Social representations of smoking and attitudes towards smoking restrictions in the Norwigian Navy

The present study investigated the relationship bewteen social representations about smokers and smoking, and attitudes towards smoking restrictions. Data were collected by means of questionnaires among a sample of employees ( n =4224)in the Norwegian Navy. Based on the results from first- and second-order principal components analyses, three dimensions of social representations were identified. The dimensions were labeled "negative representations", "positive representations" and "social influence". The three dimensions clearly differentiated between daliy, occasional and non-smokers. Further, structural equation modeling of the relation between social representations and attitudes towards smoking restrictions, indicated that social representations function as intermediating factors of the effect from smoking states upon attitudes towards smoking restrictions.
The findings indicate the need to focus upon social psyshological processes taking place in the ineraction between groups of smokers and non-smokers, as understanding of such processes may be relevant in preventing the development of group conflict.     

The role of individual bargaining behavior in the pay setting process: A pilot study

A model of initial salary detemination for professional and managerial employees is developed. That part of the model which concentrates on the role of employee salary negotiation behaviors and attitudes was investigated using a sample of 117 individuals. Significant variance in salary bargaining attitudes and behaviors was found; attitudinal and demographic differences between negotiators and non-negotiators were determined. Additionally, negotiating behavior was found to be positively related to salary, but only slightly related to salary growth.     

TASK DIFFICULTY AND ABERRANT BEHAVIOR IN SEVERELY HANDICAPPED STUDENTS

The influence of task difficulty on aberrant behavior was investigated with three severely handicapped students. Noticeably higher rates of problem behavior occurred in demand compared to no-demand conditions. In addition, there were higher rates of problem behaviors on difficult versus easy tasks. Both these findings were validated with visual discrimination and perceptual motor tasks. An errorless learning procedure effectively minimized errors and aberrant behavior in visual discrimination tasks but not in perceptual motor tasks. It was conceptualized that aberrant behavior was maintained by negative reinforcement contingencies. Difficult tasks were aversive to the children, who emitted aberrant responses to escape or avoid such tasks. By contrast, conditions in which no demands were made, easy tasks, and, in visual discrimination learning, errorless tasks, were less aversive and resulted in little or no problem behavior. Implications for reducing maladaptive behaviors through curricular modifications are discussed and contrasted to more traditional consequence manipulation approaches.     

The school psychologist as behavioral ecologist

Some psychologists involved in the implementation of applied behavioral psychology in educational systems must increasingly attend to the ecological impact of such interventions. An ecological orientation emphasizing system-like interdependencies among environment, organism, and behavior suggests several substantial additions to conventional role functions of behavioral school psychologists. Such functions involve taking an active part in evaluating and assessing second-order consequences of behavioral interventions. Recommendations for functional and procedural changes are provided within this framework.     

Moral judgment in relation to behavioral and cognitive disorders in adolescents

The capacity for formulating moral judgments shown by 20 emotionally disturbed, cognitively delayed adolescents was related to their social behaviors as observed in a classroom situation. Adolescents reported by their teachers to be shy and submissive were less capable of reasoning about moral issues than were adolescents who were seen as more assertive and socially engaged. The level of moral judgment was not a function of intelligence or ability to understand concrete operations. The implication that social engagement is a critical determinant of moral judgment for these adolescents is discussed.     

W sprawie terminów nieostrych

Allatum est die 27 Decembris 1957     

Effects of three methods of career counselling on vocational maturity and vocational preference

Three types of career counselling — Individual Career Counselling, the Vocational Exploration Group, and the Future Group — were compared to a placebo group and a no-treatment control group. All groups were evaluated in terms of changes in pre- and post-test scores on the Attitude scale of Crites' Career Maturity Inventory and on the ten scales of the Kuder Preference Record. The study showed the Future Group as compared to the no-treatment control to have a significant increase on the Musical Preference scale. The Future Group also had a significant increase on the Literary Preference scale as compared to the no-treatment control and individual counselling groups. The Future Group participants significantly increased in career maturity compared to participants from the no-treatment control and individual career counselling groups. The implications for career counselling as well as for additional research investigations are discussed.