Stanford Sociology Technical Reports and Working Papers, 1961-1993

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Browsing Stanford Sociology Technical Reports and Working Papers, 1961-1993 by Author "Barchas, Patricia"

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    Organizational Task Performance in Male and Female Groups
    (2015-08-15) McMahon, Anne M; Barchas, Patricia; Cohen, Elizabeth; Hildebrand, Poll; Fennell, Mary
    The authors analyze different ways that problem solving groups organize structurally. The argument applies to all groups but because of historical facts, all-male and all-female groups instantiate the situations described. Essentially, groups that organize around recognized (“legitimate”) characteristics are more effective than groups in which organizing principles are unclear or inconsistent. While males usually organize in this way, females often use differing or ambiguous principles, and thus, are less effective. Explicit authorized designation of a leader in all-female groups should remove ambiguity in all-female groups and make their interaction patterns more similar to those in all-male groups. The analysis and predictions were supported by research on discussion groups. Walker and Fennell (1986) refer to this research.
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    Processing of Information Acquired at a Preconscious Level of Awareness: Instruction and Sex Effects on Hemispheric Laterality and Accuracy
    (2015-08-15) Perlaki, Kinga M; Barchas, Patricia
    The authors investigated situations in which appropriate behavior depends on information that is not consciously processed, and they attempted to influence the brain hemisphere which is most active when using such information. The experiment investigated two general ideas. First, task- appropriate hemispheric activation could be conditioned by instructions; and second, activation of the appropriate hemisphere would improve accuracy scores. Brain wave activation data confirmed that instructions could successfully trigger activation of either the right or the left hemisphere, and appropriate activation improved recall accuracy. They also found gender differences in responses to two parallel sets of stimulus slides.