Perceived rationality,morality, and power of social choice as a function of interdependence structure and social value orientation

The present study examines how individuals with different social value orientations (i.e. prosocial, individualistic, and competitive) construe the rationality, morality, and power of choices in four distinct interdependence structures which systematically differ in the motives that could underlie the most prosocial or least aggressive choice: (a) altruism only, (b) altruism and cooperation, (c) altruism, cooperation, and individualism, and (d) altruism, cooperation, individualism, and competition. Results revealed that rationality ratings, and to a lesser degree morality and power ratings, increased most when the motives that could underlie a choice were part of the perceiver's social value orientation. Overall, the pattern of rationality ratings provided reasonable support for the Goal Prescribes Rationality Principle. Ratings of morality and power suggested a corresponding Goal Prescribes Morality/Power Principle (for prosocials and individualists), but revealed only mixed support for the Might Over Morality Hypothesis. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ingroup identification moderates stereotype change in reaction to ingroup deviance

An experiment (N = 98) investigated the moderating effect of ingroup identification on reactions to deviant ingroup members. We measured psychology students' level of identification with the group ‘psychologists’ and presented them with information about either a normative or deviant psychologist. Participants completed an ingroup stereotype measure either before or after reading about and evaluating the target psychologist. High identifiers expressed a more positive stereotype of the ingroup after, compared to before, reading about a deviant ingroup member. High identifiers also expressed a more positive stereotype of the ingroup after reading about a deviant than after reading about a normative ingroup member. By contrast, low identifiers' stereotype judgements were relatively unaffected by the target information. The target evaluation ratings indicate that high identifiers were more positive than low identifiers towards the normative ingroup member, but were more negative than low identifiers towards the deviant. The results point to the greater motivational demands on high identifiers to maintain a positive image of the group. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The “True” Romantic: Benevolent Sexism and Paternalistic Chivalry

Previous research has shown that individuals high in benevolent sexism positively evaluate women who conform to traditional gender roles (e.g., Glick, Diebold, Bailey-Warner, & Zhu, 1997). In the current study, male and female participants completed the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (Glick & Fiske, 1996) and a new measure of paternalistic chivalry, that is, attitudes that are both courteous and considerate to women but place restrictions on behavior considered appropriate for women during courtship. Consistent with our hypotheses, benevolent sexism was significantly positively related to paternalistic chivalry. Hostile sexism and participant sex were unrelated to paternalistic chivalry.     

Cognitive development of lead exposed children from ages 6 to 15 years: an application of growth curve analysis.

The effect of lead exposure on cognitive growth patterns was assessed in a longitudinal study of 196 children. Performances on tests of verbal comprehension and perceptual organization (Vocabulary & Block Design, Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children) were measured at ages 6.5, 11 and 15 years. Growth curve analyses revealed that the quadratic model best described the relationship between test scores and age. Children with higher lead levels, as measured at age 15 years, demonstrated lower verbal comprehension scores over time and greater decline in their rate of Vocabulary development at age 15 years, as compared to children with lower lead levels. Lead exposure was not significantly associated with growth in perceptual organization test scores. Socioeconomic status and maternal intelligence were statistically significantly associated with growth patterns for both test scores, independent of the effects of lead. The findings suggest that lead negatively impacts the developmental progression of specific cognitive skills from childhood through adolescence.     

Identifying process variables in career counseling: A research agenda

Remarkably little is known about what underlying processes and mechanisms lead to effective change in career counseling. This article examines potential reasons why career counseling process research has been infrequently conducted and provides 10 avenues from psychotherapy process research, and the limited pool of existing career counseling process research, that hold promise for advancing a productive process-research agenda in career counseling. These 10 avenues include: (a) examining the working alliance and five promising counselor techniques; (b) reconceptualizing career counseling as a process of learning, and investigating the processes that lead to effective learning; (c) investigating differences in career counseling process and outcome due to subtype membership, cultural perspectives, and other critical client attributes; (d) investigating differences in career counseling process and outcome based on counselors’ levels of self-efficacy, cultural perspectives, and other critical counselor attributes; (e) examining influential session events; (f) utilizing a common problem resolution metric for examining change across clients; (g) examining client change longitudinally to examine stability of change and functional practicality of assessed outcomes; (h) examining cognitive processes that may be mediating the career counseling process; (i) developing molecular and global taxonomies of counselor behaviors; and (j) utilizing advances in methodological approaches and statistical analyses.     

Self-efficacy and interest: Experimental studies of optimal incompetence

How does self-efficacy affect interest? The interest-and-interests model assumes that factors that induce interest—novelty, complexity, conflict, and uncertainty—do so non-linearly. Self-efficacy should thus affect interest quadratically, because it reflects uncertainty about an activity’s outcome. When self-efficacy is low, interest is low because the activity’s outcome is certain. When self-efficacy is moderate, the person’s success on the task seems likely, but not inevitable. But as self-efficacy becomes very high, success seems completely certain, and the task is thus uninteresting. Two experiments tested these predictions. Experiment 1 asked people to rate the interestingness of differentially difficult activities; Experiment 2 manipulated self-efficacy regarding a fuzzy dart game. In both experiments, interest was a quadratic function of self-efficacy. Implications for theories of vocational interest development and change are considered.     

American Rabbis in the 2000 Elections

The 2000 elections were watershed elections for the Jewish community. Joseph Lieberman, an observant Orthodox Jew, was nominated to be the Democratic vice presidential candidate and the events in Florida and New York highlighted the important role of the Jewish community in American politics. The 2000 elections were, therefore, a perfect time to assess the Jewish religious community's connection to politics. Although the central place of American Jews in the Democratic coalition has been long established and continued in 2000, the role of rabbis in maintaining that connection has not been explored empirically. We investigate how rabbis of the four great Jewish movements sustain Jewish political connections, asking: How do rabbis participate in politics, how do their political agendas resonate with their political action, how did they respond to Lieberman's candidacy, and what political information did they transmit to their congregations?     

Imagining and Explaining Hypothetical Scenarios: Mediational Effects on the Subjective Likelihood of Health‐Related Outcomes1

Imagining and explaining hypothetical events have been shown to increase the subjective likelihood of those events occurring. At the same time, it has been suggested that reducing unrealistic optimism about health risks (i.e., increasing the subjective likelihood of negative health outcomes) might motivate health‐protective behavior. In exploring the implications of these issues for health‐promotion goals, 2 experiments (Ns= 334 and 328) involving postal questionnaires are reported in which attempts are made through the use of imagine‐and‐explain scenarios to manipulate the subjective likelihood of a negative outcome (heart disease) and of a positive outcome (reducing fat consumption). The greater success of the manipulation of dietary change expectations than of heart disease expectations suggests the potential benefits of focusing directly on planning goal strategies in relation to health beneficial behaviors.