1 Psychology 320: Psychology of Gender and Sex Differences Lecture 52

2 Announcement Please note that Sarah (TA for Q – Z) must change the time of her office hour next week to: 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM (Monday, March 4th).

3 1. Do males and females make different attributions for success and failure? (continued) Achievement: 2. Are there sex differences in self-esteem?

4 1. discuss (a) sex differences in attributional styles and (b) the developmental trajectory associated with sex differences in attributional styles. 2. discuss (a) sex differences in self-esteem, (b) the developmental trajectory associated with sex differences in self-esteem, and (c) ethno-cultural variation in sex differences in self-esteem. By the end of today’s class, you should be able to:

5  Rosenthal, 1995 Among managers at a financial services firm, civil engineering company, and local health authority, found that: (a) males were more likely than females to attribute their success to ability. Do males and females make different attributions for success and failure? (continued)

6 (c) females were more likely than males to attribute the success of their subordinates to ability; males were more likely than females to attribute the success of their subordinates to effort. (d) females (but not males) believed ability had significantly more to do with the success of their subordinates than it had to do with their own success. (b) females were more likely than males to attribute their success to effort.

7  Mezulis et al., 2004 Conducted a meta-analysis of 266 papers published between : 523 effect sizes, 41,438 participants. Found that:

8 (a) in childhood, there was no sex difference in attributional style. (b) in adolescence and adulthood, males were more likely than females to display an optimistic attributional style. (c) changes in attributional style across the lifespan reflected variations in females’ attributional tendencies vs. males’ attributional tendencies.

9 Are there sex differences in self-esteem? Global self-esteem: General feelings of self-worth. Among the most widely used measures of global self- esteem is Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale:

10 Using the scale below, please indicate how much you disagree or agree with the following statements. Circle the appropriate number to the right of each statement StronglyDisagreeNeutral Agree Strongly disagreeagree On the whole I am satisfied with myself ……………………….1……..2 … At times I think that I am no good at all ………………………..1…… I feel that I have a number of good qualities ………………….1……...2 … I am able to do things as well as most other people………….1……...2 … I feel I do not have much to be proud of ………………………1……...2 … I certainly feel useless at times …………………………………1……...2 … I feel that I am a person of worth, at least the equal of others 1……...2 … I wish I could have more respect for myself …………………..1……...2 … All in all, I am inclined to feel that I am a failure……………….1……...2 … I take a positive attitude toward myself ………………………..1……...2 … Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale

11 Research has revealed a relatively small sex difference in global self-esteem:

12  Kling, 1999 Conducted a meta-analysis of 184 papers published between : 216 effect sizes, 97,121 participants. Examined the influence of sex and age on global self-esteem. Found an overall effect size of.21.

13 Graphic Representation of a.21 Effect Size (Kling, 1999)

14 Age Effect Size for Self-Esteem > Effect Size for Global Self-Esteem as a Function of Age (Kling, 1999)

15 Age Effect Size for Self-Esteem Australia.24 Canada.24 Norway.24 United States.17 Miscellaneous.31 Effect Size for Global Self-Esteem in Diverse Countries (Kling, 1999)

16 Emergence of Sex Differences in Global Self- Esteem (Heaven & Ciarrochi, 2008)

17 1. Do males and females make different attributions for success and failure? (continued) Achievement: 2. Are there sex differences in self-esteem?