Understanding the foot‐in‐the‐door effect as a pseudo‐effect from the perspective of the Campbell paradigm

Compliance with a small request (a metaphorical foot‐in‐the‐door) promotes compliance with a subsequent big request. Whereas some explanations expect a drop in the behavioural costs of the big request, others suspect that the effect comes from boosting the underlying attitude. However, evidence for both explanations is equivocal and circumstantial, at best. Drawing on what Kaiser et al. (2010) call the Campbell paradigm, we present an integrative account: Compliance with any request demands a corresponding attitude to counterbalance the costs of the request. In our research, 229 participants were randomly assigned to either a foot‐in‐the‐door (i.e., initially asked to sign a pro‐environmental petition) or a control condition. Small‐request‐compliant participants were more likely than control participants to also comply with the big request and to continue filling out environmental‐issues‐related questionnaires. However, this foot‐in‐the‐door effect occurred without diminishing behavioural costs or increasing attitude levels. Accordingly, the greater likelihood of small‐request‐compliant participants to also comply with the big request can be parsimoniously explained by baseline variability in people's attitude levels that manifests in their compliance with the initial request. We conclude that several of the foot‐in‐the‐door effects reported in the literature carry the risk of representing mere pseudo‐effects.     

Attachment security,values, and prosocial attitudes

The objective of this study was to determine whether individuals with different attachment styles held different prosocial values and attitudes given their different models of self and of others. A sample of 717 university students completed the ECR ‐S (Experiences in Close Relationships‐Spanish) and the PVQ (Portrait Values Questionnaire), and evaluated different prosocial attitudes. The results showed that secure individuals reported higher scores on self‐transcendence and in the value self‐directions of the dimension openness to change , whereas insecure individuals had higher scores on conservation and self‐enhancement . No differences were found in the attitudes of individuals with different attachment styles. These findings show a link between the dimensions of the universal values theory, and the models of self and of others.     

Impact of educational intervention on willingness-to-pay for suicide prevention: a quasi-experimental study among university students in Japan

Many individuals show negative attitudes toward the use of taxes for suicide prevention. Activities that enhance knowledge and awareness of suicide and suicide prevention may increase willingness to pay (WTP) for suicide prevention. WTP is the amount that a consumer will pay for a product or service. The present study examined the influence of educational activities on enhancing knowledge and awareness of suicide and its prevention on WTP. We conducted a quasi-experimental study to examine the influence of lectures on suicide by comparing the amount of change in WTP between two groups over the same period: an intervention group (n = 92) comprising students who participated in the lectures and a control group (n = 128) comprising general university students recruited through an Internet-based survey. A t-test showed that the amount of change was significantly larger in the intervention group (t (152.31) = 2.25, p = .026). Ordinal logistic regression analysis showed that increased WTP was significantly correlated with an annual household income of JPY 4–6 million or higher. It may be appropriate to conclude that participation in lectures about suicide is effective in increasing WTP for suicide prevention.     

物欲之蔽：物质主义对亲环境态度及行为的影响

纵观现有研究,物质主义较稳定地负向预测个体的亲环境态度、公领域亲环境行为以及私领域亲环境行为中的资源回收和节约行为。至于私领域亲环境行为中的绿色消费,研究结果在发达国家和发展中国家间存在不一致。基于环状价值观模型和价值-信念-规范理论,物质主义可以同时影响亲环境态度及行为,也能通过亲环境态度影响行为。未来研究应当增加对物质主义与亲环境态度、行为间因果关系、内在机制的探讨,以及提升现有研究结果的应用价值。     

Being both – A European and a national citizen? Comparing young people’s identification with Europe and their home country across eight European countries*

Abstract

It is a well-established fact that forming a mature and coherent political identity is one developmental task in adolescence and young adulthood. However, given different degrees of commitment on the regional, national, and European level, the question remains whether young people’s identification varies among those spheres? Drawing on data from the European Catch-EyoU-project, it was the goal of this study to examine whether young people can be classified according to their identification toward their home country and Europe and how these types are associated with age, gender, country as well as political interest, tolerance, and political participation. The study is based on adolescents and young adults from the Czech Republic, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Estonia, Italy, Portugal, and Sweden (N = 9339; Mage = 19.62; 59.1% female). Cluster analysis revealed five types of young people’s identification with country and Europe which showed significant associations between group membership and tolerance, political interest, and participation. The implications of distinguishing types of identification and their associations with political outcomes are discussed.     

Are your cross‐ethnic friends ethnic and/or national group identifiers? The role of own and perceived cross‐ethnic friend's identities on outgroup attitudes and multiculturalism

We investigated how own ethnic and national identities and perceived ethnic and national identities of close cross‐ethnic friends may predict outgroup attitudes and multiculturalism among Turkish (majority status, N = 197) and Kurdish (minority status, N = 80) ethnic group members in Turkey (M_age = 21.12, SD = 2.59, 69.7% females, 30.3% males). Compared with Turkish participants, Kurdish participants were more asymmetrical in rating their cross‐ethnic friend's identities relative to their own, reporting higher ethnic identity, but lower national identity for themselves. Own ethnic identity was negatively associated with attitudes and multiculturalism, whereas own national identity was positively associated with only attitudes. Perceived cross‐ethnic friend's national identity was positively related to both outgroup attitudes and multiculturalism. Shared national identification (high levels of own and friend's national identity) led to most positive outgroup attitudes and highest support for multiculturalism. Findings were discussed in the light of social identity and common ingroup identity models.     

Effects of diversity versus segregation on automatic approach and avoidance behavior towards own and other ethnic groups

We present the results of a study in which we measured automatic intergroup behavior and evaluations in ethnic majority and minority group members. We focus our attention on the level of segregation and diversity of immediate life contexts as indicators of outgroup exposure. Specifically, Dutch ethnic minority and majority students enrolled at ethnically segregated and diverse schools completed a measure of automatic approach and avoidance behavior and reported explicit intergroup attitudes. The research is framed into prevailing theories in the field: Social Identity Theory and System Justification Theory. Results of our study suggest that segregation of minority group members' immediate life context may be an important moderator of evaluations as well as approach and avoidance behavior toward ingroup and outgroup. In particular, minority members in segregated schools showed an approach bias towards their ingroup, whereas minority members in diverse schools showed an approach bias towards the majority outgroup.     

Perceived collective continuity and attitudes toward outgroups

In a series of six studies, we examined the role that perceived collective continuity (PCC) plays in intergroup attitudes. While the extant literature focuses on attitudes toward ingroups, the current studies chose to expand upon this research by concentrating on three types of outgroups (national, religious, and organizational). Results indicated that for groups perceived as neutral or positive, increased PCC was associated with more positive attitudes, while for enemy groups, increased PCC was associated with more negative attitudes. Entitativity played a mediating role such that as the outgroup was perceived as more continuous, it was also seen as more entitative. Higher entitativity led to less negative attitudes toward a past ally but more negative attitudes toward a past enemy. Results held whether past conflict and PCC were measured or manipulated, further supporting our findings. PCC has negative or positive implications for judgments of outgroups depending on intergroup history. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.