The Inter-Relations of Political Attitudes: I. Attitudes toward Candidates and Specific Policies

Abstract

Australian subjects (N = 171) rated 110 personality-trait words on their desirability as personality characteristics. The rank order, mean ratings, and standard deviations of the words were tabulated and were discussed against Anderson's (1968) American list of likableness ratings.     

The Influence of Attitudes Toward Male and Female Patients on Treatment Decisions in General Practice

Twenty-three physicians in general practice inthe southwest region of Great Britain completedchecklists on all patients consulted over approximatelysix of their consecutive daily surgeries. Twenty-two of the physicians were British Caucasian andone was of African decent. Data concerning patientgender, attitude toward the patient, and treatmentdecision for 115 consultations featuring psychological presentations were analyzed. Results indicatedthat, taken separately, patient gender and generalpractitioner attitudes did not predict treatmentdecisions. However, a significant interaction betweenthese variables showed that attitudes haddifferential effects on treatment decisions made formale and female patients. These findings are interpretedwithin a social cognition framework.     

The Power of the Unsaid: The Influence of Nonverbal Cues on Implicit Attitudes

Attitudes are often shaped through social influence processes. We examined how observation of nonverbal behaviors can impact on implicit and explicit racial attitudes. In Study 1, participants observed an interracial interaction in which a White actor expressed friendly or unfriendly nonverbal behaviors toward a Black target (e.g., low eye contact, large seating distance). The results show that newly formed implicit attitudes toward the Black actor were shaped accordingly. In Study 2, participants were required to read a passage containing stereotypical contents against Black people while a confederate either remained neutral or expressed her approval (e.g., nodding). Implicit attitudes toward Black people became more negative in the latter condition. The results confirm the power of nonverbal cues in shaping implicit attitudes.     

想象接触对大学生内隐态度和外显态度的影响

本研究旨在探讨想象接触对不同民族群体内隐态度和外显态度的影响。实验1和实验2分别随机选取不同先前接触经验的汉族大学生和维吾尔族大学生进行想象接触,采用“单类内隐联想测验(SC-IAT)”和外显态度量表评估不同条件下的内隐态度和外显态度。结果表明：想象接触显著提高了不同群体对外群体的内隐态度,对外显态度影响不显著;而先前接触经验对不同群体的内隐态度影响不显著,对外显态度影响显著。研究还发现,即使是已经发生过面对面接触的个体,也可以通过想象接触来提高对外群体的内隐态度,进一步拓展了想象接触在整个群际接触体系中地位和作用。     

The Influence of General Predispositions on Specific Attitudes

Abstract

(Saenger, G. Today's Refugees, Tomorrow's Citizens: A Story of Americanization. New York: Harper, 1941. Pp. 286.) Reviewed by Gardner Murphy.     

I Like You More if I Think You Like Me: The Effect of Metastereotypes on Attitudes Toward People With Deafness

In the present article we aimed at investigating the role of metastereotypes and gender on hearing people’s attitudes towards people with deafness. Ninety-six Italian hearing adults participated in a 2 × 2 experimental study. Participants were presented with the results of a fictitious but apparently real survey concerning the opinions people with deafness have of hearing people. Metastereotypes (positive vs. negative) were manipulated through this presentation. Results showed that metastereotypes interacted with participants’ gender in determining their attitudes towards people with deafness: when positive metastereotypes were activated, women’s attitudes appeared more favorable toward people with deafness if compared to the negative metastereotypes condition. No effect of metastereotypes was observed among male participants. In conclusion, the activation of metastereotypes can be a useful means in intervening to improve attitudes toward people with deafness.     

The Effect of Environmental Uncertainty on the Association of Expectancy Attitudes,Effort, and Performance

Abstract

This study examined the impact of perceived environmental uncertainty on the relationship between expectancy attitudes, effort, and performance within certified public accounting firms. Professional auditors provided data on the degree of uncertainty existing in their job assignments and measurements of the expectancy model. The results indicated that as perceived uncertainty increased, the ability of the expectancy model to predict performance decreased significantly, implying that increased performance could result from positive effort and outcome associations if environmental uncertainty was reduced. These results also provided a possible explanation for the somewhat low and inconsistent results found when comparing prior expectancy studies and suggested that uncertainty is a boundary condition to be considered in future applications of the expectancy model.     

The Effect of Metaphor on Political Attitudes

An experiment was conducted to investigate the impact of metaphors embedded in news articles involving political figures and events. Seventy-two subjects read four brief articles which varied, according to condition, in the valence of the metaphor. It was hypothesized that subjects reading a positively valenced metaphor, which cast the subject of the comparison in a desirable light, would rate. both the person and the issue mentioned in the news article more favorably than would subjects reading a negative metaphor. This hypothesis was confirmed, but only for more politically sophisticated subjects — those more attentive to political news were significantly more influenced by the experimental manipulation. It is suggested that these individual differences may be explained by a schema-based account of metaphor comprehension.     

The Influence of Priests on the Political Attitudes of Roman Catholics

For years, scholars in religion and politics have worked under the assumption that clergy wield significant political influence with their congregations. Until recently, however, this assumption had gone largely uninvestigated and undemonstrated. This article helps correct this shortcoming by analyzing the Notre Dame Study of Catholic Parish Life for evidence of priestly influence on the political attitudes of Catholic parishioners. Though the data indicate that Catholic priests do, indeed, appear to influence the political attitudes of their parishioners, the nature of this influence is more complex than previously demonstrated. Specifically, pastor ideology is the key predictor of both parishioners' issue positions and political ideology, and influence appears to be restricted to politically liberal pastors.     

The Influence of Education on Attitudes toward Affirmative Action: The Role of the Policy's Strength

The present research examined the influence of education on attitudes toward affirmative action. Studies 1 and 2 showed no impact of education on attitudes toward “soft” policies of affirmative action. In contrast, they showed less support of the more educated to “hard” policies of affirmative action. Neither prejudice (Study 2), nor understanding of the affirmative‐action policies (Study 3) accounted for this effect. Study 4 demonstrated that the education effect is mediated by the threat posed by strong plans to meritocratic beliefs. Theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.     

物欲之蔽：物质主义对亲环境态度及行为的影响

纵观现有研究,物质主义较稳定地负向预测个体的亲环境态度、公领域亲环境行为以及私领域亲环境行为中的资源回收和节约行为。至于私领域亲环境行为中的绿色消费,研究结果在发达国家和发展中国家间存在不一致。基于环状价值观模型和价值-信念-规范理论,物质主义可以同时影响亲环境态度及行为,也能通过亲环境态度影响行为。未来研究应当增加对物质主义与亲环境态度、行为间因果关系、内在机制的探讨,以及提升现有研究结果的应用价值。     

Presentation Matters: The Effect of Wrapping Neatness on Gift Attitudes

While gift‐givers typically wrap gifts prior to presenting them, little is known about the effect of how the gift is wrapped on recipients’ expectations and attitudes toward the gift inside. We propose that when recipients open a gift from a friend, they like it less when the giver has wrapped it neatly as opposed to sloppily and we draw on expectation disconfirmation theory to explain the effect. Specifically, recipients set higher (lower) expectations for neatly (sloppily)‐wrapped gifts, making it harder (easier) for the gifts to meet these expectations, resulting in contrast effects that lead to less (more) positive attitudes toward the gifts once unwrapped. However, when the gift‐giver is an acquaintance, there is ambiguity in the relationship status and wrapping neatness serves as a cue about the relationship rather than the gift itself. This leads to assimilation effects where the recipient likes the gift more when neatly wrapped. We assess these effects across three studies and find that they hold for desirable, neutral, and undesirable gifts, as well as with both hypothetical and real gifts.     

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.     

内源性注意和外源性注意条件下SOA变化对数字距离效应的影响

采用内源性注意和外源性注意实验范式,材料为小数(1～4)和大数(6～9)的阿拉伯数字,以判断数字是否大于5为任务,考察内源性和外源性线索不同注意条件下SOA对数字距离效应的影响。结果发现:(1)内源性线索条件下,随着SOAs增加,大小数的距离效应逐渐增大,当SOA为900ms时,大小数的距离效应最明显;(2)外源性线索条件下,当SOA为300ms时,大小数的距离效应最显著,随着SOAs增加,大小数的距离效应逐渐减小。