Changes in moral judgment and self-acceptance in college students as a function of companionship with hospitalized mental patients.

The present investigation describes studies undertaken to determine the effects of association with hospitalized mental patients on the personalities of 32 male college students who were compared to a control group of 24 comparable students who had not been involved in this experience with mental patients. The former demonstrate significant positive change in self-acceptance and in moral judgments concerning sexual and aggressive behaviors. The nature of the companionship experience is examined in order to elucidate the reasons for these changes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

School self-acceptance among Canadian Indian, White, and Metis children.

Compared 334 Indian, 197 non-Indian, and 92 Metis students (aged 10–19 yrs) on an aspect of self-concept, school self-acceptance. A follow-up study was conducted several months later with 40 Ss. Attempts were made to overcome weaknesses in prior research by gathering validity data on the self-concept measure and controlling for extraneous factors such as social assets that could account for Indian/non-Indian differences. Support was found for the prediction that Indian Ss would have lower school self-acceptance scores than White Ss. Metis Ss resembled Indians in their school self-acceptance scores, acculturation level, and social assets, but scored closer to Whites in their childrearing scale scores. Multiple regression analyses revealed that the social assets variable was the most important predictor of school self-acceptance, although the ethnicity factor remained a significant predictor. (French abstract) (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hypnosis and encounter group volunteers: A validation study of the sensation-seeking scale.

In 2 studies, the Sensation-Seeking Scale (SSS) scores of college students who volunteered or did not volunteer for hypnosis and encounter group studies were compared. Volunteers for both types of studies had significantly higher SSS scores than nonvolunteers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Acceptance by others and its relation to acceptance of self and others: a revaluation.

"Analysis of the data indicated that individuals with high self-acceptance scores tend also to accept others, to feel accepted by others, but actually to be neither more nor less accepted by others than those with low self-acceptance scores. Individuals with high acceptance-of-others scores tend in turn to feel accepted by others, and tend toward being accepted by them." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Drinking motives and college students: Further examination of a four-factor model.

The purposes of this study were to examine the reliability and validity of a 4-factor model of the Drinking Motives Measure and to assess year in school and ethnic differences on different types of motives. Data were collected on 441 volunteer college students. Results indicated that fit indices for the 4-factor model were acceptable; fit indices were also better for the 4-factor model than they were for alternative models. Freshman students and students of color had higher scores on the Conformity motives subscale than senior and White students did, respectively. Additionally, differences in the correlation between Conformity motives and alcohol use existed based on year in school, such that the relationship was significantly smaller for freshmen than it was for other students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relation of masculinity to self-esteem and self-acceptance in male professionals, college students, and clients.

Previous studies that have suggested that masculinity is a strong predictor of mental health have been generally limited to college student populations or have focused specifically on women. This study investigated the relation of masculinity to self-esteem and self-acceptance in male professionals (n?=?96), clients (n?=?55), and college students (n?=?73). The Personal Orientation Inventory, Bem Sex Role Inventory, and Rotter Internal–External Locus of Control Scale were administered to the subjects, along with a demographic data sheet. Correlations were used to investigate the relation and relative predictive significance of masculinity, femininity, education, occupation, and locus of control to self-esteem and self-acceptance. Masculinity was found to be the best predictor of self-esteem for male professionals and clients, and the best predictor of self-acceptance for clients. Femininity did not correlate with self-esteem or self-acceptance in any group. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Epistemological and moral development in girls from a traditional and a progressive high school.

To investigate the relation between high school program and stage of epistemological and moral development of 48 female high school students, a 2?×?2 design was used, with grade (sophomores vs seniors) and school (traditional vs progressive) as the independent variables and stage of moral judgment of L. Kohlberg's (1969) scale and epistemological position on W. G. Perry's (1970) scale as the dependent variables. Overall, on both scales, mean scores were higher for seniors than for sophomores and higher for progressive than for traditional school students. On both scales, progressive school seniors scored higher than traditional school seniors; the 2 sophomore groups did not differ. Seniors scored significantly higher than sophomores only at the progressive school. Correlations between the 2 measures were positive and significant. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Generalization of verbally conditioned self-acceptance to social interaction in small group discussions.

Discusses generalization of change in a socially relevant variable during verbal conditioning trials to social behavior in small groups. On the basis of scores obtained on the E. M. Berger (see 27:7) scale of expressed acceptance-of-self and expressed acceptance-of-others, 2 groups of student nurses were selected for study: (a) a low self-acceptance group (low s-a) (N = 44), and (b) a high self-acceptance group (high s-a) (N =20). The low s-a Ss were randomly assigned to experimental (i.e., reinforced) and control (i.e., nonreinforced) conditions. All low s-a Ss participated in pre- and postconditioning, 4-person discussion groups. Similar preconditioning discussion groups were held for high s-a Ss. Berger scores of self-acceptance were significantly related to judges' ratings of self-acceptance in the group-discussion situation. Verbal conditioning of self-accepting responses on the Berger scale significantly increased judges' ratings of self-acceptance for those Ss who showed a high level of conditioning. (French summary) (17 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Long-term effects of acceleration on the social-emotional adjustment of mathematically precocious youths.

The study of Mathematically Precocious Youth (SMPY) identified over 2,000 12–14 year-olds who scored as well as a random sample of high school females on the Scholastic Aptitude Test. SMPY encouraged these students to accelerate their education; over 50% did. Their social development at age 18 and at age 23 was then assessed. We investigated the effects of amount and type of educational acceleration (grade skipping and subject matter) on psychosocial indices (self-esteem, locus of control, self-acceptance/identity, and social interaction). No gender differences were significant. Accelerants as well as nonaccelerants reported high self-esteem and internal locus of control. Acceleration did not affect social interactions or self-acceptance/identity and it also did not relate to social and emotional difficulties. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Counseling effectiveness as a function of counselor social interest.

Examined the relationship between counselor social interest and 3 dimensions of counseling effectiveness. 99 students and 8 counselors at a university counseling center participated, and data were analyzed using a multivariate trend analysis. Measures included the Early Recollection Questionnaire, the Rating Scale of Social Interest Characteristics, and the Counseling Evaluation Inventory. Results show that the counselor's social interest score was significantly related to the client's scores on satisfaction, self-acceptance, and sociability. Experimental support was obtained for one of the major contributions of Adlerian theory, the concept of social interest. Implications of the findings for successful counseling outcomes are discussed. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conditioning of a response class on a personality test.

This study attempts to demonstrate an increase in responses indicating self-acceptance on a personality test as a function of the contingent stimuli "good" and a light blink. Ss were chosen from students scoring in the lowest 15% of the acceptance-of-self distribution on a specifically constructed test. They were matched on the basis of scores and assigned to one of 3 experimental groups, "good," light, or control. "The results indicate that: (a) Learning without awareness to respond positively to acceptance-of-self statements can occur; (b) the behavior of Ss who are aware of the purpose of reinforcement does not differ significantly in this situation from that of Ss who are not aware; and (c) the verbal stimulus "good" is capable of bringing about such learning whereas the nonverbal light stimulus is not." 15 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship of Prosocial Moral Reasoning to Altruism, Political Liberalism, and Intelligence.

Seventy-two students in Grades 9, 11, and 12 were administered four prosocial moral reasoning stories and a sociopolitical attitude questionnaire. Scores on a test for scholastic aptitude were obtained, and all subjects were given the opportunity to volunteer to help the experimenter with a dull, unpaid task. When the effects of age were controlled, males' level of prosocial moral reasoning was highly related to intelligence (scholastic aptitude) and moderately associated with altruism. Females' moral judgment was related to liberal sociopolitical attitudes. The data were compared with research on prohibition-oriented moral judgment, and the sex differences in the findings were discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A taxonomy of ethical ideologies.

Discusses 4 ethical perspectives: (a) situationism, which advocates a contextual analysis of morally questionable actions; (b) absolutism, which uses inviolate, universal moral principles to formulate moral judgments; (c) subjectivism, which argues that moral judgments should depend primarily on one's own personal values; and (d) exceptionism, which admits that exceptions must sometimes be made to moral absolutes. The Ethics Position Questionnaire (EPQ), which assesses degree of idealism and rejection of universal moral rules in favor of relativism, was developed to measure the extent to which individuals adopt one of the ideologies. 241 university students were Ss. The 2 scales that make up the EPQ were found to have adequate internal consistency, were reliable over time, were not correlated with social desirability, and were not related to scores on the Defining Issues Test. The Relativism scale did correlate with scores on the Survey of Ethical Attitudes. When the scales were used to classify Ss into one of the ideologies, predictions concerning differences in each ideology's moral judgment processes were supported. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship of masculinity to self-esteem and self-acceptance in female professionals, college students, clients, and victims of domestic violence.

Investigated the relationship of masculinity to self-esteem and self-acceptance in female professionals (n?=?89), clients (n?=?52), victims of domestic violence (n?=?57), and college students (n?=?83). Ss ranged in age from 19 to 65 yrs. Ss completed the Personal Orientation Inventory, the Bem Sex-Role Inventory, Rotter's Internal–External Locus of Control Scale, and a demographic data sheet. Correlations were used to examine the relationship and relative predictive significance of masculinity, femininity, education, occupation, and locus of control to self-esteem and self-acceptance. Masculinity was the best predictor of self-esteem in all groups and the best predictor of self-acceptance in all groups except professionals. Femininity was generally irrelevant, and a significant negative correlation was found between education and self-acceptance among professionals. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An extended use of the instrumentality theory of attitude for obtaining self-acceptance measures.

Information was obtained from 81 undergraduates regarding the importance of their personal goals and their perceptions of the extent to which each of their positive and negative personal characteristics is helpful or harmful to the attainment of those goals. Ss' scores for the California Psychological Inventory and peer ratings were used as criteria. The instrumentality/valence model scores correlated significantly with the criteria, but the valence alone did not make a contribution to the correlations. Reasons for nonsignificant correlation of the valence and the implications of the findings for the assessment of self-acceptance are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparative evaluation of a videotaped measure of interpersonal distance.

Compared scores of 50 male volunteer university students on a new videotaped measure of interpersonal distance (IPD) with their scores on 4 of the few other IPD measures on which psychometric data have been published. Three of the measures, the Pedersen Personal Space Measure, the Rawls Personal Space Measure, and Duke and Nowicki's Comfortable Interpersonal Distance scales were paper-and-pencil tests. The 4th involved a controlled real-life situation in which a confederate actually approached the Ss. The results indicate that the videotaped measure was appreciably superior to the other techniques as it largely overcame their methodological problems while remaining reliable, valid, and practical to use. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intelligence of volunteers as research subjects.

The personal characteristics of people who volunteer for research is becoming increasingly important to behavioral scientists. The intelligence of prison inmates who volunteered for medical experiments was compared with that of inmates who did not volunteer. The results show that groups of 40 volunteers for 2 individual experiments demonstrated significantly higher scores on the Revised Beta Examination than did 40 nonvolunteers. The implications of these findings to behavioral research were examined. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of a moral development discussion group on delinquent and predelinquent boys.

50 delinquent or predelinquent 13–15 yr old males in institutional or dayschool special education programs were divided into 3 groups: moral discussion group; a placebo group that received a values clarification program, which was similar in content to the moral discussion group approach; and a control group, which received no treatment. The discussion and placebo groups addressed hypothetical, real-life, classroom behavior, and S-presented dilemmas. Pre- and posttest scores were obtained on a moral judgment interview and a self-control rating scale. Results indicate that the moral discussion group had a significant impact on Ss' moral reasoning ability as compared with the placebo and control groups. Findings also indicate that gains in moral reasoning did not necessarily lead to improved classroom behaviors. (80 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depression as a function of levels of desired and obtained pleasure.

120 paid volunteer adults, equally divided into a depressed group and nondepressed and psychiatric control groups (from scores on the MMPI), were administered the Pleasant Events Schedule. Mean scores of the 3 groups were computed on scales purporting to measure obtained pleasure, activity level, and potential for being reinforced by a wide variety of events. As predicted, the depressed group scored significantly lower on these scales than the control groups, which did not differ significantly from each other. A minor hypothesis, derived from the neoanalytic theory of W. Bonime (1966), that depressed Ss would have higher scores on a scale purporting to measure the level of desired gratification was disconfirmed. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Locus of control and "pseudovolunteering."

Possible bias in social science research is of increasing importance because of the use of volunteer Ss. The present results with 51 college students suggest that a volunteer population ( n = 39) may be an even more select group than previously thought, since they were different from those Ss ( n = 12) who initially volunteered but did not complete their participation in the research project (pseudovolunteers). With respect to Rotter's Internal-External Control Scale, pseudovolunteers were significantly more external in orientation than true volunteers. The implications of using volunteer populations, particularly in relation to the generalizability of results, are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)