Attitudes toward old people: The development of a scale and an examination of correlates.

"The present paper reports on the development of a Likert scale for assessing attitudes toward old people and discusses empirical relations found between such attitudes and other attitudinal and personality variables. Three samples of college undergraduates served as subjects… a scale containing items making unfavorable reference to old people and a scale containing matched favorably worded items [were constructed]… no clear consistent relation obtained between authoritarianism as measured by the F Scale and attitudes toward old people. On the other hand, unfavorable attitudes toward old people were associated with feelings of anomie, and with negative dispositions toward ethnic minorities and a variety of physically disabled groups. A nurturance factor… was significantly correlated with… scale scores, the more nuturant subjects being more positively disposed toward old people." From Psyc Abstracts 36:01:3GD44K. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The White Privilege Attitudes Scale: Development and initial validation.

In this article, the authors describe 3 interrelated investigations among White undergraduate and graduate students that document the development and initial validation of the White Privilege Attitudes Scale (WPAS). The WPAS assesses the multidimensional nature of White privilege attitudes, reflecting affective, cognitive, and behavioral dimensions. In Study 1 (n = 250), exploratory factor analysis suggested a 28-item scale with 4 factors as follows: (a) Willingness to Confront White Privilege, (b) Anticipated Costs of Addressing White Privilege, (c) White Privilege Awareness, and (d) White Privilege Remorse. In Study 2 (n = 251), confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the 4-factor model was a better fit of the data compared with competing models. The authors also found support for convergent validity between scores on the WPAS factors and theoretically related measures. Study 3 (n = 40) documented test–retest reliability of each of the WPAS factors and nonsignificant associations with socially desirable responding. Implications for future research and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Thirty years later: Attitudes toward the employment of older workers.

Replicated W. K. Kirchner and M. D. Dunnette's (see record 1955-03161-001) study on attitudes toward older workers with 71 male and 5 female hourly employees (aged 18–61 yrs) and 22 male supervisors (aged 27–63 yrs) of a nonunion manufacturing plant. Ss completed a questionnaire that was nearly identical to the one administered in the Kirchner and Dunnette study. Results are similar to those obtained in the earlier study: Hourly workers held more positive attitudes toward older employees than did supervisors, and attitude score correlated strongly with the age of hourly workers but not with the age of supervisors. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Representative democracy, "men of zeal," and testing legislation.

Reviews data from 10 opinion surveys dealing with attitudes of the public toward standardized testing. The discrepancy between the public's views and the claims and legislative demands of self-appointed spokespersons for the public on this issue is analyzed. The implications of this discrepancy and of similar ones for representative democracy in light of contemporary obstacles to the realization of the intent of the framers of the Constitution regarding the relationship between Congress and the American people are considered. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes and behaviors toward lesbian and gay persons: Critical correlates and mediated relations.

With data from 255 college women and men, this study examined the relative strength of relations of right-wing authoritarianism (RWA), social dominance orientation (SDO), and traditional gender role attitudes (TGRA) with anti-lesbian and gay (LG) attitudes. This study also tested the mediating role of anti-LG attitudes in the relations of RWA, SDO, and TGRA with LG-rejecting and -affirming behaviors. Results pointed to the importance of the relations of TGRA and RWA, but not SDO, with anti-LG attitudes and LG-rejecting behaviors. Furthermore, anti-LG attitudes mediated the links of RWA and TGRA with LG-rejecting behaviors. With regard to LG-affirming behaviors, TGRA was the only unique correlate, and anti-LG attitudes did not serve as a mediator. Implications for future research and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Investigation of the Attitudes toward Women Scale in western Canada.

Administered the full version of the Attitudes Toward Women Scale (AWS) to 69 male and 81 female undergraduates to (a) compare the attitudes of male and females in terms of factor pattern and individual test items and (b) to further examine the strength of the relationship between scores on the full and short versions of the AWS. Factor structures revealed 1st-order factors which had considerable overlapping of items between the sexes, although the female Factor I had the additional elements of freedom and independence, dating, courtship, and etiquette. Both 2nd-order factors were sex-related; the female Factor II is described as a profeminist factor and the male Factor II as a male chivalry factor. Sexual behavior items had small factor loadings, indicating that sexual behavior was not considered important. This latter finding is at variance with that of the American samples, as reported by J. T. Spence and R. Helmreich. The high correlation between the full and short versions for both sexes and the retention of a significant sex difference on the short version support its use when only a summary scale is required and administration time is restricted. (French summary) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Aging, optimal testing times, and negative priming": Correction.

Reports 2 errors in the article "Aging, Optimal Testing Times, and Negative Priming' by M. J. Intons-Peterson, Paola Rocchi, Tara West, Kimberly McLellan, and Amy Hackney (Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 1998, Vol. 24, No. 2, pp. 362–376; see record 1998-00017-007). On page 370, the sentence beginning on line 6 of the Method section should have read as follows: "the younger adults were fulfilling a partial requirement of their introductory psychology courses, and the older group was drawn randomly from participants who served in the normative study and from more recently tested older individuals.' The final phrase of the sentence has been added to more accurately reflect the number of participants in the older group. The second error is on page 368. The entries in the left column of Table 3 were incorrect. The corrected table is presented. A portion of the original abstract follows: The effects of time-of-day preferences on selective attention were tested in 2 experiments after normative work with 975 younger adults and 143 older adults verified C. P. May, L. Hasher, and E. R. Stoltzfus's (1993) finding that most older adults prefer the morning, whereas younger adults prefer activities later in the day. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes "cause" behaviors: A structural equation analysis.

Confirmatory maximum likelihood estimation of linear structural equation models with latent variables was employed to evaluate the causal predominance of attitudes over behaviors. Two wave, 2 variable (2W2V) crosslagged structural models were developed using attitude and behavior panel data from 158 college students on studying, exercise, and dating. Additional causal factors that have been shown to have predictive utility in the context of attitude and behavior models were added to the 2W2V models to determine the impact of the specification of other relevant factors on the cross-lag parameter estimates. Although attitudes consistently had a significant direct effort on subsequent behavior in the 2W2V models, this pattern did not hold in the expanded models. Results suggest that the specification of added factors clarifies the direct as well as indirect impact of attitudes on behavior for varying content domains and enables a more complete assessment of the generality of the nature of attitude–behavior relations. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"She," "He," Coexistence, and Bastardy.

Before proposing a solution for the sex bias problems inherent in the generic use of the pronoun he, Spencer (see record 1990-58427-001) reviews some efforts to solve the problem. The attempted solutions are evaluated as "not an improvement ... awkward... jarring ... disturbing" (p. 782), In one case, Spencer notes that coauthors of a book "slip up" twice. To avoid the difficulties and the accompanying unpleasant experiences, Spencer suggests the use of co: "The form is derived from an old Indo-European common form for both male and female English pronouns" (p. 783). While arguing for the "goodness of fit" (p. 783) of co. Spencer acknowledges that "there is currently one exception in our language to this meaning of co-coed, in which the form has been bastardized and debased from its source" (p. 783). A clinical psychologist is assuredly not an expert in psycholinguistics, but one could reasonably argue the following: The concept of bastardy with all of its connotative meaning, including debased, derives from patriarchal, patrilineal, male primary societies and history. In short, it is a sexist concept. Ours is a difficult language to use and avoid the expression of bias. Perhaps we ought to be gentler with those who are trying. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The development and validation of the Workplace Ostracism Scale.

This article outlines the development of a 10-item measure of workplace ostracism. Using 6 samples (including multisource and multiwave data), the authors developed a reliable scale with a unidimensional factor structure that replicated across 4 separate samples. The scale possessed both convergent and discriminant validity, and criterion-related validity was demonstrated through the scale's relation with basic needs, well-being, job attitudes, job performance, and withdrawal. Overall, the present study suggests that the Workplace Ostracism Scale is a reliable and valid measure and that the workplace ostracism construct has important implications for both individuals and organizations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Response to Kathleen Hoover Dunlop: "Maternal employment and child care".

This article is a response to Kathleen Hoover Dunlop's article on "Maternal Employment and Child Care," in Professional Psychology: Research & Practice, Vol 12(1), Feb. 1981, pp. 67-75 (see record 1981-30236-001). I find that Dunlop goes to some length to elucidate the benefits of maternal employment and day care on children but manages to skip lightly, devoting a total of 18 words, to an effect of day care that is of serious concern. Her apparent afterthought that day care children appear to be somewhat more peer oriented and less adult oriented than are home-reared children is of concern in two separate areas. As a clinician, it is my impression that one of the massive problems we face is juvenile and adult crime. The documentation exists to suggest that one contributor to this problem is the almost total reliance on peer culture manifested by many juveniles. By placing our children in situations where values are dependent on peers, we have ensured a lack of effective, internalized control. To dismiss this suggests that these values are somehow less important and so is the traditional function of the family as the provider of these values that are passed down from generation to generation. We are a society wherein working parents have become the norm. We are also a society wherein women, rightfully, have worked diligently to alter their status. However, to suggest that dual parent employment and day care placement have no negative effect may be more a function of one's beliefs than an assertion of behavior as it occurs. Maternal employment itself is not the primary issue. Rather, the issue may be one of family integrity and the willingness of one partner to assume child care responsibility. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measuring transactive memory systems in the field: Scale development and validation.

This study describes the development and validity testing of a field measure of transactive memory systems. Transactive memory systems are especially important for teams designed to leverage members' expertise, but field research has lagged because there are no adequate measures of the construct. The author developed and tested a 15-item scale in a laboratory sample of 124 teams, a field sample of 64 Master of Business Administration consulting teams, and a field sample of 27 teams from technology companies. Results from the present study demonstrate that the scale is internally consistent, related to alternative measures and hypothesized causes and effects, and unrelated to theoretically distinct constructs, providing evidence of convergent, criterion-related, and discriminant validity. Suggestions for improving the scale, future validity testing, and possible boundary conditions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mentors' perceptions of negative mentoring experiences: Scale development and nomological validation.

Three studies were conducted to develop a psychometrically sound, multidimensional measure of mentors' perceptions of negative experiences with their protégés. In Study 1, items were developed, and content-related validity was established. In Study 2, CFA was used to establish the dimensionality of the new measure. Construct-related (convergent and discriminant) and criterion-related validity evidence were also obtained by using data from matched mentor-protégé dyads. Study 3 replicated the factor structure of the instrument and provided additional validity evidence by using a sample of female academic mentors. The findings are discussed in terms of broadening the scope of mentoring research to consider the mentor's perspective of relationship problems and dyadic processes in mentoring relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Integrated Developmental Model of supervison: Scale development and validation procedures.

Despite the growing empirical evidence for developmental models of supervision, the need for reliable, valid assessment procedures for identifying a trainee's level of development exists. This study sought to address this need by administering an instrument designed to assess constructs relevant to C. D. Stoltenberg and U. Delworth's (1987) Integrated Development Model (IDM) to counseling and clinical psychology trainees of varying levels of graduate education, counseling, and supervision experience. Primary data provided support for the IDM and suggested construct validity for the Supervisee Levels Questionnaire—Revised because scores on the instrument differed for certain trainee groups who varied in amount of previous training and experience. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Patient adherence to cancer control regimens: Scale development and initial validation.

Describes the development of a 38-item self-report Adherence Determinants Questionnaire (ADQ) to assess 7 elements of patients' adherence to medical treatment and prevention: (1) perceptions of interpersonal care, (2) beliefs about susceptibility to disease, (3) beliefs about severity of disease, (4) assessments of perceived utility of adhering (efficacy and benefits vs costs of adhering), (5) perceptions of subjective social norms for adhering, (6) intentions to adhere, and (7) perceptions of supports available for and absence of barriers to adherence. Past adherence and health value were also assessed. In 4 diverse field settings, intentions to adhere were most highly correlated with the perceived utility of adhering. Adherence (self-reported and objectively measured) was related most strongly to the presence of supports for and the absence of barriers to adherence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes toward training in diagnostic testing: A survey of directors of internship training.

Reports responses to a questionnaire secured from 80 approved internship centers on various aspects of training in diagnostic testing. While there was some variation from center to center, a majority believed that university training was inadequate, and a number of them perceived the university as instilling an overly critical attitude toward diagnostic testing in their students. The techniques emphasized in internship training are presented, and the implications of the differences in emphases between academic and field settings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Referential Thinking Scale as a measure of schizotypy: Scale development and initial construct validation.

This article describes the development of a measure of schizotypic referential thinking. The authors present a 34-item questionnaire that includes a wide variety of referential thoughts and experiences, including both simple and guilty ideas of reference. The Referential Thinking Scale (REF) displays adequate internal consistency and strong relations with other measures of schizotypy, such as the well-known Perceptual Aberration and Magical Ideation Scales. Item-level factor analysis of the REF suggests that referential thought is multidimensional in nature, including both simple and guilty ideas of reference components. The REF displays minimal relations with acquiescence, social desirability, and sex. The REF does not appear to assess normative personality constructs that involve heightened self-awareness such as self-monitoring, self-consciousness, or social desirability, nor does it appear to be unduly related to psychological state variables. The REF was developed in order to provide an additional schizotypy measure for use in large-scale screening efforts and schizotypy studies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)