Attitudes Toward Affirmative Action: Correlations With Demographic Variables and With Beliefs About Targets,Actions, and Economic Effects1

Two studies assessed beliefs and attitudes toward affirmative action in the workplace. Opposition to affirmative action was most strongly associated with respondent race (White) and political conservatism, the belief that it involves strong actions (preferential hiring and setting aside jobs), and the expectation that it will hurt company performance. Attitudes were also positively associated with perceived frequency of employment discrimination experienced by the target group and negatively associated with their resulting employment opportunities. Regression results revealed that economic consequences for the company overwhelmed beliefs about target group employment opportunities in predicting affirmative action attitudes. Respondents associated aftirmative action most strongly with Black and Hispanic targets, and White respondents whose affirmative action schemas featured these 2 targets had the most negative attitudes.     

Health Beliefs and Attitudes Toward People Living With HIV/AIDS

The present study was concerned with the relationship between health beliefs and attitudes toward people living with HIV/AIDS. Measures of attitudes toward people with HIV/AIDS, beliefs about the transmission of HIV, and health locus of control beliefs were completed by 128 undergraduate students. In general, subjects who believed that HIV was transmitted through normal social contact wanted to avoid contact with people with HIV/AIDS, and showed other negative attitudes, such as lack of sympathy and blame. They also believed that their health was influenced by powerful others and chance. The findings are discussed in terms of fear of contracting HIV and the tendency to blame the victim.     

Attitudes Toward Male Oral Contraceptives: Implications for Models of the Relationship Between Beliefs and Attitudes1

Four factors (effectiveness, health risks, cost, and convenience) were orthogonally manipulated in a 3 × 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design to determine their relative importance in influencing attitudes toward and intentions to use male oral contraceptives. The experimental design also permitted a test of the assumption of additivity underlying expectancy-value models of attitude and the assumption of absence of context effects. Results were consistent with expectancy-value models of the relationship between beliefs and attitudes. In addition, it was found that health risks and effedtiveness, in that order, were the most important factors influencing receptivity to male oral contraceptives, with the effects of cost and convenience being mediated by these two factors. Sex differences in attitudes toward male oral contraceptives were also observed.     

Gender Differences in Attitudes Toward Affirmative Action Programs in Australia: Effects of Beliefs,Interests, and Attitudes Toward Women

This research identified mediators explaining the relationship between gender and attitudes toward affirmative action programs for women. Structural equation modeling was conducted on survey data obtained from academics at an Australian university (n = 198 with listwise deletion of missing data). Findings indicated that the relationship between gender and affirmative action attitudes was mediated by (1) perceptions of affirmative action's impact on material self-interest, (2) belief in the existence of gender discrimination, and (3) traditional attitudes toward women. Implications for organizations, policymakers, and researchers are discussed.     

Attitudes and Beliefs of African-Americans Toward Genetics,Genetic Testing,and Sickle Cell Disease Education and Awareness

Research among African-Americans indicates this population perceives sickle cell (SCD) to be a serious disease and sickle cell trait (SCT) screening an important intervention. However, studies have consistently demonstrated a lower than desired uptake of SCD education, inadequate knowledge regarding personal and family trait status, and a low perceived susceptibility of giving birth to a child with the disease. We examined general attitudes and beliefs regarding genetics and genetic testing including prenatal testing and newborn screening; we used this information as the foundation to more specifically assess attitudes and beliefs regarding SCD and perceived barriers to SCD education and awareness. Thirty-five African-American adult men and women participated in one of four focus groups. Thematic analysis identified that both prenatal testing and newborn screening are acceptable forms of genetic testing. Based largely on their personal experiences, participants possessed an understanding of the natural progression of SCD but had a limited understanding of the inheritance and probable risk of giving birth to a child with the disease. Barriers to education and greater awareness of SCD were classified as personal, familial, and societal. Community based interventions focused on sharing the stories of individuals with first-hand experiences with SCD should be considered.     

Preventing Nuclear War: Beliefs and Attitudes as Predictors of Disarmist and Deterrentist Behavior1

A survey of peace activists, defense industry workers and psychology students (n= 283) was conducted to evaluate the usefulness of Protection Motivation Theory (Maddux & Rogers, 1983; Rogers, 1975) for predicting the extent and direction (Disarmist vs. Deterrentist) of respondents' efforts to prevent nuclear war. Regression analyses showed that the Protection Motivation model did account for a significant proportion of the variance in disarmist behavior, and that extending the model to include a measure of belief in the inevitability of war improved the model's predictive power. The model did not predict deterrentist advocacy, an outcome that suggests that activism in support of nuclear deterrence may be a response to a perceived threat from an “enemy” rather than a response to the threats represented by nuclear weapons and preparations for war.     

Late Adolescents' Experiences With and Attitudes Toward Videogames1

A total of 229 late adolescents (a large majority 15 to 19 years of age) completed a questionnaire that assesses a broad range of videogame-relevant experiences, preferences, and attitudes. Videogame playing was found to be a more popular, and a more highly regarded, activity among males than females. Gender differences were also found in participants' ratings of their motivations for playing videogames, their evaluations of particular characteristics of videogames, and their selection of their “most favorite” videogame. The differences between frequent and infrequent videogame players appeared to be limited to differences in the extent to which videogame playing is pursued and evaluated as a positive leisure activity, rather than reflecting broad differences in interest or personality. Some relations were found between participants' self-reported personality characteristics (i.e., self-esteem, empathy, conscientiousness, and introversion) and their attitudes toward videogames.     

预防为主--防止禽流感的决策

对传染病的处理,根据几千年历史的共视,近半个世纪的科学进步,传染病的变迁,特别是今年突发传染病的暴发;以及传染病本身的三个特点即病原、传播途径及易感者等,预防为主应该是首要决策.目前引起全球震惊的禽流感,由于病原易变,同时野禽感染导致污染源不好控制,病禽感染人的病死率竟高达50%.从病原、病源及治疗方面都很棘手,未知数不少,治疗缺少现成的经验.因此防禽流感、人流感及治疗方面均要掌握预防为主的决策主体,无病有防,有病早发现,早治疗,既防播散又防加重病情,还要防止不合理施治造成不良反应及二重感染.     

预防为主——防止禽流感的决策

对传染病的处理,根据几千年历史的共视,近半个世纪的科学进步,传染病的变迁,特别是今年突发传染病的暴发;以及传染病本身的三个特点即病原、传播途径及易感者等,预防为主应该是首要决策。目前引起全球震惊的禽流感,由于病原易变,同时野禽感染导致污染源不好控制,病禽感染人的病死率竟高达50%。从病原、病源及治疗方面都很棘手,未知数不少,治疗缺少现成的经验。因此防禽流感、人流感及治疗方面均要掌握预防为主的决策主体,无病有防,有病早发现,早治疗,既防播散又防加重病情,还要防止不合理施治造成不良反应及二重感染。     

Magical Contagion Beliefs and Fear of AIDS1

Extreme overreaction to nonrisky contact with persons with AIDS is considered to be a case of the operation of the sympathetic magical law of contagion. Prior work has shown that this principle (once in contact, always in contact) holds in the belief systems of American adults. In this paper, we show that four characteristics of this law correspond to the attitudes of college students toward AIDS: (a) actual physical contact is a critical factor in determining negative reactions, (b) even very brief contact is capable of transmitting substantial negative properties (dose insensitivity), (c) the effects of even brief contact are long lasting (permanence), and (d) the effects of contact can occur in a direction opposite to that of the normal causal arrow (backward contagion). We conclude that the magical law of contagion provides a useful way of formulating overconcern about the transmission of AIDS.     

Salience of Anti-Abortion Beliefs and Commitment to an Attitudinal Position: On the Strength,Structure, and Predictive Validity of Anti-Abortion Attitudes1

The role of beliefs in attitude formation and the impact of commitment to an attitude on its predictive validity were studied in the context of anti-abortion attitudes. Undergraduates (N= 152), identified as pro-choice or pro-life, expressed their beliefs, attitudes, intentions, and restriction preferences with respect to making abortion illegal. In addition, they indicated their commitment to their positions and their willingness to distribute a pro- or anti-abortion petition. Salient beliefs—identified in a pilot study—were found to predict attitudes, intentions, restriction preferences, and petition choice significantly better than nonsalient beliefs. Salient beliefs also discriminated significantly between pro-choice and pro-life respondents, providing useful information about the cognitive underpinnings of anti-abortion attitudes. In addition, accuracy of predictions increased significantly with commitment, even when attitude extremity was statistically controlled. These findings support the summation theory of attitude (Fishbein, 1963) and demonstrate the importance of attitude strength in determining the structure and predictive validity of attitudes.     

Future Professionals and Managers: Their Attitudes Toward Unions, Organizational Beliefs, and Work Ethic

The authors replicate and extend the research on future workers' union attitudes, organizational beliefs, and work ethic. Selected demographic and attitudinal data were collected from a sample of 644 students at a small, western Pennsylvania university. Compared to earlier research on pre-employment predictors of union attitudes, this study is based on a much larger sample size and includes a cross-section of majors. The results offer additional support for the family socialization process; in general, future professionals and business managers are more sympathetic to labor unions if they were children of union members. In addition, the results show that student major has a significant and systematic impact on both positive and negative union attitudes.     

Beliefs in and About God and Attitudes Toward Voluntary Euthanasia

I use data from the General Social Survey to evaluate several hypotheses regarding how beliefs in and about God predict attitudes toward voluntary euthanasia. I find that certainty in the belief in God significantly predicts negative attitudes toward voluntary euthanasia. I also find that belief in a caring God and in a God that is the primary source of moral rules significantly predicts negative attitudes toward voluntary euthanasia. I also find that respondents’ beliefs about the how close they are to God and how close they want to be with God predict negative attitudes toward voluntary euthanasia. These associations hold even after controlling for religious affiliation, religious attendance, views of the Bible, and sociodemographic factors. The findings indicate that to understand individuals’ attitudes about voluntary euthanasia, one must pay attention to their beliefs in and about God.     

Attitudes Toward People Living With HIV/AIDS: A Model of Attitudes to Illness1

This study examined attitudes toward people living with HIV/AIDS within a sample of 220 young men and women. As predicted, a multiple regression analysis revealed that the fear of contracting HIV/AIDS through casual contact was a significant predictor of both men's and women's willingness to interact with people living with HIV/AIDS. Attitudes toward homosexuality were also a significant predictor of attitudes toward people living with HIV/AIDS among women, who generally have a low risk of contracting the disease in Western societies. These results indicate that attitudes toward people with a serious illness may be strongly related to the perceived risk of contracting the disease.     

The Unmaking of Prejudice: How Christian Beliefs Relate to Attitudes Toward Homosexuals

We propose that the internalization of orthodox Christian beliefs serves as a basis for a personal moral standard that discourages prejudice against others as well as for self-critical emotions that follow upon behaving in a discriminatory manner. Two correlational studies tested hypotheses derived from our theory. Study 1 demonstrated that to the extent people endorse orthodox Christian beliefs, they report an internal motivation to respond without prejudice toward homosexuals. Study 2 demonstrated that, when controlling for the effects of right-wing authoritarianism (RWA), endorsement of orthodox Christian beliefs was related to positive attitudes toward homosexuals as individuals or as a group, but not toward homosexuality as a behavior or lifestyle.     

Reducing Implicit Stigmatizing Beliefs and Attitudes Toward Depression by Promoting Counterstereotypic Exemplars

Stigma prevents people with depression from seeking professional help, and effective strategies to reduce implicit stigmatizing beliefs and attitudes toward depression are needed. We developed stepwise strategies to promote counterstereotypic exemplars of people with depression and conducted an experiment (N?=?105) with a pretest–posttest control group design to examine effects of these strategies. Our results showed that implicit stigmatizing beliefs and attitudes were reduced more in the experimental group, in which the counterstereotypic strategies were implemented in addition to the provision of education regarding basic knowledge of depression, than in the control group, which received only education.     

The Japanese Multidimensional Attitudes Scale Toward Persons With Autism Spectrum Disorders1

This study aimed to develop a Japanese Multidimensional Attitudes Scale (J-MAS) as a useful instrument to assess negative attitudes toward persons with autism spectrum disorder among typical Japanese persons. Five hundred and fifty-two Japanese participants completed the Japanese translation of the original version of the MAS, which was derived via the translation/back-translation method. An exploratory factor analysis revealed four factors (Cognitions, Negative Affects, Behaviors, and Calm) that corresponded to the factor model of the original version of the MAS. Nine items were statistically negligible, accordingly. A confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the factor model of the J-MAS is fairly good, and preferable to the factor models of the English, Spanish, French, Korean, and German versions for a sample of typical Japanese persons. These results indicate that the J-MAS provides a valid assessment of attitudes toward persons with autism spectrum disorder among typical Japanese persons.     

Psychological Resources and Attitudes Toward People With Physical Disabilities

In a representative sample of the population (N = 950), this study investigated the influence of psychological resources on attitudes toward people with physical disabilities. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that 2 psychological resources (liking people, belief in a just world) had a significant influence on attitude toward people with disabilities, controlling for the demographic variables of age, education, and sex. Contact, social desirability, and the Big Five dimensions of Extraversion, Neuroticism, and Openness also proved to be significant. The psychological resources of self‐esteem, life satisfaction, and hope were not significant. Practical implications are discussed.