College students' AIDS risk perception

1. Students in this study appraised their AIDS risk using their sexual and drug-use behavior as criteria, which accurately reflects their knowledge of HIV transmission. 2. AIDS risk perceptions were not always congruent with the students' self-reported sexual and drug use behavior. Some students reporting high-risk behavior perceived their AIDS risk as "nil" or "small." 3. Perceived riskiness of behavior increased as distance from the students increased. The students viewed their friends' AIDS risk as moderately greater than their own risk and their peers' risk even greater.     

Interpersonal perception in a social context.

Interpersonal perception among well-acquainted individuals in a social context was studied. High acquaintance was expected to provide perceivers with a large sample of target behaviors across situations. In turn, memory for acquaintances should be organized by social group and personality characteristics, as predicted by the social context-personality index theory. Differentiation of the target's traits in memory should produce a target effect on perception that is stronger than the perceiver effect. Furthermore, evidence for accuracy, meta-accuracy, independence of self- and other-perception, and reciprocity of affect were anticipated. A social relations analysis of data from a multiple-interaction, reciprocal design was used to study these phenomena. At the individual level, analyses indicated that perceptions of targets were determined primarily by target characteristics and secondarily by perceiver construction of the judgment. Also, perceivers judged targets as targets judged themselves, and targets knew in general how perceivers viewed them. Self- and other-perceptions were largely independent. Surprisingly, we did not observe dyadic meta-accuracy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Issues in the perception of AIDS risk and risk reduction activities by Black and Hispanic/Latina women.

Although to date most cases of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) have occurred among men, AIDS poses a serious threat for Black and Latina women, particularly for those who are poor and live in geographic areas of higher AIDS incidence. Yet many may not perceive themselves to be at risk from what has generally been portrayed as a "White gay disease." This article examines patterns of AIDS infection in women and factors associated with risk perception and behavior change. In doing so, the influence of ethnic minority culture on the behavior of individual women is explored. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpersonal perception: Cognitive complexity and trait implication.

Demonstrated that the evaluative connotations of personality characteristics have a more pervasive effect on interpersonal judgment for persons low rather than high in cognitive complexity. It was found that low-complexity Ss saw equally desirable traits as going together more often, and unequally desirable traits as going together less often than did high-complexity Ss. The need for conceptualizing interpersonal judgment as partly a function of the interaction between cognitive complexity and the evaluative requirements of the task was stressed. (19 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological consultation to persons with AIDS.

Consultation to persons concerned about or infected by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or who have developed the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is relatively new to psychologists. This article is an introductory overview to assist psychologists in understanding the infection, to reflect on any personal biases that may impede successful rendering of care, to understand some psychological responses by patients that are common to various stages of the illness, and to recognize potential clashes of complex individual and societal issues, in order to provide more informed consultation and psychological interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpersonal knowledge and rated leader potential.

"This study investigated the relationship between the possession of interpersonal knowledge about others and the ratings received as to leader potential… . The data indicate that the more interpersonal knowledge nonleader trainees had, the higher were the leader potential ratings they received from trainee leaders and trainee nonleaders." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

AIDS risk perception among women drug users in Hartford, CT

This paper reports the findings of a study of congruence between AIDS risk perception and risk behavior in a sample of outreach-recruited out-of-treatment injection and non-injection crack cocaine using women in Hartford, CT. While rates of drug- and sex-related AIDS risk were high in this sample, perception of risk was low among many of the respondents. Variation in risk perception reflects sociodemographic differences in the sample, with those women who were most socially isolated exhibiting the greatest incongruence between personal risk and risk perception. Women who have had contact with health or social service programs were the most likely to report reductions in risk behavior.     

Effects of imbalance in the self-concept on the perception of persons.

From consistency or balance theories of attitude change the present investigation derives a systematic statement relating self-cognitions to perceptions of other persons and performs an empirical test of the statement. By means of a false personality assessment, persons are led to believe that they possess a trait that they negatively value. The prediction that they will resolve imbalance by attributing the trait to their friend is tested and confirmed. Attribution to a friend partially resolves imbalance by shifting the scale referents for the trait, using the friend as an anchor point. As a result, a S is able to believe that he possesses the trait only in average degree. (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpersonal consequences of person perception processes in two social contexts.

Examined whether perceiver-based perceptual processes affect social behavior. Approximately 1,100 undergraduates were exposed to a videotape that portrayed a male or female child interacting with an adult in a playroom. In Study 1, Ss who "saw" the child emit (a) primarily positive behaviors (i.e., Ss who were positively biased), (b) about equal numbers of positive and negative behaviors (i.e., Ss who were accurate), or (c) primarily negative behaviors (i.e., Ss who were negatively biased) then engaged in cooperative task activities with a 7-yr-old child. In Study 2, a subset of these Ss engaged in a discussion with another undergraduate about 3 issues on which they apparently disagreed. Systematic analyses of these interactions suggested that perceptual processes affected social behavior—negatively biased Ss tended to act in a more authoritarian manner in their encounters with the child, whereas positively biased Ss were the least effective in the discussion task. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpersonal problems: Variables influencing participants' perception of group climate.

The relationship between group members' interpersonal problems and their perception of group climate was explored. 61 group participants, fulfilling a class requirement for group participation, completed the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems and repeated administrations of the Group Climate Questionnaire—Short Form. Hypotheses linking these 2 sets of variables were formulated from interpersonal theory. A canonical analysis showed that as hypothesized, group members who perceived themselves as too dominant experienced the group climate as more avoiding and tense. Moreover, those who perceived themselves as too cold, also as hypothesized, and as not having problems with assertiveness, contrary to the hypothesis, perceived the group climate as less engaged, conflictual, and anxious. Implications of the results are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpersonal perception in group therapy: A social relations analysis.

Although group therapists have emphasized the importance of interpersonal perception and feedback during therapy, there has been little systematic research on how group members form impressions of one another. D. J. Kiesler's (see record 1983-30243-001) interpersonal circle provided a framework for studying interpersonal perception and relations. 27 women and 18 men from 9 time-limited therapy groups reported their impressions of their fellow group members using the Impact Message Inventory, and they also completed 2 self-report scales. A social relations analysis of this data indicated that Ss' perceptions included both assimilation and consensus. There was also a relationship between how Ss saw themselves before therapy and how they were seen by other group members. The results demonstrated the utility of the social relations model for group therapy research and provided modest support for Kiesler's interpersonal circle. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social perception of middle-aged persons varying in physical attractiveness.

Presented 6 pictures of middle-aged persons varying in attractiveness to 90 married graduate students and 54 married elderly females. Results support the hypothesis that physically attractive middle-aged persons are judged in more socially desirable terms, and that the elderly hold a stronger physical attractiveness stereotype than young adults. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpersonal perception and communication in discussion groups of varied attitudinal composition.

"The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of various degrees of minority-majority conditions on member behavior during the course of group discussions and to ascertain some of the relationships between various aspects of the interpersonal perceptions and discussion behavior… . The results… indicated an intimate linkage between interpersonal perceptions and discussion behavior… . The findings lend some support, as well as some qualifications, to Festinger's conclusions regarding influence effects in small groups." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpersonal engagement in social perception: The consequences of getting into the action.

Examined the effects on person perception of varying levels of observer-actor engagement using 60 undergraduates. Ss observed a male actor (confederate) responding to interview questions on a prerecorded videotape under 3 conditions of interpersonal engagement: Ss in a detachment condition knew that they were simply observing a tape; Ss in an anticipated-interaction condition knew that they were observing a tape but expected to interact subsequently with the actor; Ss in an actual-interaction condition thought that they were interacting with the actor over a video hook-up. Half of the Ss observed the actor preface his responses with a positive comment regarding the interviewer's question (positive actor); the other half observed the actor preface his responses with a negative comment (negative actor). It was predicted that anticipated-interaction Ss would demonstrate hopefulness by attributing the positive actor's behavior dispositionally and the negative actor's behavior situationally but that actual-interaction Ss would show the opposite causal attribution pattern in an attempt to protect or enhance their own self-esteem. Results confirm these predictions. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

If you are gender schematic, all members of the opposite sex look alike.

96 male and 96 female undergraduates classified on the basis of the Bem Sex-Role Inventory were asked to recall "who said what" after listening to a taped conversation either among 3 men and 3 women (the gender study) or among 3 Blacks and 3 Whites (the race study). Analysis of Ss' errors revealed that both sex-typed and cross-sex-typed Ss confused the members of the opposite sex with one another significantly more than androgynous or undifferentiated Ss did. In contrast, no individual differences related to sex typing emerged in the race study, which suggests that the greater gender schematicity of sex-typed individuals is specific to gender, as S. L. Bem's (see record 1981-25685-001) gender schema theory implies. The finding that cross-sex-typed Ss were significantly more gender schematic than anyone else and the apparent inconsistency of the data with the self-schema theory of H. Markus et al (see record 1982-23588-001) are discussed. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reducing the risk of AIDS in adolescents.

Preventing the spread of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection among adolescents is crucial. Urgently needed are prevention programs that influence diverse populations (e.g., men and women, Blacks and Hispanics). Effective AIDS prevention programs and research must draw from promising programs in other health areas (e.g., smoking prevention, prevention of teenage pregnancy). AIDS prevention programs aimed at adolescents should (a) use an expanded cognitive-social learning theory perspective, (b) consider level of intervention and the unit analysis (e.g., individuals, networks, organizations, and communities), (c) recognize differing goals of primary and secondary prevention, and (d) use social marketing methods in tailoring programs to subgroups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age and sex differences in the mental health of older persons.

Administered the Trait Anxiety scale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, a depression scale, and a general well-being scale to 2,051 respondents (aged 55+ yrs) to explore the age and sex relationships in the scales and the effects of age and sex when other correlated variables are considered. Results show that mental health was curvilinearly related to age with high symptom scores obtained in both 55–59 and 85–89 yr olds and lowest in 60–69 yr olds. Sex interacted with marital status, with higher symptoms among males in the never-married category and in females among the widowed and the married categories. When data were adjusted for correlations among these and other variables, the relationships between mental health with age and sex changed. In males, symptoms were unrelated to age, and in females, symptoms decreased with age down to the 80–84 yr old group. In the adjusted data, married females had lower symptoms than males. (43 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Public perception of stroke warning signs and knowledge of potential risk factors

CONTEXT: Decreasing the time from stroke onset to hospital arrival and improving control of stroke risk factors depend on public knowledge of stroke warning signs and risk factors. OBJECTIVE: To assess current public knowledge of stroke warning signs and risk factors. DESIGN: A population-based telephone interview survey using random digit dialing conducted in 1995. SETTING: The Greater Cincinnati, Ohio, metropolitan area, the population of which is similar to that of the United States overall in age, sex, percentage of blacks, and economic status. PARTICIPANTS: Respondents with age, race, and sex that matched the population of patients with acute stroke. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Knowledge of risk factors for stroke and warning signs of stroke as defined by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. RESULTS: Telephone calls were made to 17634 households, which yielded 2642 demographically eligible individuals. Interviews were completed by 1880 respondents (response rate, 71.2%). A total of 1066 respondents (57%) correctly listed at least 1 of the 5 established stroke warning signs, and of all respondents, 1274 (68%) correctly listed at least 1 of the established stroke risk factors. Of the respondents, 469 (57%) of 818 respondents with a history of hypertension listed hypertension, 142 (35%) of 402 respondents who were current smokers listed smoking, and 32 (13%) of 255 respondents with diabetes listed diabetes as a risk factor for stroke. Compared with those younger than 75 years, respondents 75 years or older were less likely to correctly list at least 1 stroke warning sign (60% vs 47%, respectively; P<.001) and were less likely to list at least 1 stroke risk factor (72% vs 56%, respectively; P<.001). CONCLUSION: Considerable education is needed to increase the public's awareness of the warning signs and risk factors for stroke. Respondents with self-reported risk factors for stroke are largely unaware of their increased risk. The population at greatest risk for stroke, the very elderly, are the least knowledgeable about stroke warning signs and risk factors.