EFFECT OF PERCEIVED SIMILARITY IN ATTITUDE UPON NURSE ATTRACTION: A TEST OF NEWCOMB'S THEORY.
Contributors: Indiana University School of Nursing.
Published: 1985
Number of pages: 117
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: This study, based upon Newcomb's theory, investigated how attitudes contribute to the development of face-to-face interactions among nurses. In this study, 50 graduate nursing students evaluated a computer software program. In 25 of the interactions, the confederate agreed with the subject's verbalized attitude towards the computer program, while in the other 25 interactions the confederate disagreed with the partner's expressed attitude. In all situations, the confederate employed consistent agreement and disagreement strategies. After each subject and the confederate viewed the computer program, they completed a questionnaire. At the completion of the study, 49 subjects were debriefed.

Reliabilities for the three instruments which measured the study's major variables all had Cronbach alphas of at least.90. Prior to testing the hypotheses, it was determined that three of four extraneous variables had no influence upon the variables under investigation. A Pearson product moment correlation revealed a positive relationship between attitude and perceived attitude of the task partner. A one-way analysis of variance was performed to test the second hypothesis and no significant differences were found for interpersonal attraction scores between subjects with high (similar) and low (dissimilar) perceived similarity in attitude. However, when perceived similarity in attitude was reconceptualized to indicate degree of similarity or dissimilarity between the attitude and perceived attitude scores, a significant difference was found between perceived similarity and attraction. A post hoc regression analysis also suggested that attitude, prior computer usage, and perceived similarity in attitude were better predictors of attraction.

Conclusions of the study are: (1) that the first theoretical relationship exists as Newcomb predicted, thus generating some additional support for the theory; (2) that the theory provides a framework to investigate how attitudes and perceived attitudes contribute to the development of professional/work relationships; (3) that the theory appears to function for women in much the same manner as it does for men; and (4) that the data from the debriefing suggest other concepts in Newcomb's theory that subjects intuitively considered and need further exploration.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-12, Section: B, page: 5231.

Thesis (D.N.S.)--INDIANA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF NURSING, 1985.

School code: 0815.