Ten years of research on the false-consensus effect (Ross, Greene, & House, 1977) and related biases in social perception (e.g., assumed similarity and overestimation of consensus) are examined in the light of four general theoretical perspectives: (a) selective exposure and cognitive availability,

Ten years of research on the false-consensus effect: an empirical and theoretical review

A variety of attributes differentiate attitudes that are stable and conseguential from those that are not, including extremity, certainty, importance, knowledge, intensity, interest, direct experience, accessibility, latitudes of rejection and noncommitment, and affective-cognitive consistency. Although these dimensions are clearly conceptually and operationally distinct from one another, researchers have often assumed that some are interchangeable, or that two or more reflect common higher-order constructs. Three studies using multitrait-multimethod confirmatory factor analysis assessed the relations among these dimensions. Although some of these dimensions are strongly related, most are not, and a multifactor model seems necessary to account for their intercorrelations

Attitude strength: One construct or many related constructs?

This study examined whether multiple indicators of attitude strength form general dimensions that foster differential pathways to resistance. Ego involvement, certainty, personal importance, knowledge, and extremity were assessed. Resistance processes and outcomes were measured in a selective judgment paradigm. Intentions to act on attitudes and information-seeking proclivities were also assessed. Factor analyses of the strength measures revealed 2 factors. Both fostered intentions to act but were associated with differential resistance processes and outcomes. Heightened levels of the factor representing Commitment to one's position were associated with increased selective elaboration, selective judgment, and attitude polarization. Embeddedness, the linkage of the attitude to one's self-concept, value system, and knowledge structure, was associated with decreased selective elaboration and increased information seeking and selective memory.

http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/psp/69/3/408.pdf

Attitude strength and resistance processes.

A method is described for measuring the explosive power of the leg in extension which has been found safe and acceptable for all age groups and levels of physical capability. The extension movement takes 0.25–0.40 s in a push through 0.165 m against a flat pedal. At the end of the push the leg is fully extended. The movement is made seated so that the forces are contained between the buttocks and the foot. The seat position is adjusted for leg length and the push is transmitted by a lever and chain to spin a flywheel. The gearing is such that resistance to the movement remains nearly constant throughout the extension. The final angular velocity of the flywheel is measured by an optoswitch and used to calculated the average leg extensor power (LEP) in the push. The reliability of the power measurement was evaluated in 46 subjects ranging in age from 20 to 86 years; they included medical students and geriatric day patients. They were tested on two occasions separated by a week. The maximal values on the first occasion (best of at least five trials) ranged from 30 to 300 W (mean ± 1 SD = 154 ± 88 W). There was no significant difference on re-test and the coefficient of variation was 9.4%. In a subgroup of 9 non-naive subjects who were measured by an experienced observer it was 6.3%. As expected, power was lower in women than in men and declined sharply with age. The sex difference was less when the values were expressed as power per body mass; a sharp age-related decline remained. The results from the LEP rig were compared with results obtained in the same subjects on the same occasion from similar pushes against an isokinetic dynamometer and two-legged jumps on a force plate. There was a highly significant correlation in both cases, Spearman's rank correlation (rho) = 0.73,P < 0.001,n = 16 subjects (age 27 ± 7.5 years) and rho = 0.86,P < 0.001,n = 13 subjects (age 39 ± 10.4 years) respectively.

A new method for measuring power output in a single leg extension: feasibility, reliability and validity.

The false consensus effect: A meta-analysis of 115 hypothesis tests

Studied the effects of attitude extremity on perceived consensus and willingness to ascribe trait terms to others with either pro- or antinuclear attitudes. 611 Ss rated their attitudes toward nuclear energy on a 5-point scale. Results show that attitude extremity affected consensus estimates. Trait attributions revealed a clear effect for valence, especially for extreme groups. Ss with extreme attitudes also ascribed more traits to both pro- and anti-others than Ss with relatively moderate attitudes.

/pdf/attitude-extremity-consensus-and-diagnosticity-1n7zatvag9.pdf

Attitude extremity, consensus and diagnosticity

Bicuculline increases the intracellular calcium response of CA1 hippocampal neurons to synaptic stimulation

/pdf/air-pollution-annoyance-and-coping-1i13iqri53.pdf

Air pollution, annoyance and coping

1. The purpose of the experiment was to examine how force, speed and power output of horizontal pulling with the upper limb was affected by the height of pull. 2. Fourteen seated male subjects made horizontal pulls with maximal effort at eye, shoulder and elbow level from their positions of full reach when the trunk and shoulder girdle were rigidly constrained. 3. Dynamic pulls were performed against a water-filled viscous dynamometer in which the resistance, proportional to the square of the velocity, could be varied. 4. The height of pull had no significant effect on either static or dynamic performance. 5. A force-velocity-position surface is presented which describes the conditions at the handle during the pulls. It confirms the importance of degree of reach upon the dynamic performance, and over a greater range of velocities than has been studied previously. 6. A simple model shows that the similarity of performance at eye, shoulder and elbow heights is remarkable because they occur under very different biomechanical circumstances. 7. The total work done in a complete pull increases with resistance. Peak power output is obtained against the same resistance (50 kg m−1) that was reported for elbow flexion and standing pulls.

J. van der Linden

Papers

Attitude extremity, consensus and diagnosticity

Bicuculline increases the intracellular calcium response of CA1 hippocampal neurons to synaptic stimulation

Air pollution, annoyance and coping

Force, speed and power output of the human upper limb during horizontal pulls.

The influence of living near a nuclear power plant on beliefs about nuclear energy