Accidental outcomes: Attitudinal consequences of workplace injuries.

A model of the attitudinal outcomes of the occurrence and severity of occupational injuries was developed and tested. The model postulates that workplace accidents result in a perceived lack of influence and a distrust of management, with the former also affecting the distrust of management. Both are hypothesized to predict job dissatisfaction. Exit (turnover intentions) and voice (perceptions of union instrumentality) are hypothesized as outcomes of job dissatisfaction. A sample of 9,908 employees was tested with the 1995 Australian Workplace Industrial Relations Survey database. Structural equation modeling provided strong support for the model with respect to accident occurrence, and the model was replicated across 8 different occupational groups. There was less support for the model with respect to accident severity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudinal correlates of recycling behavior.

To ascertain factors related to paper recycling, the recycling behavior of 1,085 households representing low, medium, and high socioeconomic levels was observed over a 7-wk period. Attitudinal responses and recycling behavior were then compared for a subset of 132 of these households. Level of participation in the recycling program was significantly related to attitudes toward ecology in general, recycling in particular, and toward others in the community. The nature of the relationship between attitudes and recycling behavior is discussed. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudinal ambivalence with alcoholic respondents.

Examined the attitude-ambivalence measurement problem seeking criteria by which to measure the effects of aversive conditioning in alcoholism. 30 chronic alcoholics each rated 2 visually presented slides, 1 with alcohol content and 1 without, on a 4-point scale. Factor analysis and varimax rotation were applied to 2 interitem matrices. Only 1 adjective pair could be interpreted as unidimensional. Findings raise issues for semantic scaling and for hypothesizing about maintenance of disruptive drinking habits. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Inter-ethnic contact: Attitudinal consequences.

Assessed the attitudes of 379 anglophone 8th graders before and after a short excursion to Quebec City. 198 students who did not participate in the excursion served as the control group, while 87 were classified as having had a low amount of contact and 94 as having had a high amount of contact with Quebec residents. Pretest scores revealed that the High Contact group tended to have the most favorable attitudes toward French Canadians and toward various aspects of French language acquisition. Analyses of covariance of posttest scores, using the corresponding pretest attitude score as the covariate, demonstrated that the High Contact group exhibited more positive attitudes towards both the people and the language than the other 2 groups. (French summary) (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudinal consequences of commitment to unpleasant behavior.

"This study tested a 'nonobvious' hypothesis derived from Festinger's theory of cognitive dissonance: given the fact that a person is committed to an unpleasant behavior, he tends to increase his disliking for that behavior more if he is exposed to information against engaging in it than if he is exposed to information favorable to engaging in it… . the… hypothesis… was supported." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Workshop.

If the article by Kahn and Santostefano in the April issue of the American Psychologist (1962, 17, 185-189) can be taken as an indication, clinical psychologists are still very much interested and concerned with their professional role image or images. Discussions of this topic invariably get around to a discussion of training programs for clinical students and the pros and cons of various types of curricula and educational experience. Partially because of the lack of agreement among faculty and practicum personnel, discussions of professional identity by clinical graduate students are filled with uncertainty, confusion, and conflict surpassing even that which is evident in the discussions of their professional fathers. Questions concerning "professionalism," academic versus clinical training, and the relationships of clinical psychology to other professions are representative of the omnipresent topics of conservation. As a matter of fact, the workshop was so well received that we plan to hold a second workshop next year. But we thought that those individuals who live too far from us to be easily able to attend our meeting might want to try something similar in their areas. We are preparing a more thorough summary and commentary concerning the recent meeting and would be glad to forward a copy to interested individuals. A group of graduate students in the clinical program at the University of Oklahoma decided that it might, be quite worthwhile if they could assemble a number of students from other training settings and attempt to exchange ideas concerning their future roles as professional people. It was the contention of these students that graduate students in psychology, and particularly clinical students, seldom have an opportunity to freely exchange ideas about these problems in an atmosphere which is specifically designed for this purpose. Thus, what we think is quite a unique idea was born: that we might be able to provide graduate students from various training programs in clinical psychology with the opportunity to get together to discuss training, role conflicts, identity, and other professional problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudinal orientations and cognitive functioning among adolescents.

Examined the pattern of relations of attitudinal orientations to cognitive functioning in 950 Israeli 7th graders. Following the 1966 study by J. S. Coleman et al, attitudinal orientations were represented by measures of locus of control, self-concept, and educational aspirations. Multiple regression analyses showed that 18.1-31.6% of the total variance in 4 measures of cognitive functioning was associated with attitudinal orientations, while only 10.6-18.9% of the total variance in these measures was associated with socioeconomic background variables. In the least economically advantaged group, locus of control was the most potent attitude variable; in the complementary 2 groups of higher socioeconomic status, more of the variance in cognitive functioning was associated with self-concept and aspirations than with locus of control. (50 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudinal effects of choice in exposure to counterpropaganda.

Conditions are explored "under which exposure to information discrepant form one's own opinion produces cognitive dissonance and consequent attitude change… . The results were discussed in terms of the importance of prior choice in exposure in creating dissonance." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudinal and contextual variables explaining teachers' leadership behavior.

Focused on identifying the way in which individual and organizational variables affect the classroom leadership behavior of teachers. Data gathered from a questionnaire designed for this study were collected from 147 teachers and 2,430 students in 10 community colleges. Results indicate that the openness of interpersonal relations among the teaching staff and the teachers' assessments of their students may have an effect on their leadership behavior. Additionally, a moderating effect of teachers' attitudes toward student control was identified; the leadership of teachers having participative attitudes may be affected more by both formal and perceived organizational participativeness than is the leadership of other teachers. (48 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Life stressors and social resources affect posttreatment outcomes among depressed patients.

Examined pre- and posttreatment changes in life stressors and social resources and their association with treatment outcomes in a 12-mo follow-up of 424 Ss (aged 18–83 yrs) with unipolar depression. Assessment measures included the Family Environment Scale, Work Environment Scale, and Health and Daily Living Form. As expected, Ss reported significant, multidimensional improvements in their functioning at follow-up. There were modest increases in Ss' social resources but, suprisingly, no overall decrease in stressors. Life stress and resource factors were significantly related to Ss' functioning at follow-up, even after considering the severity of their dysfunction at treatment intake and their length of treatment. Implications for developing a general body of knowledge about the process of recovery and relapse in behavioral disorders are discussed. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudinal and situational correlates of academic achievement in young adolescents.

Examined the relationship between academic achievement and various attitudinal and situational factors. Using the regression equation method, 660 male and female middle-class 9th graders were assigned to a high-, average-, or low-achieving group. The classification was based on the relationship between actual GPA and the GPA which would be expected from IQ level. Since this method defines academic achievement in relation to each S's intelligence, it resulted in 3 groups varying highly in academic achievement, but virtually identical in IQ. All Ss completed the Student Interest and Attitude Study. The items which discriminated between the 3 groups were subjected to factor analysis and 6 factors were identified. The levels of achievement in various academic subject areas were also examined separately and a consistent pattern of performance was found. The dynamics of academic achievement are discussed. (French summary) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudinal comparison of business employees and students in the school of business administration.

"An attitude survey blank containing 40 statements and covering the areas of government control, personnel policy, profit distribution, unionism, and the free enterprise system was completed by 49 business employees and 146 business administration students. 1. Significant differences between responses of the two groups were found on 6 of the 40 statements. 2. Disagreement was greatest in the area of equality of profit distribution. Students regarded equality of distribution with considerable disfavor." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudinal and motivational antecedents of participation in voluntary employee development activities.

This study investigated factors influencing ongoing participation in employee development activities. A multiple-indicator structural equation model building on the theory of planned behavior and prior employee development literature was tested with a survey across 4 organizations on 2 occasions. The model uses reactions to past participation and past supportiveness of the social and organizational environment as indirect antecedents of participation, filtered through their impact on attitudes and behavioral intentions toward future participation. Learning goal orientation also influenced attitudes toward participation. Whereas personal control over participation and higher levels of voluntariness were negatively related to participation, intentions to participate and availability of opportunities arose as strong predictors of higher participation rates. Many significant hypothesized paths were found, and 85% of the variance in participation was explained by the model variables. Increasing employee awareness of opportunities and managing positive attitudes toward those opportunities are recommended as key factors for increasing participation rates. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

What do the Montreal murders mean? Attitudinal and demographic predictors of attribution.

Investigated interpretations of the Montreal massacre by giving 348 students at 3 universities a questionnaire about causes of the massacre, their affective reactions to the event, and their attitudes on a variety of social issues. Factor analysis revealed relationships between the respondents' attributions, feelings, and general attitudes. In particular, there was evidence that attitudes about gender issues were central in organizing responses on many other issues. Understanding of the murders was complex: The majority agreed with several attributional statements, including the causal role for television violence and laxity of gun control laws. The 2 focal attributions in this study were that the murders were a product of societal sexism and that they were random and unpredictable; support for these was negatively related and the majority agreed with both positions. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudinal and cognitive aspects of intensive study of a second language.

Students attending a 6-week French Summer School were examined for attitudes toward French people and culture, their orientations toward learning a 2nd language, and their feelings of anomie at the start and end of the course. Attention was also given to modification in the meanings of French and translated-equivalent English concepts. Students at 2 levels of skill in French were compared. Results supported the theory that learning a 2nd language efficiently depends on an appropriate pattern of attitudes toward the other cultural group and a particular orientation toward language study. Anomie increased for both groups of students during the course. Students utilized the semantic features of both their languages and permitted the 2 to interact. This linguistic interdependence correlates positively with achievement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudinal antecedents of rape myth acceptance: A theoretical and empirical reexamination.

M. R. Burt (1980) concluded that acceptance of rape myths was strongly related to adversarial sexual beliefs, tolerance of interpersonal violence, and gender role stereotyping. However, the scales designed to assess these variables appear to share an emphasis on hostile attitudes toward women. Using alternative measures and 3 samples of undergraduates (N?=?429; 199 men and 230 women), the authors demonstrated that hostility toward women can partially account for the relation of the various Burt constructs with rape myth acceptance. In addition, a direct measure of hostility toward women exhibits considerably more predictive power among men than women, suggesting that rape myths may function differently for men and women and that there is significant utility in exploring a more broadly defined construct of misogyny for understanding the acceptance of sexual violence toward women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Attitudinal Orientations and Cognitive Functioning Among Adolescents:: Erratum.

Reports an error in the original article by Amos Handel (Developmental Psychology, 1975[Nov], Vol 11[6], 667-675). On page 667, the sentence beginning on the fourth line in the third paragraph should read: "This trend focuses on process variables, that is, the actual experiences of children which contribute to their cognitive growth, rather than on status variables (social class, race), which are presumed to represent only surface characteristics of the environment (Wolf, 1964,1966).'In Table 1 on page 670, the first entry under the fourth column ("Progressive Matrices") should read: '-05." In Table 2 on page 671, the third entry under the first column ("Independent variable") should read: "C = A + B = background." (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1976-06752-001.) Examined the pattern of relations of attitudinal orientations to cognitive functioning in 950 Israeli 7th graders. Following the 1966 study by J. S. Coleman et al, attitudinal orientations were represented by measures of locus of control, self-concept, and educational aspirations. Multiple regression analyses showed that 18.1-31.6% of the total variance in 4 measures of cognitive functioning was associated with attitudinal orientations, while only 10.6-18.9% of the total variance in these measures was associated with socioeconomic background variables. In the least economically advantaged group, locus of control was the most potent attitude variable; in the complementary 2 groups of higher socioeconomic status, more of the variance in cognitive functioning was associated with self-concept and aspirations than with locus of control. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Healthy for Life project: sexual risk behavior outcomes

Sexual risk behavior outcome data from the Healthy for Life (HFL) project is presented. Using a social influences model, the intervention was designed to positively affect the health behaviors of middle school students in five related areas: alcohol use, tobacco use, marijuana use, nutrition, and sexuality. The in-school program was supplemented by parent, community and peer components. The research used self-report data on an initial sample of 2,483 middle school students followed from Grade 6 to Grade 10. Twenty-one schools were assigned to three conditions--age appropriate (program taught in Grades 6, 7, and 8), intensive (program taught in Grade 7) and control--using blocked randomization. Attrition was 20% (by Year 4) and 33% (by Year 5). By ninth grade the lifetime intercourse rate among both groups of HFL subjects was significantly higher than for controls (controlling for baseline substance use risk and involvement with the opposite sex), but reported past month intercourse rates and condom use did not differ. At the tenth grade follow-up, the age appropriate subjects reported higher adjusted rates of lifetime and past month intercourse than did the controls. Intensive subjects perceived significantly lower normative rates of intercourse than controls at ninth grade follow-up, but age appropriate subjects perceived significantly higher norms at tenth grade. Our expectation that this approach would be effective in reducing adolescent sexual risk behavior has not been supported. The influence of social and community norms and contextual factors has a far greater influence on the behavior of students (even 6 years later) than this school-based social influences program targeting only one grade cohort.