The effect of familial size as a distance cue was tested with familiar objects at familiar distances. Experiment 1 showed that there were no uncontrolled distance cues available and that in their absence the retinal image did not affect depth or size perception. Under these conditions, size and distance judgments were essentially indeterminate and independent of each other. In experiment 2 a paradigm was employed which allowed a direct determination of whether equivalent changes either in size of a familiar object or in its true distance produced equivalent changes in its perceived distance. The results showed that there were no uncontrolled distance cues, and that subjects perceived the familiar object as having its familiar size. Moreover, changing the retinal image of the objects had almost exactly the same effect on their perceived distance as did changing their true distance. Hence, familial size does effectively govern the perception of distance when there are no competing cues.

The hypotheses that size judgments of unfamiliar objects are affected by distance information, and distance judgments by size information, were tested. Subjects made size or distance estimates in a cue-reduced situation, with or without distance or size information, and also made calibrated estimates in full-cue conditions. Size judgments in the no-information condition were correlated with the retinal image, whereas distance information produced size estimates closer to the actual size of the objects. Subjects given no information about size produced distance estimates that were randomly distributed, whereas size information yielded a weak effect in the appropriate direction. Implications for the size-distance invariance hypothesis and the specific distance tendency are discussed.No previous investigation has assessed both the effects of size information on distance judgments and the effect of distance information on size judgments for varying retinal images. The purpose of the present study was to investigate these variables in a single experimental setting in which cue reduction was assured.The majority of the studies in this area focus on size or distance judgments under familiar size instructions or with off-sized familiar objects. Several studies (Fitzpatrick, Pasnak, & Tyer, 1982;Gogel, 1968;Gogel & Mertens, 1967) have shown that the judged size of a familiar object corresponds very well to its real size, and judged distance corresponds to the actual distance at which that size would produce the given retinal size. In other studies (Baird, 1963;Park & Michaelson, 1974), an object is presented and the observer is told that it is the same size as a familiar object; distance judgments correspond quite well to the distance at which that object would produce the given retinal image.It is not clear what the effect would be if an instruction regarding an object's size was not associated with a familiar object. In this case, an observer would have to interpret the object in terms of the retinal image and cognitive information. Coltheart (1970) reported that subjects could do this very well; Park and Michaelson (1974), on the other hand, reported that size instruction had no effect on distance judgments. Since it is not possible to determine why these results differ, the present experiment was undertaken, in part, as an attempt to resolve this conflict.Reprint requests should be sent to Zita E. Tyer, Department of Psychology, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, Virginia 22030.Only Coltheart (1969) has tested the effect of verbal distance information on observers' size estimates. In Coltheart's (1969) experiment, subjects judged the size of a stimulus more accurately when they were told its distance than when they were not. It is unfortunate, however, in terms of stimulus control, that the instruction was the same distance as that at which the object was actually located. It is not possible to determine if the accurate judgments were entirely a function of the instruction or were enhanced by un...

Self-descriptions on sex role characteristics and related personality traits including achievement and affiliation were compared in four age groups of women: eighteen to twenty-two, twenty-nine to thirty-nine, forty to fifty-five, and sixty to seventy-five year-olds. In general, the two younger groups emerged as least like the traditional feminine sex role stereotype. In comparison to the older women, they were more willing to ascribe masculine sex role characteristics to themselves and rated themselves as less responsible, self-controlled, and affiliative. Conversely, the women over sixty and homemakers in their forties and fifties adhered most strongly to the conventional feminine traits. These differences are explained in terms of the recent changes in societal attitudes toward sex roles. There is also some evidence that significant life roles are related to self-descriptions on these personality dimensions.

No abstract

The effect of practice and training in spatial skills on scores obtained by male and female students on the Embedded Figures Test was examined. Forms A and B were administered 6 wk. apart to three groups of subjects (ns = 28, 27, 27) enrolled in drafting, mathematics, and liberal arts courses. During the pretest-posttest period the drafting students received training while the other two groups served as controls. Analysis indicated (1) no initial sex difference in test scores; (2) liberal arts students differed significantly from drafting and mathematics students, but there was no significant difference between the last two groups; (3) all groups improved with practice; (4) women receiving training improved more than women who did not; (5) there was a trend toward women receiving spatial training scoring more poorly than males receiving training on the pretest, but there was no significant difference on the posttest. These results suggest that sex differences in embedded-figures scores found by many previous experimenters may have been associated with differences in prior experience in spatial skills and by a confounding of sex with area of academic study.

Previous research that focused on self-esteem in adult women has yielded a variety of contradictory results, with some studias that report more positive self-concepts in the middle-aged in comparison to older and younger women and others that report the o osite. Similar conflicting findings have been presented for women over 60. !&s study com ared women in four age groups: 18 to 22,29 t o 39,40 t o 55, and 60 to 75 on tfe Tennessee Self Concept Scale, which yields self-esteem score9 on different life aspects such t w family relations, morality, and physical self as well as a general self-esteem measure. The age groups did not differ significantly in overall level of self-esteem, but they could be discriminated on the more specific aspects of self-concept; the 40-to 55-year-olds reported more positive feelings about themselves in their family relations and morality than did the 18 to 22 year olds. Women over 60, compared to the other age groups, showed more defensiveness and also gave responses more similar to a diagnosed psychotic group.'The authors wish to thank Nancv Vernon, Lynne O'Brien, and Kathy Smith for their essistance with data collection and John Miller for his help with the statistical analysis.*Reprint requests should be.sent to Carol J. Erdwins,

No abstract

No abstract