bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Strength of Weak and Strong Communication Ties in a Community Information Program1
Authors: Weenig Mieneke W. H.
Published: August 2006

A study is described that investigated the influence of a target group's communication network on information diffusion and the impact of a community‐based information program. It was expected that the process of information diffusion would be related to the quantity of ties. The diffusion of information brought into a clique by external sources that did not belong to any of the target group's cliques was expected to be related to the existing number of weak ties, whereas the diffusion of specific information sent out by internal sources within a clique was expected to be primarily related to the number of strong ties. Furthermore it was expected that the impact of the program would be related to the perceived quality of network ties. Results support the hypotheses and confirm Granovetter's “strength‐of‐weak‐ties” hypothesis. In addition, existing direct ties between the internal sources of information and the target group appeared to have played a crucial role in the process of information diffusion.
Technology in Everyday Life and Perceptions of Competence1
Authors: Stern Steven E. , Kipnis David
Published: August 2006

Studies of technology in the workplace generally report that the use of de‐skilling technology results in dissatisfied and alienated employees. To determine whether this relation existed in nonworkplace settings, a series of surveys were conducted to assess the relation between the kind of technologies people use and feelings of competence. In three separate surveys of cooking, photography, and driving cars, a positive relation was found between the skill requirements of the technology that people use and their assessment of their ability and level of enjoyment in these activities.
Social Categorization and the Influence of Drug Involvement on Drug Attitude Structures: Implications for Assessing Drug Use and Tolerance in the Workplace1
Authors: Holcom Melvin L. , Lehman Wayne E. K. , Lord Charles G.
Published: August 2006

Theories of social categorization were used to generate hypotheses concerning the impact of drug involvement on the attitudes and knowledge structures that people use in making drug‐related judgments. Data indicated that greater drug exposure tended to foster more complex knowledge structures for drugs and drug users as revealed by subjects’ perceptions of drug users, tolerance for drug use, and perceptions of drug seriousness. Basically, high drug involvement in terms of personal alcohol use and associating with illicit drug users was related to greater individuation of drug user types. Therefore, high‐involved subjects, relative to low‐involved individuals, were better able to discriminate between different drug user subtypes and drug user subtypes were more important to high‐involved subjects when responding to drug‐related survey items.
Peer Input and Revised Judgment: Exploring the Effects of (Un) Biased Confidence1
Authors: Paese Paul W. , Kinnaly Maryellen
Published: August 2006

An experiment was conducted to test the effects of biased versus unbiased peer input on the revised judgments of others. After completing a set of knowledge items and assessing their confidence in each answer, subjects were: (a) given written input (in the form of answers and confidence assessments) from a peer who had completed the same set of items, and (b) allowed to revise their earlier answers and confidence assessments. Peer input was either overconfident, underconfident, or appropriately confident. Relative to appropriately confident input, both overconfident and underconfident input caused subjects’ accuracy in judgment to suffer. Overconfident input was particularly harmful because it led to more extreme overconfidence without any increase in accuracy. Practical implications of these results are discussed.
An Assessment of Romantic Commitment Among Black and White Dating Couples1
Authors: Davis Larry E. , Strube Michael J.
Published: August 2006

The purpose of this study was to test the utility of the Investment Model (Rusbult, 1980) of romantic commitment for black and white dating couples. Twenty black and 20 white college dating couples completed questionnaires measuring the Investment Model components and additional variables. According to the Investment Model, the level of romantic commitment is positively related to relationship satisfaction and positively related to the magnitude of personal investments, but negatively related to the availability of romantic alternatives. We expected the romantic commitment of black couples to differ from that of white couples due to the shortage of available black male partners. The only racial differences to emerge, however, were found in a Race8 Gender interaction: Commitment increased with an increase in satisfaction for white males, but not black males. Gender differences indicated that the Investment Model provided a better account of the commitment of females. We also examined the role of two other factors in the prediction of commitment: perceived physical attractiveness of the partner and concern about AIDS. Both factors were significantly related to commitment for males, but not females, and neither of these factors demonstrated racial differences.
Interviewers’ Moods and Evaluations of Job Applicants: The Role of Applicant Qualifications1
Authors: Baron Robert A.
Published: August 2006

Participants were induced to experience positive affect, negative affect, or no shift in current affect. Then they conducted a simulated job interview with an applicant (actually an assistant) who appeared to be highly qualified, ambiguously qualified, or unqualified for the job in question. It was predicted that interviewers’ moods would exert the strongest influence on ratings of the applicant when this person's qualifications were ambiguous. Results offered partial support for this hypothesis. When the applicant's qualifications were ambiguous, participants induced to experience positive affect rated this person higher on several dimensions than participants induced to experience negative affect. When the applicant appeared to be highly qualified for the job, in contrast, interviewers’ moods had no significant effect on their ratings of this person. Contrary to expectations, however, interviewers’ moods significantly influenced ratings of the applicant when this person appeared to be unqualified for the job in question. In this condition, participants induced to experience positive affect actually rated the applicant lower than those induced to experience negative affect. Several mechanisms that may have contributed to these results (e. g., tendencies toward mood maintenance, adoption of a positive‐test strategy) are examined. In addition, practical implications of these findings for conducting job interviews and for the use of various impression‐management techniques by applicants are discussed.
Conditions Under Which a Bogus Pipeline Procedure Enhances the Validity of Self‐Reported Cigarette Smoking: A Meta‐Analytic Review1
Authors: Aguinis Herman , Pierce Charles A. , Quigley Brian M.
Published: August 2006

A meta‐analysis was conducted to test whether the use of self‐report measures within the bogus pipeline (BPL) paradigm yields more valid responses than the use of self‐report measures alone for assessing cigarette smoking behavior. The meta‐analytic results indicate that, overall, a BPL condition resulted in a larger proportion of subjects reporting that they are frequent smokers, as compared to a self‐report measure only (no pipeline) condition. Tests of categorical models indicate that the enhanced validity of self‐reports within the BPL paradigm is moderated by the following variables: (a) type of BPL presentation employed, (b) type of self‐report measure to which the BPL technique is compared, and (c) whether most participants are smokers (as indicated by a biochemical marker).
The Fishbein and Ajzen Theory of Reasoned Action Applied to Contraceptive Behavior: Model Variants and Meaningfulness1
Authors: Doll Jorg , Orth Bernhard
Published: August 2006

Suggested modifications of the theory of reasoned action, which conceptualize the functional operation of the attitudinal and normative components in intention formation as separate, separate but contingent, and inseparable, are discussed. The model structures are examined with regard to the underlying psychological assumptions (psychological meaningfulness) and with regard to the required scale levels for the model variables, so that the results of model tests are invariant under the admissible scale transformations (formal meaningfulness). Using a procedure that combines “optimal scaling” with hierarchical regression analysis, the model variants are tested for women's (n= 89) and men's (n= 89) intentions to use contraceptive methods (pill, intrauterine device, condom, and natural methods) that require the model variables to be measured on interval scales. The results strongly favored the theory of reasoned action above the other model variants. Only for the subjective norm model was a better model fit found for a belief‐only model compared to the original product‐sum model. Gender differences were found with regard to the salient belief sets and the explanatory power of the normative model component.
Predictors of Sentencing Decisions: The Beliefs, Personality Variables, and Demographic Factors of Juvenile Justice
Authors: Davis Teresa L. , Severy Lawrence J. , Kraus Stephen J. , Whitaker J. Michael
Published: August 2006

The role of beliefs, personality variables, and demographic factors in the sentencing of juvenile offenders was investigated. The subjects (1,030 members of the juvenile justice system) judged hypothetical juvenile perpetrators. Various personality, belief, and demographic variables were found to be related to sentencing severity; these relationships differed based on the type of crime judged. Further, relations among these variables and sentencing behavior indicated three coherent patterns or resonances. A liberal group of individuals, believing in rehabilitation, external causality of crime, a positive prognosis for the perpetrator, and nontraditional views of women, sentenced moderately. Two types of conservative individuals were defined. Both groups were punitive, and believed in internal causality of crime; however, they differed on attitudes toward women, needs for cognition, and beliefs about seriousness and harm. One group sentenced the most severely and the other the most leniently. Implications for the sentencing of juvenile offenders are discussed.
Computer‐Based Work Monitoring: Electronic Surveillance and Its Effects
Authors: Aiello John R.
Published: August 2006

Substantial developments in new office technologies over the past two decades have dramatically transformed today's white‐collar workplace. One of these developments, computer‐based work monitoring, has enabled employers to continually or intermittently monitor employees in real time or on a delayed basis, with or without their knowledge or permission, at levels and in a manner previously unattainable. This introductory article to this special issue outlines the current status of computer monitoring in the U. S., delineates its major advantages and disadvantages, and provides examples of early research on the topic by the author and others. Factors likely to moderate the acceptance and effectiveness of computer monitoring systems are discussed and implications for work and social relationships in the workplace are considered. An overview of the four special issue articles reporting the results of experiments assessing the effects of computer monitoring on the performance of workers and supervisors is then provided.
Backlash Effects in Attack Politics1
Authors: Roese Neal J. , Sande Gerald N.
Published: August 2006

The effects of insulting political campaign rhetoric were examined in a laboratory setting. In Study 1, subjects categorized as for, against, or undecided about the issue of French language rights in English Canada read a political debate transcript focusing on this issue in which one candidate insulted or did not insult the other candidate. Backlash was evident on trait ratings: the insult source was rated more negatively in the insult condition than in the control condition, whereas ratings of the target were unaffected. Affective ratings of both candidates were lower in the insult condition than in the control condition. Subjects’ attitudes about French language rights also influenced their impressions of the candidates, but did not interact with the insult manipulation. In Study 2, subjects read debate transcripts embedded with insults that attacked either controllable target attributes, uncontrollable target attributes, or that contained no insults. The major findings of Study 1 were replicated, with the additional finding that insults directed at uncontrollable traits of the target produced effects in the same direction as but more extreme than those effects noted for controllable‐trait insults. These findings are discussed in terms of political campaign tactics and the application of attribution theory to political person perception.
Acculturative Stress Among Hispanics: A Bidimensional Model of Ethnic Identification
Authors: Sánchez Juan I. , Fernández Diana M.
Published: August 2006

This study was an attempt to examine the effects of two components of social identification (i. e., ethnic and mainstream) on stress related to both cultural disparity and perceived discrimination. Results based on a sample of 164 Hispanics indicated the independence of these two dimensions of social identification. As hypothesized, lack of mainstream acceptance was associated with acculturative stress. Furthermore, among individuals with a high level of ethnic identification, poor identification with the mainstream resulted in more stress than high mainstream identification. These findings suggested that the bipolar model, in which ethnic and mainstream affiliation are considered opposites of each other, should be revised.
AIDS Knowledge, Attitudes, Beliefs, and Practices (KABP) in Two Caribbean Countries: A Comparative Analysis1
Authors: Fishbein Martin , Trafimow David , Francis Claudette , Helquist Michael , Eustace M. Ann , Ooms Michelle , Middlestadt Susan E.
Published: August 2006

The present paper presents the results of AIDS Knowledge, Attitudes, Beliefs, and Practices (KABP) surveys conducted in two Caribbean countries: St. Vincent and St. Lucia. Despite religious, socioeconomic, and literacy differences between the two countries, their citizens are remarkably similar with respect to AIDS knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and practices. The major differences between the two countries concern the perception of AIDS risk and the relative position of AIDS as a serious problem facing the country. These differences, however, appear unrelated to AIDS knowledge, sexual practices, or the likelihood of engaging in AIDS‐protective behaviors. These findings question the role of perceived risk of AIDS as a determinant of AIDS‐protective behaviors, and, more important, they question the utility of increasing perceived risk as a strategy in AIDS prevention programs.
Predictors of Rape Occurrence and Victim Blame in the William Kennedy Smith Case
Authors: Cowan Gloria , Curtis Sheri R.
Published: August 2006

In an attempt to understand the bases of rape attributions in the well‐publicized accusation of rape against William Kennedy Smith in 1991, background and attitudinal variables were used to predict 277 college students' beliefs that a rape had occurred, and their extent of victim blame prior to his rape trial. Gender differences were found in the belief that a rape had occurred and in victim blame, but were no longer significant when combined with other predictors in a regression equation. Among women, no significant predictors of rape occurrence emerged, whereas for men, political affiliation (Democrats more than Republicans) and ethnicity (people of color more than whites) predicted the belief that a rape had occurred. Belief in victim precipitation of rape strongly predicted victim blame in the Smith case. These findings reinforce the significance of victim‐precipitation beliefs in blaming date‐rape victims and the probable role of these myths in keeping date rape a hidden crime.
Working Together: Perceived Self‐ and Collective‐Efficacy at the Workplace1
Authors: Parker Louise E.
Published: August 2006

Collective efficacy is the extension of Bandura's (1977) self‐efficacy concept to groups (Bandura, 1982, 1986). Self‐efficacy refers to judgments that people make about their personal or individual competency. Collective efficacy concerns judgments that people make about a group's level of competency. This paper contributes to the theory and measurement of collective efficacy and to an understanding of its relationship to self‐efficacy and performance. Elementary school teachers' collective‐ and self‐efficacy were measured. The academic domain is well suited to the study of collective‐efficacy because the organizational units (schools) all perform the same function (education). The findings supported the hypothesis that, in at least some domains, self‐efficacy and collective‐efficacy are related but independent constructs. As hypothesized, it was also found that the socioeconomic composition of a school's student body, was a strong predictor of teachers' collective‐efficacy. Although teachers' collective‐efficacy was associated with school level achievement, this relationship was no longer significant when prior achievement levels were controlled. It was suggested that future research should examine individual behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs that might serve as mediators between efficacy and performance. It was also suggested that the relationship between collective efficacy and organizational culture should be explored.
Judged Person Dangerousness as Weighted Averaging 1
Authors: Howe Edmund S.
Published: August 2006

This article reports two experiments requiring subjective evaluative judgments of the potential dangerousness of hypothetical persons. The research operationally fits the paradigm for the study of personality impression formation, and seeks to illuminate the processes by which two offenses combine to evoke a net judgment of dangerousness. The theoretical framework and philosophy adopted is Anderson's information integration and functional measurement theory. In Study 1, all paired combinations of 10 distinctive crimes were each presented as having been committed by the same person on two separate occasions. Subjects judged overall offender dangerousness. In Study 2, judgments of dangerousness were made when the time purportedly elapsing between two crimes was systematically varied over several ranges of up to 41 years. Three key findings emerged. First, judgments of dangerousness result from an averaging process. This result yields paradoxical implications having considerable pragmatic significance. Second, judgments of dangerousness following two sequential criminal acts (one of high and one of low seriousness) are consistently higher when the high seriousness one is the second crime. Third, with certain qualifications discussed in the text, a serious earlier crime appears to elicit an approximately constant magnitude of judged present dangerousness no matter how long ago it was perpetrated. This result implies that subjects infer considerable permanence of criminal predilection to those who have committed a serious crime in the past.
Antecedents of Goal Commitment: An Empirical Examination of Personal and Situational Factors1
Authors: Klein Howard J. , Wright Patrick M.
Published: August 2006

The purpose of this study was to provide a partial test of the Hollenbeck and Klein (1987) model of goal commitment. Four variables from that model (reward structure, social influence, type‐A behavior, and self‐esteem) were examined as to their relationships with the expectancy and attractiveness of goal attainment and goal commitment. The results, based on 88 college students performing an anagram task, were generally supportive. Significant person by situation interactions were also observed.
The AIDS Risk Reduction Model: Examining Intentions to Use Condoms Among Injection Drug Users1
Authors: Kowalewski Mark R. , Longshore Douglas , Anglin M. Douglas
Published: August 2006

This paper uses the AIDS Risk Reduction Model (ARRM) to examine psychosocial factors involved in adopting safer sex practices in a sample of Los Angeles injection drug users (IDUs; n= 161) who reported having more than one sex partner in the year preceding the interview. The ARRM hypothesizes that behavior change is a process occurring in three stages: (a) labeling one's behavior as problematic, (b) making a commitment to behavior change, and (c) taking action to accomplish that change. We test the first two stages of the model using a measure of perceived risk of HIV infection (Stage I), and intentions to use condoms always during vaginal or anal sex in the next year (Stage 2). We examine differences in the predictive value of the ARM between IDUs who reported using condoms in the year prior to the interview and those who reported not using them. We identify leverage points in the model‐factors which appear to have a major influence on intentions to use condoms and which may be amenable to change through educational or other types of intervention. For both condom users and non‐users, susceptibility to AIDS predicted perceived infection risk (Stage I). For condom users, knowledge about AIDS also predicted perceived risk. For both groups, self efficacy, peer norms concerning condom use, and the perceived pleasure of using condoms predicted intentions to use condoms (Stage 2). Our findings do not support either direct or indirect relationships between the Stage 1 and Stage 2 outcome variables for either group.
The Meaning and Impact of Partner's Accompaniment on Women's Adjustment to Abortion1
Authors: Cozzarelli Catherine , Karrasch Angela , Sumer Nebi , Major Brenda
Published: August 2006

The present study examined the meaning of accompaniment to an abortion clinic by a male partner and explored the effects of accompaniment on women's immediate and three‐week post‐abortion psychological distress. A comparison of accompanied and unaccompanied women revealed few differences in demographic or psychological characteristics, although accompanied women perceived greater levels of social support from their partners and reported that they were in more committed relationships. The effects of accompaniment on women's post‐abortion distress were neither universally positive nor universally negative, but depended on the personal characteristics of the women involved. Consistent with Conservation of Resources Theory (Hobfoll, 1988), accompaniment was more beneficial for women who were high in personal coping resources than for women low in these resources.
The Psychology of Child Timing: A Measurement Instrument and a Model1
Authors: Miller Warren B. , Pasta David J.
Published: August 2006

The timing of children during individuals' lives has many important macro level and micro level effects. This paper presents a theoretical framework for understanding an important psychological sequence that affects the timing of childbearing by individuals. In the first step of this sequence, child‐timing attitudes and beliefs affect child‐timing desires; in the second step, child‐timing desires affect child‐timing intentions. The Child‐Timing Questionnaire is a data collection instrument designed to measure attitudes and beliefs relevant to child timing. Using this instrument, we constructed four child‐timing indices and tested the two‐step framework with data from 187 husbands and 188 wives with no children and 182 husbands and 184 wives with one child. The results provide support for the framework and indicate some important sex and parity differences in the psychology of child timing. The Child‐Timing Questionnaire appears to be a reliable, valid instrument; it is readily adaptable for use with any population in which the timing of children is an important research or service issue.
Exploring a Paradox: Commitment as a Moderator of the Stressor‐Burnout Relationship
Authors: Reilly Nora P.
Published: August 2006

Identity theory suggests that we experience distress when our role‐relevant goals are blocked and that this distress is stronger when we are highly committed to the role. Past research, however, clearly demonstrates that commitment is inversely related to the experience of stress. The current study examined whether commitment also moderates the relationship between work stressors and burnout. Over 500 hospital nurses provided information about the frequency of nursing stressors, their career commitment, and burnout. Although nurses who reported greater commitment tended to experience less burnout overall, moderated regression analyses showed that the link between work stressors and burnout was significantly stronger for the more committed nurses. Explanations for these apparently incongruent findings are offered, along with their implications for hospital nursing.
Loomingness and the Fear of AIDS: Perceptions of Motion and Menace
Authors: Riskind John H , Maddux James E.
Published: August 2006

The authors examined the role of “perceived loomingness” in fear of HIV. Perceived loomingness refers to perceptions of rapid forward movement and instantaneous changes in the distance and danger of a potential threat (Riskind, 1992). One hundred and twenty undergraduates rated vignettes of two public encounters with an HIV‐positive stranger. High‐HIV fear subjects perceived greater loomingness and danger in these vignettes than did low‐HIV fear subjects. Regression analyses that tested for a mediated model confirmed that the perceptions of loomingness may spark threat cognitions (such as the probability and imminence of harm), which, in turn, lead to fear. As predicted by the harm‐looming model, loomingness also had some effects on fear that were not mediated by such standard threat cognitions.
Self‐Efficacy, Decision‐Making, and Stages of Change: An Integrative Model of Physical Exercise1
Authors: Marcus Bess H. , Eaton Cheryl A. , Rossi Joseph S. , Harlow Lisa L.
Published: August 2006

Exercise has important health benefits but a large proportion of the population is physically inactive. We examined the stages of readiness to exercise and their relationship to self‐efficacy, the costs and benefits of exercising, and self‐report of physical activity in a sample of Rhode Island worksites. Using a three‐step model‐building approach, exploratory principal components analyses were followed by an examination of the stages of change model with confirmatory structural equation modeling procedures. The model was then examined with longitudinal data. Confirmatory and longitudinal analyses showed an excellent tit between the model and the data. Results indicated that the costs and benefits of exercise and self‐efficacy for exercise were related to physical activity only indirectly, through the mediation of stage of readiness to exercise. Structural modeling fit indices revealed that much of the variation and covariation in physical activity was explained by the model. There is the potential to enhance the impact of exercise interventions, by targeting them so as to address factors related to these different stages of readiness.
Perception and Reactions to Inequity as a Function of Social Comparison Referents and Hierarchical Levels1
Authors: Singh Purnima
Published: August 2006

Perceptions and reactions to inequity may hinge on referents of comparison and also on employees' rank in the organization. This study examined how three comparison referents—internal same‐rank, external same‐rank and external whole‐organization—and respondents' hierarchical status in the company influence perceptions of inequity. The study also examined the relationship of perceived inequity with affect, job satisfaction, job involvement, organizational commitment, and stress. Seventy‐five employees randomly selected from the three hierarchical levels of a manufacturing company (managers, supervisors, and workers) were the respondents. Results suggest that when individuals made comparisons with external same‐rank and external whole‐organization referents they experienced more inequity than when they made internal same‐rank comparisons. Managers in comparison to supervisors and workers perceived less inequity related to pay, general rules administration, promotion, company and fringe benefits, advancement opportunities, and social power. Perception of inequity was found to be negatively related to job involvement, job satisfaction, and affect, and positively related to stress. Results implicate the role of social comparison referents in the evaluation of organizational rewards and perceptions of inequity.
Religiousness, Religious Orientation, and Attitudes Towards Gays and Lesbians1
Authors: Fisher Randy D. , Derison Donna , Polley Chester F. , Cadman Jennifer , Johnston Dana
Published: August 2006

Two studies are reported that examine the relationships among religiousness, religious orientation, and prejudice toward gays and lesbians. Study 1 reports the results of a survey done for the purposes of scientific jury selection. These results suggest that Baptists, fundamentalists, and “Christians” display more antigay prejudice than do Catholics, Jews, and many Protestant denominations, but even many supporters of gay‐tolerant religions show more antigay prejudice than those claiming no religious preference. Among those with a religious preference, frequency of worship is significantly related to antigay prejudice among those belonging to antigay denominations, but not among those belonging to more gay tolerant religious faiths.

Study 2 reports the results of a study of college students regarding religiousness, religious orientation, and prejudice toward gays and lesbians. Results showed that self reported religiousness, frequency of worship, and Batson's internal and external scales were all positively correlated with measures of prejudice toward gays and lesbians, whereas scores on the Quest (Interactional) scale were negatively correlated. Results of both studies strongly challenge the view that those with an intrinsic religious orientation are unprejudiced. It is argued that a social influence process can account for the role played by religious practice and beliefs in creating and maintaining negative attitudes toward gays and lesbians.
The Effects of Hindsight Bias and Causal Attribution on Human Response to Environmental Events1
Authors: Brown Richard S. , Williams Christopher W. , Lees‐Haley Paul R.
Published: August 2006

This research examined the influence of hindsight bias and causal attribution on perceptions of a technological disaster. After reading a fictitious account of a toxic substance spill near a populated area, subjects were provided with information that disease rates had either increased or had remained stable (hindsight conditions), or were presented with no outcome information (control condition). Subjects were then asked to predict the likelihood of increases in disease rates and to make causal attributions regarding the target company and residents of the disaster community. When compared to subjects provided with either no outcome information or with information that disease rates remained stable (positive‐outcome condition), subjects told that disease rates had increased (negative‐outcome condition) showed elevated predictions regarding future disease rates, ascribed greater responsibility for the accident to the target company, and reported more anger toward the company and greater sympathy for the residents. Subjects receiving positive outcome information and no outcome information did not significantly differ on these measures. In addition, results from a path analysis supported the efficacy of attribution theory to account for the cognitive, affective, and behavioral consequences resulting from hindsight bias following a negative environmental event.
Assisting At‐Risk College Students With Attributional Retraining and Effective Teaching1
Authors: Menec Verena H. , Perry Raymond P. , Struthers C. Ward , Schonwetter Dieter J. , Hechter Frank J. , Eichholz Brila L.
Published: August 2006

Attributional retraining appears to be an effective remedial intervention for college students. However, the potential moderating effects of student and classroom characteristics have not yet been investigated systematically. In two studies, attributional retraining was provided to low‐ and high‐risk students, followed by a videotaped lecture presented by either an ineffective or effective instructor. Attributional retraining enhanced achievement on a lecture‐based achievement test only when combined with effective teaching, improving the achievement of students who had previously performed poorly (Experiment l), and of low‐achieving externals (Experiment 2). The intervention provided no advantage for previously successful students and low‐achieving internals. Moreover, attributional retraining induced a more internal attribution profile in students with an external locus, and increased expectations of future success in both externals and internals, but again only when students also received effective instruction. These results suggest that contextual factors related to the classroom, such as quality of instruction, and individual differences have to be considered when developing attributional retraining programs.
Avoidance Responses to Alternative Alcohol Warning Labels1
Authors: MacKinnon David P. , Nemeroff Carol , Nohre Liva
Published: August 2006

A preference‐based measure of responses to warning labels was used to study alternative alcohol warning labels that differed in: (a) length, (b) presence of qualifier words, (c) alternative content, and (d) specific beverage. The specific risks mentioned were more important than the overall label length, qualifier words reduced avoidance responses, various alternative warnings elicited more avoidance responses than the existing alcohol warning label, and more avoidance responses were made to labels on a whiskey bottle than on a beer bottle. Warnings with the words “poison,”“cancer,” or “health problems” were the most powerful. The results for college students in Study 1 were replicated in a high‐school sample in Study 2.
Political Ideology and Attitudes Toward Censorship1
Authors: Suedfeld Peter , Steel G. Daniel , Schmidt Paul W.
Published: August 2006

A modified form of the Attitudes Toward Censorship Questionnaire (Hense & Wright, 1992) was developed to assess the degree to which that scale measures attitudes toward censorship in general as opposed to censorship of material representing particular sociopolitical values. The revised form characterized the potentially censorable materials as racist, sexist, or violent. University student respondents who showed high acceptance of censorship in this context scored high on measures of authoritarianism, political conservatism, and conventional family ideology (as had procensorship respondents on the Hense and Wright scale), but low on a scale of economic conservatism. Women were more favorably inclined toward censorship than men. Supporters of Canada's most left‐wing (social democratic) major federal party were most favorable to censorship. Factor analysis showed that most of the variance could be explained by a cluster that we have labeled “Politically Correct Puritanism”: support for censoring racist and sexist materials and depictions of sexual violence. The second major factor was related to commercial availability of such materials. Content‐specific items on both the original and our modified scales may establish a context that guides the interpretation of nonspecific items, so that both the original Attitudes Toward Censorship Questionnaire and our modified version may be measuring attitudes toward censorship of materials violating a particular view of morality, rather than toward censorship in principle.
The Preference for Gain Frames in Consumer Decision Making.
Authors: Beggan James K.
Published: August 2006

The way that choices are framed or presented to consumers may exert a significant impact on preferences. With few exceptions, past experiments have always framed choices for decision makers. Six studies examined how people themselves frame ambiguous events. Using a scenario format, Study 1 demonstrated that subjects interpreted paying back a loan as a gain rather than as a loss. Study 2 replicated this finding with a methodology where subjects actually received a loan of real money from the experimenter. Study 3 showed that the tendency to view paying back a loan as a gain was greater when the loan was for oneself rather than another person. Study 4 replicated the initial finding using a choice dilemma similar to those used by Tversky and Kahneman (1981). Studies 5 and 6 showed that people view selling a possession as a gain. However, Study 5 also showed that buyers do not display this tendency. These data suggest that the tendency to frame actions as gains will be moderated by role expectations and the bias to view one's actions in a positive light.
Reexamining Personal and Situational Factors in Drunk Driving Interventions1
Authors: Wolfinger Nicholas H. , Rabow Jerome , Newcomb Michael D.
Published: August 2006

Informal peer intervention may be an effective means of combating drunk driving. Prior research finds that: (a) An experimental model of decision making in bystander intervention situations can successfully be applied to drunk driving intervention (DUI intervention); and (b) various personal and situational factors influence a person's decision to intervene. Our research examines questionnaire data and finds support, with some modification, for application of the experimental model to DUI intervention. We also find that a person's self‐evaluation as a competent helper is often the most important factor in determining whether or not they intervene. This suggests that empowering persons as interveners may be an effective means of decreasing drunk driving.
Understanding Attributions of Blame in Stranger Rape and Date Rape Situations: An Examination of Gender, Race, Identification, and Students' Social Perceptions of Rape Victims1
Authors: Bell Susan T. , Kuriloff Peter J. , Lottes Ilsa
Published: August 2006

This study examined factors that may influence attributions of rape victims. Three hundred and three university students completed a questionnaire, which included a measure of dispositional empathy and a vignette depicted either a date rape or a stranger rape situation. Subjects rated the extent that they blamed the rape victim as well as the degree to which they identified with the victim and perpetrator. Results indicated that male students blamed the victim to a greater extent than did female students; students consistently attributed more blame to the victim in date rape situations than they did in stranger rape situations; and, while empathy was not associated with students' attributions, perceptions of similarity to the rape victim and perpetrator were both related to attributions of blame. These findings are consistent with the notion of “judgmental leniency” presented in Shaver's defensive attribution theory (1970). Implications for rape prevention efforts and future research are also discussed.
Effects of Refutational Messages, Thought Provocation, and Decision Deadlines on Signing to Donate Organs1
Authors: Birkimer John C. , Barbee Anita P. , Francis Mary Lou , Berry Melissa M. , Deuser Pamela S. , Pope Jacqueline R.
Published: August 2006

Across three experiments college students were given refutational messages or other treatments encouraging signing drivers' licenses to donate bodily organs in case of accidental death. An attitudinal measure (willingness to sign) predicted observed signing behavior, but relatively weakly. A measure of behavioral expectation to sign or not to sign predicted more strongly. A discussion with family was encouraged, the impact of that discussion also predicted signing but less strongly so. In Study 1 groups given a refutational message signed at no greater rates than a group given a control message. In Study 2 a refutational message group and a group asked to think about donating for 2 min signed at higher rates than a true control group. In Study 3 groups asked to decide whether or not to sign by a certain date and time signed at a higher rate than a refutational message group as in earlier studies. These procedures are recommended for organ donation signing campaigns.
Deterrence, Opportunity, and Choice
Authors: Ward David A. , Stafford Mark C. , Gray Louis N. , Menke Ben A.
Published: August 2006

Traditional studies of deterrence have focused on punishment with less regard for the rewards of both crime and noncrime. Influenced by work in economics and behavioral psychology, more recent studies have departed from tradition by incorporating rewards for crime. To this extent, they should be regarded as advances over the more traditional approaches. Notwithstanding these advances, variations in both the probability and magnitude of reward for noncrime have not been systematically included in these more recent theories of choice. In an attempt to determine whether opportunities for noncrime are either central or trivial to the criminal decision‐making process, the present study fitted two alternative models to experimental data involving risk‐taking: (a) the economic utility model employed by Piliavin, Gartner, Thornton, and Matsueda (1986) in their study of criminal choice; and (b) the satisfaction balance model developed by Gray and Tallman (1984). Results showed that while both models explained significant amounts of variation in the dependent variable, the Gray‐Tallman model provided a substantially better fit of the data. Despite limitations inherent in experimental studies as, for example, limitations surrounding the issue of external validity, the findings strongly suggest that opportunities for noncrime are as important as rewards and costs for crime in the process by which criminal decisions are made.
The Personal/Group Discrimination Discrepancy: Women Talk About Their Experiences1
Authors: Ruggiero Karen M. , Taylor Donald M.
Published: August 2006

Participants in research on discrimination consistently rate discrimination directed at their group higher than at themselves personally as a member of that group. In order to examine this personal/group discrimination discrepancy, women were asked to spontaneously verbalize their thoughts as they made ratings for personal and group discrimination on 11‐point scales. In Study 1, university women who raised a greater number of life domains for group discrimination than for personal discrimination showed a larger personal/group discrimination discrepancy because of lower ratings for personal discrimination. An analysis of participants' protocols revealed that many attended to different domains when rating personal and group discrimination, and that these participants showed a larger personal/group discrimination discrepancy because of lower ratings for personal discrimination. Participants' ratings for group discrimination did not differ as a function of the number or content of the domains. The findings were replicated in Study 2 with working women, and are identified as two contributing factors to the personal/group discrimination discrepancy. The societal implications of the results are discussed in terms of the tendency for disadvantaged group members to downplay their personal experience with discrimination because it does not fit the stereotype of what is being experienced by the group.
Social Support Provision to HIV‐Infected Gay Men1
Authors: Collins Rebecca L.
Published: August 2006

The study examined associations between attitudes toward homosexuality, fear of AIDS, blame of persons infected with the HIV‐virus, and social support provision to these individuals. A sample of HIV‐infected gay men reported on the support they receive from specific members of their social networks. These network members then completed questionnaires assessing the predictor variables. Homophobia, homosexual preference, and the interaction of these two variables were positively associated with blame. Blame, together with fear of AIDS and low levels of psychological well‐being, were negatively associated with provision of emotional support. Fear of AIDS was also related to negative changes in the quality of recipients' and providers' relationships. Finally, emotional support was strongly related to adjustment to illness among support recipients. Results suggest important points for intervention to promote adjustment to HIV infection among gay men.
An Anatomy of Political Beliefs: A Study of Their Centrality, Confidence, Contents, and Epistemic Authority
Authors: Bar‐Tal Daniel , Raviv Alona , Freund Tali
Published: August 2006

The present study is a simultaneous investigation of the contents of political beliefs and their characteristics among Israeli students. In addition, it examines their perceived use of information sources. The results indicate that political beliefs regarding the Israeli‐Arab conflicts are organized systematically around the dove/hawk dimension. Also, a positive relationship was found between centrality of beliefs and confidence in them; between well‐defined political identification and centrality and confidence; and between agreement with the beliefs and confidence. Finally, the results show that the perceived use of information sources is related to political identification. The performed investigation demonstrates the importance of combining the study of the contents of beliefs with that of their characteristics, since the latter have important implications for understanding individuals' cognitive, affective, and behavioral reactions.
Work Values Among Professional Employees in Union and Nonunion Research Library Institutions
Authors: Hovekamp Tina Maragou
Published: August 2006

This study explored the relationship between unions and professional librarians' w]ork values. Despite previous research findings on blue‐collar workers, this investigation found no significant differences in the work values of professionals in unionized versus nonunionized libraries. However, differences in work‐related values were traced when the present research looked just at the union group of the study. Data analysis indicated that registered union members and those most committed to their union placed a higher degree of importance on professional growth issues than did their counterparts.
Cognitive, Dispositional, and Psychophysiological Correlates of Dependent Slot Machine Gambling in Young People
Authors: Carroll Douglas , Huxley Justine A. A.
Published: August 2006

In Study 1, young dependent and nondependent slot machine gamblers were interviewed, assessed for locus of control and administered the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. Dependent gamblers were revealed as reliably more internal in terms of locus of control than their nondependent counterparts, and, in the interview, were much more likely to affirm that they could exercise control over the slot machines they played. Dependent gamblers registered higher psychoticism scores than both the nondependent gamblers and appropriate age‐group norms. Their high psychoticism scores resonated well with interview revelations that boredom mitigation frequent underlay dependent gambling.

In Study 2, blood pressure was monitored in dependent and nondependent gamblers at rest and before, during and after slot machine play. Subjects were given £5 for this purpose and the time it took them to use up this money was recorded, as was the extent of any returns they received. They were also asked how much they expected to recoup. The £5 lasted a similar amount of time for the two groups, and they managed similar rates of return on their stake. However, the dependent gamblers expected to win more than the nondependent gamblers and their estimates of returns exceeded what they actually recouped. Slot machine play was associated with an increase in blood pressure, and while groups did not differ in terms of the magnitude of the rise provoked, there was a general trend for dependent gamblers to show lower basal levels of cardiovascular activity, although this was statistically reliable only in the case of diastolic blood pressure.