Showing papers in "Journal of Applied Social Psychology in 1989"
TL;DR: In this article, a cognitive-behavioral model specifies individual difference variables, situational factors, and cognitive processes assumed to mediate overt coaching behaviors and athletes' reactions to them in youth sports.
Abstract: A heuristic model is presented concerning leadership behaviors in youth sports The cognitive-behavioral model specifies individual difference variables, situational factors, and cognitive processes assumed to mediate overt coaching behaviors and athletes' reactions to them Initially, the status of leadership research is reviewed, focusing on the potential relevance of behavioral assessment to this area of inquiry Next, the athletic environment is characterized as a largely untapped naturalistic setting for psychological research, and a rationale is developed for the study of leadership in youth sports Following this, consideration is given to the basic components of a mediational model of coach-athlete interactions and some preliminary research relative to the model An expanded model is then presented, along with suggestions and hypotheses for future research Finally, the sport-specific model and associated research is related to the larger context of theoretical advances and empirical work in the area of leadership
364 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the relationship between people's social value orientations and helping behavior and found that participants were equally likely to comply to the small request to return their response forms regardless of whether they intended to donate any hours.
Abstract: The present study investigated the relationship between people's social value orientations and helping behavior. Subjects dassified a priori as either cooperators, individualists, or competitors were mailed a request to volunteer from zero to ten hours of their time to a worthy cause. Subjects were asked to indicate on their response forms the number of hours, if any, that they wished to contribute and to retum these forms using an enclosed self-addressed envelope regardless of whether they intended to donate any hours. The results revealed that subjects of all three social value orientations were equally likely to comply to the small request to return their response forms. However, the number of hours that subjects contributed differed as a function of their social values. As predicted, cooperators contributed significantly more of their time to the cause than did individualists and competitors. We relate these findings to previous research on social values and helping behavior.
314 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, an exploratory study was conducted to examine the organization of three often used measures of job satisfaction, and the relationships between these job satisfaction measures and affective (positive and negative) and cognitive attitudinal components were assessed.
Abstract: An exploratory study was conducted to examine the organization of three often used measures of job satisfaction. Employing a convenient sample of 144 workers, who also were enrolled in evening graduate school courses, relationships between these job satisfaction measures and affective (positive and negative) and cognitive attitudinal components were assessed. The job satisfaction measures were found to vary considerably in terms of their affective and cognitive content. These results were discussed in terms of their relevance to the study of job attitudes.
258 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, six sets of surveys were designed to assess the effects of anchoring on subjective likelihood estimates of a nuclear war, based on responses from 1600 students, results indicated that likelihood estimates were strongly susceptible to anchoring.
Abstract: “Anchoring” results from insufficient adjustment up or down from an original— often arbitrary—starting value. Six sets of surveys were designed to assess the effects of anchoring on subjective likelihood estimates of a nuclear war. Based on responses from 1600 students, results indicated that: (a) likelihood estimates were strongly susceptible to anchoring; (b) neither likelihood estimates nor the effects of anchoring were significantly influenced by the ease with which respondents could imagine a nuclear war (outcome availability), by instructions to list the most likely path to nuclear war (path availability), or by casting the problem in terms of the avoidance, rather than the occurrence, of nuclear war; (c) the effects of anchoring extended to estimates concerning the efficacy of strategic defenses; and (d) likelihood estimates were affected by anchoring even after correcting for social demand biases. In estimating the likelihood of nuclear war and otherwise attempting to “think the unthinkable”, many students responded in a manner consistent with denial; the paper concludes with a discussion of these individuals.
231 citations
TL;DR: The authors explored the psychological bases of attitudes toward persons afflicted with Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and examined both instrumental and symbolic bases of these attitudes, concluding that the specific instrumental concerns of importance were related to beliefs about subjects' feeling comfortable with the professor and not the contagiousness of AIDS.
Abstract: Five studies explored the psychological bases of attitudes toward persons afflicted with Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). These studies examined both instrumental and symbolic bases of these attitudes. In Studies 1, 2, and 3, both instrumental factors (e.g., beliefs about the probability of one's own child contracting AIDS) and symbolic factors (general attitudes toward homosexuality) independently contributed to the prediction of attitudes toward having one's child attend classes with a nonhomosexual person having AIDS. In Study 4, only attitudes toward homosexuality (symbolic factors) and not beliefs about contagiousness related to students' expressing a desire to transfer from a class with an AIDS-infected professor. In Study 5, subjects role played the situation experienced by subjects in Study 4. A wider array of instrumental concerns was assessed. While both instrumental and symbolic factors were related to attitudes of role-playing subjects, the specific instrumental concerns of importance were related to beliefs about subjects' feeling comfortable with the professor and not the contagiousness of AIDS. Thus, these results paralleled those of Study 4. These findings are discussed with regard to their relevance for understanding the varying functions of attitudes and for understanding the stigmatization of disease victims.
123 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a multivariate analysis was performed to examine which risk markers best differentiated among nonviolent men, verbally aggressive men, men who exhibit minor physical violence, and severely physically violent men.
Abstract: In the family violence literature, a number of risk markers associated with men's use of violence against women have been identified. Using the 1975 National Family Violence Survey, a multivariate analysis was performed to examine which risk markers best differentiated among nonviolent men, verbally aggressive men, men who exhibit minor physical violence, and severely physically violent men. High levels of marital conflict, lower socioeconomic status, and greater exposure to violent role models in the home of origin emerged as primary correlates of levels of violence between intimates. Theoretical and research implications are discussed.
111 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors report the results of a questionnaire on communication and commitment filled out by 376 employees of a mid-sized city government, who were asked about the mode and frequency of their communications within the organization and about their commitment to the city government.
Abstract: Various theories and management policies suggest that there should be a positive relationship between communication and commitment to the organization. However, support for that relationship remains equivocal. We report the results of a questionnaire on communication and commitment filled out by 376 employees of a mid-sized city government. They were asked about the mode and frequency of their communications within the organization and about their commitment to the city government. Consistent with our hypotheses about the nature of computer-mediated communication, use of computer mail and bulletin boards predicted organizational commitment, but use of the telephone and paper modes of communication did not. In addition, those most likely to benefit from the immediacy and memory of computer communication—shift workers—evidenced a stronger relationship between computer mail use and commitment than did regular employees. Two mechanisms for mediating the relationship between communication and commitment were evaluated. Evidence supports active participation in communication as a mediating mechanism in the relationship between communication and commitment. The informational value of communication does not appear to be important in this regard.
110 citations
TL;DR: The effectiveness of a one-shot intervention on the social, medical or medical/social consequences of smoking in deterring adolescent smoking was evaluated.
Abstract: The effectiveness of a one-shot intervention on the social, medical or medical/social consequences of smoking in deterring adolescent smoking was evaluated. Four hundred twenty adolescents completed surveys which measured attitudes, subjective norms, stereotypes, self-presentational beliefs regarding smoking, intentions to smoke, and smoking status at three points in time. The predictive ability of a Theory of Reasoned Behavior and of Impression Management Theory in determining adolescent smoking decisions was also assessed.
96 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors found that patients who reported higher satisfaction with their emotional support when experiencing higher levels of pain were less likely to be depressed than patients who do not perceive such support.
Abstract: Previous research on patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has suggested that social support is beneficial for helping patients to adjust psychologically to the chronic and unpredictable episodes of pain. This study addresses whether support buffers the adverse effects of arthritis pain or whether support results in a decrease in the severity of pain regardless of pain levels in 233 RA patients. The results indicated that patients who reported higher satisfaction with their emotional support when experiencing higher levels of pain were less likely to be depressed than patients who do not perceive such support. The results were obtained after controlling the effects of demographic variables, functional disability variables, and the direct effects of pain and social support. However, moderating effects of emotional support were not found when this relationship was examined over a 6-month period. Rather, causal modeling suggested that both pain and emotional support contributed to a change in depression over two 6-month intervals. The results also suggested that depression may have an adverse effect on change in emotional support over a similar time frame.
94 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the role of social support and locus of control as determinants of job satisfaction and as moderators of the job stress, and concluded that the buffering effect of such support may be applicable to job stress only when that support is content specific (issues at work) and individuals receiving such support believe they can impact their outcomes (internals on locus-of-control).
Abstract: The present study examined the role of social support and locus of control as determinants of job satisfaction and as moderators of the job stress—job satisfaction relationship. Support from a variety of sources focusing on problems at work was found to be stress buffering for internals whereas supervisory support was directly related to job satisfaction for externals. Type of support (integration) was associated with job satisfaction depending on perceptions of locus of control. In addition, different dimensions of locus of control (internal, external-chance, external-powerful others) had differing effects on job satisfaction independent of levels of social support. It is concluded that the buffering effect of social support may be applicable to job stress only when that support is content specific (issues at work) and individuals receiving such support believe they can impact their outcomes (internals on locus of control). The implication of these findings are discussed in terms of practical application in work organizations.
92 citations
TL;DR: This paper showed that deception detection in simulated sales communications by retail salespersons and automobile customers can also be detected nonverbally, and that deception-detection was not above chance, apparently because the salesperson's and customers' nonverbal cues were not correlated with lying.
Abstract: Experiments on behavioral lie detection have indicated that observers can detect a communicator's lies with above-chance accuracy, and that detection accuracy may be enhanced when observers pay special attention to certain vocal and body-movement cues. The present experiment asked whether deception in (simulated) sales communications by retail salespersons and automobile customers could likewise be detected nonverbally. Contrary to much of the prior literature, deception-detection in this study was not above chance, apparently because the salespersons' and customers' nonverbal cues simply were not correlated with lying. Though the observers seemed quite suspicious and did not give communicators the “benefit of the doubt”, they could not discriminate the communicators' deceptive communications from their truthful ones. Many—perhaps most—of the lies in sales communications may be told by confident, well-practiced deceivers whose nonverbal behavior is unlikely to reveal their lying.
TL;DR: This article found a positive correspondence between smokers image and self-image derived from a relative depression of selfimage in combination with a relative elevation of smokers image for youth who were more likely to report intentions to smoke.
Abstract: Previous research has indicated that adolescents who intend to smoke differ from those who do not intend to smoke in the imagery they associate with smoking. The present study examined relationships among self-image, ideal self-image, image of smokers in general and image of models in cigarette ads for seventh-grade students. The strongest finding was a positive correspondence of smokers image to self-image in predicting intention to smoke cigarettes. This correspondence between smokers image and self-image derived from a relative depression of self-image in combination with a relative elevation of smokers image for youth who were more likely to report intentions to smoke. There was also a trend for the ideal self-image of youth with greater intentions to smoke to be similarly depressed. It is suggested that when both self-concept and aspirations for self-improvement are diminished, smoking may seem particularly desirable as a means of enhancing identity.
TL;DR: Safety belt use on a university campus was substantially increased by offering faculty/staff and students who signed and returned "buckle up" pledge cards the opportunity to win prizes donated by community merchants as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Safety belt use on a university campus was substantially increased by offering faculty/ staff and students who signed and returned "buckle up" pledge cards the opportunity to win prizes donated by community merchants. The 28,000 pledge cards, committing signers to buckle up for an academic quarter, were distributed during the spring and fall of 1985. One portion of the card was designed to be hung from a vehicle's rearview mirror as a reminder of the pledge to buckle up. The other portion served as a sweepstakes ticket and was deposited in boxes located throughout the campus community. Each quarter, winners were drawn from the returned pledge cards during three consecutive weeks. Although a relatively small proportion of the pledge cards were signed and turned in (i.e., 11.9% during spring and 9.4% during fall), those who signed and returned a pledge card (n = 3117) increased their safety belt use significantly. Across both quarters, faculty/ staff pledgers went from a high pre-pledge belt use level of 32.2% to a post-pledge level of 46.7%, and students increased their belt use from a pre-pledge use of 21.4% to a post-pledge level of 36.6%.
TL;DR: The authors examined the effects of students' and professors' sex on student evaluations of professors' teaching effectiveness and found that male faculty were given significantly higher evaluations on global teacher effectiveness and academic competence than female faculty, when controlling for extraneous variables, female faculty were not found to be rated as more sensitive to student needs than male faculty.
Abstract: This study examined the effects of students’ and professors’ sex on student evaluations of professors’ teaching effectiveness. Ratings of over four hundred faculty made by over nine thousand students were analyzed. After controlling for a large number of variables, the main results showed that (a) male faculty were given significantly higher evaluations on global teacher effectiveness and academic competence than female faculty; (b) when controlling for extraneous variables, female faculty were not found to be rated as more sensitive to student needs than male faculty; and (c) when making overall, global judgments of faculty performance, students seem to place more weight on academic competence for male faculty than for female faculty. Evaluations of employees’ performance are critical to employees’ success within work organizations. Favorable evaluations can be viewed as a limited resource that are essential for the attainment of other resources. Performance evaluations are used to determine decisions about terminations, promotions, and salary increases. If there are gender differences in performance evaluations, gender inequality in the labor force will persist despite other efforts to diminish discrimination such as affirmative action in hiring. Changes in the structure of the labor market, and in particular, an increase in the number of women in occupations previously dominated by men, makes it important to determine whether there are systematic differences in the evaluations made of men and women who perform the same job. A number of studies have examined whether the comparable achievements of women are evaluated less favorably than those of men. The results appear to be mixed. An early and well-known investigation of this
TL;DR: In a survey conducted by as mentioned in this paper, over 500 introductory psychology students participated in a survey which employed different questionnaires to measure Fear of AIDS, Knowledge of AIDS and Homophobia, and Behavior Change.
Abstract: During the fall of 1985, over 500 introductory psychology students participated in a survey which employed different questionnaires to measure Fear of AIDS, Knowledge of AIDS, Homophobia, and Behavior Change. Opinions about public policy regarding AIDS and homosexuals, and background information such as sex and religious preference were also obtained. The results indicated that males who knew the most about AIDS were less fearful of the disease than were males who knew the least. No such relationship was found for females. In addition, respondents reported that they have been changing their behavior in light of the AIDS epidemic. This included some behaviors which were related to AIDS and some which were not. Finally, political and religious conservatives were generally more homophobic and fearful of AIDS than were liberals. In addition, conservatives generally preferred protection of the public as an approach to controlling the AIDS epidemic while liberals generally preferred to educate the public.
TL;DR: The authors examined the attitudes of residents of a small town in Dorset, England, toward nuclear and oil developments, finding that there were shifts in the direction of greater opposition to the existing local nuclear plant, and the building of more nuclear power stations elsewhere in the country; comparable shifts were not found in attitudes toward non-nuclear industrial developments.
Abstract: This study examines the attitudes of residents of a small town in Dorset, England, toward nuclear and oil developments. The sample consisted of 135 respondents to a follow-up questionnaire sent in June 1986 to a group of 356 residents who had responded to a previous questionnaire immediately before the Chernobyl accident in April 1986. There were shifts in the direction of greater opposition to the existing local nuclear plant, and the building of more nuclear power stations elsewhere in the country; comparable shifts were not found in attitudes toward non-nuclear industrial developments. Post-Chernobyl attitudes were closely related to evaluations of statements offering alternative interpretations of the accident, in a manner predictable from research on social judgment.
TL;DR: The authors examined the association between three motives for entering a relationship (love, ego, job) and four job-related behaviors and found that although positive and negative changes in jobrelated behaviors do occur, they are generally small, and they can be predicted, in part, by the reasons for entering the relationship and in part by the gender of the relational participant.
Abstract: It is frequently assumed that intimate relationships between members of the same organization inevitably prove harmful to organizational functioning. This paper challenges that assumption by examining the association between three motives for entering a relationship (love, ego, job) and four job-related behaviors. The data suggest that (a) although positive and negative changes in job-related behaviors do occur, they are generally small, and (b) they can be predicted, in part, by the motives for entering the relationship and, in part, by the gender of the relational participant.
TL;DR: In this article, the effects of salience of consciousness-raising information on the perception of acquaintance vs. stranger rape were focused on, and the results indicated that those subjects in the salient condition perceived the victim more favorable and reported a lesser likelihood to commit rape (male subjects) than those in the nonsalient condition.
Abstract: In the present study the effects of salience of consciousness-raising information on the perception of acquaintance vs. stranger rape were focused on. One half of the subjects were exposed to information which emphasized the inappropriateness of sexual inequality (salient condition), while the other half were exposed to no such information (nonsalient condition). Subsequently, subjects read a passage which depicted an acquaintance rape or a stranger rape. The results indicated that those subjects in the salient condition perceived the victim more favorable and reported a lesser likelihood to commit rape (male subjects) than those in the nonsalient condition. Additionally, those in the stranger rape condition perceived the victim more favorably and reported a lesser likelihood of committing rape (male subjects) than those in the acquaintance rape condition. Finally, there was a significant interaction between salience and type of rape. To amplify, when subjects read the stranger rape passage, perceptions did not vary as a function of salience. On the other hand, when subjects read the acquaintance rape passage, those in the salient condition perceived the victim more favoraby and reported a lesser likelihood of committing rape than those in the nonsalient condition.
TL;DR: Female college students filled out a questionnaire about breast self-examination (BSE) consistent with a model in which attitude and confidence are the direct causes of BSE.
Abstract: Female college students filled out a questionnaire about breast self-examination (BSE) including (a) past and intended frequency of BSE, (b) attitude toward BSE, (c) beliefs about the benefits and costs of BSE, (d) knowledge about BSE, (e) confidence in ability to perform BSE, (f) social influences to perform BSE, (g) personal experiences related to breast cancer, and (h) perceptions of susceptibility to and severity of breast cancer. Results were consistent with a model in which (a) attitude and confidence are the direct causes of BSE, (b) beliefs about the benefits and costs of BSE are the direct causes of attitude, and (c) social influences (e.g., being taught how) and knowledge are the direct causes of confidence.
TL;DR: A study of a local chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally 111 (NAMI) suggests that parents think about the causes of their offsprings' psychiatric disabilities in terms of psychogenic, organic and moral attributions as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: A study of a local chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally 111 (NAMI) suggests that parents think about the causes of their offsprings' psychiatric disabilities in terms of psychogenic, organic and moral attributions. Comparisons of retrospective and current self-reports suggest that parents' attributional processes were influenced by their organizational participation. Comparatively stronger endorsement of the organic attribution (that biochemical illness is a primary causal factor) and comparatively weaker endorsement of the psychogenic attribution (that deficits in parenting are a primary causal factor) were associated with participation. Increased comfort in parent-child relationships was also associated with participation. It was speculated that these cognitive and behavioral changes were mediated by learning a comprehensive schema of information about schizophrenia that included information about causes, symptoms and methods of treatment.
TL;DR: For instance, the authors found that mild negative feedback can increase intrinsic motivation when associated with environmental cues signalling self-determination, and that subjects working on brain-teasers who were given mild negative negative feedback, but who had a choice of problems to solve, no expectation of evaluation, and who received scores privately, retained as much or more intrinsic motivation than subjects given positive feedback under the same conditions.
Abstract: Although previous research has suggested that, in general, negative feedback concerning performance reduces intrinsically motivated activity, results of the present study indicate that mild negative feedback can increase intrinsic motivation when associated with environmental cues signalling self-determination (Deci & Ryan, 1985). Subjects working on brain-teasers who were given mild negative feedback—but who had a choice of problems to solve, no expectation of evaluation, and who received scores privately—retained as much or more intrinsic motivation than subjects given positive feedback under the same conditions. Subjects in controlling contexts showed less intrinsic motivation. The measure of intrinsic motivation used in this study was a sum of standardized mood and target activity, following recent criticisms of the use of strictly behavioral measures to operationalize intrinsic motivation (Ryan & Deci, 1986).
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the types of social comparisons made by individuals with rheumatoid arthritis and the role these comparisons play in illness adjustment and found that when experiencing performance difficulties they compared more frequently with other RA patients than with individuals not affected by RA.
Abstract: This study examined the types of social comparisons made by individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and the role these comparisons play in illness adjustment. Seventy-five women with RA were interviewed. The interview included measures of social comparison preferences assessed within two different contexts: the establishment of standards for desired performance and the experience of performance difficulties. Perceived ability, satisfaction with ability, and psychological adjustment also were assessed. We found that when respondents were experiencing performance difficulties they compared more frequently with other RA patients than with individuals not affected by RA. However, when establishing standards for desired performance, the latter type of comparison was more common. Further, respondents' comparison preferences were not related to perceptions of ability, but were related to satisfaction with ability. Greater satisfaction was associated with comparison with individuals not affected by RA when establishing standards for desired performance and comparison with other RA patients when experiencing performance difficulties. Satisfaction, in turn, was positively related to psychological adjustment.
TL;DR: The authors reported two experiments on the effects of status and the status distribution on performance and found that children with high status performed significantly better on the anagram test than did children with low status.
Abstract: This article reports two experiments on the effects of status and the status distribution on performance. Grade-school children were randomly assigned a label denoting high status or one denoting low status and then randomly assigned to small groups where they were the only ones of their status or where only one child had a status different from theirs. After completing a group task, the children individually took an anagram test, which served as the performance measure. Consistent with research on the effects of social status, in both experiments children with high status performed significantly better on the anagram test than did children with low status. More important, there were significant status by status distribution interactions. Performance among low-status children was even lower if their status was relatively uncommon than if it was relatively common, whereas performance by high-status children was either unaffected (Experiment 1) or enhanced (Experiment 2) if their status was relatively uncommon. The discussion centers on implications of the results for research and theory on tokenism and perceptions of the prevalence of status characteristics.
TL;DR: Weiner et al. as discussed by the authors provided a direct test of the model, focusing on the relationships between informational cues and attributions, and between attributions and evaluative variables in an organizational context.
Abstract: Green and Mitchell's (1979) model of supervisory responding utilized Kelley's (1972) attributional schema based on informational cues, and variables of ability, effort, task difficulty, and luck (Weiner et al., 1972). The present study provided a direct test of the model, focusing on the relationships between informational cues and attributions, and between attributions and evaluative variables in an organizational context. A matrix of relationships linking informational cues and attributional variables was predicted in the first instance, followed by a multivariate relationship between attributions and evaluational variables. To test the hypotheses, 288 subjects responded to 16 descriptions of subordinate performances, varying in consistency, distinctiveness, consensus, and outcome. The results supported the predicted relationships between informational cues and attributions, and between attributions and evaluation. Use of Weiner's (1985) extended model of attribution, which includes dimensions of controllability and intentionality, substantially improved the predictability of the model, especially for explaining failure outcomes.
TL;DR: Value on health seems to be a useful addition to personality attributes that help explain variation in health behavior among adolescents, and it would also seem to be an important target for prevention/intervention efforts with that age group.
Abstract: A five-item measure of value on health, a new variable in the Personality System of Problem-Behavior Theory (Jessor & Jessor, 1977), was construct-validated using cross-sectional data from 1588 male and female 7–12th grade students. Three aspects of construct validity were explored: first, the convergent and discriminant validity of the Value on Health Scale with other health-related psychosocial measures; second, the predictive validity of the Value on Health Scale in relation to health behaviors; and third, the theoretical validity of the Value on Health Scale in relation to other constructs reflecting conventionality-unconventionality in Problem-Behavior Theory. Value on Health related significantly to other health-related psychosocial measures such as self-description of health, and parental and peer models for health-enhancing behavior. Value on Health also related significantly to greater involvement in health-enhancing behaviors (e.g., regular physical exercise, seatbelt use, and attention to healthy diet). Finally, Value on Health was linked to a larger network of psychosocial and behavioral characteristics that reflect the underlying dimension of conventionality-unconventionality in the Problem-Behavior Theory framework. Value on health seems to be a useful addition to personality attributes that help explain variation in health behavior among adolescents. It would also seem to be an important target for prevention/intervention efforts with that age group.
TL;DR: In this paper, a causal model was proposed that related five constructs measured in adolescence to four corresponding constructs measured 8 years later, including smoking involvement, academic lifestyle orientation, emotional well-being, social impact efficacy, and peer smoking behavior.
Abstract: Two hundred and twenty-one males and 518 females were followed for 8 years from early adolescence. A causal model was proposed that related five constructs measured in adolescence to four corresponding constructs measured 8 years later. The predictor constructs included smoking involvement, academic lifestyle orientation, emotional well-being, social impact efficacy, and peer smoking behavior. Academic lifestyle orientation was found to be a central organizing construct, with the strongest within-time and across-time correlations with other constructs. The relatively weak causal influences of teenage smoking and teenage social impact efficacy suggested an explanation for the limited impact of past drug abuse prevention programs. Policy implications are discussed.
TL;DR: In this paper, the effects of explicit goals and specific feedback concerning negative decision consequences on escalation behavior were investigated in a 2(explicit goal, general goal) × 3 (feedback: small, moderate, or large -failure) factorial design.
Abstract: The present study was designed to look at the effects of two important factors on escalation behavior: explicit goals and specific feedback concerning negative decision consequences. Subjects were assigned to one of six conditions in a 2(explicit goal, general goal) × 3(feedback: small, moderate, or large -failure) factorial design. Results demonstrated that as failure feedback increased from small to moderate levels, subjects with explicit goals escalated their commitment, but they de-escalated when feedback indicated a large goal/feedback discrepancy. In contrast, feedback had no effect on allocation behavior for general goal subjects. The study also content analyzed subjects' self-descriptions in an attempt to explore the processes used to reach an allocation decision. The importance of goals and feedback as well as the need for alternative theoretical frameworks, such as control theory, to explain escalation behavior is discussed.
TL;DR: In an attempt to replicate the findings reported in this Journal by Weyant and Smith (1987), members or recent donors to a Canadian civil liberties organization were asked to donate money under one of three conditions, and the most effective way of getting large donations was to ask for a large amount.
Abstract: In an attempt to replicate the findings reported in this Journal by Weyant and Smith (1987), members or recent donors to a Canadian civil liberties organization were asked to donate money under one of three conditions: (a) In the control condition, they were simply asked for a donation; (b) in the “smaller request” condition, they were asked to make a donation, but amounts of Canadian $30 to $100 were suggested; and (c) in the “larger request” condition, amounts of $50 to $250 were suggested. Unlike the Weyant and Smith studies, we found no difference in the proportion of respondents making a donation, but significant differences in the size of the donations made by those making donations. In our study, the most effective way of getting large donations was to ask for a large amount. It was suggested that the most likely explanations for the differences in the results of the two studies were the following: First, our target population were previous donors to the organization, whereas those in the Weyant and Smith studies were not likely to have been. Previous research suggests that those who had been donors previously are influenced, positively, by requests for a specific large donation, whereas those not previously approached are, if anything, negatively influenced. Second, our “larger request” appears to be within a plausible range for donations, whereas the larger request in the Weyant and Smith study may have been seen as being outside of the plausible range. In any case, however, we would recommend caution in drawing a conclusion about the most effective request size to encourage people to donate money to charity.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors simulated an organizational dispute to test two sets of alternative hypotheses regarding the effects of within-group cooperation and conflict on a subsequent negotiation with an out-group.
Abstract: The present study simulated an organizational dispute to test two sets of alternative hypotheses regarding the effects of within-group cooperation and conflict on a subsequent negotiation with an out-group. The first set of hypotheses concerned in-group cooperation. We expected that either (a) in-group cooperation would produce greater cooperation toward an out-group, the result of a carryover effect; or (b) in-group cooperation would increase group cohesiveness and strengthen group boundaries, and thus produce greater competitiveness toward an out-group. The second set of alternative hypotheses concerned in-group conflict. We expected that either (a) in-group conflict would produce greater competitiveness toward an out-group, the result of a carry-over effect; or (b) in-group conflict would decrease group cohesiveness and weaken group boundaries, and thus produce less competitiveness toward an out-group. Subjects in three-person groups negotiated first with one another on a cooperative or competitive task, and then as a group, with another group. The data supported the carryover hypothesis for the effects of both in-group cooperation and conflict. Groups that experienced internal cooperation were more cooperative in the subsequent between-group negotiation and, to a lesser extent, groups that experienced internal conflict were more competitive in the subsequent between-group negotiation, relative to a control condition that had no prior in-group negotiation. Taken together, the results were consistent with recent research on dispute intervention that suggested that mediators in between-group conflict should foster within-group cooperation prior to between-group negotiations.
TL;DR: In this article, the origins of anti-nuclear war activism were explored in a two-session experiment, where participants completed questionnaires assessing a number of background characteristics and attitudes, the most important for this study's purpose was a measure of perceived political efficacy in the nuclear realm.
Abstract: One hundred eleven college students participated in this two-session experiment designed to explore the origins of anti-nuclear war activism. In Session 1 participants completed questionnaires assessing a number of background characteristics and attitudes, the most important of which for this study's purpose was a measure of perceived political efficacy in the nuclear realm. One week later both the salience of the nuclear weapons issue and participants' sense of personalized risk were experimentally manipulated in a 2 × 2 × 2 (salience × risk × measured efficacy) design. Dependent measures were a behavioral intentions questionnaire and an actual opportunity to sign a petition which participants did not recognize as part of the experiment. High salience significantly increased both anti-nuclear war behavioral intentions and actual behavior as predicted. Individuals who felt highly efficacious were also significantly more likely to take action than others as predicted. A similar relation between efficacy and behavioral intentions was not found, although a salience by efficacy interaction was. Personalized risk influenced only behavioral intentions. Finally, the relative impact of these three variables and of other background and attitudinal variables measured in the first session was explored using regression techniques.