When and How Different Motives Can Drive Motivated Political Reasoning

It is commonly assumed that the effectiveness of political messages depends on people's motivations. Yet, studies of politically motivated reasoning typically only consider what partisans generally might want to believe and do not separately examine the different types of motives that likely underlie these wants. The present research explores the roles of distinct types of motives in politically motivated thinking and identifies the conditions under which motivated reasoners are persuaded by political messages. Results of an experiment with a large, representative sample of Republicans show that manipulations inducing motivations for either (1) forming accurate impressions, (2) affirming moral values, or (3) affirming group identity each increased beliefs in and intentions to combat human-induced climate change, but only when also paired with political messages that are congruent with the induced motivation. We also find no evidence of a backlash effect even when individuals are provided with clearly uncongenial information and a motivation to reject it. Overall, our findings make clear that understanding when and why motivated political reasoning occurs requires a more complete understanding of both which motivations might be active among a group of partisans and how these motivations resonate with the messaging they receive.     

Attitudes Toward Affirmative Action: Correlations With Demographic Variables and With Beliefs About Targets,Actions, and Economic Effects1

Two studies assessed beliefs and attitudes toward affirmative action in the workplace. Opposition to affirmative action was most strongly associated with respondent race (White) and political conservatism, the belief that it involves strong actions (preferential hiring and setting aside jobs), and the expectation that it will hurt company performance. Attitudes were also positively associated with perceived frequency of employment discrimination experienced by the target group and negatively associated with their resulting employment opportunities. Regression results revealed that economic consequences for the company overwhelmed beliefs about target group employment opportunities in predicting affirmative action attitudes. Respondents associated aftirmative action most strongly with Black and Hispanic targets, and White respondents whose affirmative action schemas featured these 2 targets had the most negative attitudes.     

Object Relations and Ego Development: Comparison and Correlates In Middle Childhood

The significance of ego development and object relations for adaptation and adjustment in middle childhood was examined in a study of 92 nine- to twelve-year-old children. Subjects completed the Sentence Completion Test (SCT) and the Blatt Object Relations Scale (BORS) in individual sessions. BORS ratings were factor analyzed and a predominant factor of parental nurturance emerged. This factor was positively related to children's self-reported perceptions of parental involvement and autonomy support but was unrelated to the SCT. SCT findings revealed an expected pattern for middle childhood with the preponderance of children falling into impulsive, self-protective, and conformist stages of ego development. Both the SCT and BORS were examined in relation to aspects of children's cognitive and social functioning, assessed via teacher ratings, peer sociometrics, self-evaluations, and academic achievement records. Results showed that the SCT was primarily related to cognitive complexity variables, while the object relations measure was associated with both peer and self-evaluations. These nonoverlapping relations with varied child outcomes are discussed both in terms of methodological limitations and theoretical significance.     

AUDITORY PITCH AS A PERCEPTUAL ANALOGUE TO ODOR QUALITY

Abstract— Experiments in cross-modal matching suggest that smells can be arranged by odor qualify along the color dimensions of hue and lightness. Here we report that subjects readily adjust the loudness-equalized pitch of on auditory tone to match a stimulus odor. The results allow odors to be arranged in sequence by their pitch-equivalents. The tone matches appear to be based on perceptual feature of olfaction other than stimulus intensity or pleasantness. The results suggest that features of odor quality may be more accessible and structured than previously acknowledged.     

The effects of interpersonal skills training on sex-role identity of premarital dating partners

The purpose of the present study was to assess the effects of a problem-solving skills training program on sex-role identity. It was hypothesized that individuals in a problem-solving skills training program would show greater movement toward androgyny relative to a control group. Twenty-six premarital couples were assigned to a problem-solving skills training program and 29 couples served as a contact control group. An analysis of covariance was performed on the Bem Scale masculine and feminine scores to test the effects of group and sex. Results indicated that the experimental group, as compared to the control group, was significantly higher on femininity following treatment. Discussion centered on the implications of being able to change sex-role identity as well as the need to further explore means of facilitating the development of androgyny in adults.     

Mutual problem-solving skills training for premarital couples: A six-month follow-up

The purpose of the present study was to undertake a six-month follow-up of the communication and problem-solving skill level of those premarital couples trained in the Ridley, Avery, Harrell, Leslie, and Dent (in press) study. Fifty-nine percent of the original sample (14 experimental couples and 18 control couples) were given a behavioral assessment of communication and problem-solving ability six months after training. Results indicated that the experimental group, relative to the control group, had significantly higher pretest to follow-up scores on communication skills and the problem-solving steps. Discussions centered on the implications of skill maintenance over time and possible directions of future research.     

Left-Hemisphere Advantage for Click Consonants is Determined by Linguistic Significance and Experience

Abstract—Left-hemisphere (LH) superiority for speech perception is a fundamental neurocognitive aspect of language, and is particularly strong for consonant perception. Two key theoretical aspects of the LH advantage for consonants remain controversial, however: the processing mode (auditory vs. linguistic) and the developmental basis of the specialization (innate vs. experience dependent). Click consonants offer a unique opportunity to evaluate these theoretical issues. Brief and spectrally complex, oral clicks exemplify the acoustic properties that have been proposed for an auditorily based LH specialization, yet they retain linguistic significance only for listeners whose languages employ them as consonants (e.g., Zulu). Speakers of other languages (e.g., English) perceive these clicks as nonspeech sounds. We assessed Zulu versus English listeners' hemispheric asymmetries for clicks, in and out of syllable context, in a dichotic-listening task. Performance was good for both groups, but only Zulus showed an LH advantage. Thus, linguistic processing and experience both appear to be crucial.     

Family processes,resourcefulness, coping,and stress: A prospective study

A review of the family therapy literature indicates that few studies have investigated the complex relationship among family processes, coping, and stress in understanding how people manage stressful events and conditions. The purpose of the present study was to utilize a prospective research design to systemically explore the impact of family processes on an individual's ability to use effective coping responses when faced with a stressful situation. The results did indicate that individuals experienced greater strain at Time 1 (awaiting exam). However, no differences were found between family process variables and an individual's coping responses between Time 1 and Time 2 (awaiting results). Suggestions for further research on intergenerational family systems theory and implications for family therapy practice are provided.     

What are the odds? How demographic similarity affects the prevalence of perceived employment discrimination

Because research is needed to identify the conditions that facilitate or impede the prevalence of perceived workplace discrimination, the authors examined the effects of demographics and demographic similarity on the prevalence of sex- and race/ethnicity-based perceived workplace discrimination. Results from a national survey of 763 full-time, United States employees show perceived sex-based discrimination at work was more prevalent among female than male employees, and perceived race-based discrimination at work was more prevalent among Black and Hispanic than White employees. Additionally, perceived racial/ethnic discrimination was less prevalent among those with same-race/ethnicity supervisors. The effect of employee-coworker sex similarity on perceived sex discrimination was significant only for women, and the effects of supervisor-subordinate racial similarity on the prevalence of perceived racial discrimination varied between Black and White respondents, depending on employee-residential-community racial similarity.     

Similarity on Sports Sidelines: How Mentor–Protégé Sex Similarity Affects Mentoring

This study examined the effects of mentor–protégé similarity (sex and attitudinal) and relationship duration on the quantity of mentoring (psychosocial and career) received. Survey data collected from 97 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I women’s basketball head coaches in the USA indicated both types of similarity were associated with the receipt of more psychosocial and career mentoring as assistant coaches. Those who had White male mentors also reported receiving more career mentoring than those with sex dissimilar mentors. Finally, the effects of sex similarity were significantly weaker in longer than in shorter mentoring relationships.