The effects of a communication on attitude change and scale judgments.

"The purposes of this study were to assess the effects of a persuasive communication on attitude change and on judgments of the scale values of opinion items and to examine the relationship between attitude change and evaluations of the communication. An experimental group of subjects was exposed to a communication advocating abolution of capital punishment, after which they evaluated the communication, judged the scale values of 36 opinion statements, and revealed their own attitudes by responding to 20 opinion items… . The major results are: The communication changed attitudes in the direction advocated. But the groups were alike in their judgments of the scale values of the related opinion statements. Hence, a change in scale judgments is not a necessary condition for attitude change." From Psyc Abstracts 36:01:3GD33W. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive restructuring and attitude change.

Factors which influence attitude change were investigated by determining attitudes of non-Catholic college Ss to the possibility of their becoming Catholic. These attitudes were then explored under 2 subsequent experimental conditions defined by a willingness to participate further in the project. If willing, they were forced to realize the meaning of their written attitudes. The results indicated an interactive effect with increased change of opinion or resistance to change. This was determined by the degree of option to participate in interaction while being forced to recognize the implications of the meaning of their written statements. Awareness of meaning in interaction with freedom to participate or not produced the greatest attitude change; interaction with no freedom produced the greatest resistance to change. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reference groups, membership groups, and attitude change.

"The present study is an examination of the attitude changes which occur over time when reference groups and membership groups are identical and when they are disparate… . The Ss were women students at a large private coeducational university… . In the social context of the lives of the subjects, and in a natural social experiment which provided randomization of the relevant condition effects, the influence of both membership and reference groups on attitude change was assessed. All subjects shared a common reference group at the start of the period of the study. When divergent membership groups with disparate attitude norms were socially imposed on the basis of a random event, attitude change in the subjects over time was a function of the normative attitudes of both imposed membership groups and the individuals' reference groups. The greatest attitude change occurred in subjects who came to take the imposed initially nonpreferred, membership group as their reference group." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Contributions of psychology to limiting climate change.

Psychology can make a significant contribution to limiting the magnitude of climate change by improving understanding of human behaviors that drive climate change and human reactions to climate-related technologies and policies, and by turning that understanding into effective interventions. This article develops a framework for psychological contributions, summarizes what psychology has learned, and sets out an agenda for making additional contributions. It emphasizes that the greatest potential for contributions from psychology comes not from direct application of psychological concepts but from integrating psychological knowledge and methods with knowledge from other fields of science and technology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitude change through reward of verbal behavior.

"72 Ss were induced to engage in debates on 3 different issues, taking sides opposite to those which they had indicated as their own in an opinion pretest. Half of the Ss were rewarded, in a predetermined order, by a purported vote which proclaimed them the better debators, while the other half were punished by presumably losing the debate. Posttests of Ss' opinions showed a tendency of the 'winners' to change their opinions in the direction of their debates, while the 'losers' did not change significantly. A control group of nondebators likewise showed no significant change in opinions." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A contextual change account of the directed forgetting effect.

The authors propose that the costs and benefits of directed forgetting in the list method result from an internal context change that occurs between the presentations of 2 lists in response to a "forget" instruction. In Experiment 1 of this study, costs and benefits akin to those found in directed forgetting were obtained in the absence of a forget instruction by a direct manipulation of cognitive context change. Experiment 2 of this study replicated those findings using a different cognitive context manipulation and investigated the effects of context reinstatement at the time of recall. Context reinstatement reduced the memorial costs and benefits of context change in the condition where context had been manipulated and in the standard forget condition. The results are consistent with a context change account of directed forgetting. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality change as a result of an experimental change of environmental conditions.

To what extent can personality change, when it occurs, be understood in terms of effect of specific environmental conditions? In a large clerical organization, two experimental groups were created and subjected for more than a year to different programs of control. A paper-and-pencil questionnaire designed specifically to measure 26 personality trends to which each of the programs had some degree of relevance was administered near the beginning of the experimental period and about a year later at the end." The two programs "were seen to have profound effects on the subjects' attitudes toward the company and satisfactions in it." A table of before-after correlations and incidence of change is presented. "Twelve changes in the predicted direction prove significant at the .05 level of confidence. Six changes significant at the .05 level occur in a direction opposite to that predicted… . Although somewhat ambiguous, the data seem to indicate that measurable change can be effected by a persisting change in environmental conditions." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When change in the self is mistaken for change in the world.

The authors examined whether and when changes in the self lead to mistaken assessments that the world has changed. Survey data revealed that: personal changes in respondents (e.g., parenthood, financial change) were positively correlated with their assessments of various social changes (e.g., crime rates, freedom). Experimental data provided converging evidence. Experimentally induced change in knowledge influenced participants' perceptions of change in an author's writing style from one decade to the next (Study 3). Bringing self-change to participants' attention attenuated their judgments of change in the world when they had sufficient cognitive resources to consider how such self-changes might affect their perceptions (Studies 4-6). Discussion highlights how such misattributions of change contribute to the pervasive belief in societal decline. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assimilation and contrast effects in reactions to communication and attitude change.

"The relationship between the attitude of the recipient and the position advocated in a communication was studied under conditions where a communicator not known to subject presents a point of view on a controversial issue which differs from that of subject by varying amounts." The topic discussed was prohibition of alcohol. The Ss came from a dry state where this was a lively issue. It was suggested that "the relative distance between subject's own attitude and communication along with subject's latitudes of acceptance and rejection for various stands on the issue may provide a basis for predicting reactions to communication and susceptibility to change." 20 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stages of change.

Empirical research on the stages of change has taken a number of tacks over the past 20 years. In this article, we review those published research studies that have directly examined the stages (precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance, and, termination) as they relate to treatment outcome, broadly defined. The cumulative evidence indicates that tailoring the therapy relationship and treatment intervention to the stage of change can enhance outcome, specifically in the percentage of patients completing therapy and in the ultimate success of treatment. Several limitations of this body of research are noted. We conclude by advancing therapeutic practices both for conventional psychotherapy with individual patients and for proactive recruitment of entire populations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology's contributions to understanding and addressing global climate change.

Global climate change poses one of the greatest challenges facing humanity in this century. This article, which introduces the American Psychologist special issue on global climate change, follows from the report of the American Psychological Association Task Force on the Interface Between Psychology and Global Climate Change. In this article, we place psychological dimensions of climate change within the broader context of human dimensions of climate change by addressing (a) human causes of, consequences of, and responses (adaptation and mitigation) to climate change and (b) the links between these aspects of climate change and cognitive, affective, motivational, interpersonal, and organizational responses and processes. Characteristics of psychology that cross content domains and that make the field well suited for providing an understanding of climate change and addressing its challenges are highlighted. We also consider ethical imperatives for psychologists' involvement and provide suggestions for ways to increase psychologists' contribution to the science of climate change. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of transformational and change leadership on employees' commitment to a change: A multilevel study.

The effects of transformational leadership on the outcomes of specific change initiatives are not well understood. Conversely, organizational change studies have examined leader behaviors during specific change implementations yet have failed to link these to broader leadership theories. In this study, the authors investigate the relationship between transformational and change leadership and followers' commitment to a particular change initiative as a function of the personal impact of the changes. Transformational leadership was found to be more strongly related to followers' change commitment than change-specific leadership practices, especially when the change had significant personal impact. For leaders who were not viewed as transformational, good change-management practices were found to be associated with higher levels of change commitment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Catastrophic misinterpretations as a predictor of symptom change during treatment for panic disorder.

Objective: Cognitive models of panic disorder suggest that change in catastrophic misinterpretations of bodily sensations will predict symptom reduction. To examine change processes, we used a repeated measures design to evaluate whether the trajectory of change in misinterpretations over the course of 12-week cognitive behavior therapy is related to the trajectory of change in a variety of panic-relevant outcomes. Method: Participants had a primary diagnosis of panic disorder (N = 43; 70% female; mean age = 40.14 years). Race or ethnicity was reported as 91% Caucasian, 5% African American, 2.3% biracial, and 2.3% “other.” Change in catastrophic misinterpretations (assessed with the Brief Body Sensations Interpretation Questionnaire; Clark et al., 1997) was used to predict a variety of treatment outcomes, including overall panic symptom severity (assessed with the Panic Disorder Severity Scale [PDSS]; Shear et al., 1997), panic attack frequency (assessed with the relevant PDSS item), panic-related distress/apprehension (assessed by a latent factor, including peak anxiety in response to a panic-relevant stressor—a straw breathing task), and avoidance (assessed by a latent factor, which included the Fear Questionnaire–Agoraphobic Avoidance subscale; Marks & Mathews, 1979). Results: Bivariate latent difference score modeling indicated that, as expected, change in catastrophic misinterpretations predicted subsequent reductions in overall symptom severity, panic attack frequency, distress/apprehension, and avoidance behavior. However, change in the various symptom domains was not typically a significant predictor of later interpretation change (except for the distress/apprehension factor). Conclusions: These results provide considerable support for the cognitive model of panic and speak to the temporal sequence of change processes during therapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceptions of organizational change: A stress and coping perspective.

Few organizational change studies identify the aspects of change that are salient to individuals and that influence well-being. The authors identified three distinct change characteristics: the frequency, impact and planning of change. R. S. Lazarus and S. Folkman's (1984) cognitive phenomenological model of stress and coping was used to propose ways that these change characteristics influence individuals' appraisal of the uncertainty associated with change, and, ultimately, job satisfaction and turnover intentions. Results of a repeated cross-sectional study that collected individuals' perceptions of change one month prior to employee attitudes in consecutive years indicated that while the three change perceptions were moderately to strongly intercorrelated, the change perceptions displayed differential relationships with outcomes. Discussion focuses on the importance of systematically considering individuals' subjective experience of change. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Compliance and attitude change under conditions of differential social reinforcement.

12 Ss known to have positive attitudes toward the church, as measured by a modification of Thurstone's scale, were induced to read a strongly antichurch essay before 3-person audiences. Unknown to any of the Ss, 4 speakers addressed prochurch listeners, 4 read the speech to neutral groups, and 4 faced audiences composed of antichurch individuals. All of the groups then discussed the communication for 12 min. The speakers as a group showed a change in attitude toward the church consistent with the position taken by the comunication. This change toward a less favorable stand was found to come principally from those speakers who had discussed the speech with individuals who were either neutral or negatively disposed toward the church. The results are interpreted as supporting a reinforcement theory of attitude change in an induced compliance situation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mediators of physical activity behavior change: A multivariate approach.

Objective: Using a multivariate extension of the Baron and Kenny (1986) mediation framework, we examined the simultaneous effect of variables hypothesized to mediate the relationship between a motivationally tailored physical activity intervention, and 6-month physical activity behavior in 239 healthy, underactive adults (M age = 47.5; 82% women). Design: Participants were randomly assigned to (a) print-based feedback; (b) telephone-based feedback; or (c) contact control. Main Outcome Measures: Psychosocial variables, including self-efficacy, decisional balance, and processes of change. Results: All mediation criteria were satisfied for both intervention arms. A moderate indirect effect of print (0.39, 95% CI = 0.21, 0.57) was found due to increases in behavioral processes (0.54, 95% CI = 0.29, 0.80) being attenuated by decreases due to cognitive processes (-0.17, 95%CI = 0.31,-.03). A moderate indirect effect was observed for telephone (0.47, 95% CI = 0.28, 0.66), with increases due to behavioral processes (0.61, 95% CI = 0.34, 0.87) attenuated by decreases due to cognitive processes (0.15, 95% CI = -0.27, -0.02); self-efficacy and decisional balance mediational paths did not attain statistical significance. Conclusions: These findings highlight the importance of studies that deconstruct the theoretical components of interventions to determine which combination produces the greatest behavior changes at the lowest cost. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Readiness to change as a mediator of the effect of a brief motivational intervention on posttreatment alcohol-related consequences of injured emergency department hazardous drinkers.

Brief motivational interventions (BMIs) are usually effective for reducing alcohol use and consequences in primary care settings. We examined readiness to change drinking as a mediator of the effects of BMI on alcohol-related consequences. Participants were randomized into three conditions: (a) standard care plus assessment (SC), (b) SC plus BMI (BI), and (c) BI plus a booster session (BIB). At 12-month follow-up BIB patients had significantly reduced alcohol consequences more than had SC patients. Patients receiving BI or BIB maintained higher readiness scores 3 months after treatment than did patients receiving SC. However, readiness mediated treatment effects only for those highly motivated to change prior to the intervention but not for those with low pre-intervention motivation. BI and BIB for these patients decreased alcohol consequences in part because they enhanced and maintained readiness for those highly motivated prior to the intervention, but not for those with low motivation. Results are opposite of what would be expected from MI theory. An alternative explanation is offered as to why this finding occurred with this opportunistically recruited Emergency Department patient population. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Beyond change management: A multilevel investigation of contextual and personal influences on employees' commitment to change.

The extent to which attitudes toward organizational changes may be affected by contextual (other changes going on) and personal (self-efficacy) factors was investigated with a multilevel design involving 25 different changes. Even after aspects of the change itself were controlled, the interaction between the context and the individual difference explained significant variance in attitudes toward those specific changes. The positive relationship between self-efficacy and commitment to the change was stronger as the amount of simultaneous and overlapping change in the surroundings increased. The implications for research and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The structure of intraindividual value change.

Values are assumed to be relatively stable during adulthood. Yet, little research has examined value stability and change, and there are no studies on the structure of value change. On the basis of S. H. Schwartz’s (1992) value theory, the authors propose that the structure of intraindividual value change mirrors the circumplexlike structure of values so that conflicting values change in opposite directions and compatible values change in the same direction. Four longitudinal studies, varying in life contexts, time gaps, populations, countries, languages, and value measures, supported the proposed structure of intraindividual value change. An increase in the importance of any one value is accompanied by slight increases in the importance of compatible values and by decreases in the importance of conflicting values. Thus, intraindividual changes in values are not chaotic, but occur in a way that maintains Schwartz’s value structure. Furthermore, the greater the extent of life-changing events, the greater the value change found, whereas age was only a marginal negative predictor of value change when life events were taken into account. Implications for the structure of personality change are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Using clinically significant change to identify premature termination.

Research examining treatment dropout is hindered by the inconsistencies in the methods used to operationalize the construct. In this article an operationalization based on the criteria of attaining clinically significant change prior to treatment discontinuation is reintroduced and compared with other existing dropout classification systems. A dropout rate of 77% was found in a university-based training clinic sample by using the clinically significant change (CSC) definition. This classification showed little agreement to classifications made by other popularly used definitions of dropout (median split, intake only, missed appointment, and therapist judgment). Further analysis indicated that the other popularly used definitions frequently classified clients as treatment dropouts when recovery had occurred or as treatment completers when recovery had not occurred. Uses and limitations of the CSC method and other popular definitions of treatment dropout are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)