Normative,Preferential, and Belief Modes in Adolescent Prejudice*

The concept of attitude often subsumes normative, preferential, and belief components; some attitude scales are composed of items exhibiting two or more of these modalities. Beliefs may, in turn, be classified as reports, stereotypes, consequences, and intentions. This article shows that attitude questions in different modes have differing origins and implications, and that it is an error to continue to use an attitude concept and attitude scales that are modally ambiguous. As well, it is an error to use factor analyses and lack of co-scalability as the only criteria for assessing modality differences within attitude scales. In support of this argument we show that adolescents respond differently to attitude questions concerning school integration that are phrased in the normative, preferential, and belief modes, although these same questions are also found to co-scale. A distinction is made between two ways of learning attitudes: through personal experience and through information from others. On the basis of this distinction, parallel results were predicted and found for preferences and intentions. These differed from results that we predicted and found for norms and stereotypes.     

Expert Scientific Judgment and Cancer Risk Assessment: A Pilot Study of Pharmacokinetic Data

When high-dose tumor data are extrapolated to low doses, it is typically assumed that the dose of a carcinogen delivered to target cells is proportional to the dose administered to test animals, even at exposure levels below the experimental range. Since pharmacokinetic data are becoming available that in some cases question the validity of this assumption, risk assessors must decide whether to maintain the standard assumption. A pilot study of formaldehyde is reported that was undertaken to demonstrate how expert scientific judgment can help guide a controversial risk assessment where pharmacokinetic data are considered inconclusive. Eight experts on pharmacokinetic data were selected by a formal procedure, and each was interviewed personally using a structured interview protocol. The results suggest that expert scientific opinion is polarized in this case, a situation that risk assessors can respond to with a range of risk characterizations considered biologically plausible by the experts. Convergence of expert opinion is likely in this case of several specific research strategies ar executed in a competent fashion. Elicitation of expert scientific judgment is a promising vehicle for evaluating the quality of pharmacokinetic data, expressing uncertainty in risk assessment, and fashioning a research agenda that offers possible forging of scientific consensus.     

THE INFLUENCE OF RELATIONSHIP ENHANCEMENT TRAINING ON DIFFERENTIATION OF SELF

The effectiveness of the Relationship Enhancement (RE) program (Guerney, 1987a) in increasing functional and basic levels of differentiation of self (Bowen, 1987a) was examined. Participants were 20 married couples who received training in relationship enhancement skills over six 2 1/2-hour sessions. Measures of differentiation of self, quality of relationship, and anxiety were obtained before and after training and at follow-up. The data show that significant increases in the functional and basic levels of differentiation of self occurred, a significant increase in the quality of relationship occurred, and significant negative correlations were found between differentiation of self and anxiety.     

A vocational special college: preparing students for a participatory democracy?

This paper is based on an ethnographic type study of the say that young people have in the decisions which shape their education and their lives. Such student participation in decision-making is not only a challenge to an essentially authoritarian system in which education is controlled by teachers, politicians and others, it is the foundation of citizenship. The research was undertaken in a newly established, supposedly unique, vocational college for 14-18 year-olds. The analysis of data was structured in a framework of participative democracy: freedom, equality and fraternity. Using this framework, the paper examines the development of power structures, power relations and ideologies which maintain status quo, and define and determine the say young people have in decision-making. It addresses the denial of any foundation for active participatory citizenship in a segregated educational setting.     

Research on unions: Some subjects in need of scholars

Research in industrial relations, as in other disciplines, frequently is narrow in scope and follows well-trodden paths. Although this approach has produced valuable insights into some areas, it has contributed to a lack of research in areas that are increasingly important. Accordingly, after a brief review of industrial relations research over the past decade, we suggest a number of overlooked or largely neglected topics that offer considerable research potential. We thank A1 Achtner for helpful research assistance.