Although mathematics avoidance and mathematics anxiety are not unknown among men and boys, stressful experiences with mathematics are particularly pronounced in girls and women. Many educating and governing institutions will have to work together if efforts to alleviate mathematics anxiety are to pay off. (CJ)

Results of four hypotheses are discussed. (BE)

Many gifted women are unaware of or ambivalent about their potential, due to interpersonal obstacles, socio-cultural barriers, and intrapersonal factors. Guidelines and resources are offered for counseling gifted women to recognize and externalize cultural and familial devaluation and to envision new possibilities for personal fulfillment.…

Describes a study that attempted to identify a profile of graduating female librarians and some of those factors that may inhibit the expression of achievement-motivation behavior in women, thereby forming barriers to promotion to managerial positions. The implications for education, training, and future research are discussed. (10 references)…

Examined the hypothesis that personality dimensions associated with aspiration level and negative affect would serve as the anchoring constructs for a circumplex-like model that would describe the psychological dynamics of these performance-related variables. Results from 263 college women who completed various personality measures show…

Surveyed 656 fifth graders on their use of self-handicapping strategies and examined predictors of self-handicapping. Boys used handicapping more than girls did, and grade point average and perceived academic competence were negatively related to handicapping. Ability goal structure and teaching practices highlighting relative ability were…

For first-generation poor and working-class college students, surviving the social challenges of higher learning can be at least as demanding as achieving a high grade point average. To increase the odds that first-generation students with low-socioeconomic status backgrounds will persist and prosper in college, it is vital that their chosen…

The motive to avoid success (M-S) is a stable personality disposition acquired early in life in conjunction with sex role standards which acts as an inhibiting factor in achievement motivation. Horner (1968) postulates that many women experience anxiety in competitive situations and learn to fear success because of its incongruence with the…

Two experiments were conducted to determine: (1) whether fear of success, as measured by three different instruments, interacts with subjects' expectancies of success to affect performance on exams in college courses; (2) whether fear of success can be clearly distinguished from fear of failure; and (3) whether males and females differ on fear of…

This study examines the performance of 85 men and women in two motor learning tasks, which were identified as tasks usually performed better by women or alternatively, by men. Both men and women demonstrated best task learning when they believed that most members of their sex did well on the task, and when no evaluative judgments were made on…

The Study attempted to resolve some problems of past research on fear of success (Horner, 1968) and investigated personality and behavioral attributes associated with fear of success (FOS). Two competitor variables (sex and physical attractiveness) were manipulated as well as two subject variables (level of FOS and physical attractiveness). Sex of…

The personality disposition of the motive to avoid success (Horner, 1968) is evaluated on theoretical and empirical ground. A situational interpretation is proposed as a more parsimonious explanation of the phenomenon. Presented are a series of studies examining the behavioral effects of the motive to avoid success: anxiety manifesting itself as a…

A study of 91 professional women revealed that internal locus of control was significantly related to three job role stresses (role ambiguity, nonparticipation in decision making, and role overload) and to fear of success. (Author/ABB)

Results of a survey of third- and fourth-year medical students' attitudes about sex role, medical school, career plans, and fear of success are reported. Stereotypical responses were received from male and female students. Implications of these attitudes for the students' careers are discussed. (MSE)

Female students reported more success avoidance and home-career conflict than male students. Male counselors thought male students were more influenced by success avoidance and significant women than they actually reported. Counselors perceived that female students experienced more of all variables than they actually reported. (Author)