Counselors in the elementary school: 1970–71

The authors of this article investigated several aspects of elementary school guidance during the 1970–71 school year in the 50 states and the 4 United States territories. They discovered that the number of counselors in US. elementary schools has increased by 2,000 in two years. Over 50 percent were supported by local funds. To date, 24 states have differentiated certification for elementary school counselors, and 36 states have developed policy statements or state standards for elementary school guidance.     

Being better than others but otherwise perfectly normal: Perceptions of uniqueness and similarity in close relationships

The current research addresses individuals' self-generated thoughts regarding their own and others' relationships, examining the ways in which perceptions of uniqueness and similarity are manifested in judgments regarding own and others' responses to dissatisfying incidents. Consistent with the uniqueness bias, participants characterized their own relationships by a greater number of constructive responses and a smaller number of destructive responses relative to characterizations of others' relationships. Moreover, external raters judged own constructive responses to be more constructive than others' constructive responses. Consistent with the similarity bias, external raters judged items describing others' responses to be less frequently occurring and more extreme than their own responses. Also, this research revealed support for the claim that the similarity bias is more pronounced for destructive responses than for constructive responses. A recall task corroborated these findings, revealing very good recall for destructive responses enacted by others and poor recall for destructive responses enacted by oneself.     

Movement in social orientations: a commentary on Kelley

After reviewing some classic contributions to the truly social social–psychological literature (Lewin, Horney, Festinger), this commentary outlines how and why Kelley's analysis extends and complements more traditional approaches to interdependence. Three strengths are emphasized, suggesting that Kelley's analysis (a) offers a much-needed situation-based taxonomy for different social orientations and interpersonal phenomena, (b) serves the ecological validity of social orientations, and (c) potentially helps us understand why classical dimensions of person judgment include not only goodness versus badness, but also movement-related orientations such as dominance versus submission, strength versus weakness, or activity versus passivity. Kelley's analysis can be extended by developing further domain-specific theory and methodology for examining the temporal and sequential aspects of social orientations, and by applying a means–end analysis to differing social orientations identified in Kelley's analysis. Finally, following Chuck McClintock (1972), it is argued that the field should reserve the concept of social value orientation to define allocational preferences relevant to valuing outcomes for self and others. This basic orientation should meaningfully ‘drive’ the ways in which we approach interdependent others, solve interdependence problems, and utilize interdependence opportunities. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Expectation-based and data-based illusory correlation: the effects of confirming versus disconfirming evidence

The present study (n=154) examines the effects of expectations and stimulus information on the perception of illusory correlation. There have been few studies attempting to integrate expectation-based and data- (distinctiveness-) based processes. These studies suggest that data-based illusory correlation can be overruled by prior expectations, but it is not clear whether this is a consequence of a confirmation bias. In the present study, where participants were not exposed to the specific stimulus information, expectation was manipulated by stating that group B behaved more negatively than group A. Moreover, participants were provided with information contained in a statement-rating task that allowed for the confirmation and disconfirmation of the prior expectations. Participants rated the desirability of these behaviours and also performed the standard illusory correlation tasks. Based on self-categorization theory and Alloy and Tabachnik (1984), we predicted that in the absence of prior expectations, completing the rating task before the illusory correlation tasks would produce stronger illusory correlation than the reverse order. However, in the presence of prior expectations we expected the rating task to undermine illusory correlation, because the information obtained in this task tends to disconfirm prior expectations. Results support the predicted interaction between task order and expectation. We discuss some implications for research on confirmation bias.     

The division of labor in close relationships: An asymmetrical conflict issue

This research addresses couples’reports of their (hypothetical) attempts to maintain or change a gendered division of labor through conflict interactions. Two experiments in which spouses responded to scenarios showed that spouses reported more conflict over the division of housework than conflict over paid work and child care, and that wives more often than husbands desired a change in their spouses’contribution. Spouses reported more wife‐demand/husband‐withdraw than husband‐demand/wife‐withdraw interaction during hypothetical conflict over the division of labor, but only when the wife desired a change in her spouse's contribution. Together, the data imply that wife‐demand/husband‐withdraw interaction is a likely response to the asymmetrically structured conflict situation in which the wife is discontent with her husband's contribution to housework, while her husband wants to maintain the status quo. We further showed that defenders of the status quo were more likely expected to reach their goal than complainants. In the role of complainant, wives were more likely expected to reach their goal than were their husbands, but only when the conflict issue concerned their own gender stereotypical domain (i.e., family work).     

PERSON-ORGANIZATION FIT: THE MATCH BETWEEN NEWCOMERS' AND RECRUITERS' PREFERENCES FOR ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURES

This study examined the effects of two measures of fit on newcomers' commitment and turnover intentions, P-O fit and P-P fit. Newcomers preferences for organizational cultures were compared with supervisors' and peers' perceptions of organizational culture (P-O fit) and with their preferences for organizational culture (P-P fit). The supervisors and peers that were involved had been the newcomer's recruiters during the selection procedure and they had hired the newcomer. Subjects' culture preferences and perceptions yielded two dimensions of organizational culture: concern for people and concern for goal accomplishment. Results revealed that newcomers' concern for people P-P fit with their supervisor was related to organizational commitment and turnover intentions. P-O fit measures for both dimensions of organizational culture were not related to newcomer affective outcomes.