Agreement, attraction, and self-esteem.

Explored the role of increased self-esteem in mediating the relationship between attitudinal agreement and interpersonal attraction by creating conditions known to produce differential attraction and then testing for corresponding changes in self-esteem. 280 undergraduates were given a questionnaire measuring attitudes and self-esteem and were then exposed to a confederate student who (a) held either similar or dissimilar attitudes on a variety of current issues; and (b) had given them either a positive, a negative, or no personal evaluation. Posttreatment confederate evaluations and measures of self-esteem indicate that although the attraction manipulation was highly successful, no support was found for the notion that increased self-esteem was even a concomitant, let alone a determinant, of attraction. The only reliable posttreatment increase in self-esteem came from Ss who had been negatively evaluated, and appeared to be defensive in character. In addition, Ss receiving similar attitudes plus positive personal evaluations liked the stranger more, and those receiving dissimilar attitudes plus negative evaluations liked the stranger less, than did Ss who received the attitude similarity-dissimilarity manipulation only. These latter results suggest that current models of attraction in which the proportion of positive elements is the crucial factor should be reformulated. (French summary) (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reactions to child custody decisions involving homosexual and heterosexual parents.

Examined the effects of gender and sexual orientation of petitioning parents on attitudes about child custody decisions among 274 undergraduates who were either high or low in homophobia. In Phase 1, Ss completed the Heterosexual Attitudes Toward Homosexuals Scale and the Kinsey Heterosexual-Homosexual Rating Scale that were embedded in a general questionnaire on social attitudes. In Phase 2, the same Ss were asked to give their opinions about the outcome of contrived custody cases where the parent winning custody was homosexual or heterosexual. There was less support for a homosexual than a heterosexual parent. This was particularly noticeable for male Ss. Unexpectedly, mothers were not favored over fathers; instead, Ss favored parents of their own gender. Ss who scored low in homophobia reacted more favorably to a homosexual parent than a heterosexual parent, while the reverse was true for those scoring high in homophobia. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessing the structure of prejudicial attitudes: The case of attitudes toward homosexuals.

Two studies assessed the structure of attitudes toward homosexuals. In Study 1, Ss completed measures of stereotypes, symbolic beliefs, and affective associates as well as attitudes toward homosexuals. They also completed the right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) scale. The results reveal that (1) stereotypes did not provide a complete representation of attitudes, (2) RWA was negatively correlated with attitudes toward homosexuals, (3) the relative importance of the predictor variables differed for high and low RWA Ss, and (4) the 3 predictors accounted for more variance in the attitudes of low RWA than of high RWA Ss. Study 2 also included measures of past experiences and perceived value dissimilarity. Results revealed that past experiences significantly added to the prediction of attitudes only for high RWA Ss and that much of the RWA–attitude relation was accounted for by the consideration of symbolic beliefs and perceived value dissimilarity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Afro-American preferences for counselor characteristics.

Examined 128 Black college students' (aged 17–52 yrs) preferences for salient counselor characteristics. Ss were asked to express their preference for counselors similar or dissimilar to them across 8 counselor characteristics (ethnicity, sex, religion, educational background, socioeconomic background, attitudes and values, personality, and age) identified from previous research. A total of 120 paired comparisons were generated to compare preferences for the 16 similar and dissimilar counselor characteristics. Results reveal that Ss expressed preferences for counselors who, in comparison to themselves, were more educated, had similar attitudes and values, were older, and had similar personalities; these characteristics were more important to the Ss than the counselor's race and ethnicity. Additional analysis of within-group preference profiles revealed no consistent difference by commitment to Afro-American culture, sex, or previous counseling experience. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitude similarity, topic importance, and psychotherapeutic attraction.

Studied the effect of attitude similarity and topic importance on attraction in a natural setting by exposing 75 prison inmates, incarcerated for public intoxication, to varying attitudes of a psychotherapist prior to hearing him in a taped therapy session. The therapist's attitudes were either similar or dissimilar to the S's and pertained to either alcoholism (important) or general (unimportant) issues. Attraction was assessed using the Client's Personal Reaction Questionnaire developed by J. D. Ashby et al. A group of control Ss received no attitudinal information. Ss were more attracted to the therapist after receiving alcohol items regardless of degree of similarity expressed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A direct test of and an alternative explanation for judgments of attractiveness of supporters of the women's movement.

Previous studies investigated the possible bias against women who support the women's movement, using a paradigm requiring Ss to sort photographs into 2 categories. Based on these sortings, differential judgments of physical attractiveness were inferred without having the Ss who performed the sorting actually rate the photos. To provide increased confidence in the previous findings, the present authors asked 91 female and 69 male undergraduates to rate photos thought to depict persons with varying positions toward the movement. Additionally, correlational data were gathered to test the explanation of an attitude similarity mediated error that can subsume the previous mixed findings. The results replicated the earlier findings, indicating no general bias against supporters. There were no differences between male and female Ss on their mean ratings of either male or female photographs and no attribution of profeminist attitudes to lower attractiveness ratings for either male or female Ss. However, attractiveness ratings were related to Ss' attitudes. It is concluded that persons erroneously perceive similar others to be more attractive than dissimilar others, rather than perceiving supporters in general to be less attractive. (French abstract) (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When are dysphoric individuals distressing to others and vice versa? Effects of friendship, similarity, and interaction task.

Examined several factors hypothesized to affect how dysphoric and nondysphoric individuals react to each other. 92 pairs of female college students participated in the study. Ss interacted with either a friend or stranger who had a similar or dissimilar dysphoria status in 3 tasks: a casual conversation, disclosure of a personal problem to the partner, and response to the partner's disclosure of a personal problem. Ss' moods, evaluations of their partners, and verbal behaviors were assessed. Dysphoric Ss exhibited characteristic negative mood and verbal content but did not elicit negative reactions from their partners. Negative reactions were most evident in dysphoric Ss' responses to dissimilar (nondysphoric) strangers, underscoring the need for greater attention to dysphoric individuals' perspective on their social interactions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpersonal phenomenology as a function of sexual orientation, sex, sentiment, and trait categories in long-term dyadic relationships.

Studied homo- and heterosexual relationships with the Extended Personal Attributes Questionnaire (EPAQ) as modified by the interpersonal perception method (IPM). Ss were 20 gay male, 20 lesbian, and 40 heterosexual couples. The F+ scale of the EPAQ accounted for greater congruence among IPM perspectives than any of the other EPAQ scales (M+, M–, F–). Positive EPAQ scales showed more consistency among inter- and intrapersonal perspectives than negative scales. Homosexual partners perceived themselves more similar to each other on the F+ scales than did heterosexual partners. Ss with female partners had higher expectations and greater accuracy in these expectations than those with male partners. Differences within the interpersonal phenomenology of heterosexual couples found in an earlier study by the 2nd author and W. J. Friedman (see record 1984-01263-001) were fully replicated. Treating the M and F scales of the EPAQ as instrumental and expressive traits rather than masculine and feminine sex roles, as suggested by J. T Spence and R. L. Helmreich (see record 1982-12888-001), clarifies the interpretation of these results. (75 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parental relationships and early social experiences of activist male homosexuals and male heterosexuals.

Compared questionnaire data from a sample of 88 young activist male homosexuals and a control sample of 105 male heterosexuals on variables relating to parental relationships and early social experiences. Samples were similar with respect to age, father's occupation, and religion. Results indicate that the homosexuals came from families in which the mothers were more dominant and affectionate than the fathers. Masculine role behavior was not encouraged by either parent and positively evaluated masculine models were generally less available for homosexuals than for heterosexuals. As children, the homosexuals were shy, effeminate loners who interacted more with females-mothers, sisters, and friends-than males. As adolescents, the homosexuals engaged in less heterosexual sexual behavior than the heterosexuals. Results were compared with findings from previous studies in which different samples and methods were used. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Judgmental subjectivity/objectivity and locus of choice in social comparison.

Two experiences were conducted to test the effects of judgmental subjectivity/objectivity on preferences of Ss to consult with like or unlike comparison partners. In Experiment 1, 101 Ss playing the role of admissions officers, were provided information about a college applicant and told either that the information was sufficient to allow for an objective decision on the candidate or that it was incomplete and, thus, that a subjective judgment was required. Objective-judgment Ss preferred dissimilar comparison partners. Subjective-judgment Ss preferred to compare with like others. Experiment 2, which involved a very different set of judgments (subjects played the role of jurors in a murder trial), replicated this finding and suggested that vested interest might influence Ss' motivation for comparison and comparison preferences. Implications of these results for a more precise understanding of social comparison were discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpersonal attraction and attitude similarity.

It "was hypothesized that (a) a stranger who is known to have attitudes similar to those of the subject is better liked than a stranger with attitudes dissimilar to those of the subject, (b)… is judged to be more intelligent, better informed, more moral, and better adjusted… and (c)… is evaluated more positively on… four [other] variables." The first 2 hypotheses were confirmed. From Psyc Abstracts 36:04:4GE13B. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of expecting to be liked on choice of associates.

This study investigated one of the factors which the authors felt influenced the strong tendency of people to choose to associate with others they perceive as similar to themselves, the fear of being disliked by dissimilar strangers. As predicted, it was found that if Ss felt it was important to talk with people who would like them, they more often chose to interact with similar than dissimilar people. A 2nd group of students, assured that all members of all groups would be told they were "not likable" and thus presumably concerned about making others like them, were also more anxious than control Ss to talk with similar people. If Ss were assured that all members of all groups would be told they were "likable" Ss were much more willing to associate with dissimilar groups of people than with similar ones. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Power strategies in intimate relationships.

A study was conducted to generate (a) a model of power strategies used in intimate relationships and (b) information regarding the associations between gender, sexual orientation, egalitarianism, and power strategy use. Ss were 200 university students (100 homosexuals and 100 heterosexuals) evenly divided by gender. A 2-dimensional model was devised based on the strategies written in open-ended essays. These 2 dimensions concerned the extent to which the strategies were (a) direct (ranging from direct to indirect) and (b) interactive (ranging from bilateral to unilateral). Gender differences were found only among heterosexuals, with males more likely than females to report using bilateral and direct strategies. The effects of gender among heterosexuals paralleled findings concerning the balance of power in the relationship: Ss who preferred and perceived themselves as having more power than their partner, such as heterosexual men, were also more likely to use bilateral and direct strategies. No differences in power strategy use were found between homosexuals and heterosexuals. These and other results are interpreted in terms of the aforementioned model and general gender differences in power. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of social behavior on interracial acceptance.

To test children's use of race and social behavior as cues in social acceptance, 128 Black and White male kindergartners and 1st graders rated 6 unknown videotaped target children for likability. Targets varied factorially on race (Black or White) and exhibited either positive, negative, or neutral classroom social behavior. Across age, socioeconomic status, and race, Ss used behavior as a cue, accounting for 50% of likability variance. Positive targets were liked equivalently, but Black neutral and negative targets were liked less than White counterparts. Racial but not socioeconomic status differences in the use of behaviors as social cues were found. Negative targets were liked more by Blacks than Whites and neutral targets were liked more by Whites than Blacks. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Type of start box and goal box distinctiveness in self-punitive running of rats.

A total of 96 male Sprague-Dawley rats were first trained to escape shock in an alley by running to a safe goal box. In Exp I either a trapdoor-floored start box or a guillotine-door start box was used in different groups. In extinction, nonpunished and punished subgroups were tested in each of the start-box conditions. Punishment produced faster running speeds than nonpunishment (self-punitive effect) only with the trapdoor. The trapdoor start box was used in Exp II, and independent groups of Ss were trained to escape to a goal box that was either very dissimilar or similar to the shock area. Nonpunished and punished subgroups were extinguished in each goal box condition. Self-punitive running was more likely with the dissimilar goal box. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interaction of sex role self-concept with relationship quality and relationship beliefs in married, heterosexual cohabiting, gay, and lesbian couples.

Examined the relationship between sex-role self-concept (masculine, feminine, undifferentiated, and androgynous) and relationship quality and dysfunctional relationship beliefs among 44 married (mean age 29.68 yrs), 35 heterosexual cohabiting (mean age 28.68 yrs), 50 homosexual (mean age 31.28 yrs), and 56 lesbian (mean age 31.18 yrs) couples. Ss completed questionnaires on demographic and background information, the Bem Sex-Role Inventory, a relationship beliefs inventory, and relationship quality assessments. Individual partner analyses revealed that relationship quality and relationship beliefs differed by Ss' sex-role self-concept. Androgynous and feminine Ss reported higher relationship quality than masculine and undifferentiated Ss; androgynous Ss had fewer "disagreement is destructive" beliefs than feminine Ss; and androgynous Ss had fewer "partner cannot change" beliefs than undifferentiated Ss. Couple analyses showed a relation between partners' sex-role self-concept only for the heterosexual cohabiting couples. For these couples, masculine men tended to pair with feminine or undifferentiated women, and androgynous partners tended to pair together. Relative to other couples, those in which one or both partners were androgynous or feminine reported the highest relationship quality; couples in which one or both partners were undifferentiated or masculine reported the lowest. These effects did not vary by type of couple. It is concluded that sex-role self-concept is a robust factor in appraisals of relationship quality. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evaluation of linguistic variations by college students with and without head injuries.

Evaluated the impact of spoken language on listeners by examining the effects of prior head injury, speech register, and active vs passive listening among 56 head-injured (HI) and 55 non-HI undergraduates. Ss rated the degree to which they liked the speaker and also the extent to which groups of negative and positive adjectives described the speaker. There were no differences between HI and non-HI Ss in how much they liked speakers using the normal register, but non-HI Ss liked the motherese speakers more than did HI Ss. Raters liked motherese speakers less when addressed directly than when they were not being directly addressed. Regardless of listener perspective, HI Ss liked motherese speakers less and rated them more negatively than non-HI Ss. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of preoperative roommate assignment on preoperative anxiety and recovery from coronary-bypass surgery.

27 male coronary-bypass patients were assigned preoperatively to a roommate who was either similar or dissimilar in surgical status (preoperative vs postoperative) and in his type of operation (cardiac vs noncardiac). Results indicate that Ss who, before their operations, had a postoperative roommate were less anxious preoperatively, were more ambulatory postoperatively, and were discharged quickly than Ss who, before their operations, had a preoperative roommate. The similarity/dissimilarity of the roommate's type of operation exerted no significant effects either separately or in interaction with the similarity of the roommate's surgical status. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personal constructs and homosexual stress.

Evaluated a personal-construct approach to the assessment of the potential for homosexual threat (homosexual stress). The measure, modified from personal construct research on death threat, was tested with 20 male and 20 female undergraduates. Those Ss who were more stressed by homosexuality had more negative attitudes toward homosexuality. Further, those Ss with the most negative attitudes toward homosexuals were those who saw homosexuality as invalidating more important constructs. Males who viewed homosexuality as more stressful tended to construe homosexuality as a more personally meaningful issue; females showed the opposite tendency. The homosexual stress measure was independent of authoritarianism (California F Scale) and was not highly related to Religious Fundamentalism Scale scores. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire scores of homosexual men.

16 PF comparisons were made between 44 homosexual and 111 heterosexual males who were not involved with either psychotherapy or the law. Comparisons were also made with results presented by R. B. Cattell and I. N. Monrony (see 39:1) for 133 Australian homosexuals. A number of differences were found between all groups, but the Australians deviated much more than the American homosexuals from the test standardization population. It is concluded that: (a) American homosexuals, unlike the Australians, could be considered mildly neurotic at most; (b) homosexual behavior is not necessarily an indication of psychological disturbance; and (c) the major difference between the American homosexuals and heterosexuals was one of sexual orientation rather than psychopathology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)