Vested interest as a moderator of attitude–behavior consistency.

Two studies examined the hypothesis that the degree to which an individual perceives an attitude as hedonically relevant affects the relationship between attitudes and behavior. In Exp I, 99 undergraduates' willingness to work actively against the passage of a referendum that would raise the legal drinking age was associated with their age and, consequently, the degree to which this change would affect them. In Exp II with 100 college students, Ss who felt strongly that they would be affected either positively or negatively by the imposition of a university-wide senior comprehensive examination were consistent with their expressed attitudes toward the examination. The behavior of Ss who felt that the test would not affect them, however, was not strongly related to their attitude toward it. Ego involvement did not moderate attitude–behavior consistency. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Temporal instability as a moderator of the attitude–behavior relationship.

A mailed appeal was received by 286 Israeli undergraduates who had completed a questionnaire either 3 mo, 6 mo, both 3 and 6 mo earlier, or not at all. Embedded in the questionnaire were attitude items on altruistic acts (including tutoring blind children) and on various controversial issues. The attitude–behavior correlation was higher over the shorter time interval (.47 vs .13), and data from the group whose attitudes were measured twice indicated this was due to real change in individuals' attitudes. A specific attitude and its corresponding behavior correlated more strongly among those whose general set of altruistic attitudes showed high rather than low temporal stability (.47 vs –.03), but stability of the specific attitude did not moderate this correlation. Characteristics of attitudes that might influence their stability are discussed, and it is shown that attitude stability is not a general trait. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Task complexity as a moderator of goal effects: A meta-analysis.

Much evidence exists that supports the use of goal setting as a motivational technique for enhancing task performance; however, little attention has been given to the role of task characteristics as potential moderating conditions of goal effects. Meta-analysis procedures were used to assess the moderator effects of task complexity for goal-setting studies conducted from 1966 to 1985 (n?=?125). The reliability of the task complexity ratings was .92. Three sets of analyses were conducted: for goal-difficulty results (hard vs. easy), for goal specificity–difficulty (specific difficult goals vs. do-best or no goal), and for all studies collapsed across goal difficulty and goal specificity–difficulty. It was generally found that goal-setting effects were strongest for easy tasks (reaction time, brainstorming), d?=?.76, and weakest for more complex tasks (business game simulations, scientific and engineering work, faculty research productivity), d?=?.42. Implications for future research on goal setting and the validity of generalizing results are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive complexity and assimilative projection in attitude change.

"Students in two undergraduate psychology courses were administered the same attitude scales on two occasions. The second administration was accompanied by information concerning the expressed opinions of either generals or peers. As hypothesized, those students showing little change in their attitude scale scores were found to be high on a measure of cognitive simplicity. Those students who were influenced by peers perceived themselves as more similar to peers than students who were negative to peer influence." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attributional complexity: An individual differences measure.

Describes the development of a scale that measures the complexity of attributional schemata for human behavior—the Attributional Complexity Scale (ACS). In Study 1, the ACS was administered to 289 undergraduates. The results show that the ACS had adequate internal reliability and test–retest reliability, and a factor analysis yielded 1 major factor. Study 2 tested the discriminant and convergent validity of the ACS by administering it to 81 undergraduates. As predicted, attributional complexity was not related to social desirability, academic ability, or internal–external locus of control, but it was positively related to the need for cognition. Study 3 confirmed the prediction that psychology majors (n?=?59) would have more complex attributional schemata than natural science majors (n?=?35). Studies 4 and 5, with 174 Ss, provided evidence for the external validity of the scale: Attributionally complex Ss compared with attributionally simple Ss spontaneously produced more causes for personality dispositions and selected more complex causal attributions for simple behavioral events. Implications for various issues in social cognition are discussed. (48 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Investigativeness as a moderator of stress.

Administered a 12 item investigativeness scale with questions on leisure activities, career interests, and preference for challenging or nonchallenging tasks in 2 studies. In Study 1, 59 male and 42 female undergraduates were assessed for negative life events (NLE), mood disturbance (MDB), and sensation seeking. Investigativeness was found to moderate the relationship between NLE and MDB. In Study 2, 161 females suffering from rheumatoid arthritis were assessed for psychological disturbance (PD), pain, (PN), and functional disability (FD). Investigativeness was negatively related to PD, PN, and FD. Findings show that investigativeness operated as a buffer to stressful experiences but did not moderate the relationship between Ss' physical status and their psychological distress. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitude change as a function of attitude type and argument type.

We hypothesized that affective-based attitudes would be more susceptible to rational arguments and, alternatively, cognitive-based attitudes would be more susceptible to emotional arguments. Three studies were conducted to test this hypothesis. In Study 1, the participants' attitudes about 6 common beverages were classified as affectively or cognitively based, and then either rational or emotional counterattitudinal arguments were presented. In Study 2, naturalistic emotional and rational arguments in the form of advertisements were presented. In Study 3, affective and cognitive attitudes about analytic problems were created, and then either rational or emotional counterattitudinal arguments were presented. The expected patterns of attitude change and cognitive responses were obtained in each of the studies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitude accessibility as a moderator of the attitude–perception and attitude–behavior relations: An investigation of the 1984 presidential election.

Conducted a field investigation concerning the 1984 presidential election to test the hypothesis that the extent to which individuals' attitudes guide their subsequent perceptions of and behavior toward the attitude object is a function of the accessibility of those attitudes from memory. Attitudes toward each of the 2 candidates, Ronald Reagan and Walter Mondale, and the accessibility of those attitudes, as indicated by the latency of response to the attitudinal inquiry, were measured for 245 townspeople months before the election. Judgments of the performance of the candidates during the televised debates served as the measure of subsequent perceptions, and voting served as the measure of subsequent behavior. As predicted, both the attitude-perception and the attitude-behavior relations were moderated by attitude accessibility. The implications of these findings for theoretical models of the processes by which attitudes guide behavior, along with their practical implications for survey research, are discussed. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attributional analysis as self-affirmation.

Conducted 2 experiments to examine whether the tendency to make more extreme attributions following control deprivation, observed by T. S. Pittman and N. L. Pittman (see record 1981-25822-001), stemmed from a motive to regain actual environmental control or to affirm an image of oneself as able to control (important outcomes). Study 1 varied control deprivation by exposing 78 undergraduates to either high-, low-, or no-helplessness training prior to measuring attributions. A 4th condition exposed Ss to low-helplessness training but allowed them to affirm a valued self-image (by completing a self-relevant value scale) just prior to the attribution measure. Replicating the findings of Pittman and Pittman, Ss made more extreme attributions and had worse moods in the high- and low-helplessness conditions than in the no-helplessness condition, but in the 4th condition the self-affirming value scale eliminated the effect of low-helplessness training on both attributions and mood. Study 2, using 32 undergraduates, showed that this effect occurred only when the value scale was central to Ss' self-concept. It is concluded that the motive for attributional analysis following control deprivation in this paradigm was to protect a positive self-image rather than to regain environmental control and that this motive can stimulate attributional analysis that is not related to the self or the provoking control threat and, thus, is not self-serving. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Arousal as a necessary condition for attitude change following induced compliance.

In a 2?×?3 design, 63 university students were induced to write counterattitudinal essays under either high- or low-choice conditions. All Ss were led to believe that a pill, which they had just taken in the context of a separate experiment, was a placebo. In reality, Ss were given a pill that contained either 30 mg of phenobarbital (tranquilizer condition), 5 mg of amphetamine (amphetamine condition), or milk powder (placebo condition). In this last condition, the results yielded the usual dissonance effect: High choice produced more attitude change in the direction of the essay than low choice. When Ss were given a tranquilizer, this effect was virtually eliminated; when Ss were given amphetamine, attitude change increased under high choice and was exhibited for the 1st time under low choice. These results are consistent with the notion that attitude change is in the service of reducing arousal and with the idea that arousal from other sources can be misattributed to attitude-discrepant behavior. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-efficacy as a moderator of information-seeking effectiveness.

The authors assessed previously unexplored processes by which information seeking and self-efficacy contribute to self-regulatory effectiveness in industrial selling. They assessed the synergistic interaction of inquiry and monitoring with respect to role clarity and tested whether this interaction was further moderated by self-efficacy. Results indicated that the role-clarifying effects of feedback inquiry and monitoring were contingent rather than independent. Role clarity increased as the combination of inquiry and monitoring increased. Furthermore, these joint effects were moderated by self-efficacy, such that high-self-efficacy employees were able to effectively use the combination of inquiry and monitoring to clarify role expectations, whereas low-self-efficacy employees were not. Implications for theory, practice, and future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-persuasion and self-presentation as mediators of anticipatory attitude change.

Three experiments with 197 undergraduates determined when anticipatory attitude change occurs via self-persuasion or self-presentation and identified the implications for attitude persistence of a shift by either process. In Exp I, Ss' thoughts and attitudes were assessed while they expected either a counterattitudinal or a proattitudinal message. Ss generated thoughts and reported attitudes consistent with the direction of the anticipated message, even though their responses were anonymous. In the final 2 experiments, the publicness of Ss' attitudes was varied to examine the impact of self-presentational concerns on thoughts and attitudes. In Exp II, Ss in the private condition spontaneously generated more thoughts relevant to the anticipated counterattitudinal message than did Ss in the public condition. In Exp III, some Ss were told that the anticipated counterattitudinal message was not forthcoming. When the message was canceled in the public condition, Ss failed to show an anticipatory shift in attitude; in the private condition, however, anticipatory attitude change was obtained. It is concluded that when self-presentation concerns are manifest, temporary changes in attitude occur in response to these concerns. In contrast, when pressures to self-present are low, anticipatory changes reflect genuine shifts in attitude resulting from an active consideration of the merits of the counterattitudinal position. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Task difficulty as a moderator of long-range prediction.

Used longitudinal studies of career progress in terms of salary or position attainment to test J. Weitz's (see 40:11) hypothesis that personality variables should predict early in time for high-aptitude Ss and late in time for low-aptitude Ss. Results for 396 maintenance technician trainees followed-up over a 9-yr period and 103 sales trainees followed up over an 11-yr period supported the hypothesis. The Ascendancy scale of the Gordon Personal Profile was found to predict the progress criterion at least 3 yr. earlier for those high, compared to those low on initial training performance. The predictability for low-aptitude Ss appeared to be more complex suggesting that the task, "getting ahead" contained additional personality correlated elements for the latter group. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social interest as a moderator of life stress.

Tested 3 hypotheses: (1) Social interest (SI) is of value in ameliorating or eliminating many of the unnecessary problems that occur in human relationships; (2) SI moderates the effect of later life stresses on psychological symptoms; and (3) the negative relation between SI and anxiety, depression, and hostility will be stronger in people who recently have experienced greater stress than in those who have encountered little stress. 74 undergraduates were administered the Social Interest Scale (SIS) and the Social Interest Index (SII), and then the Social Readjustment Rating Scale and the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List 1 yr later. It was found that scores on the SII and the SIS were negatively related to the number of stressful experiences encountered during the following year. Stress was correlated with anxiety, depression, and hostility more strongly among low- than among high-SI Ss, and SI was more negatively correlated with these symptoms among high-stress Ss compared with moderate- or low-stress groups. The SII and the SIS showed somewhat different patterns of results, and possible reasons for these differences are discussed. (49 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Occupational choice as a moderator of psychotherapeutic approach.

Examines the importance of occupational choice as a variable to guide the practice of psychotherapy. The potential uses of a patient's occupational choice as an unobtrusive measure of personality, defensive orientation, amenability to therapy, and responsiveness to differing types of psychotherapy are demonstrated. Using the well-validated occupational personality typology developed by J. L. Holland (1985), which includes 6 major occupational types (Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional), the theory is reviewed and extended by elaborating its implications for psychotherapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fear and attitude change.

To explore attitude change under high-fear conditions, an experimental group of student nurses was tested 3 times during a 6-wk. TB affiliation. This group showed significantly greater attitude change than a control group. In the experimental group, anticipatory-fear and fear-decrease scores were positively correlated with favorable attitude-change scores. High fear apparently facilitated attitude change in this group. The relationship between fear and attitude change in the high fear experimental group was monotonic with no decrease in attitude change at the highest fear levels. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mood as a moderator of acceptance of interpersonal feedback.

Two studies demonstrated that feedback is likely to be accepted when its affective tone matches an individual's mood state. In Study 1, Ss in an induced positive mood were more likely to change self-ratings in the direction of positive feedback, whereas Ss in an induced negative mood were more likely to change self-ratings in the direction of negative feedback. In Study 2, after a neutral mood induction, nondepressed Ss were more likely to change self-ratings in the direction of positive feedback, whereas depressed Ss were more likely to change self-ratings in the direction of negative feedback. After a positive mood induction, both nondepressed and depressed Ss were more likely to change self-ratings in the direction of positive feedback. These results suggest that motivations for self-enhancement or self-consistency do not generally underlie acceptance of feedback. Instead, a model of accessibility of information in memory is proposed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Right-wing authoritarianism as a moderator of the similarity-attraction effect.

We conducted two experiments (n = 155 and 173, respectively) were conducted to test the hypothesis that right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) is a moderator of the similarity-attraction effect in a bogus stranger paradigm (Byrne, 1971). Both experiments employed evaluations of morality and ratings of liking for the bogus stranger. In Experiment 1, the beliefs consisted of the items from the RWA scale. In Experiment 2, the beliefs were specifically designed for the study to deal with the adherence versus violation of conventional norms and values. The similarity- attraction effect was clearly shown in both studies. Regression analyses indicated that RWA was a consistent moderator of the similarity-evaluation effect for judgments of morality, but moderated liking only when the stranger was described in strongly unconventional terms (Experiment 2). The studies are discussed in terms of the concept of symbolic beliefs (Esses, Haddock, & Zanna, 1993) and Rokeach's (1960) theory of prejudice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Level of initial attitude, active rehearsal, and instructional set as factors in attitude change.

2experiments are reported in which Ss having extremely favorable, favorable, and neutral attitudes toward the church were induced to read an antichurch essay to 6 listeners of their choice outside the laboratory. ? of the Ss in each predisposition group were told that their own attitudes might be influenced as a result of the experience. Both those Ss who were "favorable" toward the church and those who were "neutral" became significantly less prochurch as measured by posttesting with the attitude scale. The extremely prochurch Ss were not significantly influenced by this mode of persuasion. Instructional set did not produce any significant differences in susceptibility of Ss in any of the groups to the compliance experience. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social reinforcement in attitude change.

Ss were exposed to an attitude different than one they had expressed previously with the purpose of seeing whether postcommunicative conversation would reflect attempts at reducing such cognitive dissonance. Analyzing the conversation of women who had been exposed to attitudes concerning toilet training which was different than the one they had expressed indicated that they did tend to reduce cognitive dissonance by seeking out information that either agreed with their formally held notion or the newly advocated one. From Psyc Abstracts 36:04:4GD09M. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)