Values,ideological attitudes and patriotism

We tested a series of discriminant associations, investigating how dimensions of patriotism (i.e. blind and constructive) differently relate to value orientations, and to ideological attitudes such as Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) and Social Dominance Orientation (SDO). Using an Italian student sample (N = 146) we found that blind patriotism correlated positively with tradition and negatively with universalism, whilst constructive patriotism correlated negatively with tradition and positively with universalism. Both RWA and SDO correlated negatively with universalism, whilst only RWA was associated with security and tradition and only SDO related positively to power and self-direction. Mediation analyses revealed that most of the effects of value orientations on patriotism were mediated by SDO and RWA.     

Academic, motivational, and emotional correlates of adolescent dating

This study is an examination of the relationship between dating status and academic achievement, academic motivation, depression, and self-esteem; it is an investigation of the differential effects wielded by gender and age (grade level) of the dating adolescent in each of these domains. Participants were a relatively large gender-balanced adolescent group (N = 380) from Grades 8, 10, and 12. Dating status was studied first as a binary variable (frequent versus infrequent dating) and second as a dating spectrum, including steady, frequent, and infrequent dating. Results showed that adolescents who dated frequently (more than once or twice a month), whether they were boys or girls, relatively young (8th grade) or more mature (l0th and 12th grades), exhibited consistently and significantly lower levels of academic achievement and academic motivation and higher levels of depressive symptoms. There were no significant effects of dating status on global self-esteem, but, as hypothesized, subscale analyses revealed important subscale-differentiated effects.     

Wisdom-related knowledge: affective, motivational, and interpersonal correlates

This study investigated the connection between wisdom as a body of expert knowledge about the meaning and conduct of life and indicators of affective, motivational, and interpersonal functioning. Structural equation analyses showed that individuals higher on wisdom-related knowledge reported (a) higher affective involvement combined with lower negative and pleasant feelings, (b) a value orientation that focused conjointly on other-enhancing values and personal growth combined with a lesser tendency toward values revolving around a pleasurable life, and (c) a preference for cooperative conflict management strategies combined with a lower tendency to adopt submissive, avoidant, or dominant strategies. These findings corroborate the theoretical notion that wisdom involves affective modulation and complexity rather than the predominant seeking of pleasure and also a joint motivational commitment to developing the potential of oneself and that of others.     

Interpersonal disgust, ideological orientations, and dehumanization as predictors of intergroup attitudes

Disgust is a basic emotion characterized by revulsion and rejection, yet it is relatively unexamined in the literature on prejudice. In the present investigation, interpersonal-disgust sensitivity (e.g., not wanting to wear clean used clothes or to sit on a warm seat vacated by a stranger) in particular predicted negative attitudes toward immigrants, foreigners, and socially deviant groups, even after controlling for concerns with contracting disease. The mechanisms underlying the link between interpersonal disgust and attitudes toward immigrants were explored using a path model. As predicted, the effect of interpersonal-disgust sensitivity on group attitudes was indirect, mediated by ideological orientations (social dominance orientation, right-wing authoritarianism) and dehumanizing perceptions of the out-group. The effects of social dominance orientation on group attitudes were both direct and indirect, via dehumanization. These results establish a link between disgust sensitivity and prejudice that is not accounted for by fear of infection, but rather is mediated by ideological orientations and dehumanizing group representations. Implications for understanding and reducing prejudice are discussed.     

Effects of terrorism on attitudes and ideological orientation

A quasi‐experimental study on the effects of terrorism on racial prejudice and ideological orientation is presented. Two independent samples were contacted before and after the Islamic terrorist attacks against railways in Madrid (11 March 2004). Anti‐Arab and anti‐Semite prejudices, authoritarianism and ideological orientations (liberal against conservative) were evaluated. Results showed that those terrorist attacks provoked changes in a reactionary and conservative direction: stronger prejudices not only against the target group (Arabs), but against another uninvolved group (Jewish); an increase in authoritarianism; stronger attachment to traditional conservative values, and a reduction in the attachment to liberal values. The results are interpreted in terms of the System‐Justification Theory, the Motivated Social Cognition model of Conservatism and the Right‐Wing Authoritarianism. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A dual-process motivational model of attitudes towards vegetarians and vegans

Vegetarians and vegans comprise a minority of most western populations. However, relatively little research has investigated the psychological foundations of attitudes towards this minority group. The following study employs a dual process model of intergroup attitudes to explore the motivational basis of non-vegetarians' attitudes towards vegetarians and vegans. Participants were 1,326 individuals recruited through advertisements in a national newspaper in New Zealand. Non-vegetarian participants first completed measures of ideological attitudes and social worldviews, and then were randomly assigned to complete a measure of outgroup attitudes towards either vegetarians or vegans. Although non-vegetarians' attitudes towards both vegetarians and vegans were generally positive, attitudes towards vegans were significantly less positive than attitudes towards vegetarians, and male participants expressed significantly less positive attitudes towards both outgroups than female participants. The structural equation model predicting attitudes towards vegetarians and vegans fit the data well and explained a significant amount of the variance in attitudes.     

Bergson,human rights,and joy

Continental Philosophy Review - This article examines Henri Bergson’s conception of human rights in The Two Sources of Morality and Religion (1932). I claim that he provides an original view...     

UNESCO, genetics, and human rights

In response to a mandate conferred on the International Bioethics Committee (IBC) of UNESCO in November 1993, the IBC has drafted a "universal declaration on the human genome and human rights," which will be considered by the General Conference of UNESCO in November 1997. This article discusses the development of the document and provides the text of the "revised preliminary draft" of the declaration.     

Perceived importance, enjoyment, and anxiety as correlates of computer attitudes

A sample of 138 students was assessed for their computer attitudes using a Likert-type questionnaire with three subscales: Computer Importance, Computer Enjoyment, and Computer Anxiety. An overall positive attitude towards computers was found. Multivariate analysis of variance revealed no significant differences in computer attitudes by gender although male students reported more positive attitudes towards computers than female students. Implications for educators include managing the perceptions of students that the computers are useful for learning purposes, in addition to using them for leisure and entertainment.     

Ethical ideology, animal rights activism, and attitudes toward the treatment of animals

In two studies, we used the Ethics Position Questionnaire (EPQ) to investigate the relationship between individual differences in moral philosophy, involvement in the animal rights movement, and attitudes toward the treatment of animals. In the first, 600 animal rights activists attending a national demonstration and 266 nonactivist college students were given the EPQ. Analysis of the returns from 157 activists and 198 students indicated that the activists were more likely than the students to hold an "absolutist" moral orientation (high idealism, low relativism). In the second study, 169 students were given the EPQ with a scale designed to measure attitudes toward the treatment of animals. Multiple regression showed that gender and the EPQ dimension of idealism were related to attitudes toward animal use.     

Sexual arousal in response to aggression: ideological, aggressive, and sexual correlates

In two experiments we assessed the impact of aggression on nonrapists' sexual arousal. In the first, both male subjects (n = 37) and female subjects (n = 43) reported more sexual arousal in response to nonaggressive than to aggressive depictions when the portrayals were sexually explicit, but the opposite occurred when the portrayals were nonsexual. Only male subjects (N = 359) participated in the second experiment. On the basis of their self-reported sexual arousal to the use of force, they were classified into the no arousal, moderate arousal or high arousal from force groups. To evaluate the veridicality of this classification, we assessed some subjects' (n = 118) penile tumescence in response to various depictions. The findings generally replicated those of the first experiment and confirmed the accuracy of the arousal-from-force classification. The no arousal and the moderate arousal from force subjects were less sexually aroused by aggressive than by nonaggressive portrayals, but the opposite was found for the high arousal from force group. Using the entire sample (N = 359), we also assessed differences on various factors among these three groups. We found strong differences on ideological factors, including acceptance of violence against and dominance over women. We also found differences in acceptance of nonsexual aggression and in subjects' beliefs that they might actually use force against women. In contrast, differences were not found on sexuality factors. The data's implications for theories on the causes of rape are discussed.     

Psychological correlates of attitudes toward men

The relation between attitudes toward men and a number of personality, attitude, and health factors was studied. The 379 respondents (176 men, 203 women) completed the Attitudes Toward Men Scale (A. N. lazzo, 1983) and measures of the Big Five personality factors, conservatism, male bashing, attitudes toward women, sex role, locus of control, and health (including depression, anxiety, and self-esteem). A regression analysis using correlates of attitudes toward men indicated that, among women, femininity and self-esteem were important in predicting attitudes toward men. Among men, masculinity, self-esteem, and age were most important in predicting attitudes toward men.