bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Reasons for Living Following Success and Failure in Suicidal and Nonsuicidal College Students1
Authors: Neyra Carmen J. , Range Lillian M. , Goggin William C.
Published: August 2006

To see if suicide ideators responded differently than nonideators after success or failure experiences, 61 college students who were relatively high or low ideators participated in a computer task on which half got bogus success feedback, the other half got bogus failure feedback. Both groups then completed the Reasons for Living Inventory (RFL). Two (High versus Low Suicide) X 2 (Success or Failure) analyses indicated main effects for suicide on overall RFL and four of the six RFL subscales. Although there were no main effects for success versus failure, an interaction indicated that, in the failure condition, low suicidal subjects were significantly higher than high suicidal subjects in overall reasons for living. Results suggest that suicidal individuals may be vulnerable to failure, and may need interventions to help them avoid potential failure or to bolster their coping mechanisms.
What Price Attractiveness? Stereotype and Risk Factors in Suntanning Behavior
Authors: Miller Arthur G. , Ashton William A. , McHoskey John W. , Gimbel Joel
Published: August 2006

Two experiments examined stereotype and risk factors in suntanning. In the first, subjects formed more positive impressions of a target described as having a suntan than of a control target. Ratings were not as positive, however, if the tan was portrayed as having been intentionally sought. A negative facet to the tan stereotype, in terms of perceived vanity, was also observed. In the second, subjects observed a videotape documenting the risks associated with sun exposure either before or after responding to a questionnaire dealing with attitudes and beliefs about suntanning. The results were consistent with the interpretation that the tape influenced observers in the direction of perceiving a tan as less attractive and enhancing their concern about the dangers of tanning. Subjects displayed the “optimistic bias” effect (Weinstein, 1980) in their estimated likelihood of getting skin cancer. While those with higher reported tan levels were more likely to endorse the attractiveness stereotype associated with a suntan, there was minimal evidence that these individuals were apprehensive or concerned about the risk factors. Their responses to a number of items suggested a measure of resistance or denial. Women generally indicated greater awareness and concern about risks than did men. The results of both studies suggest the important role played by images perceived to be associated with suntanning. In the context of mounting evidence regarding the carcinogenic properties of sun exposure, implications for changes in tanning behavior were considered.
The Effects of Fear of AIDS and Gender on Responses to Fear‐Arousing Condom Advertisements
Authors: Struckman‐Johnson Cindy J. , Gilliland Roy C. , Struckman‐Johnson David L. , North Terry C.
Published: August 2006

The effects of message fear arousal, fear of AIDS, and gender on attitudinal responses to condom advertisements were tested in a laboratory experiment. Ninety‐five male and 96 female college students, previously assessed for fear of getting AIDS, rated the effectiveness of 1 of 4 high‐fear or 4 low‐fear condom ads in motivating them to buy the product. Contrary to prediction, the high‐fear condom ads did not significantly differ from low‐fear ads in effectiveness. The prediction that subjects' fear of AIDS would interact with ad fear level was also not supported. However, subjects with a high fear of getting AIDS viewed ads as more effective than did low‐fear subjects. As predicted, male subjects viewed ads as more effective than did women. Results support the health belief model's tenet that a sense of vulnerability facilitates acceptance of a message. Implications of the results for condom use promotion in AIDS prevention materials are discussed.
Physical Attractiveness of Face and Voice: Effects of Positivity, Dominance, and Sex1
Authors: Raines Robert S. , Hechtman Sarah B. , Rosenthal Robert
Published: August 2006

We investigated the joint and interacting effects of affect, sex, and nonverbal channel (face and voice) on the perception of physical attractiveness. In both studies we found that positive affects were rated as more attractive than negative affects, regardless of the channel (face, or voice). We also found that dominant affects were rated as more attractive when displayed in the face whereas submissive affects were rated as more attractive when displayed in the voice.
Factors Influencing Women Over 40 Years to Take Precautions Against Cervical Cancer
Authors: Hennig Patricia , Knowles Ann
Published: August 2006

This study investigated whether the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) and the Health Belief Model (HBM) would predict older women's intention to have regular Pap smear tests. The sample was a group of 144 women aged 40 years and over. Results showed that each model was a significant predictor of intention. Results also indicated that for some women the sex of the doctor was a significant factor in their decision to have a Pap test. Interview data indicated that some general practitioners did not believe it was necessary for older women to have a regular Pap test. These findings have application in planning health education campaigns.
Natural Disasters and Post‐traumatic Stress Disorder Short‐Term versus Long‐Term Recovery in Two Disaster‐Affected Communities1
Authors: Steinglass Peter , Gerrity Ellen
Published: August 2006

Post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in adults following disaster‐precipitated family relocation was investigated in a longitudinal study of family and individual response to natural disasters. Adult participants included 78 women and 77 men in two communities. Psychosocial adjustment was measured at two points in time: at 4 months and 16 months after the disaster. Instruments used for assessing stress‐related symptomatology included the Horowitz Impact of Event Scale (HIES) and the Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS). Major findings included: (a) levels of short‐term stress symptomatology and diagnosable PTSD were substantial in both communities; (b) significant decrements in these levels occurred by 16‐months postdisaster;(c) substantial gender differences (greater levels for women) were apparent in both short‐ and long‐term PTSD response rates; and (d) patterns and levels of PTSD symptoms were different in the two communities. Findings have implications for the interpretation of PTSD within the context of family‐ and community‐level variables.
The Biological Findings in Post‐Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Review1
Authors: Ellen Patricia Ver , van Kammen Daniel P.
Published: August 2006

In this paper the authors review the literature on biological and treatment studies of post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and present current unifying hypotheses regarding the pathophysiology. The psychophysiological studies stress overarousal, while endocrine studies suggest a decreased Cortisol production in denial and low symptom states with increases in highly symptomatic states. Suggestive evidence is provided that PTSD is associated with permanent changes in brain mechanisms involving the locus coeruleus, amygdala, and the hypothalamo‐pituitary‐adrenal axis. Drug treatments are promising but not fully satisfactory as yet. Directions for further research are provided.
Microanalysis of Smokers' Beliefs about the Consequences of Quitting: Results from a Large Population Sample1
Authors: Sutton Stephen , Marsh Alan , Matheson Jil
Published: August 2006

Using an expectancy‐value approach, personal beliefs about the consequences of quitting were studied in a sample of 1,305 cigarette smokers derived from a representative sample of the United Kingdom population. Subjects evaluated 32 outcomes of continuing to smoke or stopping smoking in terms of how much they “wanted” or “feared” them (outcome evaluation, or OE) and then rated the likelihood of each outcome occurring under the two alternatives, yielding a likelihood difference (LD) score for each outcome. Subjects with relatively strong and relatively weak intentions to try to quit were compared with respect to their OE, LD, and OE × LD scores. The results showed consistent differences between intenders and nonintenders. Intenders rated every positive outcome as more desirable and every negative outcome as more undesirable. Intenders also believed that stopping smoking would lead to a larger increase in their chances of obtaining the benefits (health, financial, social, self‐esteem) and a smaller increase in their chances of incurring the costs (negative affect, loss of enjoyment), compared with nonintenders. The product scores showing the largest relationships with intention were for the outcomes “feel proud of yourself”, “feel a sense of achievement”, “enjoy yourself”, “feel energetic”, and “set a good example to children”. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for efforts to encourage more smokers to try to quit.
Using Television to Create More Favorable Attitudes Toward Community Facilities for Deinstitutionalized Psychiatric Patients
Authors: Medvene Louis J. , Bridge R. Gary
Published: August 2006

Prebroadcast screenings were organized to measure the impact of a TV documentary, “Back Wards to Back Streets”, on information levels, attitudes toward community‐based treatment facilities, and beliefs about mental illness. Audiences of mental health professionals, political decision makers, and public TV subscribers were invited to screenings in New York City and Albany, New York. Based on an experimental design, half of each audience was randomly selected to respond to both pre‐ and postfilm questionnaires; others responded to postfilm questionnaires only. Among the New York City audience the film raised information levels, created more favorable attitudes, and changed beliefs about mental illness. One methodological implication is that small‐scale screenings are a viable technique for studying TV's impact.
Components of IQ Scores Across Levels of Measured Ability
Authors: Malone Patrick S. , Brounstein Paul J. , von Brock Alison , Shaywitz Sally S.
Published: August 2006

Forty‐three (43) students from the Talent Identification Program's Summer Residential Program living in North Carolina took the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Revised (WISC‐R; Wechsler, 1974) during the program. The test was also administered to 50 other North Carolina Students who qualified for the SRP but did not attend, as well as 34 students who had not been identified as gifted. The scores were evaluated for normative and idiographic strengths and weaknesses on the 12 subtests of the WISC‐R. The idiographic differences were calculated by comparison against the average score of only the 6 subtests in the same subscale of the test (Verbal or Performance) as well as against all 12 subtests on the test. It was found by means of the former comparisons that the gifted students showed significantly more idiographic strengths on the Verbal scales and weaknesses on the Performance scales than the academically competent sample.
A Social Learning Approach to Increasing Blood Donations1
Authors: Sarason Irwin G. , Sarason Barbara R. , Pierce Gregory R. , Shearin Edward N. , Sayers Merlin H.
Published: August 2006

A field experiment conducted in high schools throughout the country was aimed at increasing the number of high school students who donate blood. Special interventions that emphasized psychological or educational approaches to heightening motivation to donate, as well as a combined intervention, were compared with the usual approach taken at blood drives. Psychological interventions in which social learning principles (modeling, perceptions of social norms) played important roles either alone or in combination with an educational (informational) approach were more successful in stimulating blood donations than either an educational approach alone or the approaches traditionally followed by the participating local blood centers. The results demonstrated that use of social learning principles in designing interventions to strengthen socially relevant altruistic behavior could be valuable both practically and theoretically.
Perceiving Age and Attractiveness in Facial Photographs1
Authors: Henss Ronald
Published: August 2006

In two experiments, 492 male and female subjects from three different age groups estimated the age of adult men and women on the basis of photographs and provided attractiveness ratings of the stimulus persons. With regard to the age estimates there was almost perfect agreement between the mean judgments of the different groups, and there was high consensus among the individual judges within each group. For each single picture, however, there was high variability in the age estimates; and although the estimates were generally quite accurate, in some cases they deviated substantially from the stimulus person's true age. In both experiments there was a negative relationship between age and attractiveness for female stimuli. For male stimuli a negative relationship was found in one experiment only, whereas in the other experiment these two variables were almost uncorrelated. Both experiments yielded two kinds of ingroup‐favoritism: The relationship between age and attractiveness was seen to be less negative (a) when the judges and the judged were of the same sex, and (b) when the subjects themselves belonged to the oldest age group.
Individual Versus Group Decision Making: Social Comparison in Goals for Individual Task Performance
Authors: Hinsz Verlin B.
Published: August 2006

This experiment compares the decisions of individuals and groups on goals for the performance expected from individuals on a problem‐solving or an error‐checking task. For both tasks, two versions were constructed to reflect low and high levels of task difficulty. Predictions from two different social comparison of abilities approaches were formulated, with the social comparison based on success approach predicting that group goals would be easier than individual goals, while social comparison based on performance predicted the opposite pattern. Consistent with the social comparison based on success predictions, group goals were observed to be significantly less difficult than individual goals for both tasks, both levels of task difficulty, and for both an initial and a second goal‐setting occasion. Of particular interest was a finding that the easier group goals reflected group member preferences for easy goals in anticipation of group decision making. It is proposed that social factors such as evaluation apprehension and social comparison may be responsible for the differences observed in group and individual goal decisions, and that social factors may have an important role in a variety of goal‐setting situations.
The Role of Psychological Reactance in Drinking Following Alcohol Prevention Messages1
Authors: Bensley Lillian Southwick , Wu Rui
Published: August 2006

Two experiments tested whether a dogmatic alcohol prevention message may, by arousing psychological reactance (the motivation to reassert a threatened freedom) result in more subsequent alcohol consumption, compared to a neutral message. In Study 1, 535 college students received either a high‐threat (dogmatic) or low‐threat (neutral) message recommending either abstinence or controlled drinking. Results indicated that high‐threat messages were rated more negatively and resulted in more drinking intentions compared to low threat. The negative effect of high threat on message ratings was most pronounced for habitually heavy drinkers and an abstinence‐espousing message. In Study 2, under the guise of a “memory study,” 74 college students received either a high‐ or low‐threat message recommending abstinence from alcohol. Then, under the guise of a “perception study,” all subjects participated in a taste‐rating task in which their beer consumption was unobtrusively measured. Results indicated that the effect of high threat was most negative for male heavy drinkers, who drank significantly more beer compared to low‐threat controls. These results suggest that the persuasive ability of alcohol prevention efforts depend to a considerable extent on the reactance‐arousing properties of the materials and that dogmatic alcohol prevention materials may have counterproductive effects for some college students.
Coping with Person‐Environment Incongruence1
Authors: Hampton Greg
Published: August 2006

Students' psychosocial functioning during their transition to university was examined in terms of person‐environment incongruence and the flexibility of individuals' construction processes in coping with this incongruence. Using content analysis scaling methodology it was found that the experience of person‐environment incongruence was mediated by size of university environment and students' stage of life and education. Mature age students experienced more person‐environment incongruence, and less interpretive and core anxiety and satisfaction in a larger university environment. Students who were recent school leavers experienced more person‐environment incongruence, interpretive anxiety, and less satisfaction in a smaller environment. In the smaller environment, students who had participated in an intervention maintained higher levels of inflexibility and expressed less social hostility than nonintervention students. These effects of the intervention did not hold in the larger environment where both intervention and nonintervention students experienced a significant decrease in inflexibility over time.
Intergroup Interaction and Self‐Disclosure1
Authors: Stephan Walter G. , Stephan Cookie White , Wenzel Brenda , Cornelius Jeffrey
Published: August 2006

Two studies were designed to test hypotheses concerning self‐disclosure during initial interactions with ingroup or outgroup strangers. Based on intergroup anxiety theory it was predicted that ingroup members would disclose less to outgroup strangers than to ingroup strangers. One study involved interaction with handicapped and nonhandicapped confederates and one involved interaction with Caucasian and Black confederates. It was found that on some dimensions there was less self‐disclosure to outgroup than ingroup strangers during initial interactions. Additional data suggested that high levels of public self‐awareness and perceived dissimilarity also reduced some aspects of self‐disclosure.
Effects of Role Assignment and Verbal Interaction on Accuracy and Overconfidence in Interpersonal Judgment1
Authors: Paese Paul W. , Kinnaly Maryellen
Published: August 2006

In an experiment designed to test the effects of role assignment and verbal interaction on accuracy and overconfidence in interpersonal judgment, subjects estimated the questionnaire responses of a randomly assigned partner and assessed their confidence in each estimate. Ninety‐five subjects were assigned to one of four conditions in a 2 (role vs. no‐role) by 2 (verbal interaction vs. no‐interaction) design. Results indicated that accuracy was positively related to the weight subjects gave to their own responses in estimating the other person's responses, and both role assignment and verbal interaction caused subjects to give less weight to their own responses. Because they gave less weight to their own responses, subjects in the role conditions were less accurate than those in the no‐role conditions, and this reduction in accuracy resulted in greater overconfidence and worse calibration. Practical implications of these results are discussed.
Strategies for Oligopoly Negotiations Involving Multiple Issues
Authors: Esser James K. , Walker James L. , Kurtzweil Paul L.
Published: August 2006

This study compared the effectiveness of cooperative, distributive, and integrative strategies in oligopoly negotiations involving multiple issues. Seventy‐five female subjects from introductory psychology classes assumed the role of buyers and negotiated with three programmed strategies (sellers). Subjects could bargain with the seller of their choice and could change sellers at any time. Results indicated that subjects made most offers to and reached most agreements with the cooperative seller. Furthermore, the cooperative seller strategy tended to earn most profit per customer contact and produced most joint profit per customer contact. However, the integrative seller tended to produce most seller profit per agreement and joint profit per agreement.
Perceptions of Race and Race Relations Which Affect African American Identification1
Authors: Sanders Thompson Vetta L.
Published: August 2006

This study examined life experience and demographic variables which impact on racial identification. One hundred and sixty‐two African American adults. including 62 males and 100 females, were interviewed to identify and determine the importance of demographic versus life experience variables with respect to the level of African American racial identification. The data were collected utilizing a structured interview protocol and a 31‐item racial identification questionnaire. Information on experiences with race relations, income, education. political and social activities. the level and quality of intra‐group interaction. and the orientation of subjects on three parameters of racial identification‐psychological. physical, and sociocultural—was collected. The results indicate that perceived experiences of racism have an important impact on each parameter of racial identification. Within‐group conflict variables have their greatest impact on the physical parameter and within‐group interaction has its greatest impact on psychological racial identification.
The Influence of Decision Makers' Goals on Their Concerns About Procedural Justice1
Authors: Tyler Tom R. , Griffin Eugene
Published: August 2006

Two studies examine how decision makers' goals of enhancing organizational effectiveness and promoting positive interpersonal relations shape their decision making when they are allocating scarce resources among group members. Past research has conceptualized this problem as one of balancing between the use of two distributive justice principles: equity and equality. The studies reported examine the degree to which authorities are also concerned about issues of procedural justice. The results suggest that experienced decision makers—both managerial and administrative—believe that when trying to maintain positive interpersonal relations it is as important to use decision‐making procedures that will be regarded as fair (procedural justice) as it is to allocate outcomes in ways which will be regarded as fair (distributive justice). Decision makers' definitions of procedural justice are also examined.
Mediators in the Relationship Between Parental and Peer Characteristics and Beer Drinking by Early Adolescents1
Authors: Ennett Susan T. , Bauman Karl E.
Published: August 2006

Social learning theory suggests that parents and peers influence adolescent drinking directly by providing social reinforcement and models for imitation, and indirectly by first influencing various expectations adolescents form about drinking. In this study, longitudinal data were used to investigate several mediators that could account for the relationships between adolescent beer drinking and parent and peer drinking behaviors and attitudes. The results show that peer drinking indirectly influences adolescent drinking by shaping adolescents' norms on drinking, drinking preferences, and expected consequences of drinking related to friends and problem behavior, whereas parental alcohol use and peer attitude toward alcohol largely directly influence adolescent beer drinking. The results suggest that influence is in large part direct or indirect depending on the source of the influence. In addition, different types of mediators may account for different relationships.
Satisfaction with Initial Work Assignment and Organizational Commitment1
Authors: Witt L. Alan , Beorkrem Mark N.
Published: August 2006

The present study examined the moderating effects of role stressors on the relationship between initial work assignment satisfaction and organizational commitment. Moderated multiple regression analyses on data collected from 76 employees of an American military Research and Development (R&D) laboratory indicated that initial work assignment satisfaction accounted for little variance in commitment among workers low in role conflict but considerable variance among workers high in role conflict. However, role ambiguity had no moderating effect on the initial work assignment satisfaction‐commitment relationship.
Wishful Thinking—Against All Odds
Authors: Babad Elisha , Katz Yosi
Published: August 2006

Wishful thinking (WT)—defined as predicting a more favorable outcome for a preferred team—was investigated in soccer stadia and betting stations in Israel. High levels of WT were found in all contexts investigated. As hypothesized, the intensity of WT varied between contexts as a function of the “legitimacy” of emotionalism and subjectivity, and within each context as a function of self‐defined levels of fanhood and preference. An explicit instruction to be objective did not reduce WT in predicting game outcomes. Paid betting forms represented an ecologically valid voluntary behavior most contradictory of wishful thinking, since bettors are strongly motivated to be objective and impartial. The results showed that fans could not overcome their wishful thinking, betting emotionally and against their financial interest.
Psychophysiological Effects of Toxic Chemical Contamination Exposure: A Community Field Study
Authors: Gatchel Robert J. , Newberry Benjamin
Published: August 2006

The present study evaluated the psychophysiological impact of an environmental stressor—potential health threats to residents due to chronic exposure to toxic chemical contamination. Residents of a community exposed to this toxic contamination were compared with residents in a demographically matched community not exposed to such contamination. A battery of self‐report. performance, and physiological measures were administered to residents in these two communities. Results demonstrated that residents of the contaminated community exhibited significantly more symptoms of stress (greater self‐report indices, poorer task performance, and higher diastolic blood pressure levels) relative to residents in the comparison community. Such findings indicate that these exposure‐community residents are being significantly impacted by this environmental stressor.
Self‐Esteem, Erotophobia, and Retention of Contraceptive and AIDS Information in the Classroom
Authors: Gerrard Meg , Kurylo Monica , Reis Theresa
Published: August 2006

It has been well documented that people with negative emotional reactions to sex (e.g., “erotophobia,”“sex guilt”) have less knowledge about contraception than do people with more positive reactions. Recent research has suggested that this deficit is not related to an inability to learn the information, but is due at least in part to the fact that erotophobics actively avoid contraceptive information. The current study was designed to examine the role of erotophobia and high self‐esteem in resistance to learning sexual information. More specifically it compared pretest and posttest knowledge of contraception and AIDS in high self‐esteem and low self‐esteem, erotophobia, and erotophilic women in a university class on human reproduction. As expected, high self‐esteem erotophobic subjects were less Likely than other subjects to retain contraceptive and AIDS information presented in the class. Implications of this study for contraceptive and AIDS educational strategies are discussed.
Judged Likelihood of Different Second Crimes: A Function of Judged Similarity
Authors: Howe Edmund S.
Published: August 2006

Numerous studies have concluded that the judged probability of conviction for a crime is higher when information concerning a prior conviction is disclosed. This is even more true when the prior and present crimes are the same. This paper examines the argument that the influence of a hypothetical previous conviction on the judgment of predilection toward a hypothetical present crime is a continuous function of the degree of similarity between past and present crimes. The subjects were presented with all possible pairs of 10 crimes, the first being considered as a prior conviction and the second as a presently charged crime. The subjects judged the subjective likelihood that a person convicted of the first crime (C1) would, in fact, he of a mind and inclination to commit the second one (C2). Independent judgments of intercrime, undefined similarity also were obtained. The main experimental findings, as expected, were that the judged probability of C2. given C1, was: (a) greatest when C2 was a repeat of C1; (b) uniquely different for each C1; (c) predicted quite well by degree of intercrime similarity; (d) poorly predicted by crime seriousness values. Thus, the subject appears to make judgments of predilection on the basis of simple representativeness heuristics, which specify that certain crimes will be considered more likely if they are more semantically related to earlier ones. Such a mental device unfortunately would he systematically biased in courtroom settings because judgments of intercrime similarity are not influenced by real‐world probabilities.
Self‐Consciousness, Self‐presentation, and Performance Under Pressure: Who Chokes, and When?
Authors: Heaton Alan W. , Sigall Harold
Published: August 2006

Choking under pressure by persons low and high in self‐consciousness was examined as a function of two sources of performance pressure: audience and performance feedback. Subjects competed with an alleged opponent on a psychomotor task while alone, before a supportive (same team) audience, or a nonsupportive (opposing team) audience. Before the critical trial, subjects learned that their team was either somewhat ahead of or somewhat behind the opposing team. Self‐consciousness, audience, and feedback interacted to affect performance during the critical trial. When disappointing the audience was likely, subjects low in self‐consciousness choked. Subjects high in self‐consciousness tended to choke when they were told that their team had fallen behind. It is suggested that persons who are low and high in self‐consciousness experience different types of performance pressure due to disparate self‐presentational motives.
Change in Self‐concept and Attributional Styles Among Academically Gifted Adolescents1
Authors: Brounstein Paul J. , Holahan William , Dreyden Julia
Published: August 2006

A nonequivalent control group design involving academically gifted students who would participate in a residential summer program where they could achieve “consensual validation” by being with other gifted students (n= 156), those eligible but who would not attend the program (n= 172), and academically competent students (n= 106), was used to identify differences in global self‐concept, the structure of self‐concept and attributional style before, immediately after, and about four months after the intervention. There were no initial differences on any of the measures for the two gifted groups. However, competent students differed from gifted students on both self‐concept and attributional measures. While global self concept for gifted and competent students was similar, competent students boasted significantly greater self‐concepts in the domains of social and physical activities and significantly lower self‐concepts in the academic domain. On the attributional style measure, gifted students were significantly less likely than competent comparisons to take credit or see as pervasive the causes for social successes.

In general, differences observed initially were robust over time. Only tentative support for the effectiveness of the short‐term intervention being effective in modifying aspects of social self‐concept among the gifted was obtained. Here, gifted program attenders decreased the extent to which they internalized blame for or perceived as pervasive the causes for social failure subsequent to program participation.

The relationship of observed changes in attribution to self‐concept and the effectiveness of short‐term interventions to effect change in cognitive functioning and personality are discussed.
Expectations for Postcombination Organizational Life: A Study of Responses to Merger and Acquisition Scenarios1
Authors: Rentsch Joan R. , Schneider Benjamin
Published: August 2006

A scenario experiment was conducted to investigate expectations for postmerger/acquisition (combination) life. Relative size of participants' organization (i.e., being in an organization of smaller, equal or larger size), and the motive for combining (growth or survival) were predicted to influence postcombination expectations regarding personal autonomy, the use of power, postcombination sense of organizational morale/identity, feelings of job security, and career opportunities. After reading scenarios of organizational combinations in which relative organizational size and motive were manipulated, 252 MBA students responded to questionnaires designed to assess their postcombination expectations. Results indicated that size and motive had significant effects on expectations. In brief (a) the most positive postcombination expectations were from persons in larger organizations when the motive for combining was growth and (b) the least positive postcombination expectations were from persons from smaller organizations when survival was the motive for combining.
An Attributional Analysis of Decision Making in a Personnel Selection Interview1
Authors: STRUTHERS C. WARD , Colwill Nina L. , Perry Raymond P.
Published: August 2006

The purpose of this study was to examine the decision process in a simulated personnel selection interview using Weiner's (1986) attribution theory. Weiner's theory is particularly relevant to the selection interview because it provides a sequential conceptual framework that identifies the key variables associated with an applicant's work history and an interviewer's cognitions, affect, and decision to hire. Interview transcripts, which varied in the Outcome (positive‐negative), Locus (internal‐external), and Stability (stable‐unstable) of an applicant's previous work history were administered to university students who played the role of a personnel selection interviewer. Three dependent variables assessed the interviewer's expectancies of the applicant's future job performance (expectancy). the interviewer's emotional reaction (hopefulness), and the probability of the interviewer hiring the applicant (decision). Results indicated that Weiner's attribution theory provides a promising framework to assess the decision process in a personnel selection interview. Personnel interviewers detected differences in the causes of past work outcomes offered by applicants, which, in turn, affected their expectancies, emotions, and decisions to hite. The implications of the results for the interview process and Weiner's attribution theory are discussed.
What Do People Think of Male Steroid Users?: An Experimental Investigation1
Authors: Schwerin Michael J. , Corcoran Kevin J.
Published: August 2006

Anabolic steroids are an attractive and apparently effective class of drugs which builds muscle mass, strength, aggressiveness, and confidence. Given cultural norms for male physical attractiveness, psychosocial effects have been deemed important in understanding steroid use. As a result, the present study focused on the perceptions that others have of anabolic steroid users. A written description was given to subjects to read. After reading the person description, subjects rated the story protagonist on an 18‐item questionnaire. Differences among person descriptions on each item were examined. Analyses indicate that: a) subjects view the bodybuilding steroid‐user significantly more negatively than the diet conscious bodybuilder or an athletically active individual, and b) subjects view a cocaine‐using bodybuilder and a steroid‐using bodybuilder similarly. Implications of these findings are discussed.
Pleasant Scents and Persuasion: An Information Processing Approach1
Authors: Debono Kenneth G.
Published: August 2006

Participants observed a perfume advertisement in which either a physically attractive or relatively unattractive spokesperson promoted a new perfume using relatively strong or relatively weak arguments. Additionally, before observing the ad, some participants sampled the perfume. As expected, those participants who sampled the perfume were influenced more by the spokeswoman's attractiveness than by the strength of the arguments and participants not exposed to the perfume were more influenced by the strength of the arguments than by the spokesperson's attractiveness. An analysis of cognitive responses further suggested that participants not exposed to the perfume may have been systematically processing the advertisement and participants exposed to the perfume may have been more heuristically processing the message.
Mothers' Experience of Stress Following the Birth of a First Child: Identification of Stressors and Coping Resources1
Authors: TESSIER RÉJEAN , PICHÉ CHRISTIANE , Tarabulsy George M. , Muckle Gina
Published: August 2006

The purpose of this study is to identify, through a retrospective methodology, stressor and coping resource variables which are involved in mothers' experience of stress one month after the birth of a first child. The variables were identified on the basis of previous work in this field, and were categorized as stressor or coping resource variables according to the writings of authors in the larger domain of stress and coping. The influence of interactive and additive combinations of stressors and coping resources, as described by Wheaton (1985), were also examined in a multiple regression model. A five‐variable model, accounting for 58.74% of the variance of a measure of the experience of stress, was obtained. Discussion focuses around the predictive possibilities of such a model, the impact of coping resources, and on the potential for utilizing this model for describing the process of adaptation following this event over time.
Intention, Context, and Safe Sex: Australian Adolescents' Responses to AIDS
Authors: Boldero Jennifer , Moore Susan , Rosenthal Doreen
Published: August 2006

This study examined the applicability to condom use of Ajzen and Madden's (1986) theory of planned behavior by examining the predictors of intention to use a condom and actual condom use in a specific sexual situation. In a sample of 144 sexually active heterosexual males and females, limited support was found for the model. Intentions to use a condom immediately before a particular sexual encounter, and those assessed some time prior to this encounter were found to have direct and positive effects on condom use. In addition, perceptions of the disadvantages of condoms (a measure of attitudes to condoms in general) had direct negative effects on condom use and, together with perceptions of the advantage of condoms, also had indirect effects on condom use via prior intention. A number of the postulated predictors of safe sexual practice related neither to intentions nor behavior. The contextual variables of sexual arousal, condom availability, and degree of communication with a sexual partner all influenced condom use. Discussion centered on first, differences in the predictive ability of the model when compared to other studies of planned behavior, and second, the factors limiting the relationship between intention and behavior when the behavior in question is not under complete, volitional control.
Exploring the Meaning and Usefulness of Measures of Subjective Goal Difficulty1
Authors: Lee Cynthia , Bobko Philip
Published: August 2006

Despite the critical role of the goal difficulty construct in predicting the effects of goals on task performance, the choice of goal difficulty measure(s) has not played a prominent role in goal setting research. The current laboratory study, using 92 college students, examines three operationalizations of the goal difficulty construct: assigned goal level (objective or direct measure), self‐referenced goal difficulty perception. and an externally‐referenced goal difficulty perception. The results clearly demonstrated that the choice of a goal difficulty measure matters in relation to other constructs in goal setting theory. Furthermore, it was found that the externally‐referenced goal difficulty perception measure corresponded best with assigned goal level.
Traditional and Nontraditional Women's Attributions of Responsibility to Physically Resistive and Nonresistive Rape Victims1
Authors: Ryckman Richard M. , Kaczor Linda M. , Thornton Bill
Published: August 2006

This research examined the interactive effect of women observers' sex‐role attitudes and a victim's use of physical resistance on perceptions of victim responsibility for a sexual assault. Women read one of two rape scenarios in which a victim either did or did not physically resist a rapist's attack and made judgments concerning victim responsibility. The observers were categorized as being either traditionally conservative or nontraditionally profeminist in their attitudes toward women and their roles in society. An analysis of responsibility judgments indicated that traditional women perceived a victim who resisted the attack as being more responsible for her own victimization than did nontraditional women, whereas nontraditional women assigned more responsibility to a victim who did not resist than did traditional women. These results are considered from a sex‐role socialization perspective; the implications of these findings for legal and health care professionals are discussed.
Beliefs, Attitudes, and Intention in the Context of Abortion1
Authors: ROSÉN ANNE‐SOFIE
Published: August 2006

Women's beliefs, attitudes, and intention, defined according to Fishbein and Ajzen (1975), were studied in relation to procedures for abortion: a commonly used surgical method, vacuum aspiration, and a recent medical alternative. Subjects were 53 women requesting an abortion and 53 nonpregnant women. Effects of having had an abortion prior to the study and of situation were obtained as expected in belief ratings and attitude measures. Choice of the medical alternative was related to having distinctly opposite attitudes to methods. Choice of the surgical treatment related to having slightly negative attitudes to both methods. In the actual situation more positive attitudes had been expected and were obtained. Previous experience of abortion and situation were assumed to be external factors with effects on intention if mediated by the attitudes. A logistic regression model showed a good fit and predicted the intentional choice of treatment from attitude scores.
Perceptions of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
Authors: Sheffey Susan , TINDALE R. SCOTT
Published: August 2006

This study attempted to test assumptions derived from the sex‐role spillover model of sexual harassment developed by Gutek and Morasch (1982). One hundred fourteen male and 120 female undergraduates were asked to read scenarios describing potentially sexually oriented behaviors toward women in three different types of job settings (job types: female dominated, male dominated, and mixed). The independent variables were (a) the status difference between the supervisor and subordinate (small vs. large), (b) job type, (c) sex of subject, and (d) sex type of subject (same‐sexed, cross‐sexed, androgynous, or undifferentiated). The results indicated that ambiguous behaviors are perceived as being more sexually harassing in male dominated and mixed settings than in female dominated settings. The implications for future theory and research on sexual harassment are discussed.
The Development of the Attitudes Toward Censorship Questionnaire1
Authors: Hense Richard , Wright Christian
Published: August 2006

Two studies were conducted to develop a psychometrically sound scale to measure attitudes to ward censorship. In the first study, 37 initial items were administered to 109 college and high school students. Additional measures were also included for validation purposes. Factor analysis and item‐total correlations were used to select items for the final scale. Results revealed two distinct factors alluding to the possibility of a multidimensional construct. Reliability coefficients indicated that both factors were internally consistent. Correlations with additional measures provided evidence for the criterion and convergent validity of the scale. The second study used a sample of 150 college students to replicate the initial findings and to establish testretest reliability.
The Impact of Need for Achievement Components on Goal Commitment and Performance
Authors: JOHNSON DEBRA STEELE , Perlow Richard
Published: August 2006

A laboratory study examined the effects of components of need for achievement on goal commitment and performance. It was predicted that need for mastery and need for work are related to goal commitment. It was also predicted that need for mastery and need for work are more highly related to goal commitment than competitiveness, given the characteristics of the task environment. Finally, goal commitment was expected to mediate the effects of need for mastery and need for work on performance. Fifty‐four undergraduate students performed nine trials of a complex task and completed a need for achievement scale composed of four subscales. Support was obtained for the first two predictions, and evidence of a sequential model partially supported the third prediction.
Predicting AIDS‐Induced Behavioral Change in the General Population of Young People
Authors: AJDUKOVIĆ DEAN , AJDUKOVIĆ MARINA , PRIŠLIN RADMILA
Published: August 2006

Sets of individual‐psychological and sociodemographic variables for predicting self‐reported AIDS‐relevant behavioral change were examined. The self‐completing questionnaire used in the study contained scales of knowledge and attitudes about AIDS, sex and drug abuse experience scales, and six behavioral change scales. It was anonymously administered to 2,655 young people of both sexes, 15–30 years of age, living in 18 cities and towns, regularly employed or attending school. The overall level of knowledge was high and the attitudes moderately liberal. Regression analyses showed that only a small fraction of variance in any of the six behavioral change criteria (sex, drugs, personal concern, chance of contracting the disease, desire for more knowledge, and nonfunctional practices) could be attributed to the four predictors presumed to influence the criteria directly (sex risk index, drugs risk index, knowledge, and attitudes). The prediction improved when another 10 variables with assumed indirect influence were included. Socioeconomic status and the drug abuse risk index were most predictive of behavior change. Knowledge and attitudes proved to be poor predictors. It is stressed that the social and cultural specifics in planning prevention activities must be observed.
Interrelationships Among Name Desirability, Name Uniqueness, Emotion Characteristics Connoted by Names, and Temperament
Authors: Mehrabian Albert
Published: August 2006

The subjects in Study 1 (the target group) provided their names and data on their own temperaments. The subjects in Study 2 rated the target group's names on uniqueness and desirability. The subjects in Study 3 rated the temperament qualities connoted by the names given by the target group. The name uniqueness and desirability scales had high reliabilities and correlated ‐0.44, showing that more unique names were less desirable. The qualities of pleasantness and dominance, which were connoted by a person's name, were judged very reliably. Names that connoted psychological health versus maladjustment (pleasant/ unpleasant temperament) were indeed associated with pleasant/unpleasant temperament attributes. The pleasantness and dominance connoted by names enhanced the desirability of those names, whereas greater unpleasantness and submissiveness were connoted by more unique names.