The Effects of Age and Attitudes on Undergraduates' Judgments of Ethicality

To test the salience of age and people's attitudes toward aging in situations of norm violation, 104 male and female undergraduates read an account of an actual psychological research study which was deemed to be unethical and thought to have been conducted by Es of different ages (student, junior faculty, senior faculty, control) and rated it in terms of its ethicality, their willingness to participate in it, and cost-benefit factors. Results showed that S s judged the study less ethical and were less willing to participate in it when it was conducted by an older researcher. S s with negative attitudes toward old people were also less willing to participate. S s in the senior-researcher condition and those with negative attitudes toward old people were oblivious to cost-benefit factors. Results suggest that age was salient in cases of norm violation, that attitudes toward old people reflected themselves in behavioral intentions, and that cost-benefit measures provided an index of prejudicial thought.     

视知觉压力在基本心理能力老化中的作用

信息降格说认为, 感觉功能老化使认知系统难以获得良好的信息输入, 并必须牺牲有限的认知资源获得更好的刺激信息, 使能用于认知加工的资源不足, 造成认知老化。为探讨感觉功能对基本心理能力老化的作用, 该研究采用2(年龄组：年轻、老年组)×4(视知觉压力水平：高、中、低、无噪音)的混合设计, 考察年轻、老年组在相同视知觉压力下基本心理能力的年龄差异。结果发现和无噪音条件相比, 相同视知觉压力下基本心理能力(数字能力、归纳推理能力)的年龄差异减小, 甚至消失, 一定程度上支持信息降格说。视觉功能衰退可能是影响基本心理能力老化的重要因素, 但这种作用受认知资源的调节。     

Interactions between stereotype threat,subjective aging,and memory in older adults

This study examined whether the effects of stereotype threat on memory and subjective age were moderated by positive age stereotypes and self-perceptions of aging among older adults. Perceived threat as a mechanism underlying these effects was also explored. Results showed that stereotype threat (high vs. low threat) did not affect the dependent variables. Moreover, self-perceptions of aging did not moderate the effect of stereotype threat on the dependent variables. However, for people with more positive age stereotypes, older people under highthreat perceived more threat than people under low threat. This could be explained by an effect of age stereotypes in the high-threat group: the more positive age stereotypes held by participants, the more they perceived threat, which in turn decreased their memory performance and made them feel mentally older. We hypothesized that age group identity is stronger in people with more positive age stereotypes, which increase perceived threat.     

Beauty, Ethnicity, and Age: Does Internalization of Mainstream Media Ideals Influence Attitudes Towards Older Adults?

Mainstream North American media promotes the message that attaining a thin, youthful appearance is central to a woman’s value and social role while appearing older is highly undesirable. However, appearance ideals and attitudes toward aging differ substantially across cultural and ethnic groups, which may influence the degree to which one internalizes media ideals and holds anti-aging attitudes. Consequently, this study examined the relationships between internalization of the youthful, thin-ideal appearance perpetuated by mainstream North American media and attitudes toward the elderly in a sample of 281 undergraduate females under the age of 30 attending a university in the Western United States. Specifically, European American (n?=?115), Asian American/Pacific Islander (n?=?74), Hispanic/Latina (n?=?52), and African American (n?=?42) women voluntarily completed self-report measures of internalization of media ideals and attitudes towards older adults. Attitudes towards the elderly were significantly more negative at higher levels of internalization of North American appearance ideals, independent of ethnicity. These data suggest that internalization of North American appearance ideals perpetuated by media are related to negative attitudes towards older adults. Future research should investigate the influence of negative attitudes about aging on behaviors toward older adults or one’s own aging process.     

Influences on Clergy Attitudes Toward Aging

ABSTRACT

The attitudes of 289 clergy from three major denominations were measured using Kogan's Attitudes Toward Aging Scale. The scores reflected generally more positive attitudes than those of other reference groups. Significant relationships were found between attitudes toward aging and each of two variables: gerontological knowledge and denominational affiliation. Qualitative analysis of respondent comments provides evidence that attitudes toward aging are substantially influenced by the quality of contact with older persons.     

The influence of Sociocultural Paradigms

This research examined the influence of sociocultural paradigms of menopause on attitudes toward menopause. Five hundred eighty-one women and men, between the ages of 18 and 85, were assigned to one of three groups distinguished by the context within which they expressed their attitudes toward menopause. The contexts were designed to reflect particular paradigms: one group described their attitudes toward three medical problems, including menopause; a second group described their attitudes toward three life transitions, including menopause; and a third group described their attitudes toward three symbols of aging, including menopause. Positive and negative subscales of the attitude questionnaires for menopause were analyzed for context and age/experience. Results indicated that the medical context elicited significantly more negative and fewer positive attitudes than did the other two contexts, particularly among older participants. In general, women's attitudes were more positive than were men's, and attitudes became increasingly positive with age and/or experience. The discussion includes the potential role of attitudes as mediating the impact of sociocultural paradigms on experience and behavior.     

Self-attention and self-report: The "veridicality" hypothesis

Wicker (1969) summarized the state of the art in the area of attitude/behavior consistency by suggesting that attitude measures are often only slightly related to overt behaviors. Since that time literally hundreds of studies have been conducted dealing with the question of how the predictive validity of self-assessment can be improved—above the 30 figure that Wicker suggested represents the typical upper limit of correlations between self-reported attitudes and behavior. This article deals with perhaps one of the simplest factors that does appear to be related to accurate self-assessment: internal focus of attention. Research in the area of self-awareness theory is discussed, leading to the conclusion that assessments of various aspects of the self, including attitudes, cognitions, and affective and somatic states, usually are more accurate when they are made by a respondent whose attention is self-directed. By the same token, overt behavior also tends to be more consistent with previously expressed attitudes when it occurs under conditions conducive to self-focus. In discussing this research, it is suggested that self-awareness promotes accuracy in two ways: (a) It focuses the respondent's attention more carefully on those aspects of the self made relevant by the instrument and (b) it increases the person's motivation to report accurately on those self-dimensions. It is also suggested, however, that this latter factor can sometimes work against consistency. In this regard, a variety of situations are discussed in which motives that may conflict with the desire to report accurately, such as ego-protectiveness, are also enhanced by self-focused attention. Finally, a number of empirical questions are presented as guidelines for future research.     

Aging attitudes moderate the effect of subjective age on psychological well-being: evidence from a 10-year longitudinal study

Older subjective age is often associated with lower psychological well-being among middle-aged and older adults. We hypothesize that attitudes toward aging moderate this relationship; specifically, feeling older will predict lower well-being among those with less favorable attitudes toward aging but not those with more favorable aging attitudes. We tested this with longitudinal data from the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States-II assessing subjective age and psychological well-being over 10 years. As hypothesized older subjective age predicted lower life satisfaction and higher negative affect when aging attitudes were less favorable but not when aging attitudes were more favorable. Implications and future research directions are discussed.     

The Relationship Between Liberalism and Knowledge of Current Affairs

Summary

This study investigated the effect of behavior relevant information on the appropriateness of the behavioral criterion employed in attitude-behavior research. The attitudes toward dental health of 32 randomly selected male college students were assessed. These attitudes were compared with the quality of dental care behavior exhibited before and after participation in a group instruction session designed to provide information relevant to the realization of high quality dental care behavior. Although attitudes toward dental health were not significantly correlated with the quality of dental care behavior prior to the instructional session, strong attitude-behavior correlations (p < .01) emerged with respect to the postinstruction data. The implications of these findings for research on attitude-behavior consistency are discussed.     

COMMUNICATION RESEARCH AND THE ATTITUDE-VERBAL REPORT-OVERT BEHAVIOR RELATIONSHIP: A CRITIQUE AND THEORETIC REFORMULATION1

Although communication theory provides a significant rationale for the relationship of messages to both attitudes and behaviors, relatively few researchers have examined systematically the effects of communication on attitude statements and related behaviors. Those studies which have assessed communication effects on both classes of behavior have yielded conflicting findings concerning verbal report-overt behavior correspondence, as well as the role of communication and mediating variables in underlying attitude-verbal report-overt act relationships. It is argued that inconclusive results have been the product of: (1) inadequate theoretical formulation of the relationship of attitudes to behaviors, and of communication to both attitudes and behaviors; (2) inadequate conceptual and operational definitions of these and other relevant variables; (3) inadequate control of factors influencing the relationships. Theoretical reformulations are suggested in each of these areas, hypotheses are offered concerning conditions for verbal report-overt behavior compliance correspondence, and a path analytic model is proposed for empirical test.     

Changing Attitudes Toward Older Adults Through a Simulated Aging Exercise: Implications for Family Therapy

Past research suggests that many young people hold negative attitudes toward the elderly. Simulated aging is one method to reduce aging that had been successfully applied with those individuals working in the helping professions. However, it has not yet been applied to ordinary young adults. The current study examined whether a simulated aging activity would cause more positive attitudes toward the aged, an increased desire to help, and higher satisfaction with life. Seventy-eight college students participated; half were randomly assigned to complete three tasks with sensory deficits designed to simulate aging (i.e., wearing non-magnified glasses covered with petroleum jelly, wearing foam earplugs, and wearing cloth gloves), and half served as the control. Three questionnaires were completed that measured attitudes toward older adults, prosocial desires, and satisfaction with life. Results showed that young adults who experienced simulated aging had more favorable attitudes toward older adults than did individuals in the control condition. These results suggest that simulated aging activities may be an effective method to reduce ageism. This has potential implications for multigenerational family therapy, such as to assist younger people to understand what their grandparents may be experiencing.     

Let Go or Retain? A Comparative Study of the Attitudes of Business Students and Managers About the Retirement of Older Workers

This study's central research question is: “How do managers evaluate the desirability of early retirement of their employees, and under what circumstances and for what types of workers are they in favor of delay?” We sought to compare managers' and business students' decision making regarding older workers. We examined the extent to which student samples are appropriate to study organizational behavior. An identical factorial survey was carried out among 26 managers and 25 business school students. The results revealed that business students concentrate on performance‐related individual characteristics when making selection decisions, whereas managers also recognize contextual factors (need for downsizing, tight labor market) and older workers' attitudes toward retirement.     

The Influence of Episodic and Thematic Frames on Policy and Group Attitudes: Mediational Analysis

An experiment examined how episodic and thematic political message frames affect attitudes toward older adults and Social Security. When exposed to messages about abolishing Social Security, participants exposed to episodic frames were significantly more likely to endorse message‐consistent attitudes than participants exposed to a thematic frame. In mediation analyses, an episodic frame featuring a counterstereotypical exemplar increased endorsement of individual responsibility for retirement planning, which then led to more negative attitudes toward Social Security. These effects did not occur with a stereotypical exemplar in an episodic frame. The same mediated pathway influenced attitudes toward older adults in a more complex manner. Results provide support for individual responsibility attributions as a mediating mechanism underlying the effects of certain episodic frames.     

Emphasis on autonomy and propensity for suicidal behavior in younger and older adults

A cognitive style marked by emphasis on autonomy has been linked to negative outcomes throughout the life span. Two preliminary studies are presented that examined factors on a measure of autonomy (Personal Style Inventory‐Revised) in relation to propensity for suicidal behavior (Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire‐14; SBQ‐14). Perfectionism, B = .15, SE = 0.03, p < .01, and Defensive Separation, B = .04, SE = 0.01, p ≤ .01, predicted SBQ‐14 in younger adults. Need for Control, B = .234, SE = 0.10, p < .05, predicted SBQ‐14 in older adults. Findings suggest that aspects of autonomy may be relevant to understanding suicidal behavior; however, more research is needed examining the association between autonomy and suicidal behavior in the context of depression. Nonetheless, these studies suggest a promising avenue for future research.     

The Role of Age and Age-Related Attitudes in Perceptions of Elderly Individuals

The goal of this study was to investigate the role of age-related attitudes in perceptions of elderly individuals. Fiske and Neuberg's (1990) model of person perception suggests that under some conditions people's attitudes toward older adults as a group are related to perceptions of elderly individuals. It was unclear, however, how people's attitudes toward their own aging may affect those perceptions. In this study younger and older adults completed measures of their age-related attitudes and then in a second session evaluated an elderly individual. Results revealed that both group attitudes and own aging attitudes were related to judgments of elderly targets when the elderly target was seen as typical of the group. The findings have implications for person perception models as well as for research on age-related attitudes.     

Aging and prejudice: Diminished regulation of automatic race bias among older adults

A popular view holds that older adults are more prejudiced than younger adults because they grew up in a less tolerant era. An alternative view proposes that aging corresponds with stronger prejudice among older adults because they have reduced capacity to inhibit biased associations that come to mind automatically. To independently assess these possibilities, we modeled the processes underlying implicit racial attitudes in samples of teenagers through people in their nineties. Results indicated that older adults showed greater implicit bias because they were less able to regulate the automatic associations they possessed, not because of holding stronger associations in the first place. These findings suggest that age-related increases in racial biases, even those that are implicit, may be due to self-regulatory failure of older adults, rather than to cohort effects.     

运动员运动道德推脱与运动亲反社会行为的关系

为寻找适合我国运动员运动道德推脱的有效测量工具, 揭示运动道德推脱与运动亲反社会行为的关系, 采用心理测量法对我国运动员进行了研究。结果表明：(1)我国运动员运动道德推脱包含行为重建、有利比较、委婉标签、非人性化和非责任; (2)性别、项目类型和运动等级可有效解释和预测运动反社会行为, 但对运动亲社会行为的解释和预测效应较低, 项目类型成为负向预测运动反社会行为的最佳变量; (3)在控制性别、项目类型和运动等级的基础上, 非责任成为负向预测运动亲社会行为(队友和对手)的最佳指标; 委婉标签和行为重建分别成为正向预测运动反社会行为(队友)和运动反社会行为(对手)的最佳指标。文章说明运动道德推脱可以解释和预测我国运动员的运动亲反社会行为。     

Cognitive Processing and the Functional Matching Effect in Persuasion: The Mediating Role of Subjective Perceptions of Message Quality

In two experiments, we examined the hypothesis that subjective perceptions of message quality mediate the functional matching effect in persuasion. In Experiment 1, participants whose attitudes and behaviors serve primarily a value-expressive function (i.e., low self-monitors) or a social-adjustive function (i.e., high self-monitors) were exposed to persuasive messages that contained value-expressive, social-adjustive, or both types of arguments in favor of voting. Functionally-relevant messages (i.e., the social-adjustive message for high self-monitors and the value-expressive message for low self-monitors) produced enhanced perceptions of message quality and persuasiveness, more positive attitudes, and more message-related behavior than functionally nonrelevant messages. Functionally mixed messages were generally more effective than messages containing only functionally nonrelevant arguments, but less effective than messages containing only functionally relevant arguments. Path analyses indicated that the influence of functional relevance on attitudes and behavior was significantly mediated by subjective perceptions of the quality of the message. In Experiment 2, we exposed participants to a functionally relevant or nonrelevant voting appeal five days before a presidential election. Results replicated those of Experiment 1; functionally relevant messages produced more favorable attitudes, and this effect was mediated by enhanced perceptions of message quality. Finally, postmessage attitudes exerted a significant influence on whether participants voted in the election, and this effect was mediated by voting intentions. Discussion focuses on the subjective nature of message evaluation and on the cognitive processes underlying the functional matching effect in persuasion.     

Studying intergenerational transmission of eating attitudes and behaviors: methodological and conceptual questions.

Associations between parent and child attitudes and behaviors related to eating and weight were examined among college-age men and women and their mothers and fathers (ns = 44, 47, 87, and 66, respectively). Parent attitudes and behaviors were assessed from the perspective of the parent and the student, and 2 pathways of influence were examined: modeling and direct criticism. In general, students' attitudes and behaviors were more strongly related to perceptions of their parents rather than to parents' own self-reports. There was more support for perceived direct criticism as a pathway of influence, particularly for daughters. Perceived criticism about eating and appearance had large associations with student attitudes and behaviors. Weight loss behavior was related to perceived criticism among daughters and to perceived paternal eating attitudes among sons. Results highlight important methodological and conceptual questions for intergenerational research.     

Changing Attitude and Moral Obligation: Their Independent Effects on Behavior

It was hypothesized that the study of religion should distinguish between attitudes and religious values/moral obligations such that both aid in predicting religiously relevant behavior and changing either will change behavior. However, if they are distinct, then changing one will not necessarily change the other. For the 195 religious participants, attitudes predicted a church-sponsored blood donation and moral obligations increased that prediction. Using both posttest only and pre-post control group designs, an intervention to shift the effect underlying the attitude increased participants' attitude and donating behavior while a religious values intervention increased moral obligations and behavior. Zero to 4 percent of the control groups donated blood, while 13 to 48 percent of the intervention groups donated blood. Results confirm that psychology of religion should distinguish moral obligations from attitude because (1) additional prediction, (2) changing one does not necessarily change the other, and (3) changes based on religious values impact moral obligations.