Social Norms and Egalitarian Values Mitigate Authoritarian Intolerance Toward Sexual Minorities

In the United States, acceptance of sexual minorities (e.g., gay men and lesbians) has increased substantially since the early 1990s. This study examined whether authoritarians' attitudes have been influenced by the societal shift toward greater acceptance of sexual minorities. Using data from the American National Election Studies (ANES) collected between 1992 and 2012, we tested a model in which authoritarianism, endorsement of egalitarian values, and social norms shifting in the direction of tolerance predict individual attitudes toward sexual minorities and LGBT rights issues. Results indicated that (1) there was a subset of authoritarians who endorsed egalitarian values, (2) authoritarians in general became more tolerant (i.e., held less negative attitudes) toward sexual minorities between 1992 and 2012, and (3) “egalitarian authoritarians” held more positive attitudes toward sexual minorities than other authoritarians. The findings contribute to contemporary theory and research on authoritarianism, which is moving from a monolithic view of authoritarianism to one in which culture and core values activate and shape manifestations of authoritarian tendencies.     

Judging the Professional Woman: Changing Research, Changing Values

This article offers a framework for understanding contradictory findings in the field of the personality of working and professional women. Modern theory and research display two patterns: the early pattern of the 1960s, which viewed professional women as violating sex stereotypes, lacking femininity, and having personality disturbances; and the contemporary view, which emerged during the 1970s and suggests the possibility of combining career with family without psychological conflicts and personality disturbances. A critical appraisal of the literature in four areas (psychological role conflict, fear of success, comparison between housewives and career women, and comparisons between women in traditional and pioneer occupations) concludes that little evidence supports the view that professional women have personality disturbances because of their career. Possible explanations for shifting viewpoints and contradictory findings are presented. The article also analyzes the issues and problems professional women currently face and assesses the accessibility of those issues to empirical study.     

National Norms and Life-Event Frequencies for the Revised Social Readjustment Rating Scale

The revised 51-event Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS) was administered to a representative national sample of 5,000 in order to construct and interpret norms for overall scale scores and life-event frequencies. Directions asked for the frequency of each life-event during the previous 12 months. Life-event frequencies for each subject were multiplied by previously determined stressfulness ratings to produce an overall scale score. Norms for overall scale scores and life-event frequencies were calculated. A total of 3,399 completed surveys were returned (68%). The distribution of overall scale scores had a mean of 278, standard deviation of 422, and marked positive skewness of 4.12. Five of the top 10 most frequently occurring life-events were directly related to work. The normative information concerning overall scores on the revised Social Readjustment Rating Scale can be invaluable in understanding and interpreting individual scores, as well as diagnosing or identifying at-risk individuals with high scores who would likely benefit from stress management interventions.     

Girls' and Boys' Changing Attitudes Toward School

This study considered children in kindergarten, first grade, and second grade in order to determine whether boys and girls differ from one another in their attitudes toward school when they first begin, and whether the relationship between boys' and girls' attitude changes with time. The information used in the study was collected during an evaluation of the California preschool program. A total of 6011 educationally disadvantaged children in 148 elementary schools were selected for the evaluation. The Attitude to School Questionnaire, developed at UCLA, was used to measure attitude. The study found that the sample of disadvantaged girls and boys has similar attitudes toward school in kindergarten. As they progress through the second grade, girls' attitude remains stable, while boys' attitude improves. The study also found that the differences between these attitude patterns were statistically significant. The study's results challenge the belief that girls have a better attitude toward school and suggest that differences in attitude between girls and boys develop between kindergarten and first grade.     

Asynchrony in Attitudes Toward Abortion and Gay Rights: The Challenge to Values Alignment

Political commentators tend to assume that Americans who share a particular religious affiliation think similarly about values issues and that values questions are aligned. Although religious affiliation is a strong predictor of attitudes toward abortion and gay rights, there is differentiation within denominational subgroups with respect to both; for example, while majorities of mainline Protestants and Catholics favor gay marriage, many of their respective co‐religionists do not. Further, aggregate survey data shows asynchrony in within‐group attitudes on abortion and gay rights; for example, whereas Hispanic Catholics are more likely to support gay marriage than legal abortion, black Protestants are more likely to support legal abortion than gay marriage. Abortion and gay equality are discrete issues and give rise to divergent attitudes based on the lived reality of different ethnoreligious groups. These findings challenge the utility of the construct of the “values voter,” and underscore that abortion and gay rights should be recognized as separate public policy domains.     

Family Values and Antipathy Toward Gay Men

The role of family values in promoting prejudice toward gay men was examined. Participants high and low in support for family values were primed with family-relevant or neutral cues and were exposed to either a gay or a straight father who was described as a good or a bad parent. Both individual differences in family value support and situational primes of family values produced derogation of the gay father. Sympathy for the father in a child custody loss was also markedly low when family values were both endorsed and primed, and when the gay father was explicitly depicted as a bad parent. The findings have implications for Rokeach's (1972) belief congruence perspective, and for models that depict values as part of a mental associative network (Biernat, Vescio, & Theno, 1996; Feather, 1990).     

Toward an Ecological Theory of the Norms of Practical Deliberation

Abstract: Practical deliberation is deliberation concerning what to do governed by norms on intention (e.g. means‐end coherence and consistency), which are taken to be a mark of rational deliberation. According to the theory of practical deliberation I develop in this paper we should think of the norms of rational practical deliberation ecologically: that is, the norms that constitute rational practical deliberation depend on the complex interaction between the psychological capacities of the agent in question and the agent's environment. I argue that this view does a better job of justifying particular norms for practical deliberation than intrinsic or constitutivist theories. Finally, I argue against the Myth Theory of deliberation, which takes there to be no such norms on deliberation.     

基于六省会城市居民的主观幸福感研究

本研究在全国省会城市范围内取样,对中国城市居民主观幸福感量表的心理测量学特性进行了检验,并以此为线索对该量表进行了修订和完善,形成了由40个项目组成的中国城市居民主观幸福感量表(修订版);并将常模样组扩展到全国,取得了中国城市居民主观幸福感量表(修订版)的全国参考常模;同时,尝试对构成中国城市居民主观幸福感各个评价维度的权重进行考察,以使量表分数的合成更为科学.     

The Structure of Attitudes Toward Persons Who Are Deaf: Emotions,Values, and Stereotypes

The relative effects of affect, cognition, and stereotyping on attitudes toward persons who are deaf were studied. Respondents (N = 175) were initially asked to list terms or phrases that described (a) a typical person who is deaf, (b) the feelings the respondent experienced when thinking of a typical person who is deaf, and (c) beliefs about how a typical person who is deaf either facilitates or blocks cherished values held by the respondent. Then, each respondent evaluated as positive or negative each of the terms or phrases he or she wrote down. The relative effects of personality variables and structural variables on prejudicial attitudes were also assessed. Affect and past experience figured prominently in respondents' attitudes toward people who are deaf. Explanations for these findings and the implications of these results for prejudice formation and reduction were explored, especially in light of the passage, implementation, and enforcement of the Americans with Disabilities Act.     

Predictors of Teens' Attitudes Toward Condoms: Gender Differences in the Effects of Norms

Using data collected from a telephone survey of adolescents aged 15 to 19, we studied predictors of condom attitudes. Analyses were conducted on a sample of 348 sexually active teens. Multiple regression revealed that holding other variables constant being females, African American, perceiving that more of their friends were using condoms (i. e., perceived normative behavior). and stronger perceived normative pressure were significantly associated with favorable condom attitudes. Furthermore, significant interaction effects pointed to gender differences in the association between two types of norms and attitudes toward condoms. Perceived normative behavior had a greater effect on the attitudes of female adolescents. Perceived normative pressure had a greater effect on the attitudes of male adolescents.     

The Changing Values of Children and Preferences Regarding Family Size in South Africa

Cette recherche élargit à un contexte africain avec la problématique suivante les études en cours sur les relations entre les générations et les valeurs attribuées aux enfants: dans quelle mesure la structure des valeurs projetées sur les enfants (VOC) repérée dans des études antérieures peut‐elle être retrouvée en Afrique du Sud et quelles sont les préférences des femmes concernant la taille des familles petite, nombreuse et idéale. L’échantillon était constitué de trois cohortes de femmes noires sud‐africaines originaires de la province de Limpopo. Des analyses factorielles ont montré que les dimensions de la VOC apparue en Afrique du Sud étaient un agrégat de différentes valeurs. Ont été isolées comme dimensions relatives au désir d’enfants Social/Emotionnel et Traditionnel/Utilitaire. Pour ce qui est des motifs expliquant le choix de ne pas avoir d’enfants sont apparus l’enfant comme source de contraintes et les contraintes que constitue le fait d’avoir un enfant. Les comparaisons entre les générations montrent des variations dans l’importance des dimensions des valeurs accordées aux enfants et dans les préférences concernant la taille de la famille. Les valeurs dont les enfants sont porteurs pour les jeunes mères étaient liées au nombre d’enfants que ces femmes avaient et à leurs préférences relatives à la taille de la famille. La discussion sur les résultats tient compte de l’évolution du contexte sociopolitique de l’Afrique du Sud. This study extends the ongoing studies on values of children and intergenerational relations into an African context with the following key questions: To what extent can the structure of values of children (VOC) identified in previous studies be found in South Africa and what are women's preferences regarding the size of small, large, and ideal families? The sample consisted of three cohorts of Black South African women from the Limpopo Province. Factor analyses showed that the dimensions of VOC found in South Africa are a conglomeration of different values. Identified dimensions were Social/Emotional and Traditional/Utilitarian with respect to reasons for wanting children. Regarding reasons for not wanting children, Child as Source of Constraints and Constraints to Have a Child were identified. Intergenerational comparisons showed variations in the importance of value of children dimensions and in preferences regarding family size. Values of children of younger mothers were related to the number of children these women had and to their preferences regarding family size. The findings are discussed within the changing socio‐political context of South Africa.     

Changing Gender Norms for Alcohol Consumption: Social Drinking and Lowered Inhibitions at Bachelorette Parties

In this research, we examined the role of alcohol as both substance and symbol at bachelorette parties. The bachelorette party is characterized by ritualized embarrassment of the bride and by sexualized games, both of which are made easier by heavy alcohol consumption. As there are few occasions when it is considered socially acceptable for women to drink, the bachelorette party provides a unique opportunity to explore womens social drinking and public drunkenness. Based on interviews with 51 women we found that drinking seemed to add to the fun of bachelorette parties and that group alcohol consumption appeared to increase social solidarity as women at bachelorette parties bonded over their shared experience. Finally, women relied on alcohol to lower inhibitions so that they were able to feel justified in engaging in deviant behavior. Womens use of alcohol in this ritual challenges existing gender norms and conceptions of masculinity and femininity.     

Freedom And Responsibility In Constructing Public Life: Toward A Revised Ethic Of Discourse

The current rationale for Freedom of Speech is entangled in Enlightenment assumptions about the relationship of discourse to public life. This article critiques those assumptions and proposes an alternative rationale for Freedom of Speech based in assumptions of contemporary rhetorical theory.     

Assessing Workgroup Norms for Civility: The Development of the Civility Norms Questionnaire-Brief

Purpose

This research describes the development and validation of the Civility Norms Questionnaire-Brief (CNQ-B), a 4-item measure designed to assess workgroup climate for civility. Climate for civility is defined as employee perceptions of norms supporting respectful treatment among workgroup members.

Design/Methodology/Approach

Five samples (N?=?2,711) of adult employees, including two from distinct organizations and three from multiple organizations, responded to the CNQ-B and additional measures.

Findings

Evidence for the internal consistency, and convergent and discriminant validity of the CNQ-B was observed. Additionally, evidence for the criterion-related and incremental validity of the CNQ-B was demonstrated as it was a significant predictor of later-assessed incivility experiences and accounted for significant variability in work attitudes beyond incivility experiences and related measures.

Implications

The CNQ-B is a psychometrically sound instrument despite being composed of only four items. The CNQ-B can be used by researchers and practitioners alike to assess climate for civility, to study climate for civility as a precursor to incivility experiences, and to target workgroups that could benefit from interventions (e.g., training) to enhance civility and reduce incivility.

Originality/Value

This is one of the first studies to conduct a rigorous psychometric assessment of a measure of workgroup climate for civility that is grounded in theory and research on workplace civility and incivility. At four items, the CNQ-B is the shortest assessment tool currently available that is designed for this purpose.     

Conventions and Moral Norms: The Legacy of Lewis

David Lewis’ Convention has been a major source of inspiration for philosophers and social scientists alike for the analysis of norms. In this essay, I demonstrate its usefulness for the analysis of some moral norms. At the same time, conventionalism with regards to moral norms has attracted sustained criticism. I discuss three major strands of criticism and propose how these can be met. First, I discuss the criticism that Lewis conventions analyze norms in situations with no conflict of interest, whereas most, if not all, moral norms deal with situations with conflicting interests. This criticism can be answered by showing that conventions can emerge in those contexts as well. Secondly, I discuss the objection that this type of conventionalism, inspired by Lewis, presents moral norms as fundamentally contingent, whereas most, if not all, moral norms are not. However, such critics fail to appreciate that conventions are not radically contingent. Moreover, if one distinguishes the question as to why an individual should comply with a norm from the question whether the norm in question itself can be justified, a core element of the complaint of contingency disappears. The third objection to conventionalism concerns the way in which conventionalists justify norms. I argue that reflection upon the way in which according to Lewis norms are justified reveals a fundamental tension in his theory. Possible solutions to this tension all have in common that the complaint of contingency returns in some form. Therefore, this third complaint cannot be avoided altogether.