The Effect of Nonviolent Action on Social Attitudes*

Nonviolent action will produce attitude change to the exlent that it satisfies either or both of two prerequisites. It must either interfere with the functions served by the attitudes or it must produce some inconsistency between the attitudes and other orientations of the persons affected by the action. The three major functions served by attitudes are object orientation, ego-support, and ego-defense. For many social attitudes the ego-support provided by attitudes which help define a person's relation to a reference group is especially powerful, Functions may be blocked by a particular set of conditions, which may have little in common with one another. Inconsistencies may occur among different attitudes or among the components of a single attitude. One class of inconsistencies that is of particular importance occurs when people are persuaded or mildly pressured into action contrary to their attitudes. Each of the sources of attitude change pressure carries its own requirements for producing change and its own mechanisms for protecting attitudes against change pressures. Nonviolent action does not necessarily meet these requirements or overcome the defenses. However, with knowledge of the functional bases and conceptual contexts of the attitudes being challenged it may be possible to utilize the resources present in nonviolent action to increase the likelihood of a desirable impact.     

Social Participation,Social Status and Extremist Political Attitudes*

Two measures of extremist political attitudes are used to test the relationship between social participation, social status, and extremist attitudes. The expected relationships are found only for a measure called “support for democratic institutions.” Another measure of political attitudes, vigilantism, was found not to relate to the independent variables. We conclude that people who may adhere to abstract democratic ideals, at the same time may not reject the use of extralegal force to further their political goals. The findings also suggest that the “mobilization function” of social participation will need to be further specified.     

Gender,Contraceptive Attitudes,and Condom Use in Adolescent Romantic Relationships: A Dyadic Approach

Although sexual risk behavior occurs in a dyadic context, most studies of adolescent sexual behavior focus on individuals. This study uses couple data (N = 488 couples) from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to examine how partners' contraceptive attitudes correlate over time and whether male or female partners' attitudes are better predictors of condom use. Net of their own prior attitudes, partners' prior attitudes predicted both male and female adolescents' Wave 2 attitudes. This association was stronger for female than for male adolescents, suggesting that female attitudes were influenced more by males' prior attitudes than vice versa. When entered together, only male adolescents' attitudes predicted dyadic condom use. Findings suggest that male partners may have greater influence on adolescent contraceptive decisions and that prevention programs should emphasize the relational context of sexual behavior.     

The interaction of depersonalization and deindividuation

Abnormal experiences of the self defined here in terms ofdepersonalization may predispose individuals to aggressive behavior in situations that further alter their self-awareness. Conditions that raise self-awareness may inhibit the aggressive behavior of individuals prone to these abnormal experiences of self. In the current research, individuals prone to a distorted body image were least likely to express attitudes reflecting verbal hostility when their self-awareness was raised. Individuals prone to a sense of unreality about others were most likely to express attitudes that reflect physical aggression when their sense of social identity was raised. However, these attitudes were less likely in individuals prone to self-criticism whose social identity was enhanced. The results suggest that a multidimensional construct of depersonalization may aid in the prediction of aggressive behavior that is facilitated by situations that alter the individual’s sense of self.     

The Relationship Between College Women’s Sexual Attitudes and Sexual Activity: The Mediating Role of Body Image

ABSTRACT. This study examined the relationship between sexual attitudes and engagement in sexual activity among a sample of 401 college women. In addition, we investigated the potential role of body image as a mediator of this relationship. Online surveys included self-report measures of sexual attitudes ranging from liberal to conservative, body image satisfaction, and frequency of sexual activity. Results indicated that more liberal sexual attitudes were directly linked with more frequent sexual activity. Whereas mediation was not evident, indirect effects existed such that more liberal sexual attitudes were associated with higher body image satisfaction, which, in turn, was associated with increased sexual activity. Clearly, sexual attitudes and body image are important cognitive factors that affect women's sexual activity, yet each influence alone is not enough to explain the complex process that leads to sexual behavior. Although cross-sectional in nature, our findings suggest that body image and sexual attitudes may work together as a process to affect women's sexual activity.     

Welfare and women in poor urban neighborhoods: The effect of dependency on attitudinal indicators

This study examines the relationship between welfare dependency and the attitudes of female residents in poor urban neighborhoods. The analysis focuses on their attitudes about relationships, children, home ownership, and welfare, and how these attitudes are affected by race/ethnicity, neighborhood poverty, religion, close friendship ties with welfare recipients, and kin networks. Using the Urban Poverty & Family Life Survey and multiple and logistic regression analysis, the findings show that welfare dependency has a negative impact on attitudes but is diminished by a variety of cultural and social indicators. Results further illustrate that, for some residents in severely impoverished areas, consistent welfare receipt may counteract negative effects on attitudes experienced by their counterparts who do not receive welfare.     

Training Environments, Work Attitudes, and Turnover Intention

A recent and extensive review of research concluded that worker age–viewed both chronologically and in terms of career stage–was a decisive determinant of work attitudes including turnover intention, i.e., intention to remain in an occupation or to leave it. This paper reports a study of work attitudes among 732 American, British, and Spanish students undergoing training as merchant marine engineering officers. All were of the same age and were at the same point in their careers. Wide differences were shown in terms of attitudes toward the occupation including turnover intention. The single most important variable was the national context in which training was taking place: The Americans exhibited the most negative work attitudes and the higher turnover intention; the Spanish had the most positive attitudes and the lowest turnover intention; the British tended to fall in the middle. Social class origin had some, though irregular, effects. The national differences are explained in terms of the training environments existing in the schools as well as structural features surrounding the merchant marine industry and the organization of training for the occupation in each country. Hence, though age may be a decisive element in work attitudes, this study suggests that the social organization within which age factors are located may determine the scope and forms of its effects.     

Independent,Autonomous, and Permissive: Examining the Links Between Self-Construal and Sexual Permissiveness

Much of the research on sexual attitudes has focused on biological sex as a predictor variable. This work has consistently demonstrated that men are more permissive in attitudes toward casual sex than are women. Less is known, however, about how other individual difference variables may shape sexual attitudes. In this research, we considered whether self-construal (whether one believes that others are or are not part of their self-concept) influences people’s attitudes toward casual sex. Specifically, we posited that an independent self-construal is positively related to, and an interdependent self-construal is negatively related to, sexual permissiveness. Two cross-sectional studies (ns = 517 and 212) yielded support for these hypotheses. We further considered autonomy as a potential process variable. A mediation analysis revealed that self-construal was related to autonomy, which in turn positively predicted sexual attitudes and drove this association. We integrate these findings into the literature on sexual attitudes and discuss theoretical insights derived from our findings.     

The contribution of a cultural perspective in understanding and evaluating client satisfaction

Increasing attention is being given to including measures of client satisfaction as a component in the evaluation of health care services. An understanding of cultural factors that may influence attitudes and behaviors in the health care situation can contribute to the theory and measurement of client satisfaction. Through an examination of some of the cross-cultural literature, this paper delineates dimensions of the health care situation in which clients have been shown to have distinctive preferences, behavioral patterns, attitudes, and treatment expectations. A knowledge of the beliefs and attitudes concerning health and illness that are espoused by a particular cultural group can be a valuable asset in understanding how members of that group will evaluate the delivery of health care services. The examination of how cultural and ethnic differences may affect client satisfaction outcomes points to the necessity of avoiding a global measure of client satisfaction without first examining those particular aspects of health care delivery and of the measurement context that may have a predictable influence on client satisfaction ratings.     

Collective Self-Esteem and Coping Strategies among Vietnamese American Adolescents

This article reports on the “social empathy attitudes” results that were part of a larger study on empathy in college students at a large research university in the Southwest. Two hundred ninety-four students completed the Social Empathy Assessment Index (SEAI). The research hypothesis was that students of color would have higher levels of social empathy attitudes than Caucasian students. The statistically significant SEAI items suggested that Latino students identify as more collectivist and more optimistic and have higher levels of social empathy attitudes. Latinos may be more willing to help a stranger than either Caucasians or members of other racial groups.     

Attitudes of elderly persons towards receiving financial support from adult children

Although many studies of attitudes regarding filial obligations have found consensual agreement that adult children should provide the necessary help to their elderly parents, in most studies, filial obligations have been examined through the eyes of the younger generation, while attitudes and beliefs from the perspective of the elderly themselves have rarely been examined. The purpose of this study is to determine the attitudes of Israeli Jewish elderly persons towards financial assistance received from adult children, in general, and to investigate the variables that may impact these attitudes. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 153 respondents aged 60 and over, residing in the southern region of the country. The results revealed that the majority believed that adult children should provide financial support for their elderly parents, in particular when their parents have insufficient income for their needs and whenever their children can afford it. Regression analyses showed that attitudes supporting the provision of financial support to adult children, gender, ethnic decent, and number of daughters have been found significant predictors of attitudes toward filial obligations to provide financial support for elderly parents. The policy implications of these findings are discussed and further avenues of research are suggested.     

“No Thanks,We’re Full”: Individual Characteristics,National Context,and Changing Attitudes Toward Immigration1

In this paper we examine how individual‐level characteristics and national context affect attitudes toward immigration. Although many previous studies have compared attitudes toward immigration across countries, little attention has been paid to how attitudes may be affected by changes within a country over time. We take advantage of seventeen national Canadian Gallup surveys to consider how differences in national economic conditions and changing immigration flows affect attitudes and changes in attitudes between 1975 and 2000. While the state of the national economy affects attitudes this is not the case for the rate of immigration. Rather than affecting some groups more than others the state of the economy has a relatively uniform effect across groups. Our results also show that far from being a continuum, being anti‐immigration and being pro‐immigration are qualitatively different. Interest, ideology, and the national economy affect anti‐immigration sentiments, but only ideology affects pro‐immigration sentiments.     

Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gays Among American and Dutch Adolescents

Attitudes toward lesbians and gays vary across national populations, and previous research has found relatively more accepting attitudes in the Netherlands as compared to the United States. In this study, we compared beliefs about and attitudes toward lesbians and gays in samples of Dutch and American heterosexual adolescents, utilizing survey data from 1,080 American adolescents (mean age = 15.86 years) attending two schools and from 1,391 Dutch adolescents (mean age = 16.27 years) attending eight schools. Findings indicated the Dutch participants were more tolerant of lesbians and gays, after adjusting for the gender, age, and racial/ethnic minority status of the participants. However, between-country differences were attenuated by accounting for the beliefs about lesbians and gays that participants used to justify their attitudes. American participants were more likely to justify their attitudes using beliefs related to social norms and religious opposition, while the Dutch participants were more likely to justify their attitudes using beliefs related to individual rights and the biological/genetic basis of homosexuality. The results suggest that the relative importance of particular beliefs about lesbians and gays to attitudes at the group level may be context dependent but also that certain beliefs are salient to attitudes across national contexts.     

Implicit and Explicit Sexual Attitudes: How Are They Related to Sexual Desire and Sexual Satisfaction in Men and Women?

This article examines individual variability in sexual desire and sexual satisfaction by exploring the relation between these sexual aspects and sexual attitudes (implicit and explicit) and by taking gender into account, as this has been shown to be an influential factor. A total of 28 men and 33 women living in heterosexual relationships completed questionnaires assessing sexual desire (dyadic, solitary), sexual satisfaction, and explicit sexual attitudes. An adapted version of the Affect Misattribution Procedure was used to assess implicit sexual attitudes. Results showed higher levels of dyadic and solitary sexual desire in men than in women. No gender differences were found regarding sexual satisfaction or sexual attitudes. High dyadic sexual desire was associated with positive implicit and explicit sexual attitudes, regardless of gender. However, solitary sexual desire was significantly higher in men than women and was associated, in women only, with positive implicit sexual attitudes, suggesting that solitary sexual desire may fulfill different functions in men and women. Finally, sexual satisfaction depended on the combination of explicit and implicit sexual attitudes in both men and women. This study highlights the importance of considering both implicit and explicit sexual attitudes to better understand the mechanisms underlying individual variability in sexual desire and satisfaction.     

Community-based addiction treatment staff attitudes about the usefulness of evidence-based addiction treatment and CBO organizational linkages to research institutions

This national study of community-based addiction-treatment organizations' (CBOs) implementation of evidence-based practices explored CBO Program Directors' (n=296) and clinical staff (n=518) attitudes about the usefulness of science-based addiction treatment. Through multivariable regression modeling, the study identified that identical factors were associated with directors, and staff attitudes about the usefulness of science-based addiction treatment. For both directors and staff working in an organization that was affiliated with a research institution, working in an organization with better internet technology (measured through TCU-ORC scores) and having higher levels of education were all significantly associated with having more positive attitudes regarding science-based addiction treatment. Implications: government policy that promotes the hiring of addiction treatment clinical staff with professional degrees and encourages the development of linkages between addiction treatment researchers and treatment staff may positively impact attitudes and use of evidence-based addiction treatment practices (EBPs) in CBOs.     

Pathways to Adolescent Political Participation across Race and Ethnicity

This study assesses impacts of racial/ethnic identification on adolescent civic development to inform interventions to counter civic disconnect on the part of ethnic minority youths. Analyses of 4 years of national Monitoring the Future data find that Black and Latino adolescents hold negative political attitudes and low rates of political behavior. Structural equation models find dissimilarities in paths between political attitudes and behaviors for White, Black, Latino, and Asian adolescents. Findings suggest that political attitudes may operate as precursors to political behavior in different ways across races/ethnicities. Implications for civic interventions and future minority youth civic development research are discussed.     

Predicting Attitudes Toward Lesbian and Gay Parent Families Among Portuguese Students from Helping Professions

The authors' goal was to characterize predictors of attitudes toward lesbian and gay parent families (LGPF), held by students enrolled in psychology, social work, medicine, nursing, elementary, and preschool education programs in Portugal. The authors examined the predictive value of students' (n = 600) sociodemographic characteristics when assessing their attitudes toward LGPF. Participant's gender, interpersonal contact with lesbians and gay men, gender role attitudes had indirect effects on attitudes toward LGPF, through attitudes toward lesbians and gay men. Understanding characteristics associated with attitudes toward LGPF may inform decisions in terms of the education and training of helping professionals.     

Effects of Corporate Support of a Charity on Public Perceptions of the Charity

A quasi-experimental design (N = 517) was used to investigate the effect on audience response to a supported charity if corporate support is featured in an advertisement. The results indicate that corporate support of a charity appears not to influence audience attitudes and donation intentions for the charity. A small portion of the audience may be motivated to donate when learning of a large corporate donation to the charity. The level of individuals’ favorability for the charity was the strongest predictor of their attitudes and intentions. Gender was also a predictor of more positive charity attitudes, with females reporting more positive attitudes than males for three of four charities. Managerial implications and areas for future research are discussed.     

Is Pornography Really about “Making Hate to Women”? Pornography Users Hold More Gender Egalitarian Attitudes Than Nonusers in a Representative American Sample

According to radical feminist theory, pornography serves to further the subordination of women by training its users, males and females alike, to view women as little more than sex objects over whom men should have complete control. Composite variables from the General Social Survey were used to test the hypothesis that pornography users would hold attitudes that were more supportive of gender nonegalitarianism than nonusers of pornography. Results did not support hypotheses derived from radical feminist theory. Pornography users held more egalitarian attitudes—toward women in positions of power, toward women working outside the home, and toward abortion—than nonusers of pornography. Further, pornography users and pornography nonusers did not differ significantly in their attitudes toward the traditional family and in their self-identification as feminist. The results of this study suggest that pornography use may not be associated with gender nonegalitarian attitudes in a manner that is consistent with radical feminist theory.     

Negative Stereotyping of Older Nurses Despite Contact and Mere Exposure: The Case of Nursing Recruiters in Western Australia

Ageist attitudes have been identified across different industries. The nursing profession has a high proportion of older workers. As this facilitates regular contact with, as well as exposure to, older nurses, it may be expected to show less ageism. This study investigated 163 Western Australian nursing recruiters' attitudes toward older nurses. Results showed clear evidence of both negative and positive stereotyping of older nurses. Nursing recruiters indicated that they would be more than likely to hire older nurses and that age was less relevant in making hiring decisions. These findings suggest that enhancing the employability of older workers does not necessarily change ageist attitudes. This is relevant to policy formulation, attitude change interventions, and the well-being of older workers.