Balance Theory Revisited: Relationship Issue Relevance Affects Imbalance-Induced Tension in Workplace Relationships

The present work applies and extends balance theory by examining the role of relevance of issue to the relationship in balance theory processes within the context of workplace relationships. In Experiment 1, a sample of working adults (N = 81) reported greater job tension when self-supervisor dissimilarity involved a relationship-relevant (vs. non-relationship) ethical dilemma. In Experiment 2, a sample of working students (N = 185) who perceived greater self-supervisor dissimilarity about workplace (vs. family) ethics reported greater job tension, and in turn, less job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Perceiving dissimilarity with a work supervisor in attitudes about relationship-relevant issues may negatively affect outcomes at work. Importantly, these experiments demonstrated that not all dissimilarity is likely to yield negative outcomes; only relationship-relevant (vs. non-relevant) dissimilarity was a catalyst for imbalance-induced tension.     

Beyond attitude consensus: The social context of persuasion and resistance

The current research presents a new type of social context effect on attitude certainty. It is proposed that when people receive persuasive messages, they appraise their attitudes not only in terms of whether they are shared or not shared by others, but also in terms of whether they are based on similar or dissimilar assessments of the information presented. In two experiments, participants were presented with persuasive messages. In Experiment 1, they were induced to perceive that they responded favorably (persuasion) or unfavorably (resistance) to the message arguments. In Experiment 2, they were allowed to vary in their actual message responses. In both experiments, message response similarity—the degree to which people perceived that their evaluations of persuasive arguments were shared or unshared by others—moderated the classic effect of attitude similarity on attitude certainty. In particular, attitude similarity only affected attitude certainty under conditions of message response similarity. When message responses were believed to be dissimilar, attitude similarity had no effect on attitude certainty.     

Attitudes and Attraction: Optimism and Weight as Explanations for the Similarity–Dissimilarity Asymmetry

The positive link between attitude similarity and attraction is one of the fundamental outcomes in social psychology. However, attitude dissimilarity seems to be a stronger driver of this relationship than attitude similarity. The authors review the evidence on this similarity–dissimilarity asymmetry, and discuss two explanations. One is that people generally enter into interactions with optimism, and so supposedly neutral partners are often seen as mildly positive. Another is that dissimilar attitudes carry greater weight than similar attitudes in cognitive processes. Implications of these mechanisms for wider issues in person perception and attitude structure are discussed, connecting them with more recent theories of attitudinal ambivalence and evaluative space.     

Mechanism of age-related differences in frequency discrimination with backward masking: speed of processing or stimulus persistence?

In Experiment 1, frequency-discrimination thresholds were estimated in a 2-interval, forced-choice, backward masking procedure with a masker acoustically dissimilar to the targets. Young subjects were more efficient in escaping the effects of masking than were their elderly counterparts. In Experiment 2, young and elderly subjects performed the same task, with a masker acoustically similar to the targets and with a target-dissimilar masker. Under target-similar masking and at short target-masker intervals, the elderly demonstrated significant improvement, reaching the level of performance of the young, whereas under the target-dissimilar masker, the age-related differences were restored. Both age-related slowing of information processing and increase in stimulus persistence can account for the results of Experiment 1, but only increased stimulus persistence explains the results of Experiment 2.     

The similarity–attraction relationship revisited: divergence between the affective and behavioral facets of attraction

In contemporary attitudes‐and‐attraction research, attraction has been viewed as a multidimensional construct. Moreover, the effects of dissimilar and similar attitudes have been shown to vary with the facets of attraction measured. The hypotheses tested are that (1) only the proportion of similar attitudes relevant to the social context or interaction goals affects behavioral attraction (i.e. interpersonal distance between the participant and targets), and (2) the proportion of similar attitudes influences affective attraction (i.e. Byrne's attraction measure), regardless of attitude relevance. Two experiments were conducted with classroom activities (Experiment 1) and a writing workshop (Experiment 2) as the social contexts. The results of both experiments supported the hypotheses. Clearly, a solely affective measure of attraction seems inadequate for understanding the similarity–attraction relationship. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

EMG Activity as a Function of the Performer's Focus of Attention

In previous studies of attentional focus effects, investigators have measured performance outcome. Here, however, the authors used electromyography (EMG) to determine whether differences between external and internal foci would also be manifested at the neuromuscular level. In 2 experiments, participants (N = 11, Experiment 1; N = 12, Experiment 2) performed biceps curls while focusing on the movements of the curl bar (external focus) or on their arms (internal focus). In Experiment 1, movements were performed faster under external than under internal focus conditions. Also, integrated EMG (iEMG) activity was reduced when performers adopted an external focus. In Experiment 2, movement time was controlled through the use of a metronome, and iEMG activity was again reduced under external focus conditions. Those findings are in line with the constrained action hypothesis (G. Wulf, N. McNevin, & C. H. Shea, 2001), according to which an external focus promotes the use of more automatic control processes.     

When the whole is more than the sum of the parts: Evidence from visuospatial neglect

One possible pathological mechanism underlying the rightward bisection error of right‐brain‐damaged patients with left spatial neglect is a leftward relaxation of the spatial representational medium. This view was originally based on the finding that patients with left neglect, required to extend horizontal segments, in order to double their original length, may exhibit a relative left overextension of the drawn lines ( Bisiach et al., 1994 ). We investigated this putative distortion of representational space using a 16 cm ‘line segmentation’ task (Experiment 1). Were the representation of space relaxed contralesionally, a progressive increase from right to left of the size of the drawn segments would be expected. Right‐brain‐damaged patients with left unilateral neglect (N=12) performed the segmentation task with no left versus right differences, as right‐brain‐damaged patients without neglect (N=8), and neurologically unimpaired control subjects (N=10), did. Experiments 2 and 3 explored the effects of sample length (1, 2, 4, and 8 cm), by which the 16 cm lines had to be segmented. Neglect patients produced longer left‐sided segments only for the 8 cm sample (i.e. half of the length of the segment). This set of experiments suggests an impairment in the segmentation task only with the larger (8 cm) sample, when a more global level of processing may be involved. Experiment 4 assessed this hypothesis by a ‘part/whole’ bisection task, using 8 cm lines, presented either embedded in a longer 16 cm line or in isolation. Neglect patients made a larger rightward bisection error when the segment was not embedded. The suggestion is made that the lateral distortion of the representation of space in neglect patients (i.e. a leftward relaxation of the spatial medium) concerns tasks where a more ‘global’ representation of the visual stimulus has to be set up. The different demands of the segmentation and bisection tasks are discussed.     

When do stereotypes become really consensual? Investigating the group-based dynamics of the consensualization process

Although it has long been recognized that stereotypes achieve much of their force from being shared by members of social groups, relatively little empirical work has examined the process by which such consensus is reached. This paper tests predictions derived from self-categorization theory that stereotype consensus will be enhanced (a) by factors which make the shared social identity of perceivers salient and (b) by group interaction that is premised upon that shared identity. In Experiment 1 (N=40) the consensus of ingroup stereotypes is enhanced where an ingroup is judged after (rather than before) an outgroup. In Experiment 2 (N=80) when only one group is judged, group interaction is shown to enhance the consensus of outgroup stereotypes more than those of the ingroup—an apparent ‘outgroup consensus effect’. In Experiment 3 (N=135) this asymmetry is extinguished and group interaction found to produce equally high consensus in both ingroup and outgroup stereotypes when the ingroup is explicitly contrasted from an outgroup. Implications for alternative models of consensus development are discussed. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Perceived self–other differences in persuasibility: The effects of interpersonal and group-based similarity

Two experiments examined the effects of interpersonal and group-based similarity on perceived self–other differences in persuasibility (i.e. on third-person effects, Davison, 1983). Results of Experiment 1 (N=121), based on experimentally-created groups, indicated that third-person perceptions with respect to the impact of televised product ads were accentuated when the comparison was made with interpersonally different others. Contrary to predictions, third-person perceptions were not affected by group-based similarity (i.e. ingroup or outgroup other). Results of Experiment 2 (N=102), based on an enduring social identity, indicated that both interpersonal and group-based similarity moderated perceptions of the impact on self and other of least-liked product ads. Overall, third-person effects were more pronounced with respect to interpersonally dissimilar others. However, when social identity was salient, information about interpersonal similarity of the target did not affect perceived self–other differences with respect to ingroup targets. Results also highlighted significant differences in third-person perceptions according to the perceiver's affective evaluation of the persuasive message. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Automatic letter priming in an alphabetic decision task

An alphabetic decision task was used to study effects of form priming on letter recognition at very short prime durations (20 to 80 msec). The task required subjects to decide whether a stimulus was a letter or a nonletter. Experiment 1 showed clear facilitatory effects of primes being either physically or nominally identical to the targets, with a stable advantage for the former. Experiment 2 demonstrated that uppercase letters are classified more rapidly as letters (vs. non-letters) when they are preceded by a briefly exposed, forward- and backward-masked, visually similar uppercase letter than when they are preceded by a visually dissimilar uppercase letter. Finally, Experiment 3 demonstrated that nominally identical and visually similar primes facilitate processing more than do nominally identical, visually dissimilar primes. The alphabetic decision task proved to produce sensitive and stable priming effects at the feature, letter, and response-choice level. The present results on letter-letter priming thus constitute a solid data base against which to evaluate other priming effects, such as word-letter priming. The results are discussed in light of current activation models of letter and word recognition and are compared with data simulated by the interactive activation model (McClelland & Rumelhart, 1981).     

Imagined contact can be more effective for participants with stronger initial prejudices

Imagined contact is an intervention that combines the prejudice‐reduction of intergroup contact with the easy, low‐risk application of imagery‐based techniques. Accordingly, it can be applied where direct contact is difficult or risky. However, a possible limitation of imagined contact is that it may not be effective for participants with stronger initial prejudices, which would limit its usefulness and application. Two experiments (N₁ = 103, N₂ = 95) investigated whether initial prejudice moderated imagined contact's effects on explicit attitudes, behavioral intentions (Experiment 1), implicit attitudes, and petition‐signing behaviors (Experiment 2) toward two different outgroups. In both experiments, imagined contact was more effective when initial prejudice was higher. Implications for imagined contact theory and application are discussed.     

Inclusion in a superordinate category, in-group prototypicality, and attitudes towards out-groups

We hypothesized that group members’ attitudes towards an out-group are negatively related to the in-group’s perceived relative prototypicality for a superordinate category, but only if both the in-group and out-group are included in this superordinate category. In Experiment 1 (N=40), Germans’ attitudes towards Poles were negatively correlated with the relative prototypicality of Germans when “Europe” (including Poles), but not when “West-Europe” (excluding Poles), was the superordinate category. In Experiment 2 (N=63), female single parents’ attitudes about the competence of single parents to raise children depended on the in-group’s relative prototypicality for “single parents” (including fathers), but not on their relative similarity to “mothers” (excluding fathers). Both experiments showed that inclusion in a superordinate category had a more negative influence on attitudes towards the out-group when relative in-group prototypicality is high rather than low.     

Self-esteem, attitude similarity, and attraction

Subjects evaluated three stimulus persons on several rating scales who were either 10%, 50%, or 90% similar to themselves in attitudes Subjects were divided into low, moderate, and high self-esteem groups on the basis of an earlier Q sort The results showed a strong positive relation between perceived similarity and positive attribution for each of the dependent variables, including liking, sophisticated, intelligent, sincere, happy, and a social distance scale A negative relation was obtained for two undesirable traits, arrogant and cynical Self-esteem interacted with similarity on several of the measures The difference between self-esteem groups was largely restricted to highly dissimilar stimulus persons Moderate esteem subjects were more favorable toward dissimilar persons than either of the other two groups, and the high and low groups tended to resemble each other more than either group resembled the moderate esteem group These results were discussed in terms of the relation between self-esteem and adjustment, and in terms of McGuire's (1968) theory that predicts a nonmonotonic relation between self-esteem and attitudes.     

Toward an Understanding of Religious Tolerance: Quest Religiousness and Positive Attitudes Toward Religiously Dissimilar Others

We interact frequently with individuals with religious beliefs that vary from our own. Although we may naturally prefer interacting with religiously similar others, individuals vary in their attitudes toward religiously dissimilar others. In the present set of studies, we examined how variability in quest religiousness affects religious tolerance. In Study 1 (N = 159), we found that quest religiousness in Christian undergraduates was associated with positive attitudes toward both non-Christian religious groups and atheists. In Study 2, 118 Christian undergraduates evaluated vignettes regarding a devout moral or an average morality Christian (ingroup) or Muslim (outgroup). Participants preferred moral targets relative to less moral targets. However, when rating moral targets, participants high in quest religiousness preferred the Muslim target (religious outgroup member), whereas those low in quest religiousness preferred the Christian target (religious ingroup member). We discuss implications for the links between quest religiousness and religious tolerance.     

Re-examining the relationship between age and voluntary turnover

In their quantitative review of the literature, Healy, Lehman, and McDaniel [Healy, M. C., Lehman, M., & McDaniel, M. A. (1995). Age and voluntary turnover: A quantitative review. Personnel Psychology, 48, 335–345] concluded that age is only weakly related to voluntary turnover (average r = −.08).However, with the significant changes in mobility patterns among employees over the last two decades, the strength of the age–turnover relationship may have changed as well. In a meta-analysis of studies published between 1990 and 2008 (49 studies, N = 71,053), we found that the age–voluntary turnover relationship was in fact stronger (−.14) than what Healy et al. (1995) found. In addition, moderator tests revealed that race, tenure, and education level help explain differences in effect sizes across studies linking age to turnover. That is, the age–turnover relationship is stronger when there are more racial minorities in the sample (−.16), when organizational tenure is higher (−.18), and when education level is lower (−.20). In addition, the relationship is strongest when the timeframe for measuring turnover behavior is 1–2 years and when the research is conducted with U.S. samples.     

Social class and interpersonal trust: Partner's warmth,external threats and interpretations of trust betrayal

The present research investigated the effects of social class on interpersonal trust. In a series of experiments, we showed how the contextualist socio-cognitive tendencies of the lower class and the solipsistic tendencies of the upper class were reflected in their trusting attitudes and behaviors. In Study 1 (N = 491), upper class individuals expressed the same levels of trust towards all partners, while lower class individuals adjusted their trust choices to the affect-rich information about their interaction partner and trusted warm partners more than cold partners. The results of Study 2 (N = 210) showed that when threatened, lower class individuals had generally less trusting attitudes, while upper class members were equally trusting as in a neutral situation. Study 3 (N = 200) revealed that upper class individuals explained a betrayal of their trust with dispositional factors to a higher degree than lower class individuals. We discuss how these differences contribute to perpetuating the disadvantage of the lower class.     

Rejecting Opposite Ideologies without Discriminating against Ideological Opponents? Understanding Nonbelievers’ Outgroup Attitudes

Abstract

Several people fail to reject opposite ideologies without discriminating against opponents. Do nonbelievers make this distinction? Across two experiments in three cultures (total N?=?2064), we investigated participants’ willingness to help a religious target involved in religious anti-liberalism (antiabortion), activism (promoting Christian ideas), or devotion (religious service); or a neutral cause (copying syllabus or visiting family). In comparison to a control condition (neutral target, neutral cause), nonbelievers–except French atheists, to some extent–made this distinction: they were unwilling to help the religious target when acting for any of the three religious causes, but not when acting for a neutral cause. Groups with opposite ideologies, here believers and nonbelievers, seem both similar and qualitatively dissimilar in their outgroup attitudes.     

Emotional eating moderates the relationship between implicit measures of attitudes and chocolate consumption

Emotional eaters tend to eat more when emotionally aroused and their food‐related actions are associated with lack of control. Two studies tested the hypothesis that implicit measures of attitudes would be more strongly associated with the dietary behaviour of emotional eaters. In both Study 1 (N = 32) and Study 2 (N = 101), participants completed the DEBQ sub‐scale of emotional eating and implicit measures of attitude, explicit attitude and behaviour measures concerning chocolate consumption. In both studies, high emotional eaters were more likely than low emotional eaters to eat in line with their implicit measures of attitudes. The relationship between implicit measures of attitudes and food intake varies as a function of emotional eating style. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Generational differences in acculturation among Asian families in Canada: A comparison of Vietnamese,Korean, and East‐Indian groups

By examining generational differences between adolescents and their parents, the present study attempts to establish which specific aspects of strong kinship are maintained among Asian groups undergoing acculturation. Vietnamese (adolescent N = 104; parent N = 70), Korean (N = 111; N = 83), and East‐Indian (N = 97; N = 84) families were compared for family relations and acculturation attitudes. As compared to the Anglo‐Celtic group (adolescent N = 151; parent N = 116), Asian adolescents maintained stronger responsibilities within the family while disagreeing more with parents about their independence and roles in decision making, and expressing different preferences about intercultural contacts. However, since both parents and adolescents from the three groups clearly differ from each other for both family relations and acculturation attitudes, it is argued that generational differences should be particularized by each group's selective emphasis upon different cultural issues.     

The effects of name similarity on message processing and persuasion

Prior studies have found that name similarity can serve as a cue that favorably affects evaluations without conscious deliberation. In a series of four experiments, we show that name similarity can increase the conscious processing of information with which it is associated. When exposed to student resumes or advertised brands with names similar (versus dissimilar) to theirs, respondents were more likely to relate the information to themselves (self-reference, Experiments 2-4) and thoughtfully examine it. Evidence of thoughtful processing included slower reaction times when reviewing resumes and greater information recall (Experiment 1), spending more time in resume review (Experiment 2), greater evaluative differentiation between resumes and product brands of different quality (Experiments 2 and 3), and developing stronger brand attitudes (Experiment 4). An expanded view of how and why name similarity can affect persuasion is offered and discussed.