much by nurture. To further help this point of view he shows that women have a larger corpus callosum responsible for communication, and men have a thicker right cortex responsible for more physical activities. Even with all this supportive information he still points out that ninety percent of violent crime is committed by men, this demonstrating further how perhaps we are closer to our genetic self's then we think.

Research Project (Henke, 1997)

The purpose of this experiment was to repeat some of the "pure" experiments done by Coltheart, Hull and Slater. As well to evaluate there their tasks and discuss possible reasons for sex related differences in the performance of cognitive tasks. The procedures chosen to be tested in this experiment was the verbal test where subjects had mentally go threw the numbers a-z and state how many had the 'ee' sound.  As well he tested the visual task which required subjects to mentally go threw numbers 1-9 and state which had a curve in them. Through both of these experiments the subjects had a partner to tell how much time the responses took and record how many mistakes were made. It also may be important to note the subjects were given a sample test like the rated test before each experiment.
In this study the results were as follows. In the verbal test females where found to have fewer errors in a smaller amount of time, but these differences were small at best. As well there were only half as many men tested as females. These results closely coincide with the results of the Coltheart experiment. On the visual test males had significantly less errors then females, as well they did the experiment in a much smaller amount of time. As above it is important to note that there was about half as many men in the experiment as women. Like the verbal experiment these results are very similar to what Coltheart found in his visual tests.
-Actual Results: Verbal Test
Males: Mean Errors=0.73 Mean Time=19.5 n=15
Females: Mean Errors=0.70 Mean Time=18.95 n=30
-Actual Results: Visual Test
Males: Mean Errors=0.61 Mean Time=22.14 n=18
Females: Mean Errors=0.73 Mean Time=27.29 n=30

The Socialization of Sex-Differentiated Skills and Academic Performance: A Mediational Model (Serbin, 1990)

The purpose of this article was to see using a multifactorial model which environmental factors influenced certain sex differences in academic performance. The study included children from grades K-6 from elementary schools in a large Canadian city. All the subjects came from a varied economical and social background. They hypothesized that the parental modeling of sex-differentiated patterns of behavior in the home would cause children to develop sex-typed behaviors in social situations. As well they believed that opportunities to play with male sex-typed toys would improve the children's visual-spatial problem solving ability. In addition measure's of the children's age as well as the parental education; maternal occupation level and occupational level were included as variables in the models. To create this model experimenters mailed questioners to the parents of the 347 children to fill out. With this questioner experimenter's were able to find out demographic information, descriptions of the home environment as well as summaries of the children's compliance, social adjustment, and academic competence. Teachers in the schools were able to record the children's social competence, academic skills and achievement. In the studies they found that only maternal occupation level, paternal education, and the availability of traditional male toys had a significant impact on academic performance. They also found that the father's educational level was most strongly related to doing well academically is the sense of social factors. This is because a father with a higher education is more likely to pass off to his children the compliance to rules and order as well as the necessary skills to succeed in the classroom setting. The study also found that girls due to their better social responsiveness were able to offset the boy's superior performance on the visual-spatial tests. This test in-turn also being a good predictor of academic success. It is also noted in this experiment that verbal performance was not an active factor in predicting success in a social setting as previously thought. This study also found the division of labor between parents was not a determinate factor in academic performance, neither was the availability of female sex-typed toys. The direct influence on sex-differentiated skill development seems to lie in family socialization practices as well as opportunities to practice specific skills within an everyday environment.
In conclusion the experimenters found that because girls have a better "social scheme" suited for school they could perform better initially, but as boys are stimulated by use of visual spatial toys they tend to excel beyond there in-ability to sit still and surpass girls in academic ability. Because all of these behaviors are taught for the most part at home it is very important to note the role of parental influence and its long-term effects on academic ability.

General Discussion

Similarities and Differences:

In all the articles I have read there was no traits as frequent as men's accelerated ability in visual-spatial tasks and women's superior verbal ability. Both of these traits were almost always presented together in studies suggesting that they are generally accepted characteristics. From all the information I have pored over I have found that men visual-spatial ability is the most valid of all the sex different claims. However because so many of the articles covered the nature/nurture argument I would have to say that I believe it is a combination of both factors. I say this because nature through our ancestors shaped that ability to manipulate physical objects for hunting and tool making, which reflects itself in visual-spatial tasks (Bingham, 1988). But also through our own social traditions men have seemed to favor their children carrying on the physical tradition. Whether this be in the form of Lego blocks or sports men tend to stick to there physical roots which continually are reinforced through our current culture (Serbin, 1990). As to the issue of women's superior verbal ability even though it is not as established as former male ability I still find it has roots in both nature and nurture. By this I mean because women are the half of the human race to have children this has caused not only a different physiological structure but also a different social structure. To elaborate, women with children had to stay close to a central location of protection and therefore be close to other women (Bingham, 1988). In this close association we see a need for better verbal communication because without it survival would have been hard without fellow women to help out in times of need. This tradition is also reinforced in culture because women are usually taught in act in a specific manner from early birth. (Serbin, 1990) This relates to verbal ability because this "training" often involves proper etiquette as well as proper social conventions. Because of these reinforced behavior patterns throughout human history we see the physiological differences in female communication area's compared to that of a mans, particularly the corpus callosum. Another similarity throughout the articles was the lack of cross-cultural studies pointed out by Fleming, 1986. Because of this article I find that I cannot look at many of the studies done in the same way because such cultural influences are so essential in determining such skills as visual-spatial ability and social tendencies. One other fundamental, universal trait I found in many of the articles was male aggression in comparison to females, again I have to say I believe this is due to both man's nature as well as social influence. It can generally be agreed upon that because man was traditionally a hunter he possessed a body that could allow him to do so (Bingham, 1988). Given the relative time since man has been has truly become "civil" its no wonder that we are as violent as we are. Nature has made us aggressive because it was an important survival technique and without it we may not have survived. Because modern society has no demand for the ancient hunter these primal needs can seen to be satisfied in other areas of culture. It is because culture still holds so many aspects of aggression that man is perhaps reluctant to let go of this familiar trait. In this matter nature is not innocent either, this is so because over time man has developed a mind that is not only culturally different then a females but also physiologically different as is pointed out in Bingham's video.
 Some of the differences that I did find in the various information I reviewed was inconsistency of detail, by this I mean some of the articles went very in-depth into the actual process's involved in getting results were others were very general. This intern made it very hard to compare some of the studies. An additional difference I found was a variance in procedures used to come to conclusion about such issues as visual-spatial test etc. As Fleming pointed out in his article, clear globally conclusive studies can never be made if methods for researching sex differences are never established.

Relation of Experiment in Class:

The information from the experiment conducted in class coincides very accurately with the rest of the studies I have reviewed. In particular the area of the visual task was in total agreement with articles such as Deaux, Serbin, and Coltheart. The verbal task was also very accurate in the sense that the connection was somewhat weak, as is shown in Deaux, and Fleming's studies. The relation of this study to the Coltheart experiment should be obvious, I found that the experiments were almost identical accept in the atmosphere which they were conducted. Personally I believe much error was probably involved in the class experiment because of people who were not aware of the procedure as well ill timing procedures. Even with these effects the results still show a similarity with the Coltheart experiment that can not be denied.

My Own Thoughts, Opinions and Criticism:

Personally I felt this essay was a learning experience but at times the amount of irrelevant information associated with the topic of sex differences was annoying. I thought that Fleming had the most effective article because he always kept focus on his issues and only brought in as much proof as was necessary to proof his point. I also enjoyed his article because it had very powerful, seemingly obvious points that were not explored in other articles. The worst article by far was Deaux's because of the incredible difficulty of actually extracting useful information from the article. Ever time he did make a solid point he went on to disprove its validity in the next sentence. Also he never provided any useful concluding statements so at the end it was very hard to tie together all the various scattered information. To his credit I have to agree with him when he says new theories on the topic are relatively rare, yes techniques have varied but the true genius of ideas has only in my eyes been found in Fleming's article. All in all I realized how truly difficult it is to come to conclusions about a seemingly black and white topic.

In conclusion the area of sex differences is as vast as 5 billion humans will allow. Even though many of the studies I reviewed are very in-depth they have also demonstrated how clear answers at this point in time can not be agreed upon. But because new inventive people and technology enter this field everyday there is great promise that one day a unified answer will be found.
- James Smeaton







Bibliography:

1) Deaux, K. (1985) Sex and Gender. Annual Review of Psychology, 36, 49-81

2) Fleming, A. (1986). Sex Differences and Cross Cultural Studies. Women and Theory, 4, 23-33

3) Coltheart, M. Hull, E. Slater, D. (1975). Sex Differences in Imagery and Reading. Nature, 253, 438-440

4) Bingham, R. (Writer and Producer). 1988. The Sexual Brain [Film]. (Available from films for the Humanities & Science, Inc., Princeton, NJ.)

5) Serbin, L. Zelkowitz, P. Doyle, A. Gold, D. Wheaton B. (1990) The Socialization of Sex-Differentiated Skills and Academic Performance: A Mediational Model. Sex Roles, 23, 613-627