bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Influence of Gun Ownership on Social Inferences About Women and Men1
Authors: Branscombe Nyla R. , Owen Susan
Published: August 2006

In the past gun ownership was primarily a male‐only phenomenon. There has been, however, an increase among American women in gun purchasing largely for purposes of self‐defense. In the first study we examined the consequences of women and men owning handguns, versus not doing so, for social perception. Given that gun ownership is stereotype inconsistent for women but not for men, such a violation of expectancies was expected to have a greater impact on inferences about women than men. Subjects believed that women who owned handguns would possess masculine physical characteristics, although they were not perceived as losing feminine body attributes per se. Women who owned guns tended to be perceived as less likely to occupy female stereotypic social roles, while men who owned a weapon were perceived as more likely to do so. Men who owned a handgun were perceived as less likely to possess socially desirable male stereotypic traits, although women with a handgun gained in this respect. In the second study where a community sample was employed, the main pattern of outcomes was replicated. Affective reactions toward male and female gun owners were similar, and less positive than for persons who do not own guns. Individuals with both positive and negative attitudes toward guns displayed the same pattern of inferences based on gun ownership and target gender. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for social judgment and stereotype use.
Effects of Probabilistic Rewards on Recycling Attitudes and Behavior1
Authors: Diamond William D. , Loewy Ben Z.
Published: August 2006

Two studies compared the attitudinal and behavioral effects of certain rewards and lotteries. In a laboratory experimental study, lotteries produced significantly more attitude change than cash payments. The greatest attitude change occurred among lottery winners. In a quasi‐experimental field study, subjects rewarded with lottery tickets recycled glass and newspaper more frequently than subjects receiving other individual or group rewards. Attitude change was not affected by the type of reward Implications for the design of incentive programs to increase prosocial behavior are discussed
Distraction, Control, and Dental Stress1
Authors: Anderson Robin A. , Baron Roberts , Logan Henrietta
Published: August 2006

This study examined the efficacy of external distraction as a coping strategy. Thirty‐eight dental patients were randomly assigned to one of three groups: incidental music during the dental procedure, music coupled with suggestions that music would help reduce stress, or a no‐treatment control group. Patients in both music groups reported experiencing less stress (i.e., less pain. less discomfort, more control) than patients in the no‐treatment group. Patient ratings made by dentists, blind to condition, provided converging evidence for the therapeutic effect of distraction. Thus, distracting music was found to be effective in reducing stress and increasing perceptions of control. The relative ease and simplicity of implementing external distraction compared to manipulating actual control in a medical setting may make this manipulation attractive to professionals involved with individuals experiencing stress.
Support for the Use of Force in War: The Effect of Procedural Rule Violations and Group Membership1
Authors: Mann Jeffrey A. , Gaertner Samuel L.
Published: August 2006

To examine whether support for force in war is influenced by the proportionality of combatants' force and subjects' group membership with combatants, 215 American college students were exposed to a news transcript that factorially varied an Invading Country (U.S., England, U.S.S.R.), Invader's Tactics (moderate violence, high violence) and Defender's Tactics (nonviolence, moderate violence). Results supported a proportionality hypothesis whereby invader's force was deemed inappropriate and deserving of a prison term to the extent that invader's force was disproportionately violent to defender's force. Also, group membership moderated this effect such that force by the Soviet Union was rated as more inappropriate than identical force by the U.S. or England. Discussion addresses the role of procedural rules of conflict in support for intergroup conflict, and evidence in the current study that the moderating effect of group membership was more consistent with Sherif & Sherif's (1969) Realistic Conflict Theory than Tajfel & Turner's (1979) Social Identity Theory.
Changes in Fear of AIDS and Homophobia in a University Population
Authors: Young Robert K. , Gallaher Peggy , Belasco Julie , Barr Alicia , Webber Arthur W.
Published: August 2006

A survey measuring attitudes toward fear of AIDS and homophobia, taken in the fall of 1985, was repeated in the fall of 1989 on the same university population. The results indicated that whereas fear of AIDS decreased, the degree of homophobia remained essentially unchanged. In addition, although respondents were much more knowledgeable about AIDS in 1989 than in 1985, there was no evidence of any change in the relatively high correlation between the fear of AIDS and homophobia.
Chronic Stress and Toxic Waste: The Role of Uncertainty and Helplessness1
Authors: Fleming India , O'Keeffe Mary K. , Baum Andrew
Published: August 2006

Residents of an area near a hazardous toxic waste dump and a matched control area 5 miles from any toxic storage site were compared to examine mediation of chronic stress by feelings of uncertainty and helplessness. Self‐report, behavioral, and biochemical measures of stress were collected and were analyzed as a function of whether subjects lived near the toxic hazard as well as in light of feelings of uncertainty and helplessness. Subjects living near the landfill were concerned about the hazard, reported more symptom distress, performed more poorly on a task requiring concentration and motivation, and exhibited higher levels of urinary catecholamines than did control subjects. Feelings of uncertainty were only modestly related to stress, but helplessness was more central to chronic stress among people living near the hazard.
Recognition and Ratings of Television Music Videos: Age, Gender, and Sociocultural Effects
Authors: Greeson Larry E.
Published: August 2006

High school, younger college, and older college subjects rated explicit, neutral, or Christian television music videos according to theme clarity/recognition and whether the respective videos were liked/disliked. Subjects of each age group were able to recognize the themes of each music‐video category with a high degree of accuracy. Younger subjects and males were found to rate the music videos, especially those selected for explicitness, more favorably than older or female subjects. Sociocultural background factors were also found to be related to recognition and ratings of the television music videos. In particular, working class background subjects. subjects who watched music videos regularly, and those that seldom or never attended church rated the music videos, especially the explicit ones, more favorably than subjects from a college town background, subjects who seldom or never watched music videos, and subjects who regularly attended church. These findings were interpreted in terms of media‐based social influence processes and reciprocal determinism.
The Prejudicial Impact of Pretrial Publicity1
Authors: Moran Gary , Cutler Brian L.
Published: August 2006

The current studies examine the influence of pretrial publicity on potential jurors' attitudes toward a defendant. In Study 1, following one year of newspaper coverage of the investigation, arrest, and indictment of defendants for distributing large quantities of marijuana in southern Illinois, 604 potential jurors in that district were surveyed regarding their knowledge of the case, general attitudes toward crime, and attitudes toward the specific case. Analyses of the survey data revealed that knowledge of the case specifics was positively and significantly correlated with perceived culpability of the defendant but nonsignificantly correlated with willingness to admit partiality. Study 2 dealt with a highly publicized Dade County, Florida murder of a police officer in a drug sting operation. Again knowledge of pretrial publicity correlated significantly with perceived culpability of the defendant. As in Study 1, such knowledge did not correlate with stated ability to be impartial. We conclude that even modest pretrial publicity can prejudice potential jurors against a defendant and that self‐reports of impartiality should not be taken at face value.
Resolving Ethical Dilemmas in Management: Experimental Investigations of Values, Accountability, and Choice
Authors: Brief Arthur P. , Dukerich Janet M. , Doran Lucinda I.
Published: August 2006

Hypotheses regarding the effects of personal values and accountability on the resolution of ethical dilemmas in management were formulated and tested experimentally with a sample of 135 M.B.A. students. Personal values were found to be related to how subjects chose to resolve an ethical dilemma presented to them; but, as expected, this relationship did not hold when subjects were made to feel accountable to another for their choices. Accountability, unexpectedly, however, did not have a main effect on choices. This lack of an effect tentatively was attributed to the inexplicitness of the accountability manipulations. In a second and third experiment, support for the importance of explicitness in accountability research was obtained. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings from all three experiments were discussed.
Attitudes Toward Energy Conservation: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis1
Authors: Samuelson Charles D. , Biek Michael
Published: August 2006

This study reports a large‐scale survey of citizens' attitudes and beliefs toward energy use and conservation in the southwestern United States. A probability sample of 1,000 Texas residents responded to a 10‐item telephone survey. Questions concerned issues such as thermal comfort and health, economic benefits of conservation, efficacy of individual efforts, and perceived causes of the current U.S. energy situation. Confirmatory factor analysis replicated previous work by Seligman et al. (1979) and Becker et al. (1981) by identifying the same four principal dimensions underlying energy use attitudes and beliefs: 1) comfort and health, 2) high effort‐low payoff, 3) role of individual consumer, and 4) legitimacy of energy problem. In addition, several demographic characteristics were found to moderate consumers' responses to the survey items. The results of this study reinforce the conclusion that future energy conservation campaigns should be sensitive to consumers' concerns about comfort and health. New directions for future research on energy attitudes and conservation behavior are discussed.
Effect of Expresser Role and Type of Self‐Touching on Observers' Perceptions1
Authors: Harrigan Jinni A. , Lucic Karen S. , Kay Denise , McLaney Anne , Rosenthal Robert
Published: August 2006

The effect of a nonverbal behavior frequently displayed during social interaction, self‐touching, was analyzed with respect to body location, other nonverbal behaviors, and expressers' role. In Study 1, hypotheses about role (job applicant, medical patient, friend, stranger) and levels of anxiety and familiarity were substantiated. In Study 2, subjects rated females who displayed several types of self‐touching (to nose, arm, hand) singly, or in combination with head nodding or leg recrossing, representing the four roles in Study 1. Hypotheses based on types of self‐touching and role were supported by linear contrasts; for example, hand rubbing by job applicant and patient, who were expected to experience some anxiety, was judged as more acceptable than for friend or stranger. Discrete self‐touching (nose) was evaluated as more expressive and warm than unpatterned self‐touching (hand, arm) for friend and stranger. Control scenes (no movement) were rated as more calm and dominant, but less expressive, warm, and interested.
Union Influence on Internal Organizational Decisions: An Empirical Analysis
Authors: Fields Mitchell W. , Thacker James W.
Published: August 2006

The development of appropriate models of organizational decision making requires a complete determination of the different groups that affect the decision‐making process. The present investigation examines the influence of union officials as a group on internal organizational decisions. The rank and file membership of three local unions (N= 1324) and their first level supervisors (N= 205) were surveyed regarding the perceived influence of five different groups within the organizational hierarchy. A methodology developed by Tannenbaum (1968) and his associates was modified to include lower‐level union representatives as one of five groups who potentially wield influence over organizational decisions. The results of this investigation determined that union representatives are seen as possessing significant levels of influence regarding microlevel organizational decisions. Additional analyses revealed that first‐level supervisors believed that union representatives possessed more influence in organizational decisions than they possessed as a group. The implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.
A Cross‐National Study of Nuclear Attitudes, Normative Support, and Activist Behavior: Additive and Interactive Effects1
Authors: Newcomb Michael D. , Rabow Jerome , HERNANDEZ ANTHONY C. R.
Published: August 2006

We tested the cross‐national similarity of additive and interactive variants of the Contingent Consistency Hypothesis in regard to antinuclear activist behavior. We predicted that attitudinally consistent behavior is influenced (a) more by specific than general attitudes, (b) by facilitation between normative support and personal attitudes in an interactive manner, and (c) by a fundamental or basic social‐psychological process that can be demonstrated in people from different countries and cultures. These three hypotheses were tested for general (pacifist) attitudes, specific (antinuclear) attitudes, normative support, and antinuclear political activism in samples of college students from the U. S., England, and Sweden. In each sample, specific attitudes were strong, unique predictors of activist behavior (more so than general attitudes), while normative support had no additive influence on this behavior beyond that explained by attitudes for U. S. and British students. Interaction effects were found for both pacifist and nuclear attitudes in conjunction with normative support among the U. S. students, but only for pacifist attitudes in the British sample and only with antinuclear attitudes in the Swedish sample. In contrast with other studies where interaction effects were hypothesized for behaviors that were deviant or typically initiated by others, the present interactions were obtained for lawful behaviors that are often begun and/ or performed alone. With some notable variations, these results were confirmed in each sample, partially validating the cross‐national generality of the interactive attitude‐behavior model for activist behavior.
Using Cognitive Dissonance to Encourage Water Conservation1
Authors: DICKERSON CHRIS ANN , Thibodeau Ruth , Aronson Elliot , Miller Dayna
Published: August 2006

In a field experiment on water conservation, we aroused dissonance in patrons of the campus recreation facility by making them feel hypocritical about their showering habits. Using a 2 × 2 factorial design, we manipulated subjects “‘mindfulness” that they had sometimes wasted water while showering, and then varied whether they made a “public commitment” urging other people to take shorter showers. The “hypocrisy” condition‐in which subjects made the public commitment after being reminded of their past behavior‐was expected to be dissonance‐arousing, thereby motivating subjects to increase their efforts to conserve water. The results were consistent with this reasoning. Compared to controls, subjects in the hypocrisy condition took significantly shorter showers. Subjects who were merely reminded that they had wasted water, or who only made the public commitment, did not take shorter showers than control subjects. The findings have implications for using cognitive dissonance as means of changing behavior in applied settings, especially those in which people already support the desired goal, but their behavior is not consistent with those beliefs.
Black Beauty: Skin Color and Body Images among African‐American College Women1
Authors: Bond Selena , Cash Thomas F.
Published: August 2006

Skin color has played an historically influential role in the lives of African Americans. The present study examined the role of skin color (i. e., its lightness‐darkness) as it pertained to various body‐image measures among 66 light‐, medium‐, and darkskinned Black college females. A Skin Color Assessment Procedure was developed to assess various perceptual dimensions of skin color. Although subjects were generally satisfied with their skin tone, the idealization of lightness was apparent in several respects. Those who desired a different skin tone favored being lighter more than being darker. Unlike light‐ and dark‐skinned Black females, medium‐toned Black females' held personal ideals that were significantly lighter than their self‐perceived color. The majority of subjects believed that Black men found light skin most attractive. Although actual skin color did not predict various facets of body image satisfaction, skin color satisfaction was positively related to satisfaction with overall appearance and with the face. Future research should address the possible mediating role of racial identity vis‐a‐vis the effects of skin color and racial physiognomy on body image.
Men's and Women's Beliefs about the Influence of the Menstrual Cycle on Academic Performance: A Preliminary Study1
Authors: Walker Anne
Published: August 2006

A preliminary investigation of beliefs about the influence of the menstrual cycle on work performance was conducted. Undergraduate students were asked to make a pass/fail decision about a borderline exam mark based on a wide variety of educational, medical, and personal information about the candidate and to rate the importance of various factors in their decisions. Three versions of the questionnaire were used, varying only in the menstrual cycle status of the examinee. The results showed that students do believe that the premenstrual and, particularly, menstrual phases have a negative impact on performance. However, in this context, they were considered of minor importance compared with educational and personality factors.
Attltudes Towards AIDS and Homosexuals: Gender, Marital Status, and Religlon
Authors: Kunkel Lynn E. , Temple Lori L.
Published: August 2006

The current study investigates the relationship between fear of AIDS and homophobia. The role of gender, marital status, religion, and church attendance as possible mediating variables in the hypothesized relationship was also investigated. Responses of 507 subjects to questionnaires indicated that men and women reported the same level of fear of AIDS; however, men were more homophobic than women. There was no difference between single and married individuals in the level of fear of AIDS; but people who had never been married were more homophobic than married individuals. There was also no relationship between religiosity and fear of AIDS. There were, however, differences in levels of homophobia across denominations. Finally, there was a relationship between church attendance and both fear of AIDS and homophobia. The results are compared to those obtained by Bouton and his colleagues 5 years earlier and implications for educational programs designed to change attitudes toward AIDS and homosexuality are discussed.
Magical Contagion Beliefs and Fear of AIDS1
Authors: Rozin Paul , Markwith Maureen , Nemeroff Carol
Published: August 2006

Extreme overreaction to nonrisky contact with persons with AIDS is considered to be a case of the operation of the sympathetic magical law of contagion. Prior work has shown that this principle (once in contact, always in contact) holds in the belief systems of American adults. In this paper, we show that four characteristics of this law correspond to the attitudes of college students toward AIDS: (a) actual physical contact is a critical factor in determining negative reactions, (b) even very brief contact is capable of transmitting substantial negative properties (dose insensitivity), (c) the effects of even brief contact are long lasting (permanence), and (d) the effects of contact can occur in a direction opposite to that of the normal causal arrow (backward contagion). We conclude that the magical law of contagion provides a useful way of formulating overconcern about the transmission of AIDS.
The Psychology of Eyewitness Testimony: A Comparison of Experts and Prospective Jurors
Authors: Kassin Saul M. , Barndollar Kimberly A.
Published: August 2006

To compare people's beliefs about eyewitness testimony with expert opinion, 79 college students and community adults filled out a questionnaire in which they reported whether they agreed or disagreed with 21 statements previously used in a survey of eyewitness experts (Kassin, Ellsworth, & Smith, 1989). The results indicated that there was a significant inter‐item correlation of agreement rates but that subjects differed from the experts on 15 of these items. For courts seeking to determine the extent to which juries need assistance in their evaluations of eyewitness evidence, these findings offer a tentative list of topics worthy of either expert testimony or cautionary instructions from the judge.
When Courtesy Fails: Gender Roles and Polite Behaviors1
Authors: Harris Mary B.
Published: August 2006

In order to explore some of the links between gender roles and traditional courteous behaviors, 284 university students responded to a questionnaire in which they evaluated scenarios of cross‐sex courteous acts, described their recent experiences with courtesy, and identified courteous behaviors that they commonly performed for and expected from others. As predicted, there was a tendency for courtesies from a woman to a man to be viewed less favorably than courtesies from a man to a woman. Most subjects had directed their most recent act of courtesy toward a female and had received their most recent act from a person of the opposite sex. Some common courtesies tended to be directed toward females more than males, and males were expected to perform certain courtesies such as opening doors and paying for things for women. In general, the results confirmed the theory that courteous behaviors may serve to perpetuate gender role stereotypes and to regulate interactions between the sexes. However, most courteous behaviors were performed and appreciated by people of both genders.
Influence Tactics in Combination: The Interactive Effects of Soft Versus Hard Tactics and Rational Exchange
Authors: Barry Bruce , Shapiro Debra L.
Published: August 2006

The effects of multiple influence tactics in dyadic compliance‐gaining situations are underexplored. In a laboratory experiment, we exposed subjects to a scenario‐based influence attempt within which tactics that convey a rational exchange of benefits were juxtaposed with soft tactics that project friendliness and flattery. We found support for the prediction that soft tactics would heighten compliance more in the absence, rather than presence, of an offered exchange. Implications and limitations are discussed.
Physical Distance and AIDS: Too Close for Comfort?1
Authors: Mooney Kim M. , Cohn Ellen S. , Swift Margaret B.
Published: August 2006

The purpose of the study was to assess attitudes toward AIDS as measured by physical distance. Fifty‐two female students were told that they would be interviewing an AIDS patient, a homosexual, a cancer patient, or another student. While waiting, they arranged the two chairs for the interview. The distance between chairs was measured. Subjects placed the chairs significantly farther apart when they anticipated interviewing an AIDS patient than when they anticipated interviewing people under the other conditions. The results suggest that people are still uncomfortable with AIDS patients even under casual circumstances that require minimal physical contact. Implications for social interactions are discussed.
Efficacy of the Theory of Reasoned Action in Predicting AIDS‐Related Sexual Risk Reduction Among Gay Men1
Authors: Cochran Susan D. , Mays Vickie M. , Clarletta Jon , Caruso Christine , Mallon David
Published: August 2006

This study evaluates the utility of a social psychological theory, Ajzen and Fishbein's (1980) Theory of Reasoned Action, in explicating attitude‐behavior relationships concerning the practice of “safer sex” in a sample of 297 gay men. As the theory predicts, results indicate that a positive attitude toward “safer sex” and a belief that important, influential referents encouraged such behavior covaried with intention to practice sexual behaviors that minimize risk of infection with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). In turn, intention predicted levels of sexual risk‐taking and employment of HIV‐risk reducing strategies. Results provide support for the theory of reasoned action as a viable model of attitude‐behavior relationships in AIDS‐related risk reduction behaviors of gay men.
Crosscultural Police‐Citizen Interactions: The Influence of Race, Beliefs, and Nonverbal Communication on Impression Formation1
Authors: Vrij Aldert , WINKEL FRANS WILLEM
Published: August 2006

Several studies done in both the United States and Europe suggest that police officers assess black citizens more negatively than they do white citizens. In this article, it is hypothesized that this differential treatment is caused by a lack of correspondence between a white police officer and a black citizen. Two experiments are reported that examine the impact of three different kinds of lack of correspondence‐in race, beliefs, and nonverbal behavior–on the formation of the impression that the citizen is a suspect in the committal of a crime. The results revealed that black nonverbal behavior and dissimilar beliefs resulted in a negative assessment. Black skin color resulted in an unpredicted positive effect. Some implications of these results for more traditional analyses of prejudice and discrimination will be discussed.
Effects of Impressions of Amazement and Foolishness on Compliance
Authors: Rind Bruce
Published: August 2006

Impression management theory maintains that the use of strategic tactics such as self‐promotion can influence targets in desired directions. Self‐promotion concerns an actor's attempts to establish an image of competence. In this study, a confederate attempted to sell raffle tickets to targets after promoting himself by amazing his targets with his extraordinary calculating skills (high competence), making a fool of himself by exhibiting calculating skills falling far short of pretensions (low competence), or making no impression at all. Amazing targets was achieved by communicating with the experimenter using a concealed communications device. It was found that amazement increased compliance substantially over foolishness and making no impression, while foolishness yielded the same degree of compliance as making no impression. Thus, the utility of self‐promotion in influencing others, as predicted by impression management theory, received empirical support.
Prejudice Against a Progay Man in an Everyday Situation: A Scenario Study1
Authors: RUSSELL P. A. , GRAY C. D.
Published: August 2006

A scenario study was performed to investigate whether people in the street would be less likely to respond positively to a stranger's request for a small favor if the stranger wore a T‐shirt bearing a progay slogan. One hundred and eighteen female and 112 male participants were each presented with six scenarios, all of which asked them to imagine being approached by a person requesting change for a banknote. The dependent variable in the study was the participant's judgment, on a 7‐point scale, of how likely he or she would be to help. Five of the scenarios were included as distractors. In the critical scenario, the requester was described as wearing a plain T‐shirt or one with either a progay or a control slogan printed on it. The male participants in the progay condition showed a significantly lower level of help than those in either of the control groups. The antigay pattern, however, was not obtained in the responses of the female participants. The results are discussed with reference to other findings in the literature, and their implications for people's responses to progay persons in everyday life are considered.
An Examination of the Relative Impact of Normative Information and Self‐Efficacy on Personal Goals and Performance Over Time1
Authors: Mathieu John E. , Button Scott B.
Published: August 2006

A model of goal‐setting processes was developed that depicted the influence of previous performance, normative information, and self‐efficacy on personal goals and performance. Three levels of normative information were manipulated in a counter‐balanced fashion across two trials. Norms were hypothesized to have a greater influence than self‐efficacy on personal goals for the first trial, whereas efficacy was hypothesized to have a stronger influence than norms on Trial 2 goals. A sample of 135 undergraduates completed a practice and two performance trials of a word game, and the results were analyzed using LISREL structural modeling techniques. Although the general hypothesized model fit fairly well, the specific results concerning the relative impact of norms and self‐efficacy were opposite of the expected direction. Potential explanations for these results, and recommendations for future research are offered.
Perceived Peer Norms, Casual Sex, and AIDS Risk Prevention1
Authors: Winslow Robert W. , Franzini Louis R. , Hwang Jimmy
Published: August 2006

To facilitate more effective AIDS education with heterosexual college students, an etiological study of AIDS risk behavior was conducted on a sample of 1,035 students at a large western university. In this study, “AIDS risk behavior” refers to participation in casual sex, failure to use condoms, and resistance to changing casual sex activity. Knowledge regarding AIDS had no significant correlation with AIDS‐risk behavior. However, “perceived peer norms” (termed Peer Norm in this study) was a major predictor variable in AIDS risk behavior. Peer Norm was defined as perceived AIDS‐risk attitudes and the behavior of one's peers. These findings contrast some what with those of Emmons et al.'s (1986) study of homosexual men. This difference may be due to the focus in the present study upon heterosexual university students as subjects. For this group, our results suggest that programs targeting the peer group in AIDS prevention education are especially needed. These might include peer‐based AIDS education, emotion‐oriented discussion sessions, encounters with “Peers‐with‐AIDS” models, and role‐playing of assertive responses.
What Does the Cook‐Medley Hostility Scale Measure? In Search of an Adequate Measurement Model1
Authors: Contrada Richard J. , Jussim Lee
Published: August 2006

High scores on the Cook‐Medley hostility scale (Ho) have been associated with enhanced risk for physical disorders, psychological dysfunction, and problems in interpersonal relationships. These outcomes appear to be produced by certain anger‐related personality attributes reflected in Ho scores. There have been several efforts to describe those attributes, but no empirical attempts to determine which description corresponds most closely to the structure of relationships among Ho items. This study employed confirmatory factor analysis to evaluate nine models variously specifying that from one to five distinct characteristics are reflected in Ho scores. Five models were based on previous research, and four were derived from exploratory factor analysis. Results for all nine models indicated an equivalently poor degree of fit with the data. Thus, although the Ho shows validity as a predictor of medical, psychological, and interpersonal outcomes, and appears to index attributes that may reasonably be described as “hostile,” it may lack the coherent internal structure required for measuring distinctive psychological traits.
Ratings of Orally Presented Verbal Expressions of Probability by a Heterogeneous Sample
Authors: Clarke Valerie A. , Ruffin Coral L. , Hill David J. , Beamen Arthur L.
Published: August 2006

Verbal expressions of probability are used in daily conversations, physician‐physician and physician‐patient communications, and questionnaire and interview responses. To assess the degree of agreement among English‐speaking Australian adults in allocating numerical probabilities to these verbal expressions of probability, 966 interviewees provided estimates for 60 isolated expressions of probability and a sequence of seven items placed in a sequence. Means and median scores appeared to be consistent with common sense and with findings from other countries. Mirror‐imaged terms were neither symmetrical nor equidistant, with the means and medians for the positive terms being closer to the mid‐points of the scale than the means and medians of the negative terms. Items in a sequence of probability terms showed greater symmetry and less variability than isolated expressions. For most items, there was an unacceptably high level of within‐subject and between‐subject variability. Although subjects with higher levels of education and/ or mathematics education showed less variability, these factors accounted for very little of the variance. The greater variability in Australian results relative to those reported elsewhere was partly attributed to the use of interviews rather than questionnaires. There were no particular stems that yielded greater consistency. It was concluded that the use of these expressions leads to very imprecise communication.
Environmentalism and Political Participation: Toward a New System of Social Beliefs and Values?
Authors: Herrera Marina
Published: August 2006

This study examines the social beliefs and values of the Spanish population with regard to environmentalism. A questionnaire on environmental beliefs was produced and administered to two sample groups. The first group, to be called “activists” (comprising 86 subjects), is characterized by belonging to one or other environmental organization. The other, termed “nonactivists” (comprising 410 subjects), is composed of people not belonging to any environmentalist organization. We conclude that, as in other Western countries, environmentalism has moved from being a set of beliefs held by a small group of people to becoming a central element in the system of beliefs characterizing our society. In other words, the beliefs of the environmentalist movement are being gradually built into a new ideology. However, we found differences between activists and nonactivists, which we interpret both in terms of Milbrath's theoretical model and as contradictions of postmodernist culture.
Motivational Readiness, Self‐Efficacy and Decision‐Making for Exercise1
Authors: Marcus Bess H. , Owen Neville
Published: August 2006

Exercise has important health benefits, but a large proportion of the population is physically inactive. We examined the prevalence of stages of readiness to exercise and their relationship to self‐efficacy and to the costs and benefits of exercising in samples of 1093 employees in and around Providence, Rhode Island, and 801 employees in Adelaide, Australia. In both samples, 40.6% of respondents had not yet begun to take action (not thinking about starting to exercise or thinking about it but not doing it), while 59.4% were at some phase of action (exercising some, starting to exercise regularly, exercising regularly). Scores on self‐efficacy items and cost‐and‐benefit items significantly differentiated employees at extreme stages. In contrast with those who exercised regularly, employees who had not yet begun to exercise had little confidence in their ability to exercise and saw exercising as having nearly as many costs as it had benefits. 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 to exercise.
Protection Motivation Theory and Adolescents' Perceptions of Exercise1
Authors: Fruin Donna J. , Pratt Chris , Owen Neville
Published: August 2006

Coping strategies endorsed by adolescents in dealing with a potential threat to their health were assessed in a study which investigated components of protection motivation theory. Year 9 and 10 high school students were presented with information about cardiovascular disease risk and the role of exercise in maintaining cardiorespiratory fitness. Three components specified by the theory were manipulated: response efficacy (effectiveness of exercise in preventing cardiovascular disease), response costs (costs associated with taking up a regular program of exercise) and self‐efficacy (belief in ability to carry out a program of exercise) in a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design with two levels (high vs. low) of each variable. It was hypothesized that such information would affect participants' perceptions of response efficacy, response costs, self‐efficacy, and their selection of coping strategies. Six dependent variables were investigated: two adaptive coping strategies (behavioral intention to exercise, rational problem solving) and four maladaptive strategies (avoidance, wishful thinking, hopelessness, arid fatalism). Manipulation checks found significant differences between the high and low conditions of each independent variable. Adaptive strategies were strongly endorsed, whereas endorsement of the maladaptive strategies ranged from minimal to complete disagreement. Participants in the high self‐efficacy condition indicated stronger intentions to exercise. Students in the low response efficacy condition demonstrated more endorsement of hopelessness and fatalism than did students in the high response efficacy condition. When exercising status was included as a fourth independent variable, it was found that active adolescents endorsed the adaptive coping strategies more strongly than did inactive adolescents. The cognitive coping strategies adopted by adolescents when dealing with perceived threats to their health may be influenced by information on the efficacy of relevant behavior, by perceptions of their ability to perform such behavior, and by their actual involvement with the behavior of concern.
Social Structure, Self‐Conception and Well‐Being: An Examination of Four Models with Unemployed People
Authors: Sheeran Paschal , McCarthy Eunice
Published: August 2006

A cross‐sectional questionnaire design (n= 88) was used to investigate the relationship between social structure, self‐conception and well‐being. Distinctions were drawn between public and private self‐esteem and, within private self‐esteem, between self‐evaluation and self‐affection. Significantly poorer public and private self‐esteem scores were observed for unemployed subjects than for an employed control group. The predictions of four accounts of psychological well‐being/distress that draw upon these self‐concept dimensions were tested. Results supported symbolic interactionist and self‐discrepancy theory and, to a lesser extent, self‐enhancement theory. No support was found for a self‐verification theory approach. Implications of the study for social psychological research on the consequences of unemployment and for accounts of negative affect are outlined.
Effects of Suntan on Judgements of Healthiness and Attractiveness by Adolescents1
Authors: Broadstock Marita , Borland Ron , Gason Robyn
Published: August 2006

The present study sought to explore the relationship between level of suntan and perceptions of healthiness and attractiveness. The sample consisted of 191 students with a mean age of 14 years from five Victorian secondary schools. Subjects were presented with a series of slide pairs of models and asked to indicate the healthier and more attractive stimulus model in each pair. Systematically varied independent variables were: tan level (4 levels: no tan, light, medium, and dark tan), attire (swimwear and casual), sex of model, and sex of subject. Judgements of healthiness and attractiveness were moderately related to each other, the same judgement being made two thirds of the time. Results indicate that a medium tan is perceived as healthiest and most attractive, and “no tan” is perceived as both least healthy and attractive. Generally, darker tans were judged relatively more healthy and more attractive for judgements of male models, judgements of models who wore swimwear, and overall by subjects who desired a dark tan. Sex of subject affected judgements of attractiveness but not healthiness, with male subjects seeing darker tans as more attractive than female subjects. These findings confirm that perception of both healthiness and attractiveness are affected by level of suntan. That suntans have these attributes is a barrier to skin cancer control campaigns designed to encourage reduced exposure to the sun, although the lower level of preferences for the darkest tan level is reassuring.
Communal Orientation and the Burnout Syndrome Among Nurses1
Authors: VANYPEREN NICO W. , BUUNK BRAM P. , SCHAUFELI WILMAR B.
Published: August 2006

In the present study, burnout symptoms (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment) were hypothesized to occur among male and female nurses who are low in communal orientation and feel they invest more in their relationships with patients than they receive in return. Communal orientation refers to the desire to give and receive benefits in response to the needs of and out of concern for others. Furthermore, it was expected that the perception of imbalance would be more strongly related to depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment among women than among men. The sample consisted of 194 full time working nurses (48.5% males, 51.5% females). Burnout was measured with the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). The results show that the burnout syndrome is more widespread among: (a) subjects, particularly women, who perceive an imbalance in their relationships with patients; (b) subjects low in communal orientation; and (c) subjects who both perceive an imbalance and are low in communal orientation. The results are discussed in the context of theoretical and practical implications.
College Students' Judgments of Verbal Sexual Harassment1
Authors: Gervasio Amy Herstein , Ruckdeschel Katy
Published: August 2006

Most studies of sexual harassment focus on physical coercion or pressure for sexual favors. This research attempts to outline the factors involved in verbal sexual harassment, which is conceived of as a speech act similar to taboo language, with conversational “rules” and semantic categories that differentiate it from merely inappropriate language. One hundred thirty‐seven college students rated 37 sexual remarks for degrees of sexual harassment and inappropriateness. Total harassment scores correlated with total appropriateness scores at r = .68; although harassment ratings were high, remarks were judged more inappropriate than harassing. Five harassment factors and six appropriateness factors emerged. Women rated harassment factors of euphemisms and obscenity as significantly more harassing, and appropriateness factors of objectification, belittling competency, and name calling as more inappropriate. We conclude that men, who are less likely to be targets of harassment, are more used to taboo language and “naming” games, and are reluctant to admit to harassment, even when remarks are deemed inappropriate. Practical implications for defining verbal sexual harassment are discussed.
For Whom is this World Just?: Sexual Orientation and AIDS
Authors: Anderson Veanne N.
Published: August 2006

The “just world” hypothesis has been used to explain victim blaming, or the attributions that people have for why a person has been victimized. Based on some of the premises of the just world hypothesis it was predicted that people would be more likely to attribute blame to a gay man with AIDS than they would to a heterosexual man with AIDS. From a sample of 79 undergraduate students it was found that a gay man was given more personal blame for contracting AIDS than a heterosexual man. Furthermore, the more intolerant people were towards gay men and the more fearful they were of contact with AIDS, the more likely they were to blame the gay man for contracting AIDS. Although preliminary, these results indicate the usefulness of the just world hypothesis for understanding the stigmatization of people with AIDS.
An “Epidemic” Model of Adolescent Cigarette Smoking
Authors: Rowe David C. , Chassin Laurie , Presson Clark C. , Edwards Debra , Sherman Steven J.
Published: August 2006

The prevalence of regular smoking increases rapidly during adolescence. We applied modeling methods from the study of epidemic infectious disease to smoking behavior. Our “epidemic” models dealt with the process of transition among four states: nonsmoker (susceptible), trier (exposed), regular smoker (infected), and ex‐smoker (recovered). The best fitting model was one in which the transition from nonsmoker to trier was a social contagion process where nonsmokers contacted either triers or regular smokers. All other transitions were treated as constant rate processes in which a constant proportion of eligible individuals made the transition in a given year. The recursive equation model embodying these assumptions was able to predict accurately the proportion of adolescents in each state in Grades 6–11. Our results support a “stage” model of smoking, suggesting that different psychological and physiological processes are involved in the initiation of smoking than in developing a habit of regular smoking. A possible sex difference was found in the non‐contact transition between trier and smoker states, with the transition being more probable in females than in males.
Conceptual Meaning and Spuriousness in Ratio Correlations: The Case of Restaurant Tipping1
Authors: Lynn Michael , Bond Charles F.
Published: August 2006

Ratios of one variable over another are frequently used in social psychological research in order to control for a linear relationship between the numerator and the denominator. However, the use of ratio variables can introduce spuriousness into data analyses. This article provides a description and explanation of the problem of spuriousness in ratio correlations and it illustrates this problem with research on restaurant tipping.
Self‐Enhancement Among Major League Soccer Players: The Role of Importance and Ambiguity on Social Comparison Behavior1
Authors: Vanyperen Nico W.
Published: August 2006

This study was conducted to examine psychological mechanisms underlying self enhancing comparisons among 88 male major league professional soccer players. In line with other research, the results suggest that positive beliefs about oneself are more difficult to maintain with regard to unambiguous comparison dimensions. More interestingly, similar results were found by contrasting comparisons with a specific other to those with a vague other, a more ambiguous comparison target. Furthermore, it was confirmed that the more value subjects attach to a dimension of comparison, the more they consider themselves superior on that dimension. The practical implications of these results for competitive sport are discussed.