Showing papers in "Journal of Social Issues in 1994"

Are There Universal Aspects in the Structure and Contents of Human Values

Abstract: This article presents a theory of potentially universal aspects in the content of human values. Ten types of values are distinguished by their motivational goals. The theory also postulates a structure of relations among the value types, based on the conflicts and compatibilities experienced when pursuing them. This structure permits one to relate systems of value priorities, as an integrated whole, to other variables. A new values instrument, based on the theory and suitable for cross-cultural research, is described. Evidence relevant for assessing the theory, from 97 samples in 44 countries, is summarized. Relations of this approach to Rokeach's work on values and to other theories and research on value dimensions are discussed. Application of the approach to social issues is exemplified in the domains of politics and intergroup relations.

The Value Basis of Environmental Concern

Abstract: This article describes and presents initial empirical tests of a theory that links values, beliefs, attitudes, and behavior within a preference construction framework that emphasizes the activation of personal environmental norms. Environmental concern is related to egoistic, social-altruistic, and biospheric value orientations and also to beliefs about the consequences of environmental changes for valued objects. Two studies generally support the hypothesized relationships and demonstrate links to the broader theory of values. However, the biospheric value orientation postulated in the theoretical literature on environmentalism does not differentiate from social-altruism in a general population sample. Results are discussed in terms of value change, the role of social structural factors (including gender) in environmentalism, theories of risk perception, and the mobilization strategies of social movements, including environmental justice movements.

From Knowledge to Action? Exploring the Relationships Between Environmental Experiences, Learning, and Behavior

Abstract: On the basis of qualitative research and two surveys with 786 and 1004 Swiss respondents, this article presents a new “life-world” approach to exploring the complex relationships between environmental experience, learning, and behavior. Contrary to traditional views, the author shows that environmental information, knowledge, and awareness predict little of the variability in most forms of environmental behavior. (The primary behaviors that information and knowledge acquisition appear to foster are protest actions). Rather than fostering behavior, environmental learning is more often used as a means to cope with environmental fear and anxiety. Consistent with the life-world approach, the main factors predicting environmental behavior, or absence thereof, are experiences in and with the environment (e.g., previous environmental activism, experiences with nature, and exposure to environmental catastrophes).

Hardening of the Attitudes: Americans' Views on the Death Penalty

Abstract: American support for the death penalty has steadily increased since 1966, when opponents outnumbered supporters, and now in the mid-1990s is at a near record high. Research over the last 20 years has tended to confirm the hypothesis that most people's death penalty attitudes (pro or con) are based on emotion rather than information or rational argument. People feel strongly about the death penalty, know little about it, and feel no need to know more. Factual information (e.g., about deterrence and discrimination) is generally irrelevant to people's attitudes, and they are aware that this is so. Support for the death penalty has risen for most major felonies. Youth is seen as much less of a mitigating factor than it was 35 years ago, but most people still oppose the execution of the mentally retarded. As crime rates have risen despite repeated promises by politicians to “get tough on crime,” the death penalty has become an increasingly prominent issue in electoral politics, suggesting that public opinion should be an issue of central importance for research. We suggest that future research should focus more explicitly on racial attitudes, on comparisons of the death penalty with specific alternatives, and on the emotional aspects of attitudes toward the death penalty.

Constructive conflict resolution: Principles, training, and research.

Abstract: This article starts with a listing of several propositions to which most students of conflict, no matter what their discipline, would assent. Next, there is a discussion of such factors affecting the course of conflict as the orientation to the conflict of the parties involved, their personalities, the issues, and the conflict's social-cultural context. The following part discusses the skills involved in constructive solutions, an area that has been neglected by most scholars. The final part presents some suggestions for research.

Inducing Change in Values, Attitudes, and Behaviors: Belief System Theory and the Method of Value Self‐Confrontation

Abstract: This paper summarizes some of the major principles of belief system theory and describes the method of value self-confrontation. An example of how value self-confrontation can be used to modify environmental values is provided. The research on value self-confrontation is reviewed and critically evaluated. Although there is support for belief system theory and for the efficacy of value self-confrontation as a means of inducing long-term change in important values, attitudes, and behaviors, a number of important questions remain unanswered. In particular, the psychological mechanisms underlying change in values, attitudes, and behaviors after value self-confrontation require clarification and further study.

Balancing Personal Needs with Environmental Preservation: Identifying the Values that Guide Decisions in Ecological Dilemmas

Abstract: A taxonomy of values that specifies three domains (i.e., economic, social, and universal) was developed and used to explore the influence personal values have on people's decisions when placed in ecological dilemmas. Hypothetical scenarios, which pitted economic need against environmental preservation, were used to elicit individual decisions. The influence of economic and social conditions was also experimentally tested. Results from 144 University students show that subjects who embrace a universal value orientation were consistently more prone to endorse environmentally protective actions than were economically-oriented subjects. The decisions of socially-oriented subjects varied according to the “social justice” aspect of the situation. Furthermore, only the decisions of economically-oriented subjects were influenced by changes in the economic condition of the situation. Implications for contending with current ecological dilemmas are discussed.

Promoting Joint Thinking in International Conflicts: An Israeli-Palestinian Continuing Workshop

Abstract: This article reviews the development of interactive problem solving as an unofficial approach to the resolution of international conflicts, especially as we have applied it to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The article describes the concept of the continuing workshop, which represents our latest attempt to maximize the political impact of interactive problem solving. After presenting the goals, terms of reference, and ground rules of such workshops, the paper examines their potential contribution to the larger process of conflict resolution. The principles of the continuing workshop have been applied in a series of meetings between high-ranking Israeli and Palestinian participants. The paper discusses some of the practical issues confronted in this effort, such as preparation, selection of participants, and the third-party role; and assesses the contribution of this continuing workshop to transforming the relationship between the two societies in conflict.

Beyond Rokeach's Equality-Freedom Model: Two-Dimensional Values in a One-Dimensional World

Abstract: This article supports a two-value model of political ideology, similar to that proposed by Rokeach (1973), through the validation of two value orientation scales, international harmony and equality and national strength and order. Drawing on data from five samples, these value orientations are shown to be independent, robust, and predictably related to other value constructs, social attitudes, voting behavior, and political activism. The two-dimensional model is reconciled with the ubiquitous left-right attitudinal continuum through differentiating between the psychological world of ideas and the political world of action. Political institutions have traditionally imposed a trade-off mentality on decision-making behavior, and the left-right dichotomy is a useful heuristic for making trade-offs when other options are not apparent. This paper argues that individuals adopt a framework that is different from that imposed by political institutions. Their framework allows both security conscious and protective values to be held alongside humanitarian and sharing values, and their liberalism-conservatism can be predicted by the degree to which one value orientation outweighs the other. The middle ground on liberalism-conservatism, therefore, is not the sole domain of the politically naive or disinterested: It is also the domain of those with balanced yet strong social value commitments who may experience lack of engagement with left-right political discourse.

Human Values and Social Issues: An Introduction

Abstract: Values are an important and unique construct in social psychological research. In many ways they offer insight into human belief and behavior that other concepts, particularly attitudes, cannot provide. Milton Rokeach is remembered as a pioneer in the study of human belief and behavior, particularly in the study of values. In this essay we review the essential insights that Rokeach offered and the ways that those insights have been applied in the study of social issues such as racism, political behavior, social justice, and social change. We also briefly introduce the articles in this collection.

The Settlement-Orientation vs. the Problem-Solving Style in Custody Mediation

Abstract: While empirical studies have generally demonstrated the value of mediation in divorce, little research has been conducted on the specific models of mediation that are most efficacious in such disputes. This article reports the results of an intensive analysis of 32 cases of custody mediation conducted at the Essex County (NJ) Family Court. One-half of the cases represented predivorce parental disputes; one-half were postdivorce disputes. Nearly half of the cases were characterized by extremely high levels of parental conflict. Mediator behavior was assessed in one 1 1/2–2-hour closing case conferences, supplemented by the examination of audio or video recordings of mediation in 62% of the cases. The effectiveness of mediation was assessed by a postmediation telephone interview and by an analysis of court records, both conducted approximately 18 months after the termination of mediation. Two contrasting styles of enacting the mediator role were identified: The settlement-oriented style (SOS) and the problem-solving style (PSS). Mediators tended to use one or the other style. The SOS mediators were primarily concerned with getting a “settlement” and staying “neutral”; PSS mediators were more focused on understanding the causes of the conflict through persistent question asking and were willing to depart from strict “neutrality” in cases where the conflict was being fueled by particularly destructive behaviors in one of the parents. SOS was the mediator style in 59% of the cases, PSS in 41%. Compared to SOS, PSS produced a more structured and vigorous approach to conflict resolution during mediation, more frequent and durable settlements, and a generally more favorable attitude toward the mediation experience. SOS was not necessarily bad, but PSS was better.

The Rhetorical Use of Values to Justify Social and Intergroup Attitudes

Abstract: In this article we review research relevant to Rokeach's (1973) suggestion that, by appealing to socially shared conceptions of what is good, people may use values to ego defensively rationalize or justify their attitudes. In line with this value justification hypothesis, research suggests that, although attitudes may originally stem from the relative importance that people ascribe to various values, once formed, attitudes may well produce self-serving biases that affect both the values that people deem relevant to an issue and the complexity or open-mindedness of their reasoning about an issue. In addition, just as people may appeal to values to justify their attitudes toward social issues such as nuclear weaponry or abortion, data suggest that people may exaggerate perceptions of intergroup value differences in an effort to rationalize prejudicial intergroup attitudes and justify discrimination. Aspects of the ego defensive use of values that merit elaboration and have yet to be addressed, as well as the more general implications of a functional approach to the study of values, are discussed.

Human Values and Their Relation to Justice

Abstract: This article describes studies that relate justice-related behavior and experience to the content of human values. The studies are concerned with moral judgment, belief in a just world, distributive justice in the context of allocation decisions, and the nature of deservingness. In each case the focus is on associations between particular values or value types and an aspect of justice. A theoretical analysis of deservingness is presented that takes account of perceived responsibility and the conjunction of positively (or negatively) valued actions and positively (or negatively) valued outcomes. The subjective values (or valences) assigned to the actions and outcomes are assumed to be related to a person's underlying system of values. It is argued that research on justice has tended to ignore the values held by individuals, groups, and cultures, and that this deficiency should be remedied in future research.

Models of Conflict Management

Abstract: Conflict can arise in virtually any social setting, be it between or within individuals, groups, organizations, or nations. Such conflict can be managed in any of a number of possible ways. These include domination through physical or psychological means, capitulation, inaction, withdrawal, negotiation, or the intervention of a third party. This article explores the latter two approaches to conflict management, first examining two very different models—mutual gains and concession-convergence—that have emerged for the understanding of negotiation, and then turning to the roles and functions of outside intervenors.

Constructive Conflict in the Schools

Abstract: All children, adolescents, and young adults need to learn how to manage conflicts constructively. There are three steps in doing so. The first is establishing a cooperative context, primarily through the use of cooperative learning. The second is to create intellectual conflicts through the use of structured academic controversies. Controversy results in increased student achievement, critical thinking, higher level reasoning, intrinsic motivation to learn, and a number of other important educational outcomes. The third is to establish a peer mediation program in which students try to negotiate integrative agreements to their conflicts of interests and, if negotiations fail, to seek the help of a peer mediator. All students should be taught how to negotiate and how to mediate and the role of mediator should be rotated throughout the classroom and school so that all students gain mediating experience. The theory and research underlying these steps is reviewed.

Deciding to Take a Life: Capital Juries, Sentencing Instructions, and the Jurisprudence of Death

Abstract: Death sentencing is a psychologically complex and legally profound process Our research explored the experiences of capital jurors who had deliberated to verdict in death penalty sentencing hearings In-depth interviews conducted with samples of jurors from two states—California and Oregon—examined the nature and function of capital sentencing instructions, jurors' interpretations of the evidence that was presented during the penalty phase of the trial, their conceptions of the nature of the task before them, and whether the two fundamentally different sentencing frameworks significantly altered the decision-making process

Predicting Protection: Scope of Justice and the Natural World

Abstract: Our attitudes and behavior toward the natural world depend on our scope of justice, the psychological boundary within which considerations of fairness and moral rules govern our conduct. Because the natural world is often excluded from the scope of justice, “depletion” resulting from the economic utilization of land, water, air, and animal and plant “resources” is perceived as acceptable and inevitable. To examine the prediction that perceived similarity, utility, and neediness will indirectly affect environmental protection, mediated by the scope of justice, 432 high school students allocated a resource to a beetle and rated attitudes that delineated their scope of justice. Multiple regression mediation analysis indicated that the scope of justice mediated the effect of neediness and one aspect of similarity, perceived intelligence, on environmental protection. Perceived neediness predicted inclusion and protection but, contrary to expectation, intelligence predicted exclusion from the scope of justice and an unprotective environmental stance. A second aspect of similarity, perceived complexity, predicted inclusion in the scope of justice but not environmental protection. Utility had a strong, direct influence on environmental protection. Implications for justice theory and for policy are discussed.

Generic Principles for Resolving Intergroup Conflict

Abstract: Poorly managed intergroup conflict is the world’s most costly and intractable social issue. At low intensity, it is expressed through prejudice, discrimination, and oppression, which perpetuate inequality and injustice, sap the resources, and underutilize the diversity of human systems.

The Role of Values in Predicting Fairness Judgments and Support of Affirmative Action

Abstract: Affirmative action is one of the most controversial current public policies—public support has never reached a majority of the electorate for most versions of affirmative action. Many people oppose affirmative action on the grounds that it violates norms of procedural fairness and meritocracy, in spite of the fact that they also support egalitarian values consistent with it. This article explores this apparent paradox by testing reactions to affirmative action in college admissions by comparing three models positing differing roles for values in ideological reasoning: (1) a central role for values—Tetlock's (1986) value pluralism model, (2) a secondary role for values—Lind's (1992) fairness heuristic hypothesis, and (3) no role for values—affective explanations (i.e., Jackman, 1978). Results support the fairness heuristic hypothesis—subjective assessments of fairness play a mediating role between personal values and support for affirmative action. These results indicate that values play a significant role in determining support for affirmative action. To more fully understand how people reason about affirmative action, however, values research must be yoked with justice research.

Murder, Capital Punishment, and Deterrence: A Review of the Evidence and an Examination of Police Killings

Abstract: This paper reviews and assesses the empirical literature on murder, capital punishment, and deterrence. There is a large body of evidence regarding these issues, with studies yielding a rather consistent pattern of nondeterrence. However, most investigations are limited because they rely upon the general homicide rate as the criterion variable, although both legally and theoretically, different types of murder may be differentially subject to deterrence. As an example of how deterrence investigations may benefit from examining different types of homicide, we conduct a monthly time-series analysis of the possible deterrent effect of the provision for capital punishment, levels of execution, and the amount and type of television news coverage executions receive on overall and different types of police killings for 1976–1989. The analysis reveals no evidence that police are afforded an added measure of protection against death by capital punishment.

The Construction of Justice: A Case Study of Public Participation in Land Management

Abstract: Productive, just management approaches are more likely to be developed on the basis of an understanding of how people make judgments of justice. We propose that acceptable (just) land-use management plans are compatible with salient values. Values are created and come to be salient through the process of social construction. Public participation, as a form of social discourse, can be an important element in the social construction process. To realize this potential, changes in the nature of public participation are required. It is argued that public participation (and other practices) that create new, common values that can be used to develop just land-use management practices should be encouraged. A case study of experiences with a county critical areas ordinance is discussed.

The Role of Values and Ethical Principles in Judgments of Environmental Dilemmas

Abstract: In this article, we explore generally the extent to which individuals apply values and ethical principles in a consistent way across different environmental ethical issues. In the first study, it was shown that the context in which one's values are assessed is important. Specifically, values assessed in the typical abstract way, as guiding principles in one's life, showed a different pattern of association with factors of environmental dilemmas than did values assessed with regard to their use as guiding principles for the environment. In the second study, respondents, who were experienced in making water allocation decisions, were asked to rank the importance of 16 ethical considerations as they applied to five different, current water allocation problems in Australia. The results showed that the importance ratings of the ethical considerations were similar for all the water allocation case studies. The results were discussed in terms of the effects of context on values/ethical criteria and environmental dilemmas.

Green Justice: Conceptions of Fairness and the Natural World

Abstract: The natural environment is a topic of increasing importance, and themes of justice are increasingly relevant to that topic. This introduction to the special issue on Green Justice will describe the ways in which justice issues relate to the natural environment. It will discuss some of the overarching questions with regard to justice and the natural environment, as well as suggest some of the ways in which this area can be studied. Finally, it will orient the reader toward the remaining papers in the volume by defining the scheme underlying their order as well as briefly describing each paper.

Constructive Conflict Management and Social Problems: An Introduction

Abstract: The goals of this special issue on constructive conflict management are (1) to highlight the feasibility of using constructive conflict management to deal with conflicts arising as a consequence of interpersonal or intergroup diversity; (2) to promote understanding of how to manage conflict more constructively through the presentation of theoretical pieces, case histories, and empirical studies; and (3) to identify the conflict areas most urgently requiring research and policy attention. A brief background of social conflict research and a summary of each article is provided.

Choosing Equality: The Correspondence Between Attitudes About Race and the Value of Equality

Abstract: In the last 25 years Americans have changed many of the beliefs they hold about racial equality. Schuman, Steeh, and Bobo (1985) have noted that Americans seem to have become increasingly supportive of racial integration during the 1970s and early 1980s, but that their support of specific policies to bring about integration has been ambiguous. Rokeach and Ball-Rokeach (1988) have observed that the priority that Americans assign to equality as a terminal value fell throughout the 1970s. We argue that to more fully understand beliefs about race that seem paradoxical it is important to understand the way that beliefs are conceptualized and measured. This is especially true if one wishes to use attitudes or values as indicators of future behavior. We conclude that the concept of values developed by Rokeach (1973) offers a better basis for gauging public sentiment toward social policies and toward day-to-day living in an integrated society.

Constructive for Whom? The Fate of Diversity Disputes in Organizations

Abstract: Managers and dispute resolution professionals find themselves increasingly involved in the management of conflicts that have significant legal and performance implications for their organizations. In this context, constructive conflict management practices have gained considerable currency. There is, however, one kind of dispute that these practices leave unaddressed: disputes that arise out of, or are complicated by, social diversity. As new social groups enter the work force and move up in organizations, conflicts rooted in class, gender, race, and ethnicity have become more prominent. Existing discourses of organizational conflict management mask such conflicts, dealing with them in ways that are not constructive for all parties considered. An ideology of meritocracy in organizations privileging individual accounts of success, an absence of collective identity by groups, and differential access to power and influence keep disputes that arise from diversity from being heard on those terms. Some approaches are suggested to help organizations deal constructively—for all—with conflicts that have their bases in social diversity.

Attorney Persuasion in the Capital Penalty Phase: A Content Analysis of Closing Arguments

Abstract: Transcribed sentencing phase summations were content analyzed and comparisons were made between prosecution and defense arguments. Arguments were coded to discover the themes emphasized by attorneys in arguing for life imprisonment or the death penalty. Prosecutors portrayed the defendant as a cold, remorseless killer, emphasized the brutal nature of the murder, the suffering experienced by victims, and the moral legitimacy of revenge. Defenders explained the murders in the context of the defendant's personal history, emphasized the severity of life without the possibility of parole, and argued that the death penalty is unjust and morally wrong. Defenders provided richer accounts of the life history of the defendant and prosecutors provided more vivid accounts of the murder. Attorney arguments are discussed in light of research on communication, social cognition, and persuasion.

The Politics of Women's Health

Abstract: This article begins by discussing the recent emergence in the United States of women's health as a major public policy issue. The central question posed in the article is, How can the public's and government's interest in women's health be used to maximize health benefits for all women? Two arenas of women's health, childbearing and heart disease, are explored to further our understand of the possible costs and benefits to women of being a priority within the national public policy agenda. Three factors are proposed as crucial for maximizing women's health benefits within the current health policy climate: (a) broadening the definition of health benefits, (b) involving more women in the process of determining the hierarchy of health needs, and (c) involving more women in both the research and clinical aspects of medicine.

An Intervention Model of Constructive Conflict Resolution and Cooperative Learning

Abstract: An intervention model of constructive conflict resolution (CCR) and cooperative learning (CL) was implemented and tested on three campuses of an urban alternative high school. Campus A received training only in CCR, Campus B received training in both CCR and CL, and Campus C received training only in CL. The model posited that interpersonal relations mediated the effects of CCR and CL on social-psychological and educational outcomes. The findings indicate that improvements in CCR increased social support and decreased victimization for the students. These changes in a student's interpersonal relations led to higher self-esteem, more positive attitudes toward life, less depression or anxiety, and enhanced internal locus of control, which in turn contributed to greater academic achievement.

Appeals to Justice in the Environmental Debate

Abstract: Arguments over issues with environmental implications are increasingly salient in the public arena, and appeals to justice are made by both those who favor and those who oppose environmental regulations. But can justice really be claimed by each side with equal plausibility? The concept of justice can be defined in different ways, which may tend to favor one side or the other. Although there is a high degree of variability among the arguments presented, the environmental crisis seems most generally to pit justice for the individual, or microjustice, against justice for a larger group, or macrojustice. The present article examines the evidence for this, and reports the results of a study examining appeals to different principles of justice. Subjects were asked to evaluate arguments based on microjustice principles, such as procedural justice, or macrojustice principles, such as equality and responsibility, by each side of the environmental debate. Although pro-environmental arguments received stronger ratings overall, it was also found, as expected, that appeals based on procedural justice were relatively stronger when phrased in terms of an anti-environmental stance, and other arguments were relatively stronger for the pro-environmental position.