Procedural Justice and the Cooperative Worker: An Interactional Model of Union Participation

Using data collected from a United Steelworkers of America local, we examine the extent to which fair union decision-making processes (procedural justice) and member disposition interact to promote union-supportive behavior. Although results indicate both procedural justice and a collectivist work disposition are positively related to union-supportive behavior, hierarchical regression reveals that procedural justice influences the behavior of members with individualistic work dispositions but not the behavior of members with a collectivist work disposition. So, employers who adopt human resource practices consistent with the high- performance work paradigm may foster increased levels of union-supportive behavior, and unions may need to take member disposition into account when selecting training programs aimed at fostering union-supportive behavior.     

THE IMPACT OF TELEVISION VIEWING ON MENTAL APTITUDE AND ACHIEVEMENT: A LONGITUDINAL STUDY

Previous studies of the effects of telecision viewing on mentalabilities have shown mixed results, but most suffered from oneor more of the following shortcomings: a small or other-wiseunrepresentative sample, a cross-sectional rather than longitudinalapproach, and a failure to consider intervening variables betweentelevision viewing and cognitive skills. This study was designedto overcome these deficiencies by using nationally representativedata from the National Health Examination Cycle 2 and Cycle3 Surveys. These surveys included 1,745 children who were studiesboth when 6 to 11 years old (between July, 1963, and December,1965) and about four years later when 12 to 17 years old (betweenMarch, 1966, and March, 1970). Simple analysis at just one time-pointreveals substantial relationships between the amount of televisionviewing and depressed IQ and Wide Range Achievement Test (Readingand Arithmetic) scores of adolescents. When longitudinal controlsare added, however, these relationships become statisticallyinsignificant and substantively unimportant. Although thesedata are 20 years old, they indicate no significant causal relationshipbetween the amount of television viewed and the mental aptitudeand achievement test scores of adolescents, thus supportingand extending Gaddy's (1986) recent longitudinal study of anational sample of youth.     

THE MAN IN THE TEFLON SUIT?: THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONNECTION, POLITICAL DRAMA, AND POPULAR SUPPORT IN THE REAGAN PRESIDENCY

An examination of public support during the presidency of RonaldReagan reveals a unique pattern. The major features includetwo instances of rapidly declining support followed by historicallyunprecedented and sustained recoveries. The recovery of supportis particularly surprising given that the literature of theearly 1980s emphasizes the irrecoverable erosion of public supportand a resulting "no win" presidency. In this sense, the patternof public support from 1981 to 1987 raises a significant questionabout the "no win" presidency. Does the Reagan case contradictrecent assertions about the inability of modern presidents tomaintain public support or is Reagan an exception that "provesthe rule"? To answer this question, the analysis is divided into five parts.The first examines the literature and shows that there is astriking uniformity in contemporary accounts of Reagan's publicsupport. These explanations discount the importance of conditionsin the environment and emphasize that Reagan's public supportis based upon a mixture of luck, personality, and politicaldrama. Part two defines political drama and examines its usefrom 1981 to 1987. In part three, we develop a methodology forincorporating political drama into a general model of publicsupport for Reagan. Part four estimates the model and uses theresults to assess the relative impact of the economy and politicaldrama on public support for Reagan. These results are used inthe final section to evaluate the specific explanations of Reagan'spublic support and to reflect upon the competing general explanationsfound in the literature.     

Attitudinal Conformity and Anonymity

Past research has shown that surveillance, unanimity of others,and ambiguous stimuli all contribute to conformity. This studysought to determine whether people will conform to a group theyidentify with even in the absence of all three contributingconditions. Using college students as subjects, the researcherposed as a pollster asking for responses to six statements onpublic issues. The falsified results of an earlier "nationalcollege sample" were used as the majority consensus stimulus.A written questionnaire was administered in private, and thenplaced in a locked ballot box. This study found no evidenceof conformity, suggesting that when people have definite attitudes,and when others are not unanimous in their opinions, the socialpressures produced by surveillance are necessary in order toproduce conformity