Finding universal dimensions of individual variation in multicultural studies of values: The Rokeach and Chinese value surveys.

Both cross-cultural psychology and theories of value would benefit from the empirical identification of value dimensions that are pancultural and comprehensive. Accordingly, in this article, I report the results of a 21-culture study of the Chinese Value Survey (CVS) and a 9-culture study of the Rokeach Value Survey (RVS). The analysis began with a "deculturing" of the data to remove the cultural positioning effect, then proceeded with a pooled factor analysis to discover pancultural patterns of association among the values. Two factors emerged from the CVS, four from the RVS. The individuals in each survey were then given factor scores, which were analyzed for sex and culture effects. Average scores for individuals from the cultures common to both surveys suggest that the CVS contained a dimension of valuing not found in the RVS. The discussion focuses on the factors' validity, their use in cross-cultural research, and the potential of different cultural traditions for extending psychology's conceptual net. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Protestant Ethic, conservatism, and values.

Administered the Protestant Ethic Scale, the Conservatism Scale, and the Rokeach Value Survey (RVS) to 140 undergraduates to determine if Ss with a strong Protestant Ethic value (the "work ethic") also tended to have conservative social attitudes. Results show a significant postive relationship between scores on the 2 measures. Scores on both tests were also associated with the relative importance assigned to some of the terminal and instrumental values (positively to salvation, obedience, and self-control; negatively to world of beauty, mature love, being broad-minded, and imaginative) from the RVS. It is suggested that part of the causal fabric underlying economic development might involve some conservative respect for predictability, discipline, and order and that the findings support the thesis of M. Weber (1904–1905 [translated by T. Parsons, 1976]) that economic development is linked to Protestant Ethic values. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Test of a list procedure for inducing compliance with a request to donate money.

A compliance tactic whereby a target is first shown a list of other compliers and is then asked to comply with a request was examined in 5 field experiments. Exp I with 120 university students showed that this tactic significantly increased the number of donors when they were asked for a money donation. Exps II and III with 60 adults and 60 male students replicated the basic finding for a household population and for a request for a blood donation, respectively. Exp IV with 300 male students varied the number of other donors and the size of their donations and found that Ss' compliance with a request to donate money was affected by these factors. Findings are interpreted as consistent with the expectations derived from the informational social influence hypothesis. Exp V with 90 adults replicated part of Exp IV and suggested that a list effect does not materialize when the norms governing compliance are too strongly violated. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Values, valences, and course enrollment: Testing the role of personal values within an expectancy-valence framework.

This study was a test of hypotheses that concerned the enrollment decisions of 444 university students who enrolled in humanities, social science, or science courses at Flinders University in South Australia. The following predictions were developed within the framework of expectancy–value (valence) theory: (a) Enrollment decisions would be related to the subjective value (valence) that students assign to mathematics and English and to their self-concepts of ability in mathematics and English (assumed to relect expectations of success); (b) valence measures would be related to underlying value dimensions (restrictive control, intellectual orientation, and prosocial concern) derived from subjects' ratings of the 18 instrumental values from the Rokeach Value Survey; and (c) gender differences would occur in the responses of male and female students to the measures of values and valences. In general, the results supported these predictions. The findings are discussed in relation to previous research on gender differences in achievement patterns in mathematics and English and in relations to assumptions about relations between expectations and valences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Negative priming for spatial location?

Examined negative priming for spatial location in 2 studies. Study 1 involved combinations of target, distractor, or both, across prime and probe, being presented once to each S in a negative priming for spatial location procedure. Specifically, stimuli were presented using an oscilloscope controlled by a computer system, and the fixation display appeared immediately after a foot pedal was depressed. After 500 msec, the prime array was added to the fixation display until the S responded (depressing the key corresponding to the location of the target). In the 1st Exp, the procedure was examined across a number of Ss (12 university students; aged 20–30 yrs). In the 2nd Exp, the procedure was tested over repeated sessions with 1 S (university student; aged 23 yrs) on consecutive days. Study 2 verified the results in 13 university students. The findings suggest that negative priming in the spatial location procedure may be more closely related to inhibition of return, or to the automatic attraction of attention by new objects, than to the concepts of distractor inhibition, episodic retrieval, and feature mismatch which have traditionally been used to explain negative priming for spatial location. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Decision making with long-term consequences: Temporal discounting for single and multiple outcomes in the future.

Two experiments were conducted to investigate how individuals evaluate future outcomes. Normative decision models postulate that the value of future outcomes should be discounted as a function of time. The present research obtained discounted values for single outcomes in the future but did not obtain discounted values for outcomes presented in series. In Exp 1, students evaluated (1) college-funding programs that required students to work to obtain support and (2) loans that required payments after completing college. A ratio-discounting function described the value of future support and deferred payments. In Exp 2, students were asked to evaluate work-study programs that described variable support over 1–4 yrs. Temporal discounting did not occur for the series of outcomes; college support for the 4th yr of college was just as valuable as support during the 1st yr. Results are discussed in relation to a general model of temporal discounting. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

To demand or not to demand.

Investigated whether adults believed that unconventionally dressed youths have values different from their own, using the Rokeach Value Survey. Findings from 29% of 510 Ss approached in shopping centers and at a public beach show that Ss did not perceive value differences. However, the conclusions are limited by the low response rate. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interaction entre facteurs phonologiques et sémantiques dans un épreuve de catégorisation lexicale.

Studied interactions between semantic class (persons vs inanimate objects) and type of initial phoneme (consonant vs vowel) in a lexical categorization task involving rapid identification of the grammatical gender (masculine vs feminine) of French nouns. Human Ss: 40 normal male and female Canadian adults (aged 17–32 yrs) (university students) (native French speakers) (Exp 1). 40 normal male and female Canadian adults (aged 17–47 yrs) (university students) (native French speakers) (Exp 2). In both experiments, Ss were asked to categorize animate and inanimate nouns beginning with consonants or vowels according to their grammatical gender. In 1 experimental condition, Ss used the labels "feminine" and "masculine" to express their choice of gender. In another condition, Ss used the indefinite feminine article ("une") or the indefinite masculine article ("un") to express their choice of gender. In Exp 1, animate and inanimate nouns were mixed together in the experimental list. In Exp 2, animate and inanimate nouns were presented in semantically homogeneous blocks. The speed and error rates of Ss' categorization performances were determined. (English abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Value self-confrontation as a method to aid in weight loss.

The impact on weight loss of an adaptation of the Rokeach (1973) value self-confrontation method was investigated in a field experiment. This method confronts people who have ranked their own values with information about the value priorities that discriminate between a positive and a negative reference group. A preliminary study revealed that successful weight losers differ from unsuccessful weight losers in valuing "wisdom" more than "happiness." Eighty-seven overweight adults were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: value self-confrontation, group discussion, or nontreatment control. Value self-confrontation subjects lost more weight than the other subjects over 2 months, and this weight loss persisted for an additional year. Changes in value priorities during the first 2 months suggest that weight loss was mediated by an increase in the importance attributed to wisdom relative to happiness. Implications for the theory of value-behavior relations and for practical application in weight loss programs are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Covert visual orienting across the lifespan.

Three groups of 20 K–5th graders, 20 college students, and 20 older adults (mean age 72.8 yrs) were tested. The S's task was the speeded discrimination of "X" from "O", but of primary interest was the effect of a location cue that appeared prior to the target. Both an abrupt stimulus cue and a voluntary information cue were studied using response time measures. Eye movements were monitored to control for differences in the ability to maintain fixation. Exp 1 showed that in comparison with young adults, children were less able to sustain orienting over time, and senior adults required more time to use the cue. Exp 2 (using K–1st graders, 4th–5th graders, 20 college students, and 20 older adults) tested the relation between stimulus and information cues when they both occurred prior to a given target. All age groups were able to use information cues in the presence of conflicting stimulus cues, but young adults were better able to do so than either children or senior adults. Results are interpreted as support for the view that separate mechanisms underlie stimulus-based versus information-based spatial orienting. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

L'échelle Révisée de Conscience de Soi: Une traduction et une validation canadienne-fran?aise du Revised Self-Consciousness Scale.

Studied the validity of the French translation of a revised version of an instrument for the evaluation of self-consciousness. Human subjects: 764 male and female French-Canadian adolescents and adults (mean age 23.9 yrs) (high school students, university students, and working adults). The French translation of the Revised Self-Consciousness Scale by M. F. Scheier and C. S. Carver (1985) was administered to Ss either during a class period or after an interview session. The results were analyzed according to each S's sex, age, and educational status; and they were compared to results from a control group of 298 male and female American university students. Factorial analysis and other statistical tests were used. (English abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Value correlates of conservatism.

Stepwise multiple regression analyses that involved measures of value importance, age, sex, education, and income as the independent variables were conducted. It was hypothesized that conservative people would emphasize values concerned with attachment to rules and authority and ego defense (e.g., security, cleanliness, obedience) and downgrade values concerned with equality, freedom, love, and pleasure as well as open-minded, intellectual, and imaginative modes of thought. This hypothesis was confirmed by the results from 2 independent surveys involving families in metropolitan Adelaide, Australia, (Sample 1, 1972) and the families of students at a university (Sample 2, 1976–1977). Ss in both samples completed the Rokeach Value Survey and the Wilson-Patterson Conservation Scale and provided background and demographic information. In addition to the values, age, and sex were significant predictors, with older respondents tending to be more conservative than younger ones and females more conservative than males. Education and income of the heads (Sample 1) and fathers (Sample 2) of families played a minor role in prediction. Results support both the cognitive learning and psychodynamic explanations of value–attitude relationships. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mesure de Stress Psychologique (MSP): Se sentir stressé-e.

Studied the development and validity of an instrument designed to measure stress by evaluating subjective feelings of stress without referring to "stress" or "stressors." Human subjects: 696 male and female Canadian adults, divided into 6 groups. Group I (15 Ss) were asked to provide a list of stress indicators for themselves, their spouses, and others. These indicators were used to establish the content validity of the Mesure de Stress Psychologique (MSP) ("Psychological State of Stress Measure"). Group II (98 university students) Ss were given a 95-item stress questionnaire; the results were analyzed statistically and used to select 74 items for the MSP. Group III (97 university students) Ss were given the 74-item MSP to determine the internal consistency of the instrument. Group IV (188 married couples with a primary school child) Ss were asked to answer the MSP for themselves and for their spouses. These results were analyzed statistically according to sex, family structure, and socioeconomic variables. Group V (66 adults aged 20–60 yrs) and Group VI (44 dental students) Ss were given a 53-item MSP on 2 to 4 occasions to evaluate test–retest and hypothetical-deductive validity. The results were evaluated using a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Deindividuation: Effects of group size, density, number of observers, and group member similarity on self-consciousness and disinhibited behavior.

Predictions about the social causes of self-consciousness in groups were derived from the theory of deindividuation and tested in 3 experiments with 618 university students and adults. In Exp I, it was found that increasing group size was related to a decrease in self-consciousness. Group density did not influence self-consciousness. In Exp II, it was found that increases in the number of observers increased self-consciousness. In Exps I and II, self-reports of self-consciousness were independent of one's group, whereas the degree of behavioral disinhibition was highly correlated within groups. In Exp III, it was found that gender similarity within a group was related to lower self-consciousness. Findings support a perceptual/attentional model of self-consciousness within groups. Contrary to deindividuation theory predictions, however, behavior intensity did not vary across conditions in Exps I and II, even though self-consciousness did differ. This finding suggests that deindividuation theory is incomplete in its present form. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Increasing compliance by improving the deal: The that's-not-all technique.

Seven experiments with 426 adolescents, undergraduates, and adults were conducted to examine the effectiveness of a compliance procedure known as the that's-not-all technique. The procedure involves offering a product at a high price, not allowing the customer to respond for a few seconds, then offering a better deal by either adding another product or lowering the price. Exps I–II demonstrated the effectiveness of this procedure over a control group that was given the better deal initially. Exps III–IV suggested that this effectiveness may be partially explained through a norm of reciprocity that calls for the customer to respond to the seller's new offer. Exp V suggested that the effect also results from an altering of the anchor point Ss use to judge the new price. Exp VI indicated the effectiveness of the procedure cannot be explained by the S perceiving the lower price as a bargain. Exp VII, which examined the differences between the that's-not-all and the door-in-the-face procedures, implied that the former technique is more effective than the latter. Overall findings demonstrate the effectiveness of the that's-not-all technique. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Matching students' cognitive responses to teaching skills.

Proposes a model of learning from instruction in which students perceive and cognitively respond to instructional stimuli before engaging learning processes per se. 302 university students were trained to recognize only (structural schema) or to recognize and cognitively respond to (functional schema) discrete teacher skills in lectures. Exp I produced no differences in learning due to overloading working memory and students' alteration or rejection of the schema. Practice with the schema was increased during training for Exp II. Structural training with extra practice enhanced learning more than did functional training, partly for the same reasons as in Exp I. The role of students' perception of instructional stimuli in learning from teaching is examined, and problems for research in which students' processing of instruction is distinguished from learning per se are identified. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-dissatisfaction as a determinent of change in police values.

Pretested experimental and control groups of 384 police officers on the Rokeach Value Survey and for their tolerance ratings on S. A. Stouffer's Nonconformist Tolerance Scale. The experimental group compared their personal ratings with others (both police and nonpolice), were exposed to concepts of equality before the law, and then were asked to indicate the degree of satisfaction-dissatisfaction they felt over their rating of the value equality . Changes in Ss' values resulted from exposure to the inconsistencies between the low priority of equality vs Ss' concept of themselves as just, fair, and tolerant. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effect of item position on the likelihood of identification by inference in prose reading and music reading.

In experiments with 21 university students (Exp I) and 7 adult musicians (Exp II), Ss were presented with verbal and musical texts which contained spelling and notational errors, respectively. Measures of detection in normal unpaced reading situations showed that errors were least likely to be detected when they occurred in the middle of words or musical phrases, demonstrating that the highest proportion of inferences occurred at these positions. The apparent similarities of the effects in music and language reading suggest that inference of interior elements usually results from structural rather than visual factors. (French summary) (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of stimulus information and number of stimuli on sequential dependencies in absolute identification.

Three absolute identification experiments examined the effects on sequential dependencies of 2 factors: stimulus information and the number of stimuli used. Data were analyzed by multivariate information analysis. In Exp 1 with 5 university studentswith experience in absolute identification experiments, the stimulus modality was pure tone frequency under masking and no-masking conditions and 4, 6 10, and 16 tones were used. In Exp 2 with 5 university students, luminance levels of light circles were used as stimuli and number of luminance levels was 10 or 16. In Exp 3 with 6 university students, the stimuli were pointer positions along a horizontal line and they were presented either within a small or a large range to manipulate the stimulus information available. Results show that the sequential dependencies became larger as the stimulus information was decreased and as the number of stimuli was increased. Results are discussed in the context of models of sequential dependencies. Results of a multiple regression analysis on the data were compared with those of the information analysis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)