Prejudice against fat people: Ideology and self-interest.

Prejudice against fat people was compared with symbolic racism. An anti-fat attitudes questionnaire was developed and used in several studies testing the notion that antipathy toward fat people is part of an "ideology of blame." Three commonalities between antifat attitudes and racism were explored: (1) the association between values, beliefs, and the rejection of a stigmatized group, (2) the old-fashioned antipathy toward deviance of many sorts, and (3) the lack of self-interest in out-group antipathy. Parallels were found on all 3 dimensions. No in-group bias was shown by fat people. Fatism appears to behave much like symbolic racism, but with less of the negative social desirability of racism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development, psychometric analysis, and validation of an error-choice test to measure attitudes toward persons with epilepsy.

Describes the development of the Test Of Knowledge About Epilepsy (TKAE) as an indirect measure of attitudes toward persons with epilepsy. In Study 1, 406 university students responded to a TKAE test that had 20 items of general knowledge about epilepsy interspersed with the error-choice items. Results indicate satisfactory item characteristics, adequate reliability and homogeneity, and preliminary support for the measure's construct validity. In Study 2, administration of the TKAE was the same as in Study 1, and the direct measure used was the Scale of Attitudes Toward Persons with Epilepsy. 323 students provided data that substantiated both the adequacy of the instrument's psychometric characteristics and its construct validity. However, additional validity investigations are needed to relate TKAE to Ss' sociodemographic, experiential, and personality characteristics, as well as behavioral indicators of attitudes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Trainees' attitudes toward seeking psychotherapy scale: Development and validation of a research instrument.

A scale measuring future psychotherapy practitioners' attitudes toward seeking psychotherapy was developed and standardized. Participants were 275 master's degree and doctoral students being trained to provide counseling and psychological services. Subjects were recruited from five schools across the United States. The scale reliably distinguished between students who previously sought psychotherapy and those who did not and correlated significantly with E. H. Fischer and A. Farina's (1995) version of the Attitude toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale. Factor analysis revealed four dimensions of the attitude: importance for professional growth/effectiveness, concern with professional credibility, concern with confidentiality, and need for self-sufficiency. Results showed that the scale may be used to study trainees' attitudes toward seeking psychotherapy for themselves and to measure the effectiveness of educational interventions aimed at attitude change. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development and validation of a scale for measuring cynical attitudes toward college.

The purpose of this research was to develop and validate a new measure of undergraduate student cynicism--the Cynical Attitudes Toward College Scale (CATCS). In Study 1, the authors split data collected from 1,049 students representing 3 diverse college populations into development and confirmation samples. Using confirmatory factor analysis, the authors (a) developed an 18-item measurement model reflecting 4 reliable dimensions of student cynicism-policy, academic, social, and institutional; (b) demonstrated cross-sample generalizability; and (c) established convergent and discriminant validity. In Study 2, the authors showed the CATCS's ability to discriminate among diverse groups of students predicted to differ on the 4 subscales as well as to predict future academic outcomes. Practical applications of the CATCS are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Changing male attitudes toward women's career development: An exploratory study.

Explored whether the attitudes of men toward the career development of women could be affected by the observation of 1 of 2 videotapes (D. Dege et al, 1980) that dealt with issues in career development and socialization for men or women. 90 undergraduate males were randomly assigned to 1 of the 2 treatment groups or to a control group. Outcome measures were the Attitudes Toward Women Scale (AWS) and a personalized attitudes scale (PAS) developed for this study. There were no significant treatment effects on the AWS. The group that viewed the videotape on men was significantly more liberal on the PAS items than were the other groups. A correlation between the scores on the AWS and the PAS was statistically significant. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Construction and validation of the Disability Rights Attitude Scale: Assessing attitudes toward the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The authors constructed and validated an instrument that assesses attitudes toward the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), a law that protects the civil rights of individuals with disabilities. The Disability Rights Attitude Scale (DRAS) demonstrated acceptable reliability and validity with 2 samples of university students (N?=?421). Reliability analysis resulted in Cronbach's alphas of .91 (Sample 1) and .90 (Sample 2). Principal-components factor analysis indicated that the DRAS essentially consists of 1 factor that accounted for 27% (Sample 1) and 31% (Sample 2) of the total variance. Construct validity analysis resulted in predicted, significant positive correlations with other relevant measures. A stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that sex, ethnicity, and prior contact with people with disabilities were significant predictors of attitudes toward the law. The DRAS provides a psychometrically sound means of assessing attitudes toward disability rights that may encourage or impede implementation of the ADA. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predicting negative spousal attitudes toward depressed persons: A test of Coyne's Interpersonal Model.

The utility of Coyne's (1976a) interactional model in predicting negative spousal attitudes toward depressed patients was examined. Eighty-nine couples with at least 1 member in treatment for depression were selected on the basis of semistructured diagnostic interviews. Overall, spouses living with a depressed patient reported significantly more distress than population norms. Consistent with prediction, patients' reassurance seeking and spouse' mood contributed to negative spousal attitudes. Additional analyses demonstrated that these effects persisted even after controlling for spouse marital adjustment, suggesting that negative spousal attitudes were more than a simple reflection of marital maladjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relative deprivation-gratification continuum and the attitudes of South Africans toward immigrants: A test of the V-curve hypothesis.

It has long been established that there is a linear and positive relationship between relative deprivation and prejudice. However, a recent experiment suggests that the converse of relative deprivation, relative gratification, may also be associated with prejudice (S. Guimond & M. Dambrun, 2002). Specifically, the evidence suggests that the usual test for a linear relationship between relative deprivation-gratification and prejudice might conceal the existence of a bilinear relationship. This function, labeled the V-curve hypothesis, predicts that both relative deprivation and relative gratification are associated with higher levels of prejudice. This hypothesis was tested with a representative sample of South Africans (N=1,600). Results provide strong support for the V-curve hypothesis. Furthermore, strength of ethnic identification emerged as a partial mediator for the effect of relative gratification on prejudice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Greek Canadians' attitudes toward own group and other Canadian ethnic groups: A test of the multiculturalism hypothesis.

Tested the multiculturalism hypothesis, using 87 Greek-Canadian parents (mean age 44 yrs). Ss were questioned about their attitudes toward (1) assimilation vs culture maintenance, (2) their own group, and (3) other ethnic groups in Canada. Attitudes were measured by trait attributions made to own and other groups and also by willingness to accept other group members at social distance steps. Measures were also taken of economic and cultural security and personal characteristics (e.g., ethnocentrism, religiousness, formal education). It was found that security about own group and culture did relate to favorableness of attributions made to other groups but not to willingness to interact with those groups; the latter is more related to ethnocentrism. These limitations on the multiculturalism hypothesis for less established ethnic groups in Canada are discussed. (French abstract) (18 ref) (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)     

Bioethics: occupational therapy attitudes toward the prolongation of life

Two cases of massive pulmonary embolism, confirmed by angiographic or necropsy findings, were remarkable by the absence of arterial hypoxaemia. The various mechanisms responsible for arterial hypoxaemia in pulmonary embolism are discussed. It is suggested that in patients with massive pulmonary embolism a markedly decreased cardiac output might account for the absence of arterial hypoxaemia. In the light of these two cases the finding of a normal PaO2 does not rule out the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism.     

The use of a sentence completion test in measuring attitudes toward superiors and subordinates.

"A sentence-completion test designed to measure attitudes toward superiors and subordinates was administered to 312 Air Force cadets in advanced training. The test was scored with acceptable reliability, and showed a correlation of .32 with a direct attitude measure of the same dimension, and of .27 with an indirect measure based on an information test. Interpretation of these values is restricted due to a correlation of -.45 with a direct scale of alienation, and the absence of significant correlations with reputational criterion measures." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The development and validation of a test of emotional styles.

Developed the Test of Emotional Styles based on 3 dimensions of emotionality: responsiveness (intensity of affect), expressiveness (interpersonal communication of affect), and orientation (attitudes toward emotion). 3 measures of these dimensions (incomplete sentences, true-false, and forced choice) were analyzed in a multitrait-multimethod matrix. Construct validity was established by correlations with peer ratings of emotionality, experimentally induced affect, the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability scale, the Rotter Incomplete Sentences Blank, and the Mosher Forced-Choice Guilt Inventory. There was substantial support for convergent and discriminant validity, and the measures were unconfounded with adjustment or social desirability. Females scored significantly higher than males on all dimensions in a sample of 120 undergraduates. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

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)     

Factor structure and validation of an adolescent version of the Condom Attitude Scale: An instrument for measuring adolescents' attitudes toward condoms.

The Condom Attitude Scale (W. P. Sacco, B. Levine, D. L. Reed, & K. Thompson, 1991) was modified for use with adolescents. In Study 1, a modified 35-item version, pilot tested with 195 African American adolescents, achieved a Cronbach's alpha of .88. In Study 2, convergent validity was assessed with a sample of 312 African American adolescents. Psychometric properties were evaluated with item analysis, factor analysis, and reliability estimation. The scale was refined to 23 items with a full scale Cronbach's alpha of .80. In Study 3, temporal stability was assessed with 88 African American adolescents. In Study 4, a cross-validation sample of predominantly White adolescents (N?=?2) assessed whether the measure's psychometric properties and factor structure replicated in a more heterogeneous adolescent sample. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's attitudes toward peers with disabilities: the Israeli perspective

Attitudes toward peers with disabilities were compared in two groups of elementary school children, Israeli (2845 children) and Canadian (1831 children), using the Chedoke-McMaster Attitudes Toward Children with Handicaps (CATCH) scale. Israeli children expressed significantly more positive general attitudes (P=0.0001). The more favourable attitudes were seen in both areas evaluated by the CATCH, the cognitive and the affective-behavioural. In both groups, children who had had previous experience with a disabled person expressed more positive attitudes (P=0.001). An effect of gender was seen in the Canadian but not in the Israeli children. Cultural factors appear to play a role in modelling children's attitudes toward their disabled peers and therefore should be considered before educational programmes are implemented.     

A preliminary investigation of the role of differential complexity and response style in measuring attitudes toward people with disabilities.

Investigated the potentially complex relationship between cognitive complexity and attitudes towards people with disabilities in a 3-part study using 2 undergraduate student samples. In Exp 1 (n ?=?126), Ss' responses to the Attitudes Toward Disabled Persons Scale-Form O (ATDP-O) were not significantly correlated with the Repertory Grid Test (RGT). This finding suggests no relationship between attitudes and a measure of cognitive complexity. In Exp 2 (n ?=?57), Ss' responses to the ATDP-O were positively correlated with a disability specific repertory grid technique. This finding suggests an inverse relationship between domain-specific cognitive complexity and positive attitudes. In Exp 3, the findings from Exp 1 were reanalyzed and significant correlations were found between the tendency of Ss to respond redundantly and both positive attitudes and to lower cognitive complexity as measured by the ATDP-O and the RGT, respectively. These findings suggest that a large group of individuals who process information by focusing on differences, rather than similarities, may be inappropriately assessed by the ATDP, or other instruments that use a similar format in assessing attitudes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The development and validation of a test of creativity in engineering.

"Two forms of a 20-item test of creativity were developed through analyses of item response data of 345 engineering students at Purdue University. Three scores were developed for the test: Fluency score, Flexibility score, and Originality score. Investigations of the validity, reliability, interscorer agreement, relationships with other tests, and 'face validity' of the Creativity scores were made with 64 product development engineers and process engineers in a large automobile accessories manufacturing company." Significant validity was found (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)