Comparing interspersed requests and social comments as antecedents for increasing student compliance

Two students were alternately presented with interspersed high-compliance requests and social comments as antecedents to low-compliance requests. An initial comparison demonstrated similar positive effects on compliance for interspersed requests and social comments. A second analysis indicated that the effectiveness of social comments for increasing compliance was related to the time interval between social comments and low-compliance requests.     

Preferences for skill versus chance-determined activities: The influence of gender and task sex-typing

Three experiments tested the hypothesis that skill-chance activity preference by men and women is moderated by task sex relatedness. Men and women (total N = 368) opted to perform either skill or chance versions of masculine and feminine tasks, and then provided ratings of performance expectancy, importance of success, and perceptions of task characteristics. Results support the conclusion that men do not prefer skill and women chance as had been found previously, but rather that while men's skill preferences are higher than women's on a masculine taks, women prefer skill more than do men on a feminine task. Skill-chance preferences were primarily a function of the expectancy of success on skill tasks.     

The Effects of Appearance-Based Comments and Non-Appearance-Based Evaluations on Body Dissatisfaction and Disordered Eating Urges: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study

The current study used ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to investigate whether appearance-based comments, social and performance-based evaluations affected levels of body dissatisfaction (BD) and urges to engage in disordered eating behaviors (DE) throughout daily life. A total of 620 participants completed a baseline questionnaire assessing sociodemographic variables. Participants then downloaded a mobile app which alerted them to complete short surveys assessing their levels of BD, DE urges, and experiences of receiving comments and evaluations six times per day for 7 days. Negative appearance-based comments predicted greater levels of state BD, while positive appearance comments predicted lower levels of state BD. Negative social and performance-based evaluations predicted an increase in state BD, while positive evaluations predicted a decrease in this outcome variable. No significant predictor was found for the DE urge outcomes. The present findings suggest that receiving negative and positive feedback in various domains of one’s life may predict opposite outcomes for body image. However, these effects do not necessarily associate with urges to engage in DE in a nonclinical population.     

The relationship of drive for muscularity to sociocultural factors, self-esteem, physical attributes gender role, and social comparison in middle school boys

This study examines the relationship of three sociocultural factors—media influence, peer teasing, and parent teasing/comments and three potential moderator variables—self-esteem, social comparison, and endorsement of male strength and athleticism—to drive for muscularity in middle school boys. There were 287 seventh and eighth grade boys who completed a questionnaire measuring these variables as well as body mass index (BMI) and pubertal status. Results indicated that media influence and male physical attributes endorsement were particularly important correlates of drive for muscularity. These findings have implications for programs designed to prevent body dissatisfaction among adolescent boys.     

教师集体效能理论及其应用

教师集体效能是教师效能在集体水平上的扩展,是教师对其作为一个整体的、能够组织和实施影响学生行为过程的能力知觉和信念,它以知觉到的平均数作为其集体效能测量的整合分数。教师集体效能在学生的学业成就、有效学校的特性以及教师的心理与行为的改变中有着重要的应用。但与教师个体效能相比,教师集体效能的研究在整体上还存在着明显的不足     

Do Online Comments Influence the Public's Attitudes Toward an Organization? Effects of Online Comments Based on Individuals’ Prior Attitudes

The authors investigated the effects of reading different types of online comments about a company on people's attitude change based on individual's prior attitude toward the company. Based on Social Judgment Theory, several hypotheses were tested. The results showed that the effects of online comments interact with individuals’ prior attitudes toward a corporation. People with a strong negative attitude toward a corporation were less influenced by other's online comments than people with a neutral attitude in general. However, people with a prior negative attitude were more affected by refutational two-sided comments than one-sided comments. The results suggest that the effects of user generated content should be studied in a holistic manner, not only by investigating the effects of online content itself, but also by examining how others’ responses to the content shape or change individuals’ attitudes based on their prior attitudes.     

The interplay of personality and negative comments about appearance in predicting body image

This study investigates how personality traits in combination with frequency of and emotional reaction to negative comments about appearance while growing up are related to appearance evaluation and orientation among adult women. Nine hundred and seven participants from a representative sample of Norwegian women aged 22–55, answered questions measuring body image, personality (Big Five), and history of experiencing negative comments about appearance. Results indicated that only emotional reaction to negative comments about appearance significantly predicted both appearance evaluation and orientation, while frequency of negative comments did not. Being extrovert predicted more positive appearance evaluation and being more appearance oriented than being introvert. Scoring high on neuroticism was related to negative appearance evaluation and high appearance orientation. The findings demonstrate the importance of differentiating between the frequency and the emotional impact of teasing as well as including personality traits when studying body image.