Piecemeal and category-based evaluation: An idiographic analysis.

Provides the clearest evidence to date for 2 distinct person evaluation processes: 1 based on liking for person attributes and 1 based on social categorization. The processes were induced by stimulus design and experimenter suggestion. An idiographic technique was developed to empirically distinguish between the processes, whereby Ss categorized stimuli as they saw fit and indicated their liking for person attributes (personality traits) and social categories (academic majors). Both idiographic and nomothetic evidence for 2 evaluation processes was obtained. Also, individual differences and stable normative patterns were observed in how stimulus persons were categorized. Contrary to expectation, the degree of fit of stimulus to schema did not relate to the degree to which evaluations were category based. Implications for models of evaluation processing and directions for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of prior group memberships on subsequent reconnaissance activities.

1,134 college freshmen completed an orientation questionnaire assessing their experiences in high school groups and expectations about college groups. 220 Ss were also interviewed later about their behavior toward campus groups at an activities fair. Ss whose experiences in high school groups were more positive tried harder to identify potentially desirable college groups, primarily because they believed that belonging to such groups would be useful for achieving personal goals. Ss with prior experience in relevant high school groups used that experience to evaluate similar college groups and thus made more realistic (less optimistic) evaluations of those groups than did Ss without prior experience. Among Ss who wanted to join a college group, those who had belonged to a relevant high school group behaved differently at the activities fair than did those who had not. Ss with prior experience were more likely to approach their chosen group at the activities fair and to avoid other groups there of a similar sort. (52 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Day After: The impact of a media event.

Discusses the extent and nature of public reaction to the TV film, The Day After, which presented a fictional account of the aftermath of nuclear attack. Events preceding the broadcast, factors contributing to the conclusion that the film had no impact, the film's impact on certain types of attitudes and behaviors, and implications for the activist psychologist are discussed. (46 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)