WorldWideScience

Sample records for positive social attitudes

  1. Relation of Student Social Position to Consumer Attitudes and Understanding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Litro, Robert Frank

    1970-01-01

    A study of Connecticut high school students from different social positions found differences in consumer attitudes and understandings of money management, credit, insurance, and savings and investments. (CH)

  2. Positive expectations encourage generalization from a positive intergroup interaction to outgroup attitudes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deegan, Matthew P; Hehman, Eric; Gaertner, Samuel L; Dovidio, John F

    2015-01-01

    The current research reveals that while positive expectations about an anticipated intergroup interaction encourage generalization of positive contact to outgroup attitudes, negative expectations restrict the effects of contact on outgroup attitudes. In Study 1, when Blacks and Whites interacted with positive expectations, interaction quality predicted outgroup attitudes to a greater degree than when groups interacted with negative expectations. When expectations (Studies 2 and 3) and the actual interaction quality (Study 4) were manipulated orthogonally, negative expectations about the interaction predicted negative outgroup attitudes, regardless of actual interaction quality. By contrast, participants holding positive expectations who experienced a positive interaction expressed positive outgroup attitudes, whereas when they experienced a negative interaction, they expressed outgroup attitudes as negative as those with negative expectations. Across all four studies, positive expectations encouraged developing outgroup attitudes consistent with interaction quality. © 2014 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

  3. Attitudes toward group-based inequality: social dominance or social identity?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmitt, Michael T; Branscombe, Nyla R; Kappen, Diane M

    2003-06-01

    In five studies we explored how the context in which people think about the social structure and the implications of the social structure for one's in-group affect attitudes toward inequality. In Studies 1 and 2 we found that social dominance orientation (SDO) scores reflect attitudes toward specific types of inequality that are salient in context. Consistent with social identity theory, in Studies 3 to 5 we found that SDO scores reflected the interests of specific group identities. Indeed, when we compared existing privileged and disadvantaged groups, and when we manipulated in-group status, we found that participants held more positive attitudes toward inequality when the in-group was privileged, compared to when the in-group was disadvantaged. Across all of our studies, results were consistent with the contention that attitudes toward inequality are group-specific and depend on the social-structural position of salient in-groups. We discuss the implications of our findings for social dominance theory.

  4. Social psychology and energy attitude consumer change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Karimi, Y.; Saffarinia, M.

    2005-01-01

    One of the most issues in social Psychology is study of attitude. Attitudes are causes of human behavior. If we regard energy consumption as a behavior for changing behavior in field of energy we must to study attitude and attitude change.In social psychology attitude define as positive and negative affective state to a matter of object. In this paper try it describe approaches and theories about attitudes and attitude change such as classical conditioning operant conditioning, social learning and cognitive. We hope this paper will be useful for planners and expert that work in this field

  5. Perfectionism in students and positive career planning attitudes

    OpenAIRE

    Stoeber, Joachim; Mutinelli, Sofia; Corr, Philip J.

    2016-01-01

    In today's uncertain job market, university students who show positive attitudes in their career planning have an advantage. Yet, we know little what personality characteristics are associated with individual differences in career planning attitudes. The present study examined 177 university students to investigate whether perfectionism (self-oriented, other-oriented, and socially prescribed) predicted students' positive career planning attitudes (career adaptability, career optimism, and per...

  6. Group Effects on Individual Attitudes Toward Social Responsibility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Secchi, Davide; Bui, Hong T M

    2018-01-01

    This study uses a quasi-experimental design to investigate what happens to individual socially responsible attitudes when they are exposed to group dynamics. Findings show that group engagement increases individual attitudes toward social responsibility. We also found that individuals with low attitudes toward social responsibility are more likely to change their opinions when group members show more positive attitudes toward social responsibility. Conversely, individuals with high attitudes do not change much, independent of group characteristics. To better analyze the effect of group dynamics, the study proposes to split social responsibility into relative and absolute components. Findings show that relative social responsibility is correlated with but different from absolute social responsibility although the latter is more susceptible than the former to group dynamics.

  7. Populism vs. elitism: social consensus and social status as bases of attitude certainty.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prislin, Radmila; Shaffer, Emily; Crowder, Marisa

    2012-01-01

    This study examined the effects of social consensus and social status on attitude certainty that is conceptualized multi-dimensionally as perceived clarity and correctness of one's attitude. In a mock opinion exchange about a social issue, participants were either supported (high consensus) or opposed (low consensus) by most of the confederates. They were informed that their opinion (high status) or their opponents' opinion (low status) had the alleged psychological significance indicative of future success. Post-experimental attitude clarity was significantly greater when attitudinal position was associated with high rather than low status. Attitude correctness was interactively affected by social status and social consensus. Supporting the compensatory effect hypothesis, attitude correctness was comparable across the levels of social consensus as long as they were associated with high status, and across the levels of social status as long as they were associated with high social consensus.

  8. CAUSE-FIT, POSITIVE ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS WITHIN HYBRID COLOMBIAN ORGANIZATIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan Pablo Román-Calderón

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Socially oriented ventures have provided livelihoods and social recognition to disadvantaged communities in different corners of the world. In some cases, these ventures are the result of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR programs. In Latin America, this type of undertaking has responded positively to unmet social needs. The social cause drives these organizations and their human resources and they give high value to organizational cause-fit. This paper presents empirical evidence of the effects of perceived cause-fit on several worker attitudes and behaviors. Psychological contract theory was adopted as theoretical background. Employees working in a hybrid (for-profit/socially oriented Colombian organization created by a CSR program participated in the survey. Data provided by 218 employees were analyzed using PLS structural equation modeling. The results suggest the ideological components of the employee-employer relationship predict positive attitudes and cooperative organizational behaviors towards hybrid organizations.

  9. Positive media portrayals of obese persons: impact on attitudes and image preferences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pearl, Rebecca L; Puhl, Rebecca M; Brownell, Kelly D

    2012-11-01

    The purpose of this research was to assess the impact of nonstereotypical, positive media portrayals of obese persons on biased attitudes, as well as propose a change in media practices that could reduce public weight bias and consequent negative health outcomes for those who experience weight stigma. Two online experiments were conducted in which participants viewed either a stigmatizing or a positive photograph of an obese model. In Experiment 1 (N = 146), participants viewed a photograph of either a Caucasian or African American obese woman; in Experiment 2 (N = 145), participants viewed either a Caucasian male or female obese model. Multiple linear regression models were used to analyze outcomes for social distance attitudes toward the obese models depicted in the images, in addition to other negative attitudes and image preferences. Participants who viewed the stigmatizing images endorsed stronger social distance attitudes and more negative attitudes toward obese persons than participants who viewed the positive images, and there was a stronger preference for the positive images than the stigmatizing images. These results were consistent regardless of the race or gender of the obese model pictured. The findings indicate that more positive media portrayals of obese individuals may help reduce weight stigma and its associated negative health outcomes.

  10. Attitudes toward Immigration as a Sense of Group Position

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Farah, Abdulkadir Osman

    2018-01-01

    such as affirmative action and immigration, we examine the extent to which American attitudes toward immigration can be conceptualized from a Blumerian sense of group position without setting Allport’s contact theory as an alternative hypothesis. Our findings show cultural and ideological threat, and subjective...... economic threat as more important in informing attitudes toward immigration than objective economic conditions; and social and ethnic location threat. Our findings are consistent with and confirm Blumer’s argument that prejudice as a sense of group position is primarily derived from feelings, and are...

  11. Race and social attitudes about sickle cell disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bediako, Shawn M; Moffitt, Kimberly R

    2011-01-01

    Sickle cell disease is perhaps the most racialized condition in the history of modern medicine, yet very little research has focused on how racial perceptions influence social attitudes about the disease. Subsequently, the implications of these perceptions for public health prevention efforts and the provision of clinical care are not well known. In this brief commentary, we posit that social cognitive and media framing theories provide useful approaches for assessing relations between race and social attitudes about sickle cell disease. Such inquiries might lead to more rigorous study of mechanisms that shape perceptions about sickle cell risk, interpersonal empathy toward patients, and public support for sickle cell-related policies.

  12. Social activities, self-efficacy, game attitudes, and game addiction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeong, Eui Jun; Kim, Doo Hwan

    2011-04-01

    This study examines whether social activities with parents, online and offline social self-efficacy, and attitudes toward gaming are associated with the degree of game addiction among adolescents. Using data from a survey of 600 middle- and high-school students in South Korea, we tested the relationships of personal characteristics (grade point average and time spent on gaming each day), social self-efficacy (both on- and offline), general social activities (with parents, friends, and teachers), gaming activities with parents, and attitudes toward gaming (those of self, parents, friends, and teachers) with the degree of game addiction. In addition, we conducted ANOVA tests to determine the differences among three groups: non-addicts (NA), possible (mild or moderate) addicts (PA), and Internet addicts (IA). The results show that social self-efficacy in the real world (offline) was negatively related with the degree of game addiction, whereas social self-efficacy in the virtual world (online) indicated a positive association. Social activities with parents are negatively associated with game addiction, although no relationship is found between gaming activities with parents and game addiction. Parental attitude toward gaming has a negative relationship with the addiction. Results and implications are discussed.

  13. Attitude and position tracking

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Candy, LP

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Several applications require the tracking of attitude and position of a body based on velocity data. It is tempting to use direction cosine matrices (DCM), for example, to track attitude based on angular velocity data, and to integrate the linear...

  14. Positive implicit attitudes toward odor words.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bulsing, Patricia J; Smeets, Monique A M; van den Hout, Marcel A

    2007-07-01

    Associations between certain odors and for instance health effects may lead to positive or negative attitudes toward these odors. However, in experiments we conducted using the Implicit Association Test (IAT), we encountered attitudes even to odor "words." The IAT is based on the principle that reaction times measuring the association between words from a target dimension (in this case, odor vs. a neutral reference category) and an attribute dimension (i.e., positive or negative words) reflect the attitude to the target, where attitude-congruent associations between target and attribute are reflected by shorter reaction times. In a first experiment, we found distinctly positive attitudes to the concept odor in a student sample, which was replicated in a second experiment. In the main experiment, subjects in the aromatherapy group, who prefer using scented consumer products for relaxation purposes, showed a significantly more positive attitude toward odor words in the IAT than a control group, who did not have such a preference. The fact that results from the implicit test were not always associated with explicitly stated attitudes toward the odor words attests to the fact that the IAT measures the attitude of interest in a different way. As such, the IAT has added value in circumstances where explicit tests can be biased.

  15. Psychological and social correlates of doping attitudes among Italian athletes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zucchetti, Giulia; Candela, Filippo; Villosio, Carlo

    2015-02-01

    This study aims to identify the main psychological and social correlates of doping attitudes among Italian athletes. It is well recognized that athlete disposition and attitude towards doping is one of the factors responsible for doping behavior. Less is known, however, about the factors that sustain the level of athletes' attitudes towards doping. The main psychological (i.e., perfectionism, sport motivation, self-confidence and life satisfaction) and social correlates (i.e., social network and contact with people who use sports drugs) of attitudes towards doping among Italian athletes are examined in this paper. Differences are hypothesized regarding the type of sport (resistance sport vs. non-resistance sport) and athlete participation in competitive sport (i.e., agonistics) or in non-competitive sport (i.e., amateurs) on the level of attitude towards doping. The research hypothesis is that each of these constructs affects the level of athletes' attitudes toward doping. Data were collected from a sample of athletes (N=109), aged from 15 to 45 (M=31.5; SD=13.78) recruited in a Sports Medicine Center. Socio-demographic information, attitude towards doping, psychological and social variables were assessed through self-report questionnaire. Hierarchical multiple regression showed that both psychological (i.e., extrinsic motivation, perfectionism) and social variables (i.e., athletes' contact with doping users) were associated with athletes' attitudes towards doping. The results highlighted that athletes with excessive perfectionism, extrinsically motivated and who have contact with doping users have a positive attitude toward doping. Athletes who exhibit these characteristics should be considered at risk and monitored to prevent possible future sports drug use. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. How and when do personal values guide our attitudes and sociality? Explaining cross-cultural variability in attitude-value linkages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boer, Diana; Fischer, Ronald

    2013-09-01

    This article examines how and when personal values relate to social attitudes. Considering values as motivational orientations, we propose an attitude-value taxonomy based on Moral Foundation Theory (Haidt & Joseph, 2007) and Schwartz's (1992) basic human values theory allowing predictions of (a) how social attitudes are related to personal values, and (b) when macro-contextual factors have an impact on attitude-value links. In a meta-analysis based on the Schwartz Value Survey (Schwartz, 1992) and the Portrait Value Questionnaire (Schwartz et al., 2001; k = 91, N = 30,357 from 31 countries), we found that self-transcendence (vs. self-enhancement) values relate positively to fairness/proenvironmental and care/prosocial attitudes, and conservation (vs. openness-to-change) values relate to purity/religious and authority/political attitudes, whereas ingroup/identity attitudes are not consistently associated with value dimensions. Additionally, we hypothesize that the ecological, economic, and cultural context moderates the extent to which values guide social attitudes. Results of the multi-level meta-analysis show that ecological and cultural factors inhibit or foster attitude-value associations: Disease stress is associated with lower attitude-value associations for conservation (vs. openness-to-change) values; collectivism is associated with stronger attitude-value links for conservation values; individualism is associated with stronger attitude-value links for self-transcendence (vs. self-enhancement) values; and uncertainty avoidance is associated with stronger attitude-values links, particularly for conservation values. These findings challenge universalistic claims about context-independent attitude-value relations and contribute to refined future value and social attitude theories. (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

  17. Online Social Network Users’ Attitudes toward Personality Traits Predict Behaviour of their Friends

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sergei A. Shchebetenko

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The research considers attitudes toward personality traits in online social network (OSN Vkontakte users’ behaviour. Users’ friends’ activity on a given user’s profile was supposed to be affected by attitudes toward traits of the latter. Within a broader context, the role of metacognitive type of characteristic adaptations as a key element of the five-factor theory of personality is studied. Accordingly, along with attitudes toward traits, other metacognitive characteristic adaptations are examined (e.g. dispositional efficiency, reflected trait, and reflected attitude toward a trait. 1030 undergraduates participated in the study. The research results confirm that extraversion is the most important predictor of OSN behavior among other personality traits. The information presented in this research is obtained using behavioural data instead of more convenient self-reports. Moreover, these behavioural data characterise other users’ (friends’ behaviour while addressing a certain user’s profile. Positive attitudes toward each Big Five traits (extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness to experience separately affected the number of “Likes” of the avatars representing users’ photographs. Furthermore, revealed correlations between traits and “Likes” were subsequently eliminated by the attitudes toward respective traits. Positive attitudes toward conscientiousness predicted the increase of friends’ number unlike trait conscientiousness. Positive attitude toward agreeableness predicted the increase of the number of posts written by friends on user’s wall unlike trait agreeableness. Attitudes toward traits are argued to affect social environment governed by an individual: one may select those social relationships and partners that fit better one’s attitudes toward traits. This, in turn, may affect actions of other people towards the given individual including those of online behaviour.

  18. Social Identity and Ethnic Attitudes in Students from Chechnya

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Khukhlaev O.E.

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The study focused on analyzing the impact of ethnic and national identity on the ethnonational attitudes among young people living in the North Caucasus. The study involved students residing in the Chechen Republic (214 subjects aged 16—19 years (mean 17.8, girls — 97, boys — 117. We used: 1 Ethnonational attitudes scale; 2 Technique for studying expression of ethnic and national identity; 3 Interethnic Attitudes questionnaire; 4 General Social Attitudes Scale by E.Frenkel-Brunswik. The outcomes of the research indicate that national identity is a weak predictor of ethnonational attitudes. It is associated with ethnic identity, but does not play any significant role in the formation of interethnic relationships. However, ethnic identity does shape the feeling of pride and other positive feelings that one has about his/her own “nationality”. To a lesser extent, but still statistically significant, subjective importance of one’s ethnicity is associated with hostility towards other nationalities and with negative assessment of social equality and cultural diversity.

  19. Attitudes towards people with physical or intellectual disabilities among nursing, social work and medical students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kritsotakis, George; Galanis, Petros; Papastefanakis, Emmanouil; Meidani, Flora; Philalithis, Anastas E; Kalokairinou, Athena; Sourtzi, Panayota

    2017-12-01

    To examine and compare undergraduate healthcare students' attitudes towards people with physical or intellectual disabilities in Greece. The experience that people with disabilities have with health care is a complex interaction between their medical condition and the social and physical environment. Attitudes of the nursing and healthcare staff affect the quality of care and people's adaptation to their disability, self-image and rehabilitation outcomes. Descriptive cross-sectional survey. Nursing, Social Work and Medicine students (N = 1007, 79.4% female) attending three universities (Athens, Crete) completed during 2014-2016 two standardised scales regarding physical (ATDP-B) and intellectual disability (CLAS-ID). Descriptive and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed. Attitudes towards people with physical disabilities in Greece (ATDP-B scores) were poor with scores just above the mid-point. Medical studies and higher knowledge and work with individuals with physical disabilities signified marginally more positive attitudes. Gender and age displayed no associations with attitudes. Regarding intellectual disability (CLAS-ID scores), nursing students had slightly less positive attitudes in "Similarity" but more positive attitudes in "Sheltering" subscales. Previous work and contact was related to more favourable and higher age to less favourable "Similarity" and "Sheltering" attitudes. Males had higher "Exclusion" scores. Those who knew people with intellectual disabilities had less favourable "Empowerment" attitudes. Knowledge was related to more positive attitudes in all four CLAS-ID subscales. Greek health and social care students showed poor attitudes towards people with physical and intellectual disability. When holding unfavourable attitudes, healthcare professionals become less involved with the people they care for and they do not provide nursing care to the best of their abilities. Undergraduate and continuing education, along with

  20. Occupation and social experience: Factors influencing attitude towards people with schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ishige, Naoko; Hayashi, Naoki

    2005-02-01

    The purpose of the present study was to examine the role of occupation and social experience as factors determining the attitude of psychiatric care workers and other workers from various backgrounds toward people with schizophrenia. To measure the attitude of 786 subjects from six occupational groups toward people with schizophrenia, the evaluation scale applying semantic differential technique and the modified Social Rejection Scale were used, which assess two aspects of the attitude: affective acceptance and social distancing, respectively. The results of the two scales from the six groups were similar on the whole. Public health nurses showed the most accepting attitude in both scales. Psychiatric nurses and local welfare commissioners were the second and the third groups in affective acceptance, and the third and the second in socially accepting behavior, respectively. There was no significant difference in attitude among the rest of the groups (non-psychiatric care workers, professional probation officers and non-care workers). These results can be understood in terms of the workers' experience of contact with people with schizophrenia, and education and other support opportunities. The importance of positive contact experiences and the means for facilitation of an accepting attitude in psychiatric care workers and other workers need to be stressed.

  1. Attitude change: persuasion and social influence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wood, W

    2000-01-01

    This chapter reviews empirical and theoretical developments in research on social influence and message-based persuasion. The review emphasizes research published during the period from 1996-1998. Across these literatures, three central motives have been identified that generate attitude change and resistance. These involve concerns with the self, with others and the rewards/punishments they can provide, and with a valid understanding of reality. The motives have implications for information processing and for attitude change in public and private contexts. Motives in persuasion also have been investigated in research on attitude functions and cognitive dissonance theory. In addition, the chapter reviews the relatively unique aspects of each literature: In persuasion, it considers the cognitive and affective mechanisms underlying attitude change, especially dual-mode processing models, recipients' affective reactions, and biased processing. In social influence, the chapter considers how attitudes are embedded in social relations, including social identity theory and majority/minority group influence.

  2. Generalization of positive and negative attitudes towards individuals to outgroup attitudes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Stark, Tobias; Flache, Andreas; Veenstra, René

    The generalization of attitudes toward individual outgroup members into attitudes toward the outgroup as a whole can affect intergroup relations. However, little is known about the relative strengths of the generalization of negative and positive interpersonal attitudes into attitudes about the

  3. Attitudes towards Mathematics: Effects of Individual, Motivational, and Social Support Factors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria de Lourdes Mata

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper aims to understand how certain different but interrelated variables such as background, motivation, and social support could lead to an explanation of student attitudes towards math and to an understanding of the defining characteristics of these attitudes in the school environment. Participants consisted of 1719 Portuguese students, from fifth-to-twelfth grade. The study utilizes an adaptation of the “Intrinsic Motivation Inventory” assessing main determinants of intrinsic motivation. One section of the questionnaire—“In my Math Class”—also assesses student perceptions of teacher and peer support as well as student attitudes. The results revealed that, in general, students held positive attitudes towards mathematics and also highlighted the main effects of grade and math achievement on these attitudes. No gender effect was identified although the girls showed a continuous decline in attitudes the further they progressed in school. A hierarchical analysis using structural equation modeling showed that motivation-related variables are the main predictors of attitudes towards mathematics and that teachers and the social support of peers are also highly significant in understanding these attitudes.

  4. Social anxiety and attitude towards conspicuous consumption in sixth and seventh grade primary school students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vukičević Leposava

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Our previous research was aimed at psychological underpinnings of the attitude towards conspicuous consumption (displayed through use of designer clothes in high school and university students, aged 17 to 25. This study examined the relationship between the attitude towards designer clothes and social anxiety in 205 sixth and seventh grade primary school children, aged 12 to 13. Their attitude towards designer clothes was assessed by an abridged version of our standard questionnaire (CC - 28. Social anxiety was evaluated by a psychometric scale SA - 34 that was modeled after the social anxiety scale SA - 32 (Tovilović, 2004 in order to comply with our respondents' age and vocabulary. The data indicated that social anxiety at age 12 -13 is primarily manifested as shyness and the importance placed on the impression that one makes on his/her social environment. Both factors were positively correlated with the positive attitude towards designer clothes indicating that among 12 to 13 year old Serbian children wearing designer clothes enhances personal esteem and attractiveness in the eyes of other group members. At this age, the attitude towards designer clothes can be, at least partially, explained by a belief that conspicuous consumption contributes to increased social acceptance and the feelings of personal respect and safety.

  5. Minorities' acculturation and social adjustment: The moderator role of meta-perceptions of majority's acculturation attitudes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    António, João H C; Monteiro, Maria Benedicta

    2015-12-01

    Two studies addressed the role of Black meta-perception of acculturation attitudes on the relation between minority acculturation attitudes and their social adjustment (school achievement and perceived quality of intergroup relations). Participants in both studies were Black Lusophone adolescents living in Portugal. Study 1 (N = 140) indicated that participants' attitude regarding the host culture was positively correlated with their school achievement and to their evaluation of intergroup relations. It also indicated that participants' meta-perception of majority attitude add to the explained variance of participants' social adjustment. Study 2 (N = 62) manipulated the perceived majority high/low support of immigrants' learning the host culture. The dependent variable (DV) was perceived quality of intergroup relations. Only in the low support condition were participants' attitudes towards the host culture positively related to perceived quality of Black-White relationships. These results suggest that perceived social context is central to understand the relationship between minority adolescents' acculturation attitudes and key dimensions of their adjustment to host societies. © 2015 International Union of Psychological Science.

  6. Positive dissimilarity attitudes in multicultural organizations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lauring, Jakob; Selmer, Jan

    2012-01-01

    Purpose – The purpose of this study is to contribute to the field of diversity studies with novel insights on how language diversity and communication frequency influence dissimilarity attitudes. Design/methodology/approach – The authors examine language diversity and communication frequency...... attitudes, namely openness to linguistic, visible and informational diversity. Contradicting our predictions, language diversity had positive associations with all variables portraying positive dissimilarity attitudes. The implications of these findings are discussed in detail. Originality/value – Few prior...

  7. The Impact of ICT on Pupils’ Achievement and Attitudes in Social Studies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emin Cener

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of teaching social studies with the help of CT on pupils’ achievement in social studies. A history, geography and culture oriented theme was selected from the social studies curriculum for the research, Turks on the Silk Road. A multimedia CD, documentaries, PowerPoint and so on were used to teach social studies to 6th graders. The research design of the study is quasi experimental. Three different research tools were used to collect data: an academic achievement test, an attitude measurement scale on social studies education and an attitude measurement scale on ICT. When achievement post test scores were treated as dependent variable in blockwise regression analysis the followings are found: Pupils’ attitudes towards the subject and ICT do not have an effect on their post-test achievement scores. However, their prior knowledge on the subject and the treatment i.e. teaching social studies with ICT have a positive effect on their achievement. Teaching social studies with ICT do not have any statistically significant effect on pupils’ attitudes toward social studies lesson. Thus, it is recommended that teachers and policy makers should find ways to formulate effective ICT integration applications for social studies.

  8. Perceived social stigma and attitudes towards seeking therapy in training: a cross-national study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Digiuni, Malena; Jones, Fergal W; Camic, Paul M

    2013-06-01

    Given the potential value of undergoing psychological therapy when training as a therapist, it is important to understand what influences students' decisions regarding seeking therapy. The study examined the relationship between clinical psychology students' perception of the social stigma attached to receiving therapy and their attitudes toward seeking therapy. Students from Argentina (n = 121), England (n = 211), and the United States (n = 130) completed measures of demographic characteristics, perceived social stigma, attitudes, and other variables associated with therapy-seeking. The results revealed significant cross-national differences, with Argentinean students showing the lowest levels of perceived social stigma for receiving therapy, followed by English and Americans. English students showed relatively less positive attitudes toward seeking therapy than their Argentinean and American counterparts. Social stigma predicted students' attitudes toward seeking therapy among English and American but not Argentinean students. The relationship between perceived social stigma and attitudes was moderated by nationality. Implications for training are discussed, including English and American clinical psychology courses encouraging their students to reflect on the effect of perceived social stigma on their decision-making.

  9. Normative Beliefs, Attitudes, and Social Norms: People Reduce Waste as an Index of Social Relationships When Spending Leisure Time

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wei-Ta Fang

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available This study has adopted and refined Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior, theory of reasoned action, and the value–belief–norm theory by Stern et al. to investigate the effects of normative beliefs, attitudes, and social norms on pro-environmental behavioral intentions. A total of 391 valid responses were collected from visitors to a theme park in Taiwan. A structure equation analysis indicated that the overall fit of the proposed model was supported. It was also found that both attitudes and social norms had positive and significant influence on waste reduction. While the results did not reveal any direct relation between normative beliefs and behavioral intentions, normative beliefs had positive direct influence on social norms and attitudes, which in turn had an impact on behavioral intentions. The findings provided further insights about pro-environmental behavioral intentions from an Asia perspective and highlighted important implications for environmental policies and education to reduce waste.

  10. Promoting positive psychology using social networking sites: a study of new college entrants on Facebook.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Shu-Man; Lin, Yung-Hsiu; Lin, Chi-Wei; Chang, Her-Kun; Chong, Ping Pete

    2014-04-29

    This study explores the potential of promoting college students' positive psychological development using popular online social networks. Online social networks have dramatically changed the ways college students manage their social relationships. Social network activities, such as checking Facebook posts dominates students' Internet time and has the potential to assist students' positive development. Positive psychology is a scientific study of how ordinary individuals can apply their strength effectively when facing objective difficulties and how this capability can be cultivated with certain approaches. A positive message delivery approach was designed for a group of new college entrants. A series of positive messages was edited by university counselors and delivered by students to their Facebook social groups. Responses from each posted positive messages were collected and analyzed by researchers. The responses indicated that: (1) relationships of individual engagement and social influence in this study can partially explain the observed student behavior; (2) using class-based social groups can promote a positive atmosphere to enhance strong-tie relationships in both the physical and virtual environments, and (3) promoting student's positive attitudes can substantially impact adolescents' future developments, and many positive attitudes can be cultivated by emotional events and social influence.

  11. Accent Imitation Positively Affects Language Attitudes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patti eAdank

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available People in conversation tend to accommodate the way they speak. It has been assumed that this tendency to imitate each other’s speech patterns serves to increase liking between partners in a conversation. Previous experiments examined the effect of perceived social attractiveness on the tendency to imitate someone else’s speech and found that vocal imitation increased when perceived attractiveness was higher. The present experiment extends this research by examining the inverse relationship and examines how overt vocal imitation affects attitudes. Participants listened to sentences spoken by two speakers of a regional accent (Glaswegian of English. They vocally repeated (speaking in their own accent without imitating the sentences spoken by a Glaswegian speaker, and subsequently imitated sentences spoken by a second Glaswegian speaker (order counterbalanced across participants. After each repeating or imitation session, participants completed a questionnaire probing the speakers’ perceived power, competence, and social attractiveness. Imitating had a positive effect on the perceived social attractiveness of the speaker compared to repeating. These results are interpreted in light of Communication Accommodation Theory.

  12. Accent imitation positively affects language attitudes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adank, Patti; Stewart, Andrew J; Connell, Louise; Wood, Jeffrey

    2013-01-01

    People in conversation tend to accommodate the way they speak. It has been assumed that this tendency to imitate each other's speech patterns serves to increase liking between partners in a conversation. Previous experiments examined the effect of perceived social attractiveness on the tendency to imitate someone else's speech and found that vocal imitation increased when perceived attractiveness was higher. The present experiment extends this research by examining the inverse relationship and examines how overt vocal imitation affects attitudes. Participants listened to sentences spoken by two speakers of a regional accent (Glaswegian) of English. They vocally repeated (speaking in their own accent without imitating) the sentences spoken by a Glaswegian speaker, and subsequently imitated sentences spoken by a second Glaswegian speaker (order counterbalanced across participants). After each repeating or imitation session, participants completed a questionnaire probing the speakers' perceived power, competence, and social attractiveness. Imitating had a positive effect on the perceived social attractiveness of the speaker compared to repeating. These results are interpreted in light of Communication Accommodation Theory.

  13. Importance of social attitudes towards people with disabilities in the realization of educational inclusion in Serbia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dimoski Sanja

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper deals with the social attitude towards persons with disabilities and the importance of this relationship for the implementation of educational inclusion in Serbia. The society attitude is discussed through the attitudes towards persons with disabilities, and attitudes towards educational inclusion. Persons with disabilities occupy a marginalized position that is a multiple determined. Education of this group have a significant impact on the process of marginalization - poor education deepens, quality education helps to overcome marginalized social positions. Attitude towards persons with disabilities are characterized by the presence of bias, lack of information and rare contacts. Research in our community do not give consistent results, and there is also tendency of respondents to give socially acceptable answers. Assessment of attitudes and work on the development of more tolerant attitudes towards persons with disabilities is are essential in creating the conditions for the implementation of educational inclusion. Educational inclusion, embedded in the philosophy of social model of disability, implies environment that adapts to persons with disabilities. These environmental preparations lacked during the process of introducing inclusive education in our country. In the implementation of educational inclusion is necessary to work on the conditions for adequate reception of such children to regular school system, which includes work on the development of tolerant attitudes towards persons with disabilities.

  14. Sexism and attitudes towards sexual diversity in mexican students of Social Work

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luis-Manuel Rodríguez-Otero

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Sexism and hostile attitudes towards people who differ from heteronormative model (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual, transgender and intersex are the result of socio-cultural phenomena such as patriarchy and heterocentrism. The draft of such attitudes in Social Work is a positive element in the revictimization of users. Since there is no research to analyze jointly homophobia, biphobia and Transphobia student of Social Work quantitative research arises in order to identify whether there are such attitudes in students in this discipline in Mexico. And identify whether these attitudes are related to each other and to the ambivalent sexism. To this end, various scales have been applied in analyzing paths liket format attitudes to 120 students from the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León. The results show average levels of sexism, homophobia, and transphobia biphobia, being decisive variables related to sex, age, religion and education level. Based on these results it is considered necessary to include content on gender and sexual diversity in the training plans of the degree of Social Work.

  15. Influence of a multidimensional measure of attitudes on motives to use social networking sites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krishnan, Archana; Hunt, Daniel Scot

    2015-03-01

    Positive attitudes toward a new communication technology tend to be a significant motivator in subsequent adoption and use. The recent spurt in the adoption of social media tools such as social networking sites (SNSs) demands the examination of attitudinal variables on motives to use these Web sites. This study explicated a multidimensional measure of attitudes toward SNSs and tested a theoretical model to examine the effect of attitudes on motives to use SNSs and SNS activity. Participants (N=674) completed a cross-sectional survey consisting of measures of attitudes toward SNSs, motives of SNS use, and level of activity. Results showed support for a revised model in which attitudinal variables-ease of use, self-disclosure, and social connection-strongly predicted motives of SNS use such as passing time, information/entertainment, social conformity, and, most importantly, socialization. The motive of using SNSs as a social tool superseded the direct effect of other motives on SNS activity, suggesting that users' primary activity on SNSs was for socialization and for relational development and maintenance.

  16. Social network, recovery attitudes and internal stigma among those with serious mental illness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cullen, Bernadette Am; Mojtabai, Ramin; Bordbar, Elahe; Everett, Anita; Nugent, Katie L; Eaton, William W

    2017-08-01

    Social network size and strength is an important determinant of overall health. This study describes the extent and strength of the social network among a sample of individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) and explores the relationship between an individual's social network and their experience of internal stigma and recovery attitudes. Over a 2-year period, consecutive new patients with SMI attending two community mental health clinics were recruited and interviewed using a comprehensive battery of assessments including assessment of internalized stigma, recovery attitudes and symptom severity. Among the 271 patients interviewed, social network size was small across all diagnostic categories. In adjusted results, the number of friends and support from relatives and friends was significantly related to the personal confidence and hope recovery attitude ( p stigma ( p stigma. There is a significant positive relationship between the size and perceived strength of an individual's social network and internalized stigma and some recovery attitudes. Clinical programs that address any of these factors could potentially improve outcomes for this population.

  17. Predicting Positive and Negative Relationships in Large Social Networks.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guan-Nan Wang

    Full Text Available In a social network, users hold and express positive and negative attitudes (e.g. support/opposition towards other users. Those attitudes exhibit some kind of binary relationships among the users, which play an important role in social network analysis. However, some of those binary relationships are likely to be latent as the scale of social network increases. The essence of predicting latent binary relationships have recently began to draw researchers' attention. In this paper, we propose a machine learning algorithm for predicting positive and negative relationships in social networks inspired by structural balance theory and social status theory. More specifically, we show that when two users in the network have fewer common neighbors, the prediction accuracy of the relationship between them deteriorates. Accordingly, in the training phase, we propose a segment-based training framework to divide the training data into two subsets according to the number of common neighbors between users, and build a prediction model for each subset based on support vector machine (SVM. Moreover, to deal with large-scale social network data, we employ a sampling strategy that selects small amount of training data while maintaining high accuracy of prediction. We compare our algorithm with traditional algorithms and adaptive boosting of them. Experimental results of typical data sets show that our algorithm can deal with large social networks and consistently outperforms other methods.

  18. Predicting Positive and Negative Relationships in Large Social Networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Guan-Nan; Gao, Hui; Chen, Lian; Mensah, Dennis N A; Fu, Yan

    2015-01-01

    In a social network, users hold and express positive and negative attitudes (e.g. support/opposition) towards other users. Those attitudes exhibit some kind of binary relationships among the users, which play an important role in social network analysis. However, some of those binary relationships are likely to be latent as the scale of social network increases. The essence of predicting latent binary relationships have recently began to draw researchers' attention. In this paper, we propose a machine learning algorithm for predicting positive and negative relationships in social networks inspired by structural balance theory and social status theory. More specifically, we show that when two users in the network have fewer common neighbors, the prediction accuracy of the relationship between them deteriorates. Accordingly, in the training phase, we propose a segment-based training framework to divide the training data into two subsets according to the number of common neighbors between users, and build a prediction model for each subset based on support vector machine (SVM). Moreover, to deal with large-scale social network data, we employ a sampling strategy that selects small amount of training data while maintaining high accuracy of prediction. We compare our algorithm with traditional algorithms and adaptive boosting of them. Experimental results of typical data sets show that our algorithm can deal with large social networks and consistently outperforms other methods.

  19. Changes in the Social Responsibility Attitudes of Engineering Students Over Time.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bielefeldt, Angela R; Canney, Nathan E

    2016-10-01

    This research explored how engineering student views of their responsibility toward helping individuals and society through their profession, so-called social responsibility, change over time. A survey instrument was administered to students initially primarily in their first year, senior year, or graduate studies majoring in mechanical, civil, or environmental engineering at five institutions in September 2012, April 2013, and March 2014. The majority of the students (57 %) did not change significantly in their social responsibility attitudes, but 23 % decreased and 20 % increased. The students who increased, decreased, or remained the same in their social responsibility attitudes over time did not differ significantly in terms of gender, academic rank, or major. Some differences were found between institutions. Students who decreased in social responsibility initially possessed more positive social responsibility attitudes, were less likely to indicate that college courses impacted their views of social responsibility, and were more likely to have decreased in the frequency that they participated in volunteer activities, compared to students who did not change or increased their social responsibility. Although the large percentage of engineering students who decreased their social responsibility during college was disappointing, it is encouraging that courses and participation in volunteer activities may combat this trend.

  20. The Role of Beliefs about the Importance of Social Skills in Elementary Children's Social Behaviors and School Attitudes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kwon, Kyongboon; Kim, Elizabeth Moorman; Sheridan, Susan M.

    2014-01-01

    Background: Positive attitudes toward school have been suggested as a meaningful indicator of school engagement among elementary children. The current study was guided by a social cognitive developmental perspective which suggests that social cognitions, including beliefs, play an important role in children's adjustment outcomes. Objective: The…

  1. Promoting Positive Psychology Using Social Networking Sites: A Study of New College Entrants on Facebook

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shu-Man Chang

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available This study explores the potential of promoting college students’ positive psychological development using popular online social networks. Online social networks have dramatically changed the ways college students manage their social relationships. Social network activities, such as checking Facebook posts dominates students’ Internet time and has the potential to assist students’ positive development. Positive psychology is a scientific study of how ordinary individuals can apply their strength effectively when facing objective difficulties and how this capability can be cultivated with certain approaches. A positive message delivery approach was designed for a group of new college entrants. A series of positive messages was edited by university counselors and delivered by students to their Facebook social groups. Responses from each posted positive messages were collected and analyzed by researchers. The responses indicated that: (1 relationships of individual engagement and social influence in this study can partially explain the observed student behavior; (2 using class-based social groups can promote a positive atmosphere to enhance strong-tie relationships in both the physical and virtual environments, and (3 promoting student’s positive attitudes can substantially impact adolescents’ future developments, and many positive attitudes can be cultivated by emotional events and social influence.

  2. Measuring implicit attitudes: A positive framing bias flaw in the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP).

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Shea, Brian; Watson, Derrick G; Brown, Gordon D A

    2016-02-01

    How can implicit attitudes best be measured? The Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP), unlike the Implicit Association Test (IAT), claims to measure absolute, not just relative, implicit attitudes. In the IRAP, participants make congruent (Fat Person-Active: false; Fat Person-Unhealthy: true) or incongruent (Fat Person-Active: true; Fat Person-Unhealthy: false) responses in different blocks of trials. IRAP experiments have reported positive or neutral implicit attitudes (e.g., neutral attitudes toward fat people) in cases in which negative attitudes are normally found on explicit or other implicit measures. It was hypothesized that these results might reflect a positive framing bias (PFB) that occurs when participants complete the IRAP. Implicit attitudes toward categories with varying prior associations (nonwords, social systems, flowers and insects, thin and fat people) were measured. Three conditions (standard, positive framing, and negative framing) were used to measure whether framing influenced estimates of implicit attitudes. It was found that IRAP scores were influenced by how the task was framed to the participants, that the framing effect was modulated by the strength of prior stimulus associations, and that a default PFB led to an overestimation of positive implicit attitudes when measured by the IRAP. Overall, the findings question the validity of the IRAP as a tool for the measurement of absolute implicit attitudes. A new tool (Simple Implicit Procedure:SIP) for measuring absolute, not just relative, implicit attitudes is proposed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  3. The impact of gender, education and age on employee attitudes towards corporate social responsibility

    OpenAIRE

    Rosati, Francesco; Calabrese, Armando; Costa, Roberta; Pedersen, Esben Rahbek Gjerdrum

    2015-01-01

    Engaging employees can have a positive effect on turnover reduction, client satisfaction, company profitability, innovation and growth. Engaging employees in corporate social responsibility (CSR) can also generate positive impactson environment and society. To do this, companies need to understand their employees' CSR attitudes. In this regard, many studies show that individual characteristics can influence CSR attitudes. This research aims to identify the influence of three sociodemographic ...

  4. The effects of knowledge of child development and social-emotional maturity on adolescent attitudes toward parenting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larsen, J J; Juhasz, A M

    1985-01-01

    This study investigated the relationship between the combined effect of knowledge of child development and level of social-emotional maturity, and the extent to which this relationship affects adolescent attitudes toward parenting. The analysis of the data (multiple regression and canonical analysis) suggested that there were significant relationships among these variables. In general, the relationships indicated that subjects' negative attitudes toward parenting were associated with lack of knowledge of child development and low levels of social-emotional maturity, while subjects' positive attitudes toward parenting were associated with knowledge of child development and high levels of social-emotional maturity. The joint impact of knowledge of child development and social-emotional maturity factors on attitudes toward parenting accounted for 51% of the variation among the variables.

  5. Positive thinking elevates tolerance: Experimental effects of happiness on adolescents' attitudes toward asylum seekers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tenenbaum, Harriet R; Capelos, Tereza; Lorimer, Jessica; Stocks, Thomas

    2018-04-01

    Inducing emotional reactions toward social groups can influence individuals' political tolerance. This study examines the influence of incidental fear and happiness on adolescents' tolerant attitudes and feelings toward young Muslim asylum seekers. In our experiment, 219 16- to 21-year-olds completed measures of prejudicial attitudes. After being induced to feel happiness, fear, or no emotion (control), participants reported their tolerant attitudes and feelings toward asylum-seeking young people. Participants assigned to the happiness condition demonstrated more tolerant attitudes toward asylum-seeking young people than did those assigned to the fear or control conditions. Participants in the control condition did not differ from participants in the fear condition. The participants in the happiness condition also had more positive feelings toward asylum-seeking young people than did participants in the control condition. The findings suggest that one way to increase positive attitudes toward asylum-seeking young people is to improve general emotional state.

  6. Developing positive worker attitudes toward radiation protection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Millis, N.L.

    1987-01-01

    Teamwork, productivity, and reducing exposure are admirable goals presented to the workers in a nuclear power plant. A common thread to achievement in these areas resides in worker attitudes toward the tasks presented. A positive, alert, and cooperative attitude is an element in a worker's mind that must be created and maintained by good leadership and management practices. At the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, management has used certain strategies to foster good positive worker attitudes toward radiation protection and quality workmanship in all tasks. Strategies differ from management by objectives in that they have no deadlines or timetables in and of themselves. Rather, strategies are preplanned methods that can be called upon when the opportunity arises to improve worker attitudes. A series of five strategies for positive attitude development are described in the full paper. The strategies are identified with buzz words to allow the user a recall mechanism (as with the acronyms abounding in the nuclear industry). They cover the range of management techniques from example setting to reward/recognition. Although not unique to radiation exposure management, nor all inclusive, the strategies provide some though stimulation in creating productive worker attitudes

  7. Assessment of medical students' attitudes on social media use in medicine: a cross-sectional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Avcı, Kadriye; Çelikden, Sevda Gerek; Eren, Semih; Aydenizöz, Doğukan

    2015-02-15

    Social media has created a revolution in health services. Information available on the Internet and via social media is now being used as reference guides for sensitive health issues by nonprofessionals, physicians, and medical students. When used by physicians and medical students, social media has the potential to raise issues such as the blurring of the line between professional and private lives, patient relations, and medical ethics. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate the use of social media and attitudes toward its use in medicine among medical students. Medical students from Afyon Kocatepe University, Faculty of Medicine (Afyonkarahisar, Turkey) were asked to participate in a survey consisting of two sections, the first containing questions assessing the frequency of social media use and the second regarding attitudes toward the use of social media in medicine. Survey responses indicated that 93.4% of medical students used social media and 89.3% used social media for professional purposes. Factor analysis showed that attitudes toward social media are based on five factors: professional usefulness, popularity, ethics, barriers, and innovativeness. A structural equation model revealed the highest positive correlation between usefulness and innovativeness; ethics had a low but positive correlation with other factors. Although social media is being used extensively by medical students, they appear unaware of possible ethical issues. Therefore, social media guidelines should be developed.

  8. Does Bachelor's-Level Social Work Education Impact Students' Knowledge and Attitudes Regarding Substance-Abusing Clients?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Senreich, Evan; Straussner, Shulamith Lala A.

    2013-01-01

    This study compared 248 graduating seniors with 301 beginning juniors at 10 bachelor's-level social work programs in the Northeast concerning their knowledge and attitudes regarding working with substance-abusing clients. Graduating seniors demonstrated modestly higher levels of knowledge and only slightly more positive attitudes toward working…

  9. The moderating role of socially desirable responding in implicit-explicit attitudes toward asylum seekers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Joel R

    2017-07-04

    Implicit and explicit attitudes correlate under certain conditions and researchers are interested in the moderating factors of this relationship. This paper explored the role of socially desirable responding in this relationship by testing the hypothesis that impression management (IM; i.e., deliberate response modification) and self-deceptive enhancement (SDE; i.e., positive self-bias) play moderating roles in the relationship of implicit-explicit attitudes toward asylum seekers in Australia. Seventy-four students responded to a battery of measures and the results revealed that IM (but not SDE) moderated this relationship to the extent that higher IM scores weakened the correspondence between implicit and explicit attitude scores. This suggests that attitudes toward asylum seekers might be susceptible to socially desirable response tendencies and in combination with the finding that IM was negatively related to explicit attitudes, it is argued that self-presentation concerns result in the deliberate attenuation of reported negative explicit attitudes. © 2017 International Union of Psychological Science.

  10. The role of social support in students' perceived abilities and attitudes toward math and science.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rice, Lindsay; Barth, Joan M; Guadagno, Rosanna E; Smith, Gabrielle P A; McCallum, Debra M

    2013-07-01

    Social cognitive models examining academic and career outcomes emphasize constructs such as attitude, interest, and self-efficacy as key factors affecting students' pursuit of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) courses and careers. The current research examines another under-researched component of social cognitive models: social support, and the relationship between this component and attitude and self-efficacy in math and science. A large cross-sectional design was used gathering data from 1,552 participants in four adolescent school settings from 5th grade to early college (41 % female, 80 % white). Students completed measures of perceived social support from parents, teachers and friends as well as their perceived ability and attitudes toward math and science. Fifth grade and college students reported higher levels of support from teachers and friends when compared to students at other grade levels. In addition, students who perceived greater social support for math and science from parents, teachers, and friends reported better attitudes and had higher perceptions of their abilities in math and science. Lastly, structural equation modeling revealed that social support had both a direct effect on math and science perceived abilities and an indirect effect mediated through math and science attitudes. Findings suggest that students who perceive greater social support for math and science from parents, teachers, and friends have more positive attitudes toward math and science and a higher sense of their own competence in these subjects.

  11. Implicit Attitudes towards People with Intellectual Disabilities: Their Relationship with Explicit Attitudes, Social Distance, Emotions and Contact.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, Michelle Clare; Scior, Katrina

    2015-01-01

    Implicit attitude research has expanded rapidly over the last decade and is seen as very promising as it counters biases present in much attitude research such as social desirability. However, most research in the area of intellectual disabilities has focused on explicit attitudes alone. This study examined implicit attitudes to this population and also examined their association with emotional reactions and contact, which have previously been found to have a significant influence on attitudes and stigma. A web based survey consisting of a single target Implicit Association Test, measures of explicit attitudes, social distance, and emotional reactions towards and contact with individuals with intellectual disabilities was completed by 326 adult UK residents. Implicit attitudes were not significantly associated with explicit attitudes, social distance or emotional reactions. Instead there were small to moderate associations between emotional reactions and explicit attitudes and social distance. Implicit attitudes did not vary according to participants' level of contact with individuals with intellectual disabilities, type of the contact relationship (voluntary versus involuntary), gender or educational attainment. In contrast, these participant characteristics did affect explicit attitudes and social distance. Implicit attitudes towards individuals with intellectual disabilities were somewhat negative and, unlike explicit attitudes and stigma, did not vary according to participant demographics or contact. As they may have a negative impact on the lives of people with intellectual disabilities, implicit attitudes merit increased attention in research and interventions in the intellectual disabilities field.

  12. Implicit Attitudes towards People with Intellectual Disabilities: Their Relationship with Explicit Attitudes, Social Distance, Emotions and Contact.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michelle Clare Wilson

    Full Text Available Implicit attitude research has expanded rapidly over the last decade and is seen as very promising as it counters biases present in much attitude research such as social desirability. However, most research in the area of intellectual disabilities has focused on explicit attitudes alone. This study examined implicit attitudes to this population and also examined their association with emotional reactions and contact, which have previously been found to have a significant influence on attitudes and stigma. A web based survey consisting of a single target Implicit Association Test, measures of explicit attitudes, social distance, and emotional reactions towards and contact with individuals with intellectual disabilities was completed by 326 adult UK residents. Implicit attitudes were not significantly associated with explicit attitudes, social distance or emotional reactions. Instead there were small to moderate associations between emotional reactions and explicit attitudes and social distance. Implicit attitudes did not vary according to participants' level of contact with individuals with intellectual disabilities, type of the contact relationship (voluntary versus involuntary, gender or educational attainment. In contrast, these participant characteristics did affect explicit attitudes and social distance. Implicit attitudes towards individuals with intellectual disabilities were somewhat negative and, unlike explicit attitudes and stigma, did not vary according to participant demographics or contact. As they may have a negative impact on the lives of people with intellectual disabilities, implicit attitudes merit increased attention in research and interventions in the intellectual disabilities field.

  13. Social attitudes and regional inequalities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vinko Muštra

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available As the budgets of the European Union (EU become tighter, the questions about the effectiveness of EU’s expenditure, especially the most important parts such as Cohesion policy, are hotly debated. The aim of this paper is to examine whether the presence of social attitudes may influence the effectiveness of EU budget expenditure, measured by the level of regional inequalities. The analysis starts by focusing on individuals’ attitudes towards income from their own effort and income which is derived from other people’s effort, having in mind that individual actions depend on their attitudes. The next step establishes the link between the income from other people’s effort with the re-distributive dimension of the EU budget, considering that different attitudes among individuals in the EU could lead to significant differences in effectiveness of this redistributive policy among European regions and, consequently, diverse regional inequalities. Empirical research uses data for 27 EU countries observed over two waves of European Value Surveys: 1999-2000 (Wave 1 and 2008–2009 (Wave 2. The results indicate a significant role of social attitudes for regional inequalities, which raises the question of the appropriateness of simplification and uniform regional policy instruments in solving EU regional problems.

  14. Factors associated with a positive attitude towards change among employees during the early phase of a downsizing process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Svensen, Erling; Neset, Gunnar; Eriksen, Hege R

    2007-04-01

    Most research on organizational changes in working life, including downsizing, focuses on the negative attitudes and negative consequences of the change. The aim of this study was to evaluate if the employee's previous learning experience and characteristics of the working environment were associated with positive attitudes towards organizational change. The 467 employees (73.5% males) working in a global oil company in the early phases of a downsizing process were asked to answer a questionnaire with demographic variables, perception of the working environment, and attitude to change (93% response rate). Corporate social responsibility (CSR), involvement and participation, team leadership and team effectiveness were important factors related to positive attitudes towards organizational change. Non-leaders and older employees were positive to change. We conclude that employees' perceptions of their psychosocial working environment, in particular the CSR, were highly related to their attitude to organizational change.

  15. Attitudes Toward Adoption of Evidence-Based Practice Among Physical Therapists and Social Workers: A Lesson for Interprofessional Continuing Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gudjonsdottir, Bjorg; Arnadottir, Hervor A; Gudmundsson, Halldor S; Juliusdottir, Sigrun; Arnadottir, Solveig A

    2017-01-01

    Professionals who embrace evidence-based practice (EBP) continually search for research evidence, appraise, and apply it, while interacting with each client in his/her situation. This dynamic learning process takes a substantial commitment from professionals and requires a positive attitude toward EBP. The main objective of this research was to explore the following: 1) distinct dimensions of attitudes toward adoption of EBP among physical therapists and social workers and 2) the relationship between these dimensions of attitudes and selected background characteristics of the compared professions. Cross-sectional web-based surveys were conducted in 2012 and 2013 on a population-based sample from the Icelandic Physical Therapy Association and the Icelandic Association of Social Workers. The participants were 214 physical therapists (76.3% women) and 163 social workers (92.2% women). The Evidence-Based Practice Attitude Scale (EBPAS) and its four subscales were used to survey dimensions of attitudes toward EBP. Scores on the total EBPAS range from zero to five, with a higher score indicating a more positive attitude toward EBPs. Linear regression was used to explore the relationship between the EBPAS scales and selected background variables. The overall response rate was 39%. Both professions generally held positive attitudes toward adoption of EBP, with an average EBPAS total score of 3.06 (SD = 0.46). The professionals' background characteristics were independently related to at least one dimension of attitudes toward EBP. More positive attitudes were associated with being a physical therapist, a woman, in a younger age group, having a graduate degree, working with individual clients, and having at least five same-profession coworkers. The results may be useful to design continuing education focusing on EBP. Such inventions should be targeted to professional attitudes, background, and other contextual factors.

  16. Attitudes Toward the Ethics of Research Using Social Media: A Systematic Review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmed, Shahd; Norman, Gill; Booth, Andrew

    2017-01-01

    Background Although primarily used for social networking and often used for social support and dissemination, data on social media platforms are increasingly being used to facilitate research. However, the ethical challenges in conducting social media research remain of great concern. Although much debated in the literature, it is the views of the public that are most pertinent to inform future practice. Objective The aim of our study was to ascertain attitudes on the ethical considerations of using social media as a data source for research as expressed by social media users and researchers. Methods A systematic review was conducted, wherein 16 databases and 2 Internet search engines were searched in addition to handsearching, reference checking, citation searching, and contacting authors and experts. Studies that conducted any qualitative methods to collect data on attitudes on the ethical implications of research using social media were included. Quality assessment was conducted using the quality of reporting tool (QuaRT) and findings analyzed using inductive thematic synthesis. Results In total, 17 studies met the inclusion criteria. Attitudes varied from overly positive with people expressing the views about the essential nature of such research for the public good, to very concerned with views that social media research should not happen. Underlying reasons for this variation related to issues such as the purpose and quality of the research, the researcher affiliation, and the potential harms. The methods used to conduct the research were also important. Many respondents were positive about social media research while adding caveats such as the need for informed consent or use restricted to public platforms only. Conclusions Many conflicting issues contribute to the complexity of good ethical practice in social media research. However, this should not deter researchers from conducting social media research. Each Internet research project requires an

  17. Social Distance and Community Attitudes Towards People with Psycho-Social Disabilities in Uttarakhand, India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathias, K; Kermode, M; Goicolea, I; Seefeldt, L; Shidhaye, R; San Sebastian, M

    2018-04-01

    Stigma is an important contributor to the large treatment gap for people with mental and psycho-social disabilities (PPSD) in India. Social distance as assessed by willingness to engage in relationships with PPSD is a proxy measure of stigma and potential discrimination. In North India, investigations of community attitudes towards PPSD have been limited. To describe attitudes towards people with depression and psychosis, a community sample of 960 adults in Dehradun district, India from 30 randomised clusters, was surveyed using a validated tool to assess social distance, beliefs and attitudes related to mental illness. Participants preferred greater social distance from a person with psychosis than a person with depression. Beliefs and attitudes around mental illness were diverse reflecting a wide spread of belief frameworks. After controlling for confounding, there was increased social distance among people who believed PPSD were dangerous. Factors that reduced social distance included familiarity with PPSD, and belief that PPSD can recover. Attitudes to PPSD, stigma and social distance are complex and likely to require complex responses that include promoting awareness of mental health and illness, direct contact with PPSD and increasing access to care for PPSD.

  18. Can social marketing approaches change community attitudes towards leprosy?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Wendy

    2006-06-01

    This essay explores how the concept of social marketing can be employed to change attitudes towards leprosy. Firstly, the concept of social marketing is discussed, then the attitudes that people have about leprosy, the stigma that people with leprosy and their families may face, and the detrimental effects that this can have on their lives. The effect of knowledge and education on attitudes towards leprosy is discussed, as this can be a key component of social marketing campaigns. Various methods of social marketing used to change attitudes and reduce stigma are examined, such as mass media campaigns, school based education, methods which involve community leaders, and the integration and improvement of leprosy services. Principles of social marketing which can lead to the success of campaigns such as incorporating local beliefs are emphasized. The success of the social marketing campaign in Sri Lanka is described, which aimed to remove the fear of leprosy, and to encourage patients to seek and comply with treatment. Finally, it is argued that social marketing, used correctly, can be highly effective at changing community attitudes towards leprosy, reducing stigma and improving the lives of patients, who become able to seek treatment sooner as they lose their fear of stigmatization.

  19. Implications of emotion regulation strategies for empathic concern, social attitudes, and helping behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lebowitz, Matthew S; Dovidio, John F

    2015-04-01

    Empathic concern-a sense of caring and compassion in response to the needs of others-is a type of emotional response to the plights and misfortunes of others that predicts positive social attitudes and altruistic interpersonal behaviors. One psychological process that has been posited to facilitate empathic concern is the ability to regulate one's own emotions. However, existing research links some emotion-regulation approaches (e.g., suppression) to social outcomes that would appear at odds with empathic concern, such as decreased interpersonal closeness. In the present research, we tested whether relying on suppression to regulate one's emotions would lead to decreases in empathic concern-and related downstream variables, such as negative social attitudes and unwillingness to engage in altruistic behavior-when learning about another person's misfortune. In Study 1, dispositional and instructionally induced suppression was negatively associated with empathic concern, which led to increased stigmatizing attitudes. By contrast, instructing participants to use another emotion-regulation strategy examined for comparison-reappraisal-did not decrease empathic concern, and dispositional reliance on reappraisal was actually positively associated with empathic concern. In Study 2, the findings of Study 1 regarding the effects of habitual use of reappraisal and suppression were replicated, and reliance on suppression was also found to be associated with reluctance to engage in helping behaviors. These findings are situated within the existing literature and employed to shed new light on the interpersonal consequences of intrapersonal emotion-regulation strategies. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  20. Acceptability of Partner Violence in 51 Societies: The Role of Sexism and Attitudes Toward Violence in Social Relationships.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herrero, Juan; Rodríguez, Francisco J; Torres, Andrea

    2016-04-27

    Sexist attitudes have been claimed to play an important role in acceptability of intimate partner violence (IPV). Empirical evidence suggests that sexist individuals are also more accepting of violence in social relationships than non-sexist individuals. Results from multilevel regression models of data from 72,730 respondents of 51 countries around the world showed that (a) both sexism and acceptability of general violence in social relationships were positively related to acceptability of IPV and (b) the highest levels of acceptability of IPV were found among those sexist individuals who also present positive attitudes toward the use of violence in social relationships. © The Author(s) 2016.

  1. Acceptance and Attitudes Toward a Human-like Socially Assistive Robot by Older Adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Louie, Wing-Yue Geoffrey; McColl, Derek; Nejat, Goldie

    2014-01-01

    Recent studies have shown that cognitive and social interventions are crucial to the overall health of older adults including their psychological, cognitive, and physical well-being. However, due to the rapidly growing elderly population of the world, the resources and people to provide these interventions is lacking. Our work focuses on the use of social robotic technologies to provide person-centered cognitive interventions. In this article, we investigate the acceptance and attitudes of older adults toward the human-like expressive socially assistive robot Brian 2.1 in order to determine if the robot's human-like assistive and social characteristics would promote the use of the robot as a cognitive and social interaction tool to aid with activities of daily living. The results of a robot acceptance questionnaire administered during a robot demonstration session with a group of 46 elderly adults showed that the majority of the individuals had positive attitudes toward the socially assistive robot and its intended applications.

  2. Student Attitudes: A Study of Social Class

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hardy, Clifford A.

    1976-01-01

    Student attitudes toward current controversial problems (bussing for racial integration, legalization of abortion, and legalization of marijuana) were studied with regard to social class. The 1960 revision of the Purdue Master Attitude Scale was used. (LBH)

  3. Authoritarian parenting attitudes and social origin: The multigenerational relationship of socioeconomic position to childrearing values.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Friedson, Michael

    2016-01-01

    Support for authoritarian approaches to parenting, including corporal punishment, is known to be elevated among individuals with low current levels of socioeconomic attainment. The objectives of this study are: (1) to determine whether authoritarian parenting dispositions are related to disadvantages in one's social background, in addition to one's present socioeconomic standing; and (2) to distinguish, in this regard, between support for spanking and other authoritarian parenting dispositions. Ordered logit models, applied to General Social Survey data concerning a nationally representative sample of US adults, are used to examine relationships of authoritarian parenting dispositions to the socioeconomic positions that respondents currently occupy and in which they were raised. It is found that support for spanking (N=10,725) and valuing of obedience (N=10,043) are inversely related to the socioeconomic status (SES) of one's family of origin, and that these associations are robust to controls for one's current SES. A disadvantaged family background is found to increase support for spanking most among those with high current SES. Strong associations (robust to controls for SES indicators) are additionally found between African-American racial identity and support for authoritarian parenting. Prior research indicates that authoritarian parenting practices such as spanking may be harmful to children. Thus, if the parenting attitudes analyzed here translate into parenting practices, then this study's findings may point to a mechanism for the intergenerational transmission of disadvantages. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Attitude Ambivalence, Social Norms, and Behavioral Intentions: Developing Effective Antitobacco Persuasive Communications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hohman, Zachary P.; Crano, William D.; Niedbala, Elizabeth M.

    2018-01-01

    This study assessed the moderating effects of attitude ambivalence on the relationship between social norms, attitudes, and behavioral intentions to use tobacco. It was predicted that people would use social norms to reduce attitude ambivalence, and that reduced ambivalence would lead to changes in attitudes and behavioral intentions. To test this hypothesis, participants (N =152) were exposed to persuasive communications designed to influence attitude ambivalence and perceived social norms regarding tobacco use. Analysis indicated that providing a social norm antagonistic to tobacco use significantly reduced ambivalence among participants reading the ambivalence message (p changes in tobacco attitudes from pre- to postpersuasive communications demonstrated a significant decrease in tobacco attitudes only for participants reading the ambivalence message who were provided with the antitobacco use norm (p changes in attitudes toward tobacco. These results point to the important role of social norms in mediating the effects of attitude ambivalence on subsequent behavior in preventative programs targeting tobacco use. PMID:26460476

  5. Attitude ambivalence, social norms, and behavioral intentions: Developing effective antitobacco persuasive communications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hohman, Zachary P; Crano, William D; Niedbala, Elizabeth M

    2016-03-01

    This study assessed the moderating effects of attitude ambivalence on the relationship between social norms, attitudes, and behavioral intentions to use tobacco. It was predicted that people would use social norms to reduce attitude ambivalence, and that reduced ambivalence would lead to changes in attitudes and behavioral intentions. To test this hypothesis, participants (N = 152) were exposed to persuasive communications designed to influence attitude ambivalence and perceived social norms regarding tobacco use. Analysis indicated that providing a social norm antagonistic to tobacco use significantly reduced ambivalence among participants reading the ambivalence message (p attitudes from pre- to postpersuasive communications demonstrated a significant decrease in tobacco attitudes only for participants reading the ambivalence message who were provided with the antitobacco use norm (p attitudes toward tobacco. These results point to the important role of social norms in mediating the effects of attitude ambivalence on subsequent behavior in preventative programs targeting tobacco use. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  6. Comparative analysis of positive and negative attitudes toward statistics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghulami, Hassan Rahnaward; Ab Hamid, Mohd Rashid; Zakaria, Roslinazairimah

    2015-02-01

    Many statistics lecturers and statistics education researchers are interested to know the perception of their students' attitudes toward statistics during the statistics course. In statistics course, positive attitude toward statistics is a vital because it will be encourage students to get interested in the statistics course and in order to master the core content of the subject matters under study. Although, students who have negative attitudes toward statistics they will feel depressed especially in the given group assignment, at risk for failure, are often highly emotional, and could not move forward. Therefore, this study investigates the students' attitude towards learning statistics. Six latent constructs have been the measurement of students' attitudes toward learning statistic such as affect, cognitive competence, value, difficulty, interest, and effort. The questionnaire was adopted and adapted from the reliable and validate instrument of Survey of Attitudes towards Statistics (SATS). This study is conducted among engineering undergraduate engineering students in the university Malaysia Pahang (UMP). The respondents consist of students who were taking the applied statistics course from different faculties. From the analysis, it is found that the questionnaire is acceptable and the relationships among the constructs has been proposed and investigated. In this case, students show full effort to master the statistics course, feel statistics course enjoyable, have confidence that they have intellectual capacity, and they have more positive attitudes then negative attitudes towards statistics learning. In conclusion in terms of affect, cognitive competence, value, interest and effort construct the positive attitude towards statistics was mostly exhibited. While negative attitudes mostly exhibited by difficulty construct.

  7. Attitudes Toward the Ethics of Research Using Social Media: A Systematic Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Golder, Su; Ahmed, Shahd; Norman, Gill; Booth, Andrew

    2017-06-06

    Although primarily used for social networking and often used for social support and dissemination, data on social media platforms are increasingly being used to facilitate research. However, the ethical challenges in conducting social media research remain of great concern. Although much debated in the literature, it is the views of the public that are most pertinent to inform future practice. The aim of our study was to ascertain attitudes on the ethical considerations of using social media as a data source for research as expressed by social media users and researchers. A systematic review was conducted, wherein 16 databases and 2 Internet search engines were searched in addition to handsearching, reference checking, citation searching, and contacting authors and experts. Studies that conducted any qualitative methods to collect data on attitudes on the ethical implications of research using social media were included. Quality assessment was conducted using the quality of reporting tool (QuaRT) and findings analyzed using inductive thematic synthesis. In total, 17 studies met the inclusion criteria. Attitudes varied from overly positive with people expressing the views about the essential nature of such research for the public good, to very concerned with views that social media research should not happen. Underlying reasons for this variation related to issues such as the purpose and quality of the research, the researcher affiliation, and the potential harms. The methods used to conduct the research were also important. Many respondents were positive about social media research while adding caveats such as the need for informed consent or use restricted to public platforms only. Many conflicting issues contribute to the complexity of good ethical practice in social media research. However, this should not deter researchers from conducting social media research. Each Internet research project requires an individual assessment of its own ethical issues

  8. MEDIATOR EFFECTS OF POSITIVE EMOTIONS ON SOCIAL SUPPORT AND DEPRESSION AMONG ADOLESCENTS SUFFERING FROM MOBILE PHONE ADDICTION

    OpenAIRE

    Li, Menglong; Jiang, Xia; Ren, Yujia

    2017-01-01

    Background: Depression is a common mental disorder that is widely seen among adolescents suffering from mobile phone addiction. While it is well known that both positive emtions in adolescents wiotions and social support can have a positive impact by helping individuals to maintain a positive attitude, the correlation between positive emotions, social support, and depression among these adolescents remains to be investigated. This study examined the mediator effects of positive emoti...

  9. Patterns of healthy lifestyle and positive health attitudes in older Europeans

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kozlowska, Katarzyna; Szczecinka, A.; Roszkowski, Wojciech

    2008-01-01

    ) the association between healthy lifestyle behaviors and positive attitudes to health. Design: two distinct healthy behavioral measures were developed: (i) healthy lifestyles based on physical activity, no cigarette smoking, no/moderate alcohol drinking, maintaining a "healthy" weight and having no sleeping......Objectives: To determine (i) the extent to which recommended lifestyle healthy behaviors are adopted and the existence of positive attitudes to health; (ii) the relative influence of socio-demographic variables on multiple healthy lifestyle behaviors and positive attitudes to health; (iii...... problems and (ii) positive health attitudes based on having positive emotional attitudes, such as: self-perceived good health status, being calm, peaceful and happy for most of the time, not expecting health to get worse and regular health check-ups. A composite healthy lifestyle index, ranging from 0...

  10. [Who's afraid of retirement? Social factors influencing the attitude toward retirement].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gadourek, I; van Gelder, B A

    1985-10-01

    The four dimensions of the attitudes towards retirement (see Bela A. van Gelder in this journal) of 553 male older employees from the northern Netherlands were analyzed in relation to over 250 predictor-variables by means of stepwise regressions and other techniques of multivariate analysis. A simple recursive model of Palmore, George and Fillenbaum served as a theoretical guideline. It was tested by means of a path-analysis as applied to 20 variables (see figure I). Many of over 100 hypotheses derived from the model and from the literature pertaining to the matter were upheld by the findings: Single persons, widowers, or persons not happily married, appeared more afraid of retirement. If married, the spouse's judgment (as perceived by the interviewee) was another factor of importance. Age also affected the attitude: the closer one approaches retirement, the less positive the attitude (though age showed little variation in our sample). Social status affected the attitude indirectly: manual workers performing physically exacting (dirty, irregular, etc.) jobs, who have been working for the same firm (or: service) over a long period of time, who started earning money early in life--these were positive in their attitude towards retirement (needless to say that all these findings concern the attribute of lower status jobs). Finally, the pattern of and the attitude towards leisure played a decisive role: employees with strong work-involvement, with less intensive and rich leisure time, with intensive ties with people from their work-scene--these showed more negative attitudes towards retirement than their counterparts.

  11. Relationship of social support and decisional conflict to advance directives attitude in Korean older adults: A community-based cross-sectional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, JuHee; Jung, Dukyoo; Choi, MoonKi

    2016-01-01

    The aim of this study was to clarify the relationship between social support, decisional conflict, and attitude towards advance directives, and determine whether decisional conflict mediates the relation between social support and advance directives attitude among older adults in South Korea. In total, 209 community-based older adults (mean age, 74.82 years) participated in this cross-sectional study. Demographic characteristics, self-perceived health status, social support, decisional conflict, and advance directives attitude were investigated via a structured questionnaire. Data analysis was carried out using Pearson's correlation and path analyses. The mean score of advance directives attitude was 48.01 (range, 35-61). Decisional conflict and social support were both significantly related to advance directives attitude (P conflict was a mediator between social support and advance directives attitudes. The results confirmed the importance of social support for reducing decisional conflict and encouraging positive attitudes toward advance directives. Future studies are needed to support the development of culturally sensitive educational approaches regarding advance directives for older adults in Korea. © 2015 The Authors. Japan Journal of Nursing Science © 2015 Japan Academy of Nursing Science.

  12. A comparison of attitudes toward lesbians and gay men among students of helping professions in Crete, Greece: the cases of social work, psychology, medicine, and nursing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Papadaki, Vasileia; Plotnikof, Kyriaki; Gioumidou, Meropi; Zisimou, Vasiliki; Papadaki, Eleni

    2015-01-01

    This study investigated the attitudes toward lesbians and gay men among social work, psychology, medical, and nursing students in Crete, Greece, using Herek's ATLG scale. No respondents held completely heterosexist attitudes; only 1.6% held completely non-heterosexist attitudes. The 44.96 total ATLG score indicates a slightly positive attitude toward lesbians and gay men. Psychology students scored higher than all others on positive attitudes, followed by social work students, medical students, and nursing students. Gender, having lesbian or gay acquaintances or friends, and religiosity were significant factors influencing students' attitudes, while no impact on attitudes due to the effects of higher education could be discerned. Implications for curriculum design and teaching methods are discussed.

  13. Young adult social smokers: their co-use of tobacco and alcohol, tobacco-related attitudes, and quitting efforts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Nan; Lee, Youn O; Ling, Pamela M

    2014-12-01

    Young adults frequently report social smoking. This study examined the relationship between different social smoking definitions and the co-use of cigarettes and alcohol, tobacco-related attitudes, and quitting efforts. Cross-sectional data were collected at bars using randomized time location sampling among young adults aged 21-26 in San Diego, California from 2010 to 2011 (73% response rate). Multivariable logistic regression examined if current smoking and quit attempts were associated with tobacco-related attitudes, and whether social smoking self-identification or behavior was associated with cigarette-and-alcohol co-use, tobacco-related attitudes, quit attempts, or quitline use. Among 537 current smokers, 80% self-identified and 49% behaved as social smokers. Social smoking self-identification was positively associated with cigarette-and-alcohol co-use, and quit attempts. Social smoking behavior was negatively associated with tobacco marketing receptivity, quit attempts, and quitline use. Tobacco-related attitudes were associated with smoking but did not generally differ by social smoking status. Identification and behavior as a social smoker have opposing associations with co-use of cigarettes and alcohol and quit attempts. Tobacco cessation programs for self-identified social smokers should address co-use. Interventions denormalizing the tobacco industry or emphasizing the health effects of temporary smoking and secondhand smoke may address smoking among young adult bar patrons regardless of social smoking status. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Perceived social norms, expectations, and attitudes toward corporal punishment among an urban community sample of parents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, Catherine A; Hamvas, Lauren; Rice, Janet; Newman, Denise L; DeJong, William

    2011-04-01

    Despite the fact that corporal punishment (CP) is a significant risk factor for increased aggression in children, child physical abuse victimization, and other poor outcomes, approval of CP remains high in the United States. Having a positive attitude toward CP use is a strong and malleable predictor of CP use and, therefore, is an important potential target for reducing use of CP. The Theory of Planned Behavior suggests that parents' perceived injunctive and descriptive social norms and expectations regarding CP use might be linked with CP attitudes and behavior. A random-digit-dial telephone survey of parents from an urban community sample (n = 500) was conducted. Perceived social norms were the strongest predictors of having positive attitudes toward CP, as follows: (1) perceived approval of CP by professionals (β = 0.30), (2) perceived descriptive norms of CP use (β = 0.22), and (3) perceived approval of CP by family and friends (β = 0.19); also, both positive (β = 0.13) and negative (β = -0.13) expected outcomes for CP use were strong predictors of these attitudes. Targeted efforts are needed to both assess and shift the attitudes and practices of professionals who influence parents regarding CP use; universal efforts, such as public education campaigns, are needed to educate parents and the general public about the high risk/benefit ratio for using CP and the effectiveness of non-physical forms of child discipline.

  15. Social Inclusion of Children With Down Syndrome: Jewish and Muslim Mothers' Knowledge, Attitudes, Beliefs, and Behavioral Intentions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barnoy, Sivia; Biton, Anna; Itzhaki, Michal

    The current study examined mothers' knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, and intention to socially integrate children with Down syndrome (DS) in the family, with children without disabilities and school system. A questionnaire based on a descriptive, cross-sectional design was administered to Jewish and Muslim mothers. The questionnaire included demographics, knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, and intention to integrate children with DS. Analysis included a regression test of intention to integrate children with DS and a one-way ANOVA for differences between Jewish and Muslim mothers. Nearly all the Jewish mothers (93.7%) and about half the Muslim mothers (52.8%) had performed screening tests for DS during their pregnancy. All mothers displayed low knowledge level about DS. Being Jewish (t=2.89; p=0.005) and holding more positive beliefs (t=3.39; p=0.001) were associated with a higher intention to socially integrate children with DS. Significant positive correlations were found between beliefs and attitudes (r=0.65; psocially integrate children with DS (r=0.39; psocial inclusion of children with DS are quite positive and the intention to integrate children with DS in the family, with children without disabilities, and in the mainstream school system is high. However, their level of knowledge about DS is low. Nurses, as a critical source of information about DS, should develop an ethno-cultural sensitivity to diverse populations in order to influence attitudes and beliefs regarding the social integration of children with DS. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. The Refugees: Threatening or Beneficial? Exploring the Effects of Positive and Negative Attitudes and Communication on Hostile Media Perceptions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dorothee Arlt

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available In the actual debate on refugees in Germany the media’s role was heavily disputed. To understand this controversy, this study examines hostile media perceptions from the audience perspective. Building up on previous research on the hostile media phenomenon and considering literature on pro- and anti-immigrant attitudes, this study explores the effect of positive and negative attitudes towards refugees as well as of mainstream media, social media and interpersonal communication on hostile media perceptions. Using survey data (N=1005 and applying structural equation modelling, several hypotheses on the effects of attitudes and communication variables were tested. The results demonstrate that perceptions of media bias are strongly influenced by people’s negative and positive attitudes towards refugees and the basic hostile media hypothesis was confirmed. Moreover, our findings reveal that the perceived intensity of media coverage on contested aspects of the refugee issue also has an effect on perceptions of hostility. However, the various communication variables did not prove to have direct effects, whereas mainstream media use, social media use, and interpersonal communication with refugees had indirect effects on the hostile media perception.

  17. Social support plays a role in the attitude that people have towards taking an active role in medical decision-making.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brabers, Anne E M; de Jong, Judith D; Groenewegen, Peter P; van Dijk, Liset

    2016-09-21

    There is a growing emphasis towards including patients in medical decision-making. However, not all patients are actively involved in such decisions. Research has so far focused mainly on the influence of patient characteristics on preferences for active involvement. However, it can be argued that a patient's social context has to be taken into account as well, because social norms and resources affect behaviour. This study aims to examine the role of social resources, in the form of the availability of informational and emotional support, on the attitude towards taking an active role in medical decision-making. A questionnaire was sent to members of the Dutch Health Care Consumer Panel (response 70 %; n = 1300) in June 2013. A regression model was then used to estimate the relation between medical and lay informational support and emotional support and the attitude towards taking an active role in medical decision-making. Availability of emotional support is positively related to the attitude towards taking an active role in medical decision-making only in people with a low level of education, not in persons with a middle and high level of education. The latter have a more positive attitude towards taking an active role in medical decision-making, irrespective of the level of emotional support available. People with better access to medical informational support have a more positive attitude towards taking an active role in medical decision-making; but no significant association was found for lay informational support. This study shows that social resources are associated with the attitude towards taking an active role in medical decision-making. Strategies aimed at increasing patient involvement have to address this.

  18. Political campaigning 2.0: The influence of online news and social networking sites on attitudes and behavior

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Montathar Faraon

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed to examine differences in influence between online news (e.g., New York Times and social networking sites (e.g., Facebook and Twitter on attitudes in political campaigns. In a web-based experiment, campaign, polls and election between two fictitious candidates were simulated. Participants’ explicit and implicit attitudes as well as voting behavior were assessed using self-report items and the Implicit Association Test (IAT. The results reveal that information emanating from online news had a significant influence on explicit and implicit attitudes while that of social networking sites did not. Overall, negative items had a stronger impact than positive ones, more so in online news compared to social networking sites. Negative information from either type of media was more likely to change participants’ explicit attitudes in a negative direction and as a consequence also change their vote. Practical implications of the findings and limitations of the study are discussed.

  19. Social Predictors Influencing the Attitudes of Top Executives towards Retirement: a Cross-cultural Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lucia Helena de Freitas Pinho França

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available This study examines the influence of social predictors on the attitudes towards retirement in 517 Brazilian and New Zealand top executives. The social predictors were represented by four measures: the job perception scale (JPS, the diversity of time allocation of activities and relationships index (SOD, the influence of family and friends on retirement decision (FFIRD; and the perception of quality of life in the country (PCQL. The influence of these predictors were analysed by multiple regression on other two scales: the executive’s perception of gains in retirement (EPGR and the executive’s perception of losses in retirement (EPLR. The results point out that the importance of gains is increased by the influence of family and friends on retirement decision, for both nationalities. This is also increased by the diversity of time allocation for activities and relationships, but only for Brazilians. Brazilian executives who perceive their jobs positively have more positive attitudes towards relationships, leisure, hobbies and cultural activities in retirement. The perception of the quality of life in the country does not influence retirement attitudes, but represents the main significant difference between Brazilians and New Zealanders.

  20. Women's Race-and Sex-Based Social Attitudes: An Individual Differences Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter K. Jonason

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available How do individual differences in personality and sexuality relate to social attitudes? We contend that personality traits and sexual orientation are descriptions of underlying biases (e.g., perceptual that exert top-down influences into all of life's domains including social attitudes. The present study (N=200 women examined individual differences in sex-based and race-based social attitudes as a function of the Big Five traits, the Dark Triad traits, and sexual orientation. We found that affiliative-based motivations in the form of agreeableness, openness, and narcissism predicted the desire and tendency to affiliate with other women. We also found fear-based (i.e., neuroticism and entitlement-based (i.e., narcissism traits were associated with efforts towards political action for gender equality. We found a "go-along" disposition (i.e., agreeableness and openness was associated with greater endorsement of traditional gender roles. We replicated associations between the Big Five traits (i.e., openness and agreeableness and race-based social attitudes. Uniquely, Machiavellianism was associated with more race-based social attitudes but with diminished endorsement of traditional gender roles. And last, we suggest that experienced discrimination among bisexual women may lead them to be less likely to hold both undesirable race-based and sex-based social attitudes.

  1. Assessing Regional Attitudes about Entrepreneurship

    OpenAIRE

    Loveridge, Scott; Miller, Steven R.; Komarek, Timothy M.; Satimanon, Thasanee

    2012-01-01

    Much of the current discussion on factors that influence entrepreneurial activity focuses on availability of human, social, and financial capitals, regional economic conditions, and dynamics of population. We discuss social attitudes toward entrepreneurship and how attitudes may influence entrepreneurial activity. We analyze telephone survey questions designed to gauge attitudes towards community entrepreneurship. High school entrepreneurship career exploration and positive spin-offs from loc...

  2. Changing Attitudes Through Social Influence: Does Social Distance Matter?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahaffey, Amanda L; Bryan, Angela D

    2016-01-01

    To test the effects of social influence and social distance on attitudes, we assessed judgments of gay and lesbian targets in various contexts over three studies (n = 814, 51% female). We compared the impact of a derogatory message to a relatively favorable message ostensibly written by another participant. Participants were robustly moved by the feedback; social influence was a significant predictor in final evaluations of the target, as was social distance. Discrimination against gay men and lesbian women appears not to be a fixed behavior; seemingly anyone can be persuaded to discriminate or not to discriminate by mere peer suggestion.

  3. Social attitudes towards floods in Poland - spatial differentiation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biernacki, W.; Działek, J.; Bokwa, A.

    2012-04-01

    Our paper discusses results of research conducted in Southern Poland focusing on social attitudes towards floods - natural hazards frequently observed in Poland. Lately (e.g. 1997, 2001, 2010) several hundred thousand of people suffered from floods occurring in all examined communities. Presented analyses are based on questionnaire survey in which several criteria were used to select places for studies: objective degree of risk, prior experience of extreme events, size of community, strength of social bonds, social capital and quality of life. Nearly 2000 responses (from 9 communities) were gathered from the survey. Our main research questions were following: - are there differences between attitudes in those communities depending on how frequently they have experienced floods? - does settlement size have an impact on social attitudes towards floods, especially on mitigation behaviour? - are urban inhabitants less adapted to floods be upheld and do rural communities show more activity in the face of natural disasters? - what do information and education policies concerning floods look like? Three dimensions of social attitudes towards natural hazards were analyzed: cognitive (knowledge and awareness of local hazards), emotional (feelings towards hazards, like concern and anxiety); and instrumental (actions taken in response to a potential natural disaster). A combination of these three dimensions produces various types of perception and behaviour towards the perceived hazard (Raaijmakers et al., 2008): ignorance when the local population is unaware of a threat and therefore develops no concern and takes no preventive actions; safety when the local population is aware of a threat, but regards its level as either low or acceptable and is therefore not concerned with the threat and makes no preparations for a disaster; risk reduction when a high level of awareness and concern produces the mechanism of reducing the cognitive dissonance and denial of a disaster threat

  4. YOUNGER PUPILS ATTITUDE TO MONEY AS A FACTOR OF THEIR SPIRITUAL AND ECONOMIC SOCIALIZATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olena Varetska

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available In the article the urgency of attitude of primary school children to money as a factor of spiritual and economic socialization is grounded, the analysis of scientific sources, which should be initiated is given and definitions of the issues of some interpretations of the concepts of “socialization”, “economic socialization” are developed, some synonymy meaning of “socialization” and “social competence”, “economic education” and “economic socialization” that reasonably change emphasis on business formation and entrepreneurship initiative are found, goals; objectives and factors, meaning of spiritual and economic socialization are determined. Attention is paid to the factor of money. To investigate the opportunities of elective courses in Economics “Starts of Economy” in the educational progress of the attitude to money, condition of the described problem and its individual aspects, systematization of data, the analysis and synthesis, comparison, generalization of scientific and technical literature, government documents, concepts, periodicals, educational publications, reference books are applied; terminological analysis is used in order to improve conceptual and terminological framework specifying on the nature and definition of concepts; system-activity approach to determine the activity of components forming the spiritual and economic needs of socialization to the result. Detailed description of elective courses in Economics “Starts of Economy”, description of its influence on young learners’ attitude to money, experimental results confirm the significant changes that have taken place in the minds of young learners, led transformation of spiritually enriched economic knowledge in a conscious moral values, attitudes, their quality and socially significant economic actions. Using the developed theoretical positions, methodological support, the original author’s methodology findings will facilitate the

  5. Effects of Pre-Purchase Search Motivation on User Attitudes toward Online Social Network Advertising: A Case of University Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Imran A Mir

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Since last few years, social media have profoundly changed the ways of social and business communication. Particularly, social network sites (SNSs have rapidly grown in popularity and number of users globally. They have become the main place for social interaction, discussion and communication. Today, businesses of various types use SNSs for commercial communication. Banner advertising is one of the common methods of commercial communication on SNSs. Advertising is a key source of revenue for many SNSs firms such as Facebook. In fact, the existence of many SNSs owners and advertisers is contingent upon the success of social network advertising (SNA. Users demand free SNS services which makes SNA crucial for SNSs firms. SNA can be effective only if it is aligned with user motivations. Marketing literature identifies pre-purchase search as a primary consumer motivation for using media. The current study aims to identify the effects of pre-purchase search motivation (PSM on user attitudes toward SNA. It also assesses the association between the attitudes toward SNA and users’ banner ad-clicking behavior on SNSs. Data was gathered from 200 university students in Islamabad using offline survey. Results show positive effects of PSM on user attitudes toward SNA. They also show positive association between user attitudes toward SNA and their SNS banner ad-clicking behavior. The firms which promote their products through SNSs to the young South Asian consumers may benefit from the findings of the current study.

  6. Undergraduate student nurses' attitudes towards using social media websites: A study from Jordan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Shdayfat, Noha M

    2018-07-01

    The use of social media by university students is recognized worldwide. Student nurses are no exception, yet no studies have been reported to investigate the nurse students' use and views of social media in Jordan. The current study aims to assess the validity and reliability of an Arabic version of the modified Students Nurses' Use and Views of Social Media survey. In a cross-sectional study conducted on 395 student nurses aged 19-39 enrolled at two universities (one public and one private) in north Jordan, information on their use and attitude to social media was obtained using the Arabic version of the Students Nurses' Use and Views of Social Media survey. Exploratory factor analysis and correlation matrices were conducted to assess the validity and reliability of the tool. The Arabic version of the tool had a 0.84 alpha of internal consistency indicating a high level of reliability. The scale showed multi-dimensionality with items loading on two factors. The Arabic version of the Students Nurses' Use and Views of Social Media questionnaire demonstrated initial reliability and validity. This study reports positive attitudes of Jordanian student nurses towards professional and academic use of social media. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Positive Attitude Toward Math Supports Early Academic Success: Behavioral Evidence and Neurocognitive Mechanisms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Lang; Bae, Se Ri; Battista, Christian; Qin, Shaozheng; Chen, Tianwen; Evans, Tanya M; Menon, Vinod

    2018-03-01

    Positive attitude is thought to impact academic achievement and learning in children, but little is known about its underlying neurocognitive mechanisms. Using a large behavioral sample of 240 children, we found that positive attitude toward math uniquely predicted math achievement, even after we accounted for multiple other cognitive-affective factors. We then investigated the neural mechanisms underlying the link between positive attitude and academic achievement in two independent cohorts of children (discovery cohort: n = 47; replication cohort: n = 28) and tested competing hypotheses regarding the differential roles of affective-motivational and learning-memory systems. In both cohorts, we found that positive attitude was associated with increased engagement of the hippocampal learning-memory system. Structural equation modeling further revealed that, in both cohorts, increased hippocampal activity and more frequent use of efficient memory-based strategies mediated the relation between positive attitude and higher math achievement. Our study is the first to elucidate the neurocognitive mechanisms by which positive attitude influences learning and academic achievement.

  8. Social Desirability, Environmental Attitudes, and General Ecological Behaviour in Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oerke, Britta; Bogner, Franz X.

    2013-01-01

    Socially desirable responses have been widely discussed as potentially biasing self-reported measures of environmental attitude and behaviour assessment. The direct and moderating effect of social desirability on children has not been analysed before. By applying a Lie scale together with a two-factor environmental attitude set measure and a scale…

  9. Relationship between the Preschool Children's Attitudes towards the Environment and Their Social Status

    Science.gov (United States)

    Körükçü, Özlem; Gülay Ogelman, Hülya

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between the social position of preschool children and their attitude towards the environment. The sample group of the survey comprised 106 children from five-to-six years age group, attending nursery classes of primary schools affiliated to Ministry of National Education, in Denizli city centre.…

  10. The socialization of dominance: peer group contextual effects on homophobic and dominance attitudes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poteat, V Paul; Espelage, Dorothy L; Green, Harold D

    2007-06-01

    Using the framework of social dominance theory, the current investigation tested for the contextual effects of adolescent peer groups on individuals' homophobic and social dominance attitudes. Results from multilevel models indicated that significant differences existed across peer groups on homophobic attitudes. In addition, these differences were accounted for on the basis of the hierarchy-enhancing or -attenuating climate of the group. A group socialization effect on individuals' social dominance attitudes over time was also observed. Furthermore, the social climate of the peer group moderated the stability of individuals' social dominance attitudes. Findings support the need to examine more proximal and informal group affiliations and earlier developmental periods in efforts to build more comprehensive theoretical models explaining when and how prejudiced and dominance attitudes are formed and the way in which they are perpetuated. (c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved.

  11. Parental attitudes and social competence in adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drózdz, E; Pokorski, M

    2007-11-01

    The aim of the study was to evaluate the relationships among perceived parental attitudes and domains of social competence in late adolescents. Forty boys and 40 girls, all aged 18, representing a population sample of high school second graders were examined. Self-report data were collected using questionnaires of parent-child relations and of social competence. Analyses detected a significant association between the maternal loving or protective attitude and competence in interpersonal relations in the combined sample of adolescents. However, gender was a moderator of this general relationship. Maternal control fostered their sons' interpersonal relations, and no such relationship was observed toward daughters. Adolescents' behavior was somehow less influenced by fatherly control. The findings are in line with the concept of familism as a dominant form of family organization, but implicate constraints in parental sentiments whose overly expression may backfire and do more harm than good in other domains of social competence of adolescents, such as assertiveness and performance during social exposure. The study may contribute to future research on how parenting style shapes adolescent social outcomes.

  12. Social Class and Language Attitudes in Hong Kong

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lai, Mee Ling

    2010-01-01

    This article examines the relation between social class and language attitudes through a triangulated study that analyses the attitudes of 836 secondary school students from different socioeconomic backgrounds toward the 3 official spoken languages used in postcolonial Hong Kong (HK; i.e., Cantonese, English, and Putonghua). The respondents were…

  13. Neuroscientists' classroom visits positively impact student attitudes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janet L Fitzakerley

    Full Text Available The primary recommendation of the 2010 President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology report on K-12 education was to inspire more students so that they are motivated to study science. Scientists' visits to classrooms are intended to inspire learners and increase their interest in science, but verifications of this impact are largely qualitative. Our primary goal was to evaluate the impact of a longstanding Brain Awareness classroom visit program focused on increasing learners understanding of their own brains. Educational psychologists have established that neuroscience training sessions can improve academic performance and shift attitudes of students from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. Our secondary goal was to determine whether short interactive Brain Awareness scientist-in-the-classroom sessions could similarly alter learners' perceptions of their own potential to learn. Teacher and student surveys were administered in 4(th-6(th grade classrooms throughout Minnesota either before or after one-hour Brain Awareness sessions that engaged students in activities related to brain function. Teachers rated the Brain Awareness program as very valuable and said that the visits stimulated students' interest in the brain and in science. Student surveys probed general attitudes towards science and their knowledge of neuroscience concepts (particularly the ability of the brain to change. Significant favorable improvements were found on 10 of 18 survey statements. Factor analyses of 4805 responses demonstrated that Brain Awareness presentations increased positive attitudes toward science and improved agreement with statements related to growth mindset. Overall effect sizes were small, consistent with the short length of the presentations. Thus, the impact of Brain Awareness presentations was positive and proportional to the efforts expended, demonstrating that short, scientist-in-the-classroom visits can make a positive contribution to

  14. School performance and personal attitudes and social responsibility in preadolescent students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miguel A. Carbonero

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available This study focuses on the analysis of the differences observed between students with different levels of academic performance in their social attitudes and personal responsibility towards study, according to various theories and models. Participants were 235 students from the third cycle of Primary Education (10-12 years old. They completed two attitude rating scales: (a Assessment Scale of Social Responsibility Attitudes of Primary School Pupils (EARSA-P, Monsalvo, 2012b, consisting of 23 items grouped into six factors (obedience in the family, polite and accepting their mistakes, trust in their parents, responsible in school setting, friendly and willing to help and careful of their environment; and (b Assessment Scale of General Attitudes towards Study E-1 (Morales, 2006, which consists of 15 items grouped into five dimensions (high aspirations, enjoyment of study, study organization, efforts to understand and desire to continue learning. We compared the levels of social responsibility and attitudes toward study according to the level of academic achievement, finding significant group differences in attitudes toward study and responsibility in terms of academic achievement.

  15. Predictors of Attitudes toward Childlessness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spreadbury, Connie

    The study assessed young adults' attitudes toward childlessness and identified certain factors which predict positive or negative attitudes toward childlessness. The author anticipated finding changes in attitudes because of recent social developments such as awareness of world overpopulation, availability of birth control methods, pressure for…

  16. THE IMPACT OF USING SOCIAL MEDIA ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AND ATTITUDES OF PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Murat Tezer

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The current study was conducted to investigate the impact of using social media and internet on the academic achievement of prospective teachers. Focus group of the research could be expressed as 204 prospective teachers that were studying in 2016-2017 fall semesters. To collect data, Attitudes Towards to Social Media Scale was employed. Result of the study revealed that, prospective teachers’ attitudes towards to social media had an influence on academic achievement. Furthermore, it could be stressed that prospective teachers with lower attitudes towards to social media were more likely to have lower academic success when compared with the prospective teachers with higher attitudes towards to social media. In addition to these, results of the current study also expressed that prospective teachers with social media accounts were achieved better grades when compared with the prospective teachers who did not have any social media account. Lastly, it could be indicated that prospective teachers’ attitudes towards to social media was at a moderate level.

  17. Examination of the Attitudes of Middle School Students towards Social Media

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bulu, Sanser; Numanoglu, Mustafa; Keser, Hafize

    2016-01-01

    This study aims to identify middle school students` general attitudes towards social media. Participants of this descriptive study were middle school students from three public schools (n = 367) in Ankara. Data was collected using "Demographic Information Form" and "Social Media Attitudes Survey for Students" developed by…

  18. Social attitudes and radioactive waste management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, T.

    1989-01-01

    There is widespread public concern over nuclear power and radioactive waste. Although the opposition is probably still in the minority, the proportion is sufficient to put the future of the nuclear industry in jeopardy in those countries where there is a choice. It is suggested that, if risk perceptions are to be changed, the whole attitude towards this hazardous technology must be carefully dissected and analyzed. Scientifically designed methods of attitude change can then be implemented. In particular, the social and cultural context that sustains the attitude has to be addressed through its constituent beliefs about employment prospects, safety, economic and political benefits etc. Factual knowledge, on the other hand, is largely irrelevant to attitude orientation. If anything, the antis have substantially more factual knowledge than the pros. The emotional component of the attitude is a crude, fast acting system that often controls the cognitive input and its organization. If attitude change is to succeed, a massive communication/education campaign is required over several years. But it would need to be based on the most relevant messages, originating from highly credible sources, purveyed through the most appropriate media and targeted to the moderate pros and antis and to the uncommitted

  19. Social Workers' Attitudes toward Older Adults: A Review of the Literature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Donna; Chonody, Jill

    2013-01-01

    Ageist attitudes toward older adults have been recognized as barriers to recruiting and training competent social workers. This article provides a systematic review of the literature that focused on social workers' and social work students' attitudes toward older adults and working with older adults. The authors sought empirical studies…

  20. Applying a social identity paradigm to examine the relationship between men's self-esteem and their attitudes toward men and women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maltby, John; Day, Liza

    2003-02-01

    The authors used a psychometrically robust measure of attitudes toward men in applying a social identity framework to obtain a better understanding of the previous finding of a significant positive relationship, among men, between self-esteem and attitudes toward men. Two studies of that issue are reported. Northern Irish university students (N = 106 men) participated in the 1st study, and 56 English university students participated in a replication. In both studies, participants completed measures of attitudes toward men and women before and after an experimental intervention that was designed to produce a threat to self-esteem regarding their identity as men. The findings suggested that, following such a threat, men with a high positive regard toward men will have enhanced self-regard toward men and will tend to view women more negatively. The present findings also suggested that the application of social identity theory and the method used in the present research in investigating that theory are very relevant to the understanding of the relationship between men's self-esteem and their attitudes toward men and women.

  1. Eating attitudes, self-esteem and social physique anxiety among Iranian females who participate in fitness programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gargari, B P; Khadem-Haghighian, M; Taklifi, E; Hamed-Behzad, M; Shahraki, M

    2010-03-01

    Today, women's participation in sports has substantially increased. This growth has been accompanied by concerns about health risks, as eating disorders, and psychological features, as self-esteem (SE) and social physique anxiety (SPA). The purpose of this study was to determine disordered eating attitudes and their relation to SE, SPA, as well as body weight, and body mass index (BMI), in Iranian females who participate in fitness programs. Subjects were 250 females, aged 14-51 years, who participated in fitness programs. Eating attitude test-26 (EAT-26), Rosenberg's self esteem scale (RSES), and social physique anxiety scale (SPAS), were used. Body weight and height were measured, and then Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated. According to BMI cut-offs, 36% of subjects were overweight or obese. 28.4% and 19.6% of subjects were disordered eating attitudes (EAT-26>or=20) and low self-esteem (RSES<15), respectively. Disordered eating attitude subjects had lower SE and higher SPA, body weight and BMI than normal subjects (P<0.05). The low SE group had higher SPAS than normal one (P<0.02). In bivariate analysis, EAT-26 score was correlated negatively with RSES (r=-0.13, P<0.04) and positively with body weight, BMI, and SPAS (r=0.40, 0.42, and 0.47, respectively, P<0.001). SPAS had positive correlation with body weight and BMI (r=0.22, 0.19, It can be concluded that disordered eating attitudes are prevalent among Iranian females who participate in fitness programs. In this group, high SPA, body weight and BMI, and low SE accompany disordered eating attitudes.

  2. Death attitudes and positive coping in Spanish nursing undergraduates: a cross-sectional and correlational study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edo-Gual, Montserrat; Monforte-Royo, Cristina; Aradilla-Herrero, Amor; Tomás-Sábado, Joaquín

    2015-09-01

    To analyse the relationship between death attitudes, emotional intelligence, resilience and self-esteem in a sample of nursing undergraduates. The death attitudes held by nursing students may influence the care they offer to end-of-life patients and their families. Emotional intelligence, resilience and self-esteem are important social and emotional competencies for coping positively with death and dying. Cross-sectional and correlational study. Participants were 760 nursing undergraduates from four nursing schools in Spain. Data were collected in 2013-2014. The students responded anonymously to a self-report questionnaire that gathered socio-demographic data and which assessed the following aspects: fear of death (Collett-Lester Fear of Death Scale), death anxiety (Death Anxiety Inventory-Revised), perceived emotional intelligence (Trait Meta-Mood Scale, with its three dimensions: attention, clarity and repair), resilience (Brief Resilient Coping Scale) and self-esteem (Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale). In addition to descriptive statistics, analyses of variance, mean differences, correlations and regression analyses were computed. Linear regression analysis indicated that attention to feelings, resilience and self-esteem are the significant predictors of death anxiety. The results show that death anxiety and fear of death are modulated by social and emotional competencies associated with positive coping. The training offered to future nurses should include not only scientific knowledge and technical skills but also strategies for developing social and emotional competencies. In this way, they will be better equipped to cope positively and constructively with the suffering and death they encounter at work, thus helping them to offer compassionate patient-centred care and minimising the distress they experience in the process. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  3. Professionals' positive perceptions of fathers are associated with more favourable attitudes towards including them in family interventions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Montigny, Francine; Gervais, Christine; Meunier, Sophie; Dubeau, Diane

    2017-12-01

    This Université du Québec en Outaouais study examined professionals' attitudes towards fathers, their perceived self-efficacy when working with them and their perceptions of the importance of including fathers in family interventions. Professionals in Québec, Canada, working in childcare fields such as education, social services, health, community services and management answered a self-report questionnaire between 2013 and 2015. The 296 respondents (90% females) had a mean age of 39 (20-65), were from urban, semi-urban and rural settings and provided services to families with children up to five years of age. Social service professionals perceived fathers more negatively than did other professionals. Even though male professionals perceived fathers more negatively, they felt more confident working with them than did their female counterparts. Positive perceptions of fathers were associated with more favourable attitudes towards including them in family interventions, and this association was mediated by the professionals' perceptions of their own self-efficacy. The most negative attitudes were reported by social service professionals. Male professionals viewed fathers more negatively but were more confident working with them than were female colleagues. Improving professionals' perceptions of fathers could help to promote their inclusion in family interventions. ©2017 Foundation Acta Paediatrica. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  4. Energy Project Professional Development: Promoting Positive Attitudes about Science among K-12 Teachers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robertson, Amy D.; Daane, Abigail R.

    2017-01-01

    Promoting positive attitudes about science among teachers has important implications for teachers' classroom practice and for their relationship to science as a discipline. In this paper, we report positive shifts in teachers' attitudes about science, as measured by the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science (CLASS) survey, over the course of…

  5. Positive-Themed Suicide Prevention Messages Delivered by Adolescent Peer Leaders: Proximal Impact on Classmates' Coping Attitudes and Perceptions of Adult Support.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petrova, Mariya; Wyman, Peter A; Schmeelk-Cone, Karen; Pisani, Anthony R

    2015-12-01

    Developing science-based communication guidance and positive-themed messages for suicide prevention are important priorities. Drawing on social learning and elaboration likelihood models, we designed and tested two positive-focused presentations by high school peer leaders delivered in the context of a suicide prevention program (Sources of Strength). Thirty-six classrooms in four schools (N = 706 students) were randomized to (1) peer leader modeling of healthy coping, (2) peer leader modeling plus audience involvement to identify trusted adults, or (3) control condition. Students' attitudes and norms were assessed by immediate post-only assessments. Exposure to either presentation enhanced positive coping attitudes and perceptions of adult support. Students who reported suicide ideation in the past 12 months benefited more than nonsuicidal students. Beyond modeling alone, audience involvement modestly enhanced expectations of adult support, congruent with the elaboration likelihood model. Positive peer modeling is a promising alternative to communications focused on negative consequences and directives and may enhance social-interpersonal factors linked to reduced suicidal behaviors. © 2015 The American Association of Suicidology.

  6. Direct and indirect associations between dysfunctional attitudes, self-stigma, hopefulness and social inclusion in young people experiencing psychosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berry, Clio; Greenwood, Kathryn

    2018-03-01

    Social inclusion and vocational activity are central to personal recovery for young people with psychosis. Studies with people experiencing long term psychosis suggest negative self-beliefs are important, but less is known about whether this association is present for young service users or about the potential influence of positive self-beliefs such as hopefulness. The aim of the current paper was to investigate the direct and indirect associations between dysfunctional attitudes, self-stigma, hopefulness, social inclusion and vocational activity for young people with psychosis. A 5-month longitudinal study was conducted with young psychosis service users. Measures of dysfunctional attitudes and self-stigma and vocational activity were obtained at baseline. Measures of hopefulness, social inclusion and vocational activity were obtained at follow-up. Hopefulness mediates the associations between self-stigma, social inclusion and vocational activity. Self-stigma may have a greater influence on social inclusion with age. Dysfunctional attitudes do not significantly predict social inclusion or change in vocational activity status. Findings suggest that the impact of self-stigma may extend beyond social and occupational withdrawal and undermine subjective community belonging. Findings encourage an increased emphasis on facilitating hopefulness for young people who experience psychosis. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Liking is not the opposite of disliking: the functional separability of positive and negative attitudes toward minority groups.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pittinsky, Todd L; Rosenthal, Seth A; Montoya, R Matthew

    2011-04-01

    Two studies tested the hypotheses that positive and negative attitudes toward minority groups are not interchangeable in predicting positive versus negative behaviors toward those groups. In Study 1, positive attitudes about Latinos were a better predictor of a positive behavior toward Latinos than were negative attitudes or stereotyped positive attitudes. In Study 2, positive attitudes about African Americans were a better predictor of positive behavioral intentions toward that group than were negative attitudes, whereas negative attitudes were better predictors of negative behavioral intentions than were positive attitudes. Taken together, the studies support the perspective that positive and negative attitudes toward minority groups are theoretically and functionally distinct constructs. We conclude that it is important to measure both positive and negative attitudes to understand and predict behaviors toward minority groups.

  8. MONEY ATTITUDES VS ECONOMIC SOCIALIZATION IN POLAND

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aneta KOWALCZYK

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available This article concerns the attitudes people have towards money, analysed from an economic and psychological point of view. The article presents an overview of current knowledge on the issues of money attitudes, as well as derived own research derived. This research was designed in order to identify different types of money attitudes as well as their determinants. The study identified five dominant profiles and showed that the most popular is a rational approach, and second – it’s opposite - improvidence. The results have been faced with the most important economic socialization determinants identified during the literature review. The comparison proved to be important, e.g. in the form of receiving pocket money.

  9. Addressing social barriers and closing the gender knowledge gap: exposure to road shows is associated with more knowledge and more positive beliefs, attitudes and social norms regarding exclusive breastfeeding in rural Zimbabwe.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jenkins, Alison L; Tavengwa, Naume V; Chasekwa, Bernard; Chatora, Kumbirai; Taruberekera, Noah; Mushayi, Wellington; Madzima, Rufaro C; Mbuya, Mduduzi N N

    2012-10-01

    Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) is rarely practiced despite its significant child survival benefits. A key constraint to increasing EBF rates in Zimbabwe and most of the developing world is that key decision makers (fathers/partners and other family members) are often poorly informed about EBF and do not attend antenatal clinics where health information is routinely provided. Informed by formative research, a district-wide campaign was conducted in rural Zimbabwe to encourage EBF and expressing and heat treating (EHT) breast milk as a means to maintain EBF. The campaign combined traditional strategies of education, counselling and outreach through health service delivery with a novel road show 'edutainment' intervention to reach men and other community members. A post campaign evaluation measured the association of road show exposure with 20 knowledge items and summative scores of social norms, beliefs and attitudes obtained through exploratory factor analysis. In adjusted models, road show exposure was associated with correct EBF knowledge (β=1.0, 0.001), EHT knowledge (β=1.3, Pbenefits of condom use during pregnancy and breastfeeding (β=0.5, P<0.001), and more positive EBF social norms (β=0.6, P<0.001), EBF beliefs and attitudes (β=1.0, P<0.001) and attitudes towards condom use during breastfeeding (β=0.6, P<0.001). Road show exposure was more strongly associated with EBF knowledge among men (P-value for gender×exposure group interaction=0.03), suggesting that it also closed the knowledge gap between men and women. Longitudinal studies will determine whether road shows were associated with changes in EBF practices. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  10. Trying to trust: Brain activity during interpersonal social attitude change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Filkowski, Megan M; Anderson, Ian W; Haas, Brian W

    2016-04-01

    Interpersonal trust and distrust are important components of human social interaction. Although several studies have shown that brain function is associated with either trusting or distrusting others, very little is known regarding brain function during the control of social attitudes, including trust and distrust. This study was designed to investigate the neural mechanisms involved when people attempt to control their attitudes of trust or distrust toward another person. We used a novel control-of-attitudes fMRI task, which involved explicit instructions to control attitudes of interpersonal trust and distrust. Control of trust or distrust was operationally defined as changes in trustworthiness evaluations of neutral faces before and after the control-of-attitudes fMRI task. Overall, participants (n = 60) evaluated faces paired with the distrust instruction as being less trustworthy than faces paired with the trust instruction following the control-of-distrust task. Within the brain, both the control-of-trust and control-of-distrust conditions were associated with increased temporoparietal junction, precuneus (PrC), inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), and medial prefrontal cortex activity. Individual differences in the control of trust were associated with PrC activity, and individual differences in the control of distrust were associated with IFG activity. Together, these findings identify a brain network involved in the explicit control of distrust and trust and indicate that the PrC and IFG may serve to consolidate interpersonal social attitudes.

  11. The Role of Gender in Foreign Language Learning Attitudes: Japanese Female Students' Attitudes towards English Learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kobayashi, Yoko

    2002-01-01

    Analyzed data from research on Japanese high school students' attitudes toward learning English to investigate female students' more positive attitudes toward English learning. Girls' attitudes toward English were affected by a composite of Japanese social and educational elements (e.g., characterization of English as a woman-dominant choice at…

  12. The impact of corporate social responsibility on customer attitudes and retention : The moderating role of brand success indicators

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Doorn, Jenny; Onrust, Marjolijn; Verhoef, Pieter; Bügel, M.S.

    2017-01-01

    Although many studies report positive effects of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on customer attitudes, recent literature shows that the effectiveness of CSR initiatives critically varies among consumers, brands, and companies. Using 1375 customer responses about 93 brands in 18 industries, we

  13. Denmark's comparative position regarding health status, healthcare provision, self-management and social support

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Ulla Møller; Jones, Allan; Zander, Mette

    2015-01-01

    AIMS: The aim of this study was to benchmark the Danish sample of the second Diabetes, Attitudes, Wishes and Needs (DAWN2) study with the global average in order to determine Denmark's comparative position for health status, healthcare provision, self-management and social support from...... to be an untapped potential when it comes to converting education participation of FM into social support for PWD. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that PWD in Denmark rank above the global average on measures of psychological wellbeing, despite psychological wellbeing being under-prioritised by HCP. However...

  14. Social Norms and Self-Presentation: Children's Implicit and Explicit Intergroup Attitudes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rutland, Adam; Cameron, Lindsey; Milne, Alan; McGeorge, Peter

    2005-01-01

    Two studies examined whether social norms and children's concern for self-presentation affect their intergroup attitudes. Study 1 examined racial intergroup attitudes and normative beliefs among children aged 6 to 16 years (n=155). Accountability (i.e., public self-focus) was experimentally manipulated, and intergroup attitudes were assessed using…

  15. Mortality Salience and Positive Affect Influence Adolescents' Attitudes toward Peers with Physical Disabilities: Terror Management and Broaden and Build Theories

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taubman-Ben-Ari, Orit; Eherenfreund-Hager, Ahinoam; Findler, Liora

    2011-01-01

    Attitudes toward teenagers with and without physical disabilities, and their social acceptance, were examined from the perspective of terror management theory and the broaden and build theory. Participants (n = 390, aged 13-17) were divided into 3 experimental conditions: positive emotions, mortality salience, and control. Then, they were shown…

  16. Increasing positive attitudes toward individuals with disabilities through community service learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lawson, Janelle E; Cruz, Rebecca A; Knollman, Gregory A

    2017-10-01

    Providing equal-status contact between those with and without disabilities can improve attitudes and reduce discrimination toward individuals with disabilities. This study investigated community service learning as a means by which to provide college students with equal-status contact with individuals with disabilities and increase their positive attitudes toward those with disabilities. A total of 166 college students in one university in the United States enrolled in an Introduction to Disability course received content on disability in society and participated in community service involving 20h of direct contact with individuals with disabilities. Findings indicated that college students who had prior contact with individuals with disabilities had more positive attitudes toward individuals with disabilities than college students who did not have prior contact at the start of the course. For the college students who did not have any prior contact, their attitudes toward individuals with disabilities became significantly more positive at the end of the community service learning course. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Energy Project professional development: Promoting positive attitudes about science among K-12 teachers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amy D. Robertson

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Promoting positive attitudes about science among teachers has important implications for teachers’ classroom practice and for their relationship to science as a discipline. In this paper, we report positive shifts in teachers’ attitudes about science, as measured by the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science (CLASS survey, over the course of their participation in a professional development course that emphasized the flexible use of energy representations to understand real world scenarios. Our work contributes to the larger effort to make the case that professional development matters for teacher learning and attitudes.

  18. Social position and health in old age. The relevance of different indicators of social position

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Avlund, Kirsten; Holstein, Bjørn Evald; Osler, Merete

    2002-01-01

    Social medicine, social position, chronic diseases, material wealth, income, tenure, oral health, functional ability, well-being, mobility......Social medicine, social position, chronic diseases, material wealth, income, tenure, oral health, functional ability, well-being, mobility...

  19. Students' awareness of science teachers' leadership, attitudes toward science, and positive thinking

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Ying-Yan; Chen, Hsiang-Ting; Hong, Zuway-R.; Yore, Larry D.

    2016-09-01

    There appears to be a complex network of cognitive and affective factors that influence students' decisions to study science and motivate their choices to engage in science-oriented careers. This study explored 330 Taiwanese senior high school students' awareness of their science teacher's learning leadership and how it relates to the students' attitudes toward science and positive thinking. Initial results revealed that the optimism of positive thinking is highly and positively correlated with the future participation in science and learning science in school attitudes toward science and self-concept in science. Moreover, structural equation modelling (SEM) results indicated that the subscale of teachers' leadership with idealised influence was the most predictive of students' attitudes toward science (β = .37), and the leadership with laissez-faire was predictive of students' positive thinking (β = .21). In addition, the interview results were consistent with the quantitative findings. The correlation and SEM results indicate some of the associations and potential relationships amongst the motivational and affective factors studied and students' attitudes toward and intentions to study science, which will increase their likelihood of future involvement in science careers.

  20. Comparison of dysfunctional attitudes and social adjustment among infertile employed and unemployed women in Iran.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fatemi, Azadeh S; Younesi, Seyed Jalal; Azkhosh, Manouchehr; Askari, Ali

    2010-04-01

    This study aims to compare dysfunctional attitudes and social adjustment in infertile employed and unemployed females. Due to the stresses of infertility, infertile females are faced with a variety of sexual and psychological problems, as well as dysfunctional attitudes that can lead to depression. Moreover, infertility problems provoke women into maladjustment and inadvertent corruption of relationships. In this regard, our goal is to consider the effects of employment in conjunction with education on dysfunctional attitudes and social adjustment among infertile women in Iran. In this work, we employed the survey method. We recruited 240 infertile women, utilizing the cluster random sampling method. These women filled out the Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale and the social adjustment part of the California Test of Personality. Next, multivariate analysis of variance was performed to test the relationship of employment status and education with dysfunctional attitudes and social adjustment. Our results indicated that dysfunctional attitudes were far more prevalent in infertile unemployed women than in infertile employed women. Also, social adjustment was better in infertile employed women than in infertile unemployed women. It was shown that education level alone does not have significant effect on dysfunctional attitudes and social adjustment. However, we demonstrated that the employment status of infertile women in conjunction with their education level significantly affects the two dimensions of dysfunctional attitudes (relationships, entitlements) and has insignificant effects on social adjustment. It was revealed that in employed infertile women in Iran, the higher education level, the less dysfunctional were attitudes in relationships and entitlements, whereas in unemployed infertile women, those with a college degree had the least and those with master's or higher degrees had the most dysfunctional attitudes in terms of relationships and entitlements.

  1. A generic scale for assessment of attitudes towards social robots

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Damholdt, Malene Flensborg; Olesen, Martin Hammershøj; Nørskov, Marco

    2016-01-01

    The research field into social robotics is expanding and with it the need for consistent methods for assessing attitudinal stance towards social robots. In this paper we describe the development and planned validation of the Attitudes towards social robots scale (ASOR-5): a generic questionnaire ...

  2. Attitudes of Preservice Social Studies Teachers towards Solid Wastes and Recycle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karatekin, Kadir; Merey, Zihni

    2015-01-01

    The objective of this study is to determine the attitudes of preservice social studies-teachers towards solid wastes and recycle. This study used the screening model, In order to determine the attitudes of preservice teachers towards solid wastes and recycle, we used the "Scale for the Attitudes of Preservice Teachers towards Solid Wastes and…

  3. Social attitudes and radioactive waste management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, T.

    1989-01-01

    There is widespread public concern over nuclear power and its associated radioactive waste. Although the opposition is probably still in the minority the proportion is sufficient to put the future of the nuclear industry in jeopardy in those countries where there is a choice. Over the years, scientists and engineers have tended to ignore these growing misgivings; to dismiss them as irrational; or to attempt to placate them by pumping out technical information. Simultaneously, they have allocated more and more technological resource and expertise to ensuring that low probability accidents are made even less probable. It is suggested that, if risk perceptions are to be changed, the whole attitude towards this hazardous technology must be carefully dissected and analyzed. Scientifically designed methods of attitude change can then be implemented. In particular, the social and cultural context that sustains the attitude has to be addressed through its constituent beliefs about employment prospects, safety, economic and political benefits etc. Factual knowledge, on the other hand, is largely irrelevant to attitude orientation. If anything, the antis have substantially more factual knowledge than the pros. The emotional component of the attitude is a crude, fast acting system that often controls the cognitive input and its organization. If attitude change is to succeed, a massive communication/education campaign is required over several years. But it would need to be based on the most relevant messages, originating from highly credible sources, purveyed through the most appropriate media and targetted to the moderate pros and antis and to the uncommitted

  4. Mediator Effects of Positive Emotions on Social Support and Depression among Adolescents Suffering from Mobile Phone Addiction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Menglong; Jiang, Xia; Ren, Yujia

    2017-06-01

    Depression is a common mental disorder that is widely seen among adolescents suffering from mobile phone addiction. While it is well known that both positive emtions in adolescents wiotions and social support can have a positive impact by helping individuals to maintain a positive attitude, the correlation between positive emotions, social support, and depression among these adolescents remains to be investigated. This study examined the mediator effects of positive emotions on the relationship between social support and depression among adolescents suffering from mobile phone addiction. For this study, conducted in 2016, we selected 1,346 adolescent students from three middle schools (ranging from Junior Grade One to Senior Grade Three) in Hunan Province of China, to participate in the survey. Participants were selected using the stratified cluster random sampling method, and all participants remained anonymous throughout the study. Each participant completed the Self-made General Situation Questionnaire, the Social Support Rating Scale, the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, and the Mobile Phone Addiction Tendency Scale. There was significant positive correlation between positive emotions and social support. Both positive emotions and social support demonstrated significant negative correlation with depression. Positive emotions had partial mediator effects on the relationship between social support and depression (Pphone addiction. Social support contributes to positive emoth mobile phone addiction, thereby reducing their levels of depression. These findings suggest that more support and care should be given to this particular adolescent population.

  5. Factors associated with positive attitude towards blood donation among medical students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gazibara, Tatjana; Kovacevic, Nikolina; Maric, Gorica; Kurtagic, Ilma; Nurkovic, Selmina; Kisic-Tepavcevic, Darija; Pekmezovic, Tatjana

    2015-12-01

    The aim of this study was to assess attitudes and practice of blood donation among medical students. Medical students were recruited at Medical Faculty, University of Belgrade, Serbia. Of 973 students, 38.4% of freshmen and 41.4% of final year students have donated blood (χ(2) = 0.918, p = 0.186). Blood donors had significantly more positive attitude towards some aspects of blood donation. Being female, residing in a city other than the capital and previous blood donation experience were independent predictors of positive attitude towards being a blood donor to an unknown person. Efforts are required to augment blood donor pool among future physicians. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Is the social volcano still dormant? Trends in Chinese attitudes toward inequality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whyte, Martin King; Im, Dong-Kyun

    2014-11-01

    Data from two China national surveys, in 2004 and 2009, focusing on popular attitudes toward current inequalities and mobility opportunities, are compared to examine two key questions: (1) Did the continued rise in income gaps and the impact within China of the global financial crisis lead to rising popular anger about the unfairness of current inequality patterns in 2009? and (2) Did the social contours of attitudes toward current inequalities shift over the five years between surveys? Through systematic comparisons of data from both surveys, we conclude that there is no general increase in anger about inequalities in the 2009 survey, and that the predictors of variations in these attitudes had changed relatively little, with the unexpectedly positive views of villagers still visible in 2009, although a bit muted. Trends in Chinese society between 2004 and 2009, and in the personal experience of survey respondents, are used to explain why popular acceptance of current inequalities remains widespread, despite continuing increases in China's income gaps. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Peer Group Socialization of Homophobic Attitudes and Behavior during Adolescence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poteat, V. Paul

    2007-01-01

    A social developmental framework was applied to test for the socialization of homophobic attitudes and behavior within adolescent peer groups (Grades 7-11; aged 12-17 years). Substantial similarity within and differences across groups were documented. Multilevel models identified a group socializing contextual effect, predicting homophobic…

  8. Using constructivist teaching strategies in high school science classrooms to cultivate positive attitudes toward science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heron, Lory Elen

    This study investigated the premise that the use of constructivist teaching strategies (independent variable) in high school science classrooms can cultivate positive attitudes toward science (dependent variable) in high school students. Data regarding the relationship between the use of constructivist strategies and change in student attitude toward science were collected using the Science Attitude Assessment Tool (SAAT) (Heron & Beauchamp, 1996). The format of this study used the pre-test, post-test, control group-experimental group design. The subjects in the study were high school students enrolled in biology, chemistry, or environmental science courses in two high schools in the western United States. Ten teachers and twenty-eight classes, involving a total of 249 students participated in the study. Six experimental group teachers and four control group teachers were each observed an average of six times using the Science Observation Guide (Chapman, 1995) to measure the frequency of observed constructivist behaviors. The mean for the control group teachers was 12.89 and the mean for experimental group teachers was 20.67; F(1, 8) = 16.2, p =.004, revealing teaching behaviors differed significantly between the two groups. After a four month experimental period, the pre-test and post-test SAAT scores were analyzed. Students received a score for their difference in positive attitude toward science. The null hypothesis stating there would be no change in attitude toward science as a subject, between students exposed to constructivist strategies, and students not exposed to constructivist strategies was rejected F(1, 247) = 8.04, p =.005. The control group had a generally higher reported grade in their last science class than the experimental group, yet the control group attitude toward science became more negative (-1.18) while attitude toward science in the experimental group became more positive (+1.34) after the four-month period. An analysis of positive

  9. Attitudes towards people with depression and schizophrenia among social service workers in Denmark.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jensen, Kamilla Bjørkøe; Vendsborg, Per; Hjorthøj, Carsten; Nordentoft, Merete

    2017-04-01

    Mental health-related stigma is a major public health issue, and is an obstacle to the possibility for successful treatment, recovery, and reintegration. To examine attitudes towards mental illness among employees in the social services. The study design was part of a large randomized trial, and data presented in this study are baseline data from this trial. Respondents completed a baseline questionnaire to assess the respondents' attitudes. A significant difference was found between employees' personal attitudes towards depression and schizophrenia. The same significant difference was found in the employees' perceived attitudes. Furthermore, a significant difference was found between the employees' personal and perceived attitudes. A significant difference was found between the respondents wish for social distance towards depression and schizophrenia in all cases, except regarding the willingness to provide a job at one's own workplace. Employees in the social services are comparable to the general public concerning attitudes towards mental illness. The results indicate that the employees in social services could have great use of gaining more knowledge about mental illness and ways in which to recognize a mental illness, in order to be able to offer the right kind of help and reduce the treatment gap concerning people suffering from mental illness.

  10. Tipping the scale? Social media’s influences on EU attitudes and vote choice in the Danish 2015 EU referendum

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ohme, Jakob

    Citizens’ media use can be an important predictor of attitudes towards the European Union; those attitudes, in turn, can affect EU-related vote decisions. Elementary changes in the media environment and the increasing pressure on the EU in recent referendums may therefore be connected (e.g. Denmark...... in a referendum. Using a two-wave survey design (n=675), the study investigates if political social media use reinforces existing attitudes towards the EU. Subsequently, positive and negative polarization tendencies are connected to the ‘yes or no’ vote of Danish citizens in the 2015 EU referendum. The study...

  11. Attitudes and Attitude Change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Albarracin, Dolores; Shavitt, Sharon

    2018-01-04

    This review covers research on attitudes and attitude change published between 2010 and 2017. We characterize this period as one of significant progress toward an understanding of how attitudes form and change in three critical contexts. The first context is the person, as attitudes change in connection to values, general goals, language, emotions, and human development. The second context is social relationships, which link attitude change to the communicator of persuasive messages, social media, and culture. The third context is sociohistorical and highlights the influence of unique events, including sociopolitical, economic, and climatic occurrences. In conclusion, many important recent findings reflect the fact that holism, with a focus on situating attitudes within their personal, social, and historical contexts, has become the zeitgeist of attitude research during this period.

  12. The social impacts of the energy shortage, behavioral and attitude shifts

    Science.gov (United States)

    1975-09-01

    An analysis of the social impacts of the energy shortage; specifically, an : analysis of shifts in social behavior, or trip-making characteristics, and : shifts in social attitudes towards the energy shortage and conservation policies, : Data were ob...

  13. Message framing in social networking sites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kao, Danny Tengti; Chuang, Shih-Chieh; Wang, Sui-Min; Zhang, Lei

    2013-10-01

    Online social networking sites represent significant new opportunities for Internet advertisers. However, results based on the real world cannot be generalized to all virtual worlds. In this research, the moderating effects of need for cognition (NFC) and knowledge were applied to examine the impact of message framing on attitudes toward social networking sites. A total of 216 undergraduates participated in the study. Results reveal that for social networking sites, while high-NFC individuals form more favorable attitudes toward negatively framed messages than positively framed messages, low-NFC individuals form more favorable attitudes toward positively framed messages than negatively framed messages. In addition, low-knowledge individuals demonstrate more favorable attitudes toward negatively framed messages than positively framed messages; however, the framing effect does not differentially affect the attitudes of high-knowledge individuals. Furthermore, the framing effect does not differentially affect the attitudes of high-NFC individuals with high knowledge. In contrast, low-NFC individuals with low knowledge hold more favorable attitudes toward positively framed messages than negatively framed messages.

  14. Attitudes of Heterosexual Men and Women Toward HIV Negative and Positive Gay Men.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norcini Pala, Andrea; Villano, Paola; Clinton, Lauren

    2017-01-01

    Attitudes of Italian heterosexual men and women toward gay men, both HIV positive and negative, are poorly investigated. Italian culture is still extremely conservative and provides limited support to the gay community (e.g., lack of same-sex marriage recognition). Consequently, gay men experience social exclusion and disparities. The present study explores the association between homophobia and closeness with sexual orientation and HIV status. 261 heterosexual Italian men and women were assessed for feelings of closeness and homophobia after reading a vignette where the character was C1: heterosexual and HIV negative; C2: gay and HIV negative; or C3: gay and HIV positive. Experiences of homophobia and closeness varied depending on gender of participant and condition assigned, and higher levels of homophobia were correlated with lower levels of closeness regardless of HIV status. Implications and future directions are discussed.

  15. Knowledge, Attitudes, and Beliefs Toward Organ Donation Among Social Media Users.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hajjar, W M; Bin Abdulqader, S A; Aldayel, S S; Alfardan, A W; Alzaidy, N I

    2016-09-01

    Organ transplantation is the optimal treatment for end-stage organ diseases. The demand for organs has exceeded the available supply, which becomes a major obstacle worldwide. Identifying the factors affecting this gap will help in overcoming this obstacle. The purpose of the work was to study the knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs of organ donation and to determine the knowledge of brain death among social media users. A cross-sectional study was conducted among social media users living in Saudi Arabia. A pre-designed self-administrated questionnaire was distributed online randomly on social media networks in 2015. Of the total 1368 participants, only 913 met the criteria. Most respondents were between 18 and 29 years of age (61.2%) and living in the central region of Saudi Arabia (64.5%). The majority of respondents received their information from television (57%) and social media (50%) networks; 46.4% of respondents knew that the religious fatwa allowed organ donation; 51% of respondents were willing to donate their organs; 46.5% considered the brain-dead to be deceased, whereas 37.7% considered it a coma; 33.3% did not know if someone who was brain-dead would ever wake up; on the other hand, 323 (35.4%) said yes. Our study showed that the vast majority of our sample had enough information about organ donation. On the contrary, they had minimal knowledge about brain death. Moreover, a fair percentage of the participants had positive attitudes toward organ donation. Also, the media had a significant effect on the information about organ donation and brain death. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Attitudes towards people with depression and schizophrenia among social service workers in Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Kamilla Bjørkøe; Vendsborg, Per; Hjorthøj, Carsten

    2017-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Mental health-related stigma is a major public health issue, and is an obstacle to the possibility for successful treatment, recovery, and reintegration. AIM: To examine attitudes towards mental illness among employees in the social services. METHODS: The study design was part...... of a large randomized trial, and data presented in this study are baseline data from this trial. Respondents completed a baseline questionnaire to assess the respondents' attitudes. RESULTS: A significant difference was found between employees' personal attitudes towards depression and schizophrenia....... The same significant difference was found in the employees' perceived attitudes. Furthermore, a significant difference was found between the employees' personal and perceived attitudes. A significant difference was found between the respondents wish for social distance towards depression and schizophrenia...

  17. Effectiveness of a school-based intervention for enhancing adolescents’ positive attitudes towards people with mental illness

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John Tsiantis

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available High school students are a common target group in initiatives addressing discriminatory attitudes towards people with mental illness. However, these initiatives are rarely evaluated and documented. The aim of our paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of a school-based educational intervention for improving adolescents’ attitudes and reducing the desire for social distance from people with mental illness living in their community. A total of 161 students aged 16-18 years old were questioned at baseline assessment and 86 of them received a three-workshop educational intervention while 75 students comprised the control group. A follow-up assessment 1 month post intervention evaluated its impact. Attitudes and the social distance were assessed through the Community Attitudes towards the Mentally Ill scale and a 10-statement questionnaire based on the Self-report Inventory of Fear and Behavioural Intentions, respectively. Data from 140 subjects were analyzed. All attitude dimensions and half of the measured social distance statements were significantly improved in the intervention group at follow up assessment compared to controls. However, the statements measuring more intimate types of social relationships did not change significantly post intervention. In conclusion, short educational interventions can be effective to some extent in reducing discriminatory attitudes towards people with mental illness. However, effective interventions to address deeply held negative stereotypes will require further research.

  18. Promoting Entrepreneurship - Changing Attitudes or Behavior?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dreisler, Poul; Blenker, Per; Nielsen, Kent T.

    . The choice of strategy depends on whether the target groups: 1) have a positive or negative attitude towards what is socially desired, and 2) are engaged or not engaged in socially desired action During the last 30 years, entrepreneurship has become what most nations would call a socially desirable action...... and Frazier's (1982) model of planned social change, examining whether initiatives can be a means of creating change in attitudes or in behaviour or in both? The basic idea underlying Sheth and Frazier's model is that different strategies can be used to bring about socially desirable attitudes and behaviour...... and thus a target for planned social change. However, the model introduced by Sheth and Frazier has never been used to analyse how this socially desirable action can be promoted. Undertaking such an analysis is the ambition of this paper, and based on this analysis, the paper will, will conclude...

  19. Beyond Homonegativity: Understanding Hong Kong People's Attitudes About Social Acceptance of Gay/Lesbian People, Sexual Orientation Discrimination Protection, and Same-Sex Marriage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeo, Tien Ee Dominic; Chu, Tsz Hang

    2017-09-13

    This study examined attitudes about social acceptance, discrimination protection, and marriage equality for gay/lesbian people with a representative sample of 1,008 Hong Kong Chinese adults via a telephone survey. Despite majority endorsement of homosexuality (52.29% positive vs. 34.12% negative) and discrimination protection (50.72% favorable vs. 14.64% opposed), attitudes toward same-sex marriage diverged (32.79% favorable vs. 39.41% opposed). There was a sharp distinction in accepting gay/lesbian people as co-workers (83.57%) and friends (76.92%) versus relatives (40.19%). Having more homosexual/bisexual friends or co-workers contributed to greater endorsement of social acceptance and discrimination protection but not same-sex marriage. Age, religion, political orientation, and homonegativity consistently predicted attitudes toward social acceptance, discrimination protection, and same-sex marriage, whereas gender-role beliefs, conformity to norms, and cultural orientations had varying impacts. This article informs theory and advocacy by disentangling homonegativity from attitudes about gay/lesbian issues and highlighting the centrality of family-kinship and relative-outsider delineation in Chinese societies.

  20. How mental health literacy and experience of mental illness relate to stigmatizing attitudes and social distance towards people with depression or psychosis: A cross-sectional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Svensson, Bengt; Hansson, Lars

    2016-01-01

    Background Evidence suggests that mental health literacy among the public is low, and stigmatizing attitudes are widespread. So far the effects of anti-stigma campaigns are small, and studies demonstrate that negative attitudes have been quite stable through recent decades. Aims To investigate the relationships between mental health literacy, experience of mental illness and stigmatizing attitudes/social distance towards people with depression or psychosis. Methods A cross-sectional study in which staff members from public services in Sweden (n = 1027) completed questionnaires covering demographic data, self-reported experience of mental illness, identification of a vignette for depression or psychosis, beliefs about helpful interventions for the illness presented in the vignette, and attitudes and social distance towards people with the illness. Results About 50% of participants could identify depression and less than 40% psychosis. A higher degree of mental health literacy was related to less stigma and social distance but mainly towards people with depression. A similar relationship was shown for having personal or family experience of mental illness and attitudes/social distance. Negative attitudes and social distance were significantly higher in all aspects measured towards a person with psychosis than a person with depression. Conclusions A higher degree of mental health literacy relates to more positive attitudes and less desire for social distance towards people with depression. The differences between depression and psychosis should be taken into account in anti-stigma interventions.

  1. Video-Aided GPS/INS Positioning and Attitude Determination

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Brown, Alison; Silva, Randy

    2006-01-01

    ... precise positioning and attitude information to be maintained, even during periods of extended GPS dropouts. This relies on information extracted from the video images of reference points and features to continue to update the inertial navigation solution. In this paper, the principles of the video-update method aredescribed.

  2. Social influences on risk attitudes : Applications in economics

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Trautmann, S.T.; Vieider, F.M.; Roeser, S.; Hillerbrand, R.; Sandin, P.; Peterson, M.

    2012-01-01

    Economic research on risk attitudes has traditionally focused on individual decision-making issues, without any consideration for potential social influences on preferences. This has been changing rapidly over the last years, with economists often taking inspiration from earlier psychological

  3. Development and Validation of the Social Worker's Attitudes toward Disability Scale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheatham, Leah P.; Abell, Neil; Kim, Hyejin

    2015-01-01

    Disability scholars have recently highlighted social work professional organizations' lagging pace in adopting disability advocacy within diversity agendas and have questioned the adequacy of disability content within accredited social work curricula. Amid growing concerns, measures to assess attitudes of social workers toward disability and…

  4. Top dogs have set the agenda for peace: international social position and peace attitudes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hartmann, A.; van der Veer, C.G.

    2003-01-01

    Everybody agrees that peace is good, but not on how to achieve it. The Y2K study contained many questions on peace proposals, as well as on prospects for East/West and North/South peace. It ranked these proposals by popularity and studied how the social positions of the 1967 respondents and their

  5. Technology of forming a positive attitude to physical training students of special medical group

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mukhamediarov N.N.

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Defined effective technology stages of forming a positive attitude towards physical education of students in special medical groups, stimulate motivation, epistemologically, informative, content-procedural, analytical and adjustment. For each stage technology offered special tools: lectures, seminars, analysis articles, mini conference on improving technique, racing games, mini-competitions, diagnostic interviews, questionnaires, analysis of log data on attendance. Selected criteria forming positive attitudes towards physical education: theoretical and practical, formed groups for research: experimental and control, analyzed results introduction of technology, efficiency of the proposed technology and means forming a positive attitude towards physical education students in special medical groups.

  6. Mental health practitioners' use and attitudes regarding the Internet and social media.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deen, Serina R; Withers, Amy; Hellerstein, David J

    2013-11-01

    Internet-based technologies, such as email and social media, are being increasingly used by mental health providers. The authors created a survey to better understand mental health providers' practices and attitudes regarding these platforms. Psychiatrists and psychologists at Columbia and the New York State Psychiatric Institute completed a 24-item multiple choice and free-text survey about their use of and attitudes toward Internet technologies. One hundred and thirty faculty responded to the survey: 70% percent of respondents reported that they were somewhat or more familiar with social media; 20% reported that they sometimes or often searched for information about their patients online; and 60% said that searching for patients online could have a positive role in ongoing psychiatric care. Respondents with fewer years of practice were significantly more likely to use Facebook/Google Plus, texting, and instant messenger in their personal lives, while those with more years of practice were more likely to use Skype professionally. Practitioners who worked in hospital settings were more likely to search online for information about their patients. Practitioners working in outpatient clinics, private practices, and research settings were more likely to use websites, email, and Skype in their practices. Mental health care professionals are starting to incorporate Internet technologies into their professional lives, but they remain divided on the ethics and utility of using these technologies in clinical care. There appear to be differences in practices and attitudes toward the Internet among clinicians with different levels of experience and in different practice settings.

  7. Familial ethnic socialization, gender role attitudes, and ethnic identity development in Mexican-origin early adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanchez, Delida; Whittaker, Tiffany A; Hamilton, Emma; Arango, Sarah

    2017-07-01

    This study examined the relations between familial ethnic socialization and ethnic identity development in 438 Mexican-origin (n = 242 boys and n = 196 girls) preadolescents. In addition, machismo and marianismo gender role attitudes were examined as potential mediators in this link. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) of the Familial Ethnic Socialization Scale (FES), Machismo Measure (MM), Marianismo Beliefs Scale (MBS), and the Ethnic Identity Brief Scale (EISB) were conducted to test the factor structure with a preadolescent Mexican-origin sample. Separate path analyses of analytic models were then performed on boys and girls. Results of the CFAs for survey measures revealed that for the FES, a 1-factor version indicated acceptable fit; for the MM, the original 2-factor structure indicated acceptable model fit; for the MBS, a revised 3-factor version indicated acceptable model fit; and, for the EISB, the affirmation and resolution dimensions showed acceptable fit. Among boys, FES was significantly and positively linked to caballerismo, and EISB affirmation and resolution; furthermore, the links between FES and EISB affirmation and resolution were indirectly connected by caballerismo. In addition, traditional machismo was negatively linked to EISB affirmation, and caballerismo was positively linked to EISB affirmation and resolution. Among girls, FES was significantly and positively related to the MBS-virtuous/chaste pillar, and EISB affirmation and resolution. The MBS-subordinate to others pillar was negatively linked to EISB affirmation. This study underscores the importance of FES and positive gender role attitudes in the link to ethnic identity development among Mexican-origin preadolescents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  8. An Examination of Psychometric Properties of Positive Functional Attitudes Scale

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saide Umut ZEYBEK

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study is to investigate the applicability of Coping Attitudes Scale: Measure of Positive Attitudes in Depression (CAS among Turkish young adult community sample and determine the psychometric properties (validity and reliability of this scale. This study was conducted with 419 students attending different departments in Mugla Sitki Kocman University, Faculty of Education in the spring semester of academic year of 2015-2016. Positive Functional Attitudes Scale, Beck Depression Scale, Beck Hopelessness Scale, Automatic Thoughts Scale, Positivity Scale and Developed Automatic Thoughts Scale.were used as data collection tools. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA were used for investigation of the psychometric properties of the PFAS. Also, criterion-related validity, test-retest validity, and internal consistency were used calculated. The CFA results showed that standardized item estimates of the CAS ranged between 0.45 and 0.47. Also the CFA results showed that the original factor structure of the PFAS confirmed on the Turkish sample. internal consistency was calculated using the total community sample’s PFAS score. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient ort he total scale (.93 was high. Test-retest results of the subscales were 0.76. The findings showed that factor structures of the PFAS’ life perspective, personal accomplishment, positive future, self-worth, coping with problems had psychometric quality in Turkish version. As a result of the study, the Turkish version of PFAS has good validity and reliability for young adult community sample. [JCBPR 2017; 6(2.000: 59-66

  9. A descriptive statistical analysis of volume, visibility and attitudes regarding nursing and care robots in social media.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salzmann-Erikson, Martin; Eriksson, Henrik

    2018-02-01

    Technology in the healthcare sector is undergoing rapid development. One of the most prominent areas of healthcare in which robots are implemented is nursing homes. However, nursing and technology are often considered as being contradictory, an attitude originating in the view of "the natural" versus "the artificial". Social media mirror this view, including in attitudes and societal debates regarding nursing and care robots. However, little is known about this topic in previous research. To examine user behaviour in social media platforms on the topic of nursing and care robots. A retrospective and cross-sectional observation study design was applied. Data were collected via the Alchemy streaming application programming interface. Data from social media were collected from 1 January 2014 to 5 January 2016. The data set consisted of 12,311 mentions in total. Nursing and care robots are a small-scale topic of discussion in social media. Twitter was found to be the largest channel in terms of volume, followed by Tumblr. News channels had the highest percentage of visibility, while forums and Tumblr had the least. It was found in the data that 67.9% of the mentions were positive, 24.4% were negative and 7.8% were neutral. The volume and visibility of the data on nursing robots found in social media, as well as the attitudes to nursing robots found there, indicate that nursing care robots, which are seen as representing a next step in technological development in healthcare, are a topic on the rise in social media. These findings are likely to be related to the idea that nursing care robots are on the breakthrough of replacing human labour in healthcare worldwide.

  10. Selling the Social Studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Girod, Gerald R.; Harmon, Gerald R.

    1987-01-01

    Maintains school-aged children would prefer not to study social studies. Presents several strategies to help encourage positive attitudes. Strategies include persuasion, reinforcement, enthusiasm, personalized contact. Stresses that negative attitudes must be changed in order for social studies to achieve its fundamental citizenship goals. (BR)

  11. Attitudes and attitude change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bohner, Gerd; Dickel, Nina

    2011-01-01

    Attitudes and attitude change remain core topics of contemporary social psychology. This selective review emphasizes work published from 2005 to 2009. It addresses constructionist and stable-entity conceptualizations of attitude, the distinction between implicit and explicit measures of attitude, and implications of the foregoing for attitude change. Associative and propositional processes in attitude change are considered at a general level and in relation to evaluative conditioning. The role of bodily states and physical perceptions in attitude change is reviewed. This is followed by an integrative perspective on processing models of persuasion and the consideration of meta-cognitions in persuasion. Finally, effects of attitudes on information processing, social memory, and behavior are highlighted. Core themes cutting across the areas reviewed are attempts at integrative theorizing bringing together formerly disparate phenomena and viewpoints.

  12. The effect of positive and negative movie alcohol portrayals on transportation and attitude toward the movie.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koordeman, Renske; Anschutz, Doeschka J; Engels, Rutger C M E

    2014-07-01

    This study examined the effects of alcohol portrayals on transportation and attitude toward a movie. In addition, we examined whether positive and negative movie alcohol portrayals affect transportation into and attitude toward the movie. A within-subject design was used in which participants were exposed to 8 different movie clips containing alcohol (positive or negative context) or no alcohol portrayals in a controlled laboratory setting. A total of 159 college students (84 males and 75 females) ages 18 to 30 participated in the experiment. Transportation and attitude toward the movie were measured after each movie clip. Participants were more transported into and had a more positive attitude toward movie clips with alcohol portrayals compared to the same movie clips with no alcohol portrayal. In addition, participants were more transported into movie clips with negative alcohol (NA) portrayals compared to clips with positive alcohol (PA) portrayals. For attitude toward the movie, opposite results were found. Participants had a more positive attitudes toward clips with PA portrayals compared to clips with NA portrayals. The way alcohol is portrayed in movies may contribute to how people evaluate and get transported in movies. Copyright © 2014 by the Research Society on Alcoholism.

  13. A personal connection: Promoting positive attitudes towards teaching and learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lujan, Heidi L; DiCarlo, Stephen E

    2017-09-01

    Students' attitudes towards teaching and learning must be addressed with the same seriousness and effort as we address content. Establishing a personal connection and addressing our students' basic psychological needs will produce positive attitudes towards teaching and learning and develop life-long learners. It will also promote constructive student-teacher relationships that have a profound influence on our students' approach towards school. To begin this process, consider the major tenets of the Self-Determination Theory. The Self-Determination Theory of human motivation focuses on our students' innate psychological needs and the degree to which an individual's behavior is self-motivated and self-determined. Faculty can satisfy the innate psychological needs by addressing our students' desire for relatedness, competence and autonomy. Relatedness refers to our students' need to feel connected to others, to be a member of a group, to have a sense of communion and to develop close relationships with others. Competence is believing our students can succeed , challenging them to do so and imparting that belief in them. Autonomy involves considering the perspectives of the student and providing relevant information and opportunities for student choice and initiating and regulating their own behaviors. Establishing a personal connection and addressing our students' basic psychological needs will improve our teaching, inspire and engage our students and promote positive attitudes towards teaching and learning while reducing competition and increasing compassion. These are important goals because unless students are inspired and motivated and have positive attitudes towards teaching and learning our efforts will fail to meet their full potential. Anat Sci Educ 10: 503-507. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.

  14. Paradoxical Relationship between the Amount of Negative eWOM Messages and Positive Consumer Attitude

    OpenAIRE

    Mai Kikumori; Akinori Ono

    2013-01-01

    Most research has shown that positive electric word-of-mouth (e-WOM) has positive effects, while negative e-WOM has negative effects on consumer attitude towards a product. However, negative e-WOM may have positive impacts rather than negative impacts. Using ANOVA in three experiments, this study found that negative e-WOM can have a positive impact on consumer attitude under some conditions, including when the e-WOM is in regard to hedonic products, when expert consumers read attribute-centri...

  15. Patterns of Welfare Attitudes in the Australian Population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schofield, Timothy P; Butterworth, Peter

    2015-01-01

    The study of community attitudes toward welfare and welfare recipients is an area of increasing interest. This is not only because negative attitudes can lead to stigmatization and discrimination, but because of the relevance of social attitudes to policy decisions. We quantify the attitudes toward welfare in the Australian population using attitude data from a nationally representative survey (N = 3243). Although there was broad support for the social welfare system, negative attitudes are held toward those who receive welfare benefits. Using canonical correlation analysis we identify multivariate associations between welfare attitudes and respondent demographic characteristics. A primary attitudinal dimension of welfare positivity was found amongst those with higher levels of education, life instability, and personal exposure to the welfare system. Other patterns of negative welfare attitudes appeared to be motivated by beliefs that the respondent's personal circumstances indicate their deservingness. Moreover, a previously unidentified and unconsidered subset of respondents was identified. This group had positive attitudes toward receiving government benefits despite having no recent experience of welfare. They did, however, possess many of the characteristics that frequently lead to welfare receipt. These results provide insights into not only how attitudinal patterns segment across the population, but are of relevance to policy makers considering how to align welfare reform with community attitudes.

  16. Patterns of Welfare Attitudes in the Australian Population

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schofield, Timothy P.; Butterworth, Peter

    2015-01-01

    The study of community attitudes toward welfare and welfare recipients is an area of increasing interest. This is not only because negative attitudes can lead to stigmatization and discrimination, but because of the relevance of social attitudes to policy decisions. We quantify the attitudes toward welfare in the Australian population using attitude data from a nationally representative survey (N = 3243). Although there was broad support for the social welfare system, negative attitudes are held toward those who receive welfare benefits. Using canonical correlation analysis we identify multivariate associations between welfare attitudes and respondent demographic characteristics. A primary attitudinal dimension of welfare positivity was found amongst those with higher levels of education, life instability, and personal exposure to the welfare system. Other patterns of negative welfare attitudes appeared to be motivated by beliefs that the respondent’s personal circumstances indicate their deservingness. Moreover, a previously unidentified and unconsidered subset of respondents was identified. This group had positive attitudes toward receiving government benefits despite having no recent experience of welfare. They did, however, possess many of the characteristics that frequently lead to welfare receipt. These results provide insights into not only how attitudinal patterns segment across the population, but are of relevance to policy makers considering how to align welfare reform with community attitudes. PMID:26554361

  17. [Volunteering in psychiatry: determining factors of attitude and actual commitment].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lauber, C; Nordt, C; Falcato, L; Rössler, W

    2000-10-01

    To assess public attitude, actual working commitment and the respective influence of demographic, psychological and sociological variables on voluntary help in psychiatry. Multiple logistic regression analysis of the results of a representative population survey in Switzerland. Public attitude is mostly positive, but the respective working commitment is small. Attitude depends on gender, psychological factors (social distance, stereotypes), and on attitude to community psychiatry. For the working commitment, clearly distinct predictors are found: age, emotions, participation, and perceived discrimination to the mentally ill. For both attitude and commitment, having a social profession and interest in mass media are predictors. Internationally compared, Switzerland has a positive attitude and a big commitment in lay helping in psychiatry. But attitude is different from actual commitment. Lay helpers' work must be limited to realizable tasks and they need professional recruitment, instruction, and supervision otherwise they tend to be over-burden. The unused potential of voluntary helpers has to be opened specifically, e.g. by involving mass media and opinion-makers.

  18. Attitudes towards suicide attempts broadcast on social media: an exploratory study of Chinese microblogs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Ang; Huang, Xiaoxiao; Hao, Bibo; O'Dea, Bridianne; Christensen, Helen; Zhu, Tingshao

    2015-01-01

    Introduction. Broadcasting a suicide attempt on social media has become a public health concern in many countries, particularly in China. In these cases, social media users are likely to be the first to witness the suicide attempt, and their attitudes may determine their likelihood of joining rescue efforts. This paper examines Chinese social media (Weibo) users' attitudes towards suicide attempts broadcast on Weibo. Methods. A total of 4,969 Weibo posts were selected from a customised Weibo User Pool which consisted of 1.06 million active users. The selected posts were then independently coded by two researchers using a coding framework that assessed: (a) Themes, (b) General attitudes, (c) Stigmatising attitudes, (d) Perceived motivations, and (e) Desired responses. Results and Discussion. More than one third of Weibo posts were coded as "stigmatising" (35%). Among these, 22%, 16%, and 15% of posts were coded as "deceitful," "pathetic," and "stupid," respectively. Among the posts which reflected different types of perceived motivations, 57% of posts were coded as "seeking attention." Among the posts which reflected desired responses, 37% were "not saving" and 28% were "encouraging suicide." Furthermore, among the posts with negative desired responses (i.e., "not saving" and "encouraging suicide"), 57% and 17% of them were related to different types of stigmatising attitudes and perceived motivations, respectively. Specifically, 29% and 26% of posts reflecting both stigmatising attitudes and negative desired responses were coded as "deceitful" and "pathetic," respectively, while 66% of posts reflecting both perceived motivations, and negative desired responses were coded as "seeking attention." Very few posts "promoted literacy" (2%) or "provided resources" (8%). Gender differences existed in multiple categories. Conclusions. This paper confirms the need for stigma reduction campaigns for Chinese social media users to improve their attitudes towards those who

  19. Using modeling and vicarious reinforcement to produce more positive attitudes toward mental health treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buckley, Gary I; Malouff, John M

    2005-05-01

    In this study, the authors evaluated the effectiveness of a video, developed for this study and using principles of cognitive learning theory, to produce positive attitudinal change toward mental health treatment. The participants were 35 men and 45 women who were randomly assigned to watch either an experimental video, which included 3 positive 1st-person accounts of psychotherapy or a control video that focused on the psychological construct of self. Pre-intervention, post-intervention, and 2-week follow-up levels of attitude toward mental health treatment were measured using the Attitude Toward Seeking Professional Help Scale (E. H. Fischer & J. L. Turner, 1970). The experimental video group showed a significantly greater increase in positive attitude than did the control group. These results support the effectiveness of using the vicarious reinforcement elements of cognitive learning theory as a basis for changing attitudes toward mental health treatment.

  20. Multi-platform Integrated Positioning and Attitude Determination using GNSS

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Buist, P.J.

    2013-01-01

    There is trend in spacecraft engineering toward distributed systems where a number of smaller spacecraft work as a larger satellite. However, in order to make the small satellites work together as a single large platform, the precise relative positions (baseline) and orientations (attitude) of the

  1. Adolescents' Attitudes towards E-cigarette Ingredients, Safety, Addictive Properties, Social Norms, and Regulation

    OpenAIRE

    Gorukanti, Anuradha; Delucchi, Kevin; Ling, Pamela; Fisher-Travis, Raymond; Halpern-Felsher, Bonnie

    2016-01-01

    E-cigarette use has dramatically increased. While studies have examined adolescents’ attitudes towards smoking, few have extended this research to adolescents’ attitudes towards e-cigarettes. The goal of this study was to examine adolescents' attitudes regarding e-cigarette ingredients, safety, addictive properties, social norms, accessibility, price, and regulation; and determine whether attitudes differ by past cigarette/e-cigarette use. Participants were 786 9th and 12th graders from Calif...

  2. ADRC for spacecraft attitude and position synchronization in libration point orbits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Chen; Yuan, Jianping; Zhao, Yakun

    2018-04-01

    This paper addresses the problem of spacecraft attitude and position synchronization in libration point orbits between a leader and a follower. Using dual quaternion, the dimensionless relative coupled dynamical model is derived considering computation efficiency and accuracy. Then a model-independent dimensionless cascade pose-feedback active disturbance rejection controller is designed to spacecraft attitude and position tracking control problems considering parameter uncertainties and external disturbances. Numerical simulations for the final approach phase in spacecraft rendezvous and docking and formation flying are done, and the results show high-precision tracking errors and satisfactory convergent rates under bounded control torque and force which validate the proposed approach.

  3. Asylum Seekers and Resettled Refugees in Australia: Predicting Social Policy Attitude From Prejudice Versus Emotion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lisa K. Hartley

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available While most of the world's refugees reside in developing countries, their arrival to western countries is highly politicised, giving rise to questions about the types of entitlements and rights that should, or should not, be granted. In this study, using a mixed-methods community questionnaire (N = 185, we examined attitudes towards social policies aimed at providing assistance to two categories of new arrivals to Australia: resettled refugees (who arrive via its official refugee resettlement program and asylum seekers (who arrive via boat and then seek refugee status. Social policy attitude was examined as a consequence of feelings of anger, fear, and threat, as well as levels of prejudice. Participants felt significantly higher levels of anger, fear, threat, and prejudice towards asylum seekers compared to resettled refugees. For both resettled refugees and asylum seekers, prejudice was an independent predictor of more restrictive social policy attitudes. For resettled refugees, fear and perceived threat were independent predictors for more restrictive social policy whereas for asylum seekers anger was an independent predictor of restrictive social policy. The qualitative data reinforced the quantitative findings and extended understanding on the appraisals that underpin negative attitudes and emotional responses. Practical implications relating to challenging community attitudes are discussed.

  4. Parental Mediation in the Digital Era: Increasing Children's Critical Thinking May Help Decrease Positive Attitudes toward Alcohol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Radanielina Hita, Marie Louise; Kareklas, Ioannis; Pinkleton, Bruce

    2018-01-01

    We demonstrate in our research that discussion-based parental mediation may successfully decrease the negative effects that youth's engagement with alcohol brands on social media may have on attitudes toward alcohol through its effects on critical thinking. A clear pattern was found with positive mediation leading to unhealthy outcomes and negative mediation predicting healthier behaviors. Youth whose parents critiqued media messages reported more critical thinking skills, which predicted less interaction with alcohol brands on social media and fewer expectancies toward alcohol. On the other hand, youth whose parents endorsed media portrayals of drinking reported fewer critical thinking skills and were thus more likely to interact with alcohol brands on social media. Including a media literacy component in alcohol education that target parental strategies and that are conducive to discussion may lead to beneficial health outcomes in the digital era.

  5. The effectiveness of CPI model to improve positive attitude toward science (PATS) for pre-service physics teacher

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sunarti, T.; Wasis; Madlazim; Suyidno; Prahani, B. K.

    2018-03-01

    In the previous research, learning material based Construction, Production, and Implementation (CPI) model has been developed to improve scientific literacy and positive attitude toward science for pre-service physics teacher. CPI model has 4 phases, included: 1) Motivation; 2) Construction (Cycle I); 3) Production (Cycle II); and 4) Evaluation. This research is aimed to analyze the effectiveness of CPI model towards the improvement Positive Attitude toward Science (PATS) for pre-service physics teacher. This research used one group pre-test and post-test design on 160 pre-service physics teacher divided into 4 groups at Lambung Mangkurat University and Surabaya State University (Indonesia), academic year 2016/2017. Data collection was conducted through questioner, observation, and interview. Positive attitude toward science for pre-service physics teacher measurement were conducted through Positive Attitude toward Science Evaluation Sheet (PATSES). The data analysis technique was done by using Wilcoxon test and n-gain. The results showed that there was a significant increase in positive attitude toward science for pre-service physics teacher at α = 5%, with n-gain average of high category. Thus, the CPI model is effective for improving positive attitude toward science for pre-service physics teacher.

  6. Emotion Socialization by Mothers and Fathers: Coherence among Behaviors and Associations with Parent Attitudes and Children's Social Competence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baker, Jason K.; Fenning, Rachel M.; Crnic, Keith A.

    2011-01-01

    This study examined inter-relations among different types of parental emotion socialization behaviors in 88 mothers and 76 fathers (co-residing with participating mothers) of eight-year-old children. Parents completed questionnaires assessing emotion socialization behaviors, emotion-related attitudes, and their children's social functioning. An…

  7. Different meanings of the social dominance orientation concept: predicting political attitudes over time.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jetten, Jolanda; Iyer, Aarti

    2010-06-01

    We examined predictors of political attitude change by assessing the independent and interactive effect of social dominance orientation (SDO) as a context-dependent versus an individual difference construct. In a longitudinal study, British students' political orientation was assessed before entering university (T1) and after being at university for 2 months (T2) and 6 months (T3; N=109). Results showed that initial SDO (T1) did not predict political attitudes change nor did it predict self-selected entry into course with hierarchy enhancing or hierarchy-attenuating ideologies. More support was obtained for a contextually determined model whereby SDO (T2) mediated the relationship between social class (T1) and political attitude change (T3). We also found support for mediated moderation in accounting for effects of initial SDO on political attitude change. Findings suggest that SDO as a concept that is sensitive to group dynamics is best suited to explain shifts in political attitudes.

  8. PARENTAL ATTITUDES IN THE PERCEPTION OF ADOLESCENTS AND COPING STRATEGIES IN A SOCIAL CONFLICT SITUATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Danuta Borecka-Biernat

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Whilst strategies preferences develop over a person’s lifetime, due to its proximal presence the parenting context is primary significant relational context where conflict resolution skills might being learned. While disciplining and guiding the child, nurturing the child‘s psychological, physical, social, and economic well-being parent provides child with a platform to learn how to deal with conflicts (Jonyniene et al., 2015; Missotten et al., 2016. The purpose of the study was to search for the family etiology of the strategies (aggression, avoidance, submission, problem solving for coping with a social conflict situation by adolescents, the source of which is inherent in parental upbringing attitudes. D. Borecka-Biernat’s Questionnaire on studying strategies for coping with a social conflict situation by adolescents (KSMK and Parental Attitudes Scale (SPR by M. Plopa were applied in the research. The empirical research was carried out in junior high schools in Wroclaw and neighbouring towns. It comprised 493 adolescents (269 girls and 224 boys aged 13-15. In the light of the research conducted, it was found that the adolescents’ aggressive way of reacting to emotional tension resulting from a social conflict situation is shaped by inappropriate upbringing attitudes of parents towards an adolescent child. The research results within the scope of the acceptance-rejection and autonomy attitude perception reveal their lower intensification in parents of adolescents who use aggression strategy. On the other hand, it is also possible to observe a higher result concerning the inconsistent and an over demanding attitude of adolescents’ parents who use aggression as a strategy for coping with a social conflict situation. It can be assumed that due to the attitudes observed in the mother and father, the adolescents who use the strategy of avoidance, submission, and task-oriented for coping with a social conflict situation constitute a

  9. Attitudes of Omani Social Studies Student Teachers to Tourism for Sustainable Development

    OpenAIRE

    Al-Rabaani, Ahmed Hamed

    2013-01-01

    The aim of the study is to investigate the attitudes of student teachers of Social Studies to tourism for sustainable development. The study participants were the entire cohort of final year student teachers of Social Studies in the College of Education at Sultan Qaboos University in the Sultanate of Oman. There were 65 in total, 26 male and 39 female. Data was gathered through a questionnaire consisting of 37 items divided into 6 areas: attitudes to tourism; the impact of tourism on the econ...

  10. Attitude towards violence against women in the relationship and the family social climate in adolescents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    María de Jesús Pacheco Vela

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To determine the correlation between attitudes toward violence against women in the couple relationship and the Family Environment Scale in its dimensions "relation", "stability" and "development" in adolescents of 4th grade to “El Bosque” high school. Method: Not experimental transactional and correlational. 63 students of 4th year high school of which 28 were male (44.4% and 35 were women (55.6% was evaluated through the Scale of Attitudes towards violence against women in the couple relationship (Scale VM, and the Family Environment Scale of Moos (FES. Results: Results: There is not correlation between attitudes towards violence against women in the relationship and dimensions of Family Enviroment Scale: Relations (r = - .133, p> .05, Development (r = - .006, p > .05 and stability (r = .112, p> .05. Conclusion: This research is important in the study of attitudes towards gender violence in our environment and its interaction with other factors like the family atmosphere above, which allows a broader vision of this important social issue and encourages broad intervention based on solid knowledge, bringing positive impact on improving the quality of life of people.

  11. Implicit and Explicit Attitudes towards America in Socio Digital Influence: Trust and Social Identity in Cyberspace

    Science.gov (United States)

    2018-03-16

    AFRL-AFOSR-JP-TR-2018-0024 Implicit and Explicit Attitudes towards America in Socio-Digital Influence: Trust and Social Identity in Cyberspace James...and Explicit Attitudes towards America in Socio-Digital Influence: Trust and Social Identity in Cyberspace 5a.  CONTRACT NUMBER 5b.  GRANT NUMBER...comprehensive survey of personality, values, institutional trust, mass media usage, and political attitudes and ideology (including a comprehensive

  12. Neural Correlates of Attitude Change Following Positive and Negative Advertisements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kato, Junko; Ide, Hiroko; Kabashima, Ikuo; Kadota, Hiroshi; Takano, Kouji; Kansaku, Kenji

    2009-01-01

    Understanding changes in attitudes towards others is critical to understanding human behaviour. Neuropolitical studies have found that the activation of emotion-related areas in the brain is linked to resilient political preferences, and neuroeconomic research has analysed the neural correlates of social preferences that favour or oppose consideration of intrinsic rewards. This study aims to identify the neural correlates in the prefrontal cortices of changes in political attitudes toward others that are linked to social cognition. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiments have presented videos from previous electoral campaigns and television commercials for major cola brands and then used the subjects' self-rated affinity toward political candidates as behavioural indicators. After viewing negative campaign videos, subjects showing stronger fMRI activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex lowered their ratings of the candidate they originally supported more than did those with smaller fMRI signal changes in the same region. Subjects showing stronger activation in the medial prefrontal cortex tended to increase their ratings more than did those with less activation. The same regions were not activated by viewing negative advertisements for cola. Correlations between the self-rated values and the neural signal changes underscore the metric representation of observed decisions (i.e., whether to support or not) in the brain. This indicates that neurometric analysis may contribute to the exploration of the neural correlates of daily social behaviour. PMID:19503749

  13. Young women's attitudes toward continuous use of oral contraceptives: the effect of priming positive attitudes toward menstruation on women's willingness to suppress menstruation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rose, Jennifer Gorman; Chrisler, Joan C; Couture, Samantha

    2008-08-01

    The present study investigated American women's attitudes toward menstrual suppression and the effect of priming attitudes toward menstruation on women's willingness to suppress menstruation. One hundred college women randomly were assigned to either a positive priming group or a negative priming group. The positive priming group first completed the menstrual joy questionnaire (MJQ) followed by a willingness to suppress menstruation (WSM) questionnaire, the beliefs and attitudes toward menstruation (BATM) questionnaire, the menstrual distress questionnaire (MDQ), and a demographic questionnaire. The negative priming group completed, in the following order: the MDQ, WSM, BATM, MJQ, and demographics. Priming affected women's reports of positive cycle-related changes on the MDQ, but not women's willingness to suppress menstruation. Higher scores on the MJQ, positive attitudes toward menstrual suppression, and previous oral contraceptive (OC) use were predictors of women's willingness to suppress menstruation. Women's primary source of information about menstrual suppression was "media," and their primary concern was "safety." Thus, researchers should continue to investigate the long-term effects of continuous OC use and to analyze information about menstrual suppression in the popular press.

  14. Attitudes Towards Immigration

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Malchow-Møller, Nikolaj; Munch, Jakob Roland; Schroll, Sanne

    In this paper, we re-examine the role of economic self-interest in shaping people’s attitudes towards immigration, using data from the European Social Survey 2002/2003. Compared to the existing literature, there are two main contributions of the present paper. First, we develop a more powerful test...... of the hypothesis that a positive relationship between education and attitudes towards immigration reflects economic self-interest in the labour market. Second, we develop an alternative and more direct test of whether economic self-interest matters for people’s attitudes towards immigration. We find that while...... the "original" relationship between education and attitudes found in the literature is unlikely to reflect economic self-interest, there is considerable evidence of economic self-interest when using the more direct test...

  15. Attitudes Towards Immigration

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Malchow-Møller, Nikolaj; Roland Munch, Jakob; Schroll, Sanne

    2006-01-01

    In this paper, we re-examine the role of economic self-interest in shaping people's attitudes towards immigration, using data from the European Social Survey 2002/2003. Compared to the existing literature, there are two main contributions of the present paper. First, we develop a more powerful test...... of the hypothesis that a positive relationship between education and attitudes towards immigration reflects economic self-interest in the labour market. Second, we develop an alternativeand more direct test of whether economic self-interest mattersfor people's attitudes towards immigration. We find that whilethe...... "original" relationship between education and attitudes found in the literature is unlikely to reflect economic self-interest, there is considerable evidence of economic self-interest when using the more directtest....

  16. Children’s Attitudes and Stereotype Content Toward Thin, Average-Weight, and Overweight Peers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Federica Durante

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Six- to 11-year-old children’s attitudes toward thin, average-weight, and overweight targets were investigated with associated warmth and competence stereotypes. The results showed positive attitudes toward average-weight targets and negative attitudes toward overweight peers: Both attitudes decreased as a function of children’s age. Thin targets were perceived more positively than overweight ones but less positively than average-weight targets. Notably, social desirability concerns predicted the decline of anti-fat bias in older children. Finally, the results showed ambivalent stereotypes toward thin and overweight targets—particularly among older children—mirroring the stereotypes observed in adults. This result suggests that by the end of elementary school, children manage the two fundamental dimensions of social judgment similar to adults.

  17. Intending to stay: Positive images, attitudes, and classroom experiences as influences on students' intentions to persist in science and engineering majors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wyer, Mary Beth

    2000-10-01

    Contemporary research on persistence in undergraduate education in science and engineering has focused primarily on identifying the structural, social, and psychological barriers to participation by students in underrepresented groups. As a result, there is a wealth of data to document why students leave their majors, but there is little direct empirical data to support prevailing presumptions about why students stay. Moreover, researchers have used widely differing definitions and measures of persistence, and they have seldom explored field differences. This study compared three ways of measuring persistence. These constituted three criterion variables: commitment to major, degree aspirations, and commitment to a science/engineering career. The study emphasized social factors that encourage students to persist, including four predictor variables---(1) positive images of scientists/engineers, (2) positive attitudes toward gender and racial equality, (3) positive classroom experiences, and (4) high levels of social integration. In addition, because researchers have repeatedly documented the degree to which women are more likely than men to drop out of science and engineering majors, the study examined the potential impact of gender in relation to these predictor variables. A survey was administered in the classroom to a total of 285 students enrolled in a required course for either a biological sciences and or an engineering major. Predictor variables were developed from standard scales, including the Images of Science/Scientists Scale, the Attitudes toward Women Scale, the Women in Science Scale, and the Perceptions of Prejudice Scale. Based on logistic regression models, results indicate that positive images of scientists and engineers was significantly related to improving the odds of students having a high commitment to major, high degree aspirations, and high commitment to career. There was also evidence that positive attitudes toward gender and racial equality

  18. Attitude of Niger Delta university undergraduates towards HIV/AIDS

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Emeka Egbochuku

    that undergraduates had a positive attitude towards HIV/AIDS campaigns with the attitude of female .... print/audio media and also visual media. Also in the schools peer .... use. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 3(1), 53-58.

  19. Attitudes towards suicide attempts broadcast on social media: an exploratory study of Chinese microblogs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Xiaoxiao; Hao, Bibo; O’Dea, Bridianne; Christensen, Helen

    2015-01-01

    Introduction. Broadcasting a suicide attempt on social media has become a public health concern in many countries, particularly in China. In these cases, social media users are likely to be the first to witness the suicide attempt, and their attitudes may determine their likelihood of joining rescue efforts. This paper examines Chinese social media (Weibo) users’ attitudes towards suicide attempts broadcast on Weibo. Methods. A total of 4,969 Weibo posts were selected from a customised Weibo User Pool which consisted of 1.06 million active users. The selected posts were then independently coded by two researchers using a coding framework that assessed: (a) Themes, (b) General attitudes, (c) Stigmatising attitudes, (d) Perceived motivations, and (e) Desired responses. Results and Discussion. More than one third of Weibo posts were coded as “stigmatising” (35%). Among these, 22%, 16%, and 15% of posts were coded as “deceitful,” “pathetic,” and “stupid,” respectively. Among the posts which reflected different types of perceived motivations, 57% of posts were coded as “seeking attention.” Among the posts which reflected desired responses, 37% were “not saving” and 28% were “encouraging suicide.” Furthermore, among the posts with negative desired responses (i.e., “not saving” and “encouraging suicide”), 57% and 17% of them were related to different types of stigmatising attitudes and perceived motivations, respectively. Specifically, 29% and 26% of posts reflecting both stigmatising attitudes and negative desired responses were coded as “deceitful” and “pathetic,” respectively, while 66% of posts reflecting both perceived motivations, and negative desired responses were coded as “seeking attention.” Very few posts “promoted literacy” (2%) or “provided resources” (8%). Gender differences existed in multiple categories. Conclusions. This paper confirms the need for stigma reduction campaigns for Chinese social

  20. Attitudes towards suicide attempts broadcast on social media: an exploratory study of Chinese microblogs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ang Li

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. Broadcasting a suicide attempt on social media has become a public health concern in many countries, particularly in China. In these cases, social media users are likely to be the first to witness the suicide attempt, and their attitudes may determine their likelihood of joining rescue efforts. This paper examines Chinese social media (Weibo users’ attitudes towards suicide attempts broadcast on Weibo. Methods. A total of 4,969 Weibo posts were selected from a customised Weibo User Pool which consisted of 1.06 million active users. The selected posts were then independently coded by two researchers using a coding framework that assessed: (a Themes, (b General attitudes, (c Stigmatising attitudes, (d Perceived motivations, and (e Desired responses. Results and Discussion. More than one third of Weibo posts were coded as “stigmatising” (35%. Among these, 22%, 16%, and 15% of posts were coded as “deceitful,” “pathetic,” and “stupid,” respectively. Among the posts which reflected different types of perceived motivations, 57% of posts were coded as “seeking attention.” Among the posts which reflected desired responses, 37% were “not saving” and 28% were “encouraging suicide.” Furthermore, among the posts with negative desired responses (i.e., “not saving” and “encouraging suicide”, 57% and 17% of them were related to different types of stigmatising attitudes and perceived motivations, respectively. Specifically, 29% and 26% of posts reflecting both stigmatising attitudes and negative desired responses were coded as “deceitful” and “pathetic,” respectively, while 66% of posts reflecting both perceived motivations, and negative desired responses were coded as “seeking attention.” Very few posts “promoted literacy” (2% or “provided resources” (8%. Gender differences existed in multiple categories. Conclusions. This paper confirms the need for stigma reduction campaigns for Chinese

  1. Attitude towards technology, social media usage and grade-point average as predictors of global citizenship identification in Filipino University Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Romeo B; Baring, Rito; Maria, Madelene Sta; Reysen, Stephen

    2017-06-01

    We examine the influence of a positive attitude towards technology, number of social media network memberships and grade-point average (GPA) on global citizenship identification antecedents and outcomes. Students (N = 3628) at a university in the Philippines completed a survey assessing the above constructs. The results showed that attitude towards technology, number of social network site memberships and GPA-predicted global citizenship identification, and subsequent prosocial outcomes (e.g. intergroup helping, responsibility to act for the betterment of the world), through the perception that valued others prescribe a global citizen identity (normative environment) and perceived knowledge of the world and felt interconnectedness with others (global awareness). The results highlight the associations between technology and academic performance with a global identity and associated values. © 2015 International Union of Psychological Science.

  2. Perceived Social Norms, Expectations, and Attitudes toward Corporal Punishment among an Urban Community Sample of Parents

    OpenAIRE

    Taylor, Catherine A.; Hamvas, Lauren; Rice, Janet; Newman, Denise L.; DeJong, William

    2011-01-01

    Despite the fact that corporal punishment (CP) is a significant risk factor for increased aggression in children, child physical abuse victimization, and other poor outcomes, approval of CP remains high in the United States. Having a positive attitude toward CP use is a strong and malleable predictor of CP use and, therefore, is an important potential target for reducing use of CP. The Theory of Planned Behavior suggests that parents’ perceived injunctive and descriptive social norms and expe...

  3. The relationship between attitude, assertiveness and condom use.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Treffke, H; Tiggemann, M; Ross, M W

    1992-01-01

    The Australian study investigated condom-specific assertiveness and condom use as a means of prevention infection from sexually transmitted diseases. 211 men participated including 83 homosexual men (aged 19-62 years) and 128 heterosexual men (aged 17-49) who completed a questionnaire that comprised demographic details such as age, monogamy, and sexual activity as well as attitudinal and assertiveness measures. General assertiveness was measured by the Rathus Assertiveness Schedule (RAS) which had been widely used across a wide range of social situations. Assertiveness relating specifically to situations involving condoms was measured by the Condom Assertiveness Scale (CAS). Intention to use condoms was positively related to favorable attitudes, which were related to condom-specific assertiveness for both groups. For the heterosexual men only, general social assertiveness was negatively related to attitudes toward condoms. For both groups, the condom-specific measure of assertiveness was positively correlated with attitudes toward condoms. Condom-specific assertiveness was positively related to general social assertiveness as measured by the Rathus Assertiveness Schedule for the homosexual, but not for the heterosexual men. The negative relationship between general assertiveness and attitude to condoms among the heterosexual men implies that the risk reducing behavior of condom use did not seem to accord with the perceptions of masculinity and social assertiveness among heterosexual men. Thus, female partners of such heterosexual men exhibiting negative attitudes toward condom use combined with assertiveness would have to overcome resistance to insist on the use of condoms. Recently some advertising campaigns have been directed at women. The promotion of condom use among heterosexual men has to deal with the perceptions of condom use as unmasculine behavior.

  4. SUSTAINABLE FOOD CONSUMPTION: EXPLORING THE CONSUMER ATTITUDE – BEHAVIOUR GAP

    OpenAIRE

    I. VERMEIR; W. VERBEKE

    2004-01-01

    Although public interest in sustainability increases and consumer attitudes are mainly positive, behavioural patterns are not univocally consistent with attitudes. The presumed gap between favourable attitude towards sustainable behaviour and behavioural intention to purchase sustainable food products is investigated in this study. The impact of involvement, perceived availability, certainty, perceived consumer effectiveness (PCE), values, and social norms on consumers’ attitudes and intentio...

  5. Senior customers’ attitudes towards the social responsibility actions of pharmacies and drugstores

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria de Lourdes Bacha

    2008-09-01

    Full Text Available In  this  article  the  attitudes  of  senior  customers are  analyzed  considering  the  actions  of  social responsibility  of  pharmacies  and  drugstores  in the city of São Paulo. A quantitative and empiric research was carried out taking into account the concept of attitude and the theory regarding the social responsibility, with a non-probabilistic sample of 200 buyers in the city of São Paulo, in 2006.  A structured questionnaire was used for field work. The results show ineffective actions of social responsibility from pharmacies and drugstores, in spite of the benefits they could bring to the institutional image and brand.

  6. Attitudes Toward Mental Health Services Among American Indians by Two Age Groups.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roh, Soonhee; Brown-Rice, Kathleen A; Lee, Kyoung Hag; Lee, Yeon-Shim; Yee-Melichar, Darlene; Talbot, Elizabeth P

    2015-11-01

    This study examined determinants of attitudes toward mental health services with a sample of American Indian younger-old-adults (aged 50-64, n = 158) and American Indian older-old adults (aged 65 and older, n = 69). Adapting Andersen's behavioral model of healthcare utilization, predisposing factors, mental health needs, and enabling factors were considered as potential predictors. Female and those with higher levels of social support tend to report more positive attitudes toward mental health services. Culture-influenced personal belief was associated with negative attitudes toward mental health services among American Indian younger-old -adults. Age and higher chronic medical conditions were significantly related to negative attitudes toward mental health services. Health insurance was positively associated with positive attitudes toward mental health services in the American Indian older-old adults. Findings indicate that practitioners should engage how culture, social support, and chronic conditions influence the response to mental health needs when working with older American Indians.

  7. How social position of origin relates to intelligence and level of education when adjusting for attained social position.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sorjonen, Kimmo; Hemmingsson, Tomas; Lundin, Andreas; Melin, Bo

    2011-06-01

    Intelligence and its relationship to achievement is a classical question within psychology. In accordance with earlier British studies, the present study, based on conscription data and follow-ups for Swedish men born 1949-51 (N = 36,156), found that when adjusting for attained social position, people with a high social position of origin tend to have higher intelligence and level of education than people with a lower social position of origin. These results could be seen to contradict the claim that more merit, at least when operationalized as intelligence or education, is required from people with a low social position of origin in order to attain a certain social level. © 2011 The Authors. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology © 2011 The Scandinavian Psychological Associations.

  8. Non-mental health workers' attitudes and social distance towards ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Non-mental health workers' attitudes and social distance towards people with mental illness in a. Nigerian teaching hospital. Olatunji F. Ainaa, O. Yewande Oshodia, Adebayo R. Erinfolamia, Joseph D. Adeyemia, and Tajudeen. F Suleimanb a Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, PMB 12003, ...

  9. Social Workers' Attitudes toward Peer-Reviewed Literature: The Evidence Base

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knight, Carolyn

    2013-01-01

    Social workers from one state chapter of the National Association of Social Workers were surveyed to assess their use of and attitudes toward the peer-reviewed literature and their engagement in evidence-based practice. Results reveal that, in general, the practitioners in this study did not read the peer-reviewed literature, particularly articles…

  10. Neural correlates of attitude change following positive and negative advertisements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Junko Kato

    2009-05-01

    Full Text Available Understanding changes in attitudes towards others is critical to understanding human behaviour. Neuropolitical studies have found that the activation of emotion-related areas in the brain is linked to resilient political preferences, and neuroeconomic research has analysed the neural correlates of social preferences that favour or oppose consideration of intrinsic rewards. This study aims to identify the neural correlates in the prefrontal cortices of changes in political attitudes toward others that are linked to social cognition. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI experiments have presented videos from previous electoral campaigns and television commercials for major cola brands and then used the subjects’ self-rated affinity toward political candidates as behavioural indicators. After viewing negative campaign videos, subjects showing stronger fMRI activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex lowered their ratings of the candidate they originally supported more than did those with smaller fMRI signal changes in the same region. Subjects showing stronger activation in the medial prefrontal cortex tended to increase their ratings more than did those with less activation. The same regions were not activated by viewing negative advertisements for cola. Correlations between the self-rated values and the neural signal changes underscore the metric representation of observed decisions (i.e., whether to support or not in the brain. This indicates that neurometric analysis may contribute to the exploration of the neural correlates of daily social behaviour.

  11. Using Games to Promote Girls' Positive Attitudes toward Technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Eck, Richard

    2006-01-01

    Studies show that women make up only 35% of the IT workforce, and the schism between boys' and girls' interests in math and science is well documented. Richard Van Eck suggests that providing girls with more positive experiences with technology may impact their overall attitudes toward technology and perhaps even toward math and science. Van Eck…

  12. Attitude toward m-advertising and m-repurchase

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nadia Jiménez

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available One of the business models that attracts scholars and professionals’ interest is mobile commerce. This paper applies the theory of shopping preference to this field. It analyzes the role of personal factors (perceived control and propensity to use technology, social factors (influence of a social group, and epistemic factors (compatibility to determine consumers’ attitude toward mobile advertising (m-advertising and mobile repurchase (m-repurchase. The information of 973 mobile shoppers is analyzed in two contexts (Spain as a developed country and Mexico as a developing country. A positive attitude toward m-advertising is confirmed to increase m-repurchase through the mobile phone and the indirect influence of personal, social, and epistemic factors on shoppers m-repurchase (through the attitude toward m-advertising varies depending on the analyzed market.

  13. Social anxiety and social norms in individualistic and collectivistic countries

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schreier, S.S.; Heinrichs, N.; Alden, L.; Rapee, R.M.; Hofmann, S.G.; Chen, J.; Oh, K.Y.; Bogels, S.M.

    2010-01-01

    Background: Social anxiety is assumed to be related to cultural norms across countries. Heinrichs et al. [2006: Behav Res Ther 44:1187-1197] compared individualistic and collectivistic countries and found higher social anxiety and more positive attitudes toward socially avoidant behaviors in

  14. Community attitudes toward childbearing and abortion among HIV-positive women in Nigeria and Zambia

    OpenAIRE

    Kavanaugh, Megan L.; Moore, Ann M.; Akinyemi, Odunayo; Adewole, Isaac; Dzekedzeke, Kumbutso; Awolude, Olutosin; Arulogun, Oyedunni

    2012-01-01

    Although stigma towards HIV-positive women for both continuing and terminating a pregnancy has been documented, to date few studies have examined relative stigma towards one outcome versus the other. This study seeks to describe community attitudes towards each of two possible elective outcome of an HIV-positive woman’s pregnancy – induced abortion or birth – to determine which garners more stigma and document characteristics of community members associated with stigmatising attitudes towards...

  15. Measuring Implicit Attitudes with the Inclusion ST-IAT: A Replication and Further Validation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wüthrich, Sergej; Sahli Lozano, Caroline

    2018-01-01

    Assessment of attitudes in inclusive education research is almost exclusively based on self-report scales. This may lead to overestimation of positive attitudes due to social desirability bias, and self-reported attitudes may not capture all relevant aspects of attitudes. Recently, Lüke and Grosche (2018a) proposed a new attitude test based on a…

  16. Enhancing the Students' Positive Attitude in Learning Business English by Using Technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agustina, Lia

    2017-01-01

    Many research findings have stated that the use of technology in EFL classroom results invaluable achievements and develops positive attitudes. Technology may integrate sounds, pictures, motions, and colors that fi ure out a natural picture of real life. The aim of the study was to enhance the students' attitude toward learning English by using…

  17. Social Justice Attitudes and Concerns for Labor Standards

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michaela Schulz

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This study utilizes an adapted version of the Social Justice Scale to capture and assess the extent to which social-justice-related values and attitudes toward labor standards relate to consumer intentions and behaviors. This social cognitive model assesses, based on Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior, how “perceived behavior control” affects these behaviors either directly or indirectly through consumers’ intentions. It is hypothesized that individuals who value fairness and equity in social interactions are going to be more likely to engage with businesses that are known for ethical business practices and abstain from firms that are known to violate labor rights. The results confirm that consumers who are concerned with social justice are less likely to conduct business with enterprises that have the reputation of violating both human rights and labor rights. However, the results also reveal that consumers with low levels of “perceived behavioral control” justify their consumer behaviors as they do not think that they can make a difference.

  18. The organizational social context of mental health services and clinician attitudes toward evidence-based practice: a United States national study

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-01

    Background Evidence-based practices have not been routinely adopted in community mental health organizations despite the support of scientific evidence and in some cases even legislative or regulatory action. We examined the association of clinician attitudes toward evidence-based practice with organizational culture, climate, and other characteristics in a nationally representative sample of mental health organizations in the United States. Methods In-person, group-administered surveys were conducted with a sample of 1,112 mental health service providers in a nationwide sample of 100 mental health service institutions in 26 states in the United States. The study examines these associations with a two-level Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) analysis of responses to the Evidence-Based Practice Attitude Scale (EBPAS) at the individual clinician level as a function of the Organizational Social Context (OSC) measure at the organizational level, controlling for other organization and clinician characteristics. Results We found that more proficient organizational cultures and more engaged and less stressful organizational climates were associated with positive clinician attitudes toward adopting evidence-based practice. Conclusions The findings suggest that organizational intervention strategies for improving the organizational social context of mental health services may contribute to the success of evidence-based practice dissemination and implementation efforts by influencing clinician attitudes. PMID:22726759

  19. The organizational social context of mental health services and clinician attitudes toward evidence-based practice: a United States national study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aarons Gregory A

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Evidence-based practices have not been routinely adopted in community mental health organizations despite the support of scientific evidence and in some cases even legislative or regulatory action. We examined the association of clinician attitudes toward evidence-based practice with organizational culture, climate, and other characteristics in a nationally representative sample of mental health organizations in the United States. Methods In-person, group-administered surveys were conducted with a sample of 1,112 mental health service providers in a nationwide sample of 100 mental health service institutions in 26 states in the United States. The study examines these associations with a two-level Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM analysis of responses to the Evidence-Based Practice Attitude Scale (EBPAS at the individual clinician level as a function of the Organizational Social Context (OSC measure at the organizational level, controlling for other organization and clinician characteristics. Results We found that more proficient organizational cultures and more engaged and less stressful organizational climates were associated with positive clinician attitudes toward adopting evidence-based practice. Conclusions The findings suggest that organizational intervention strategies for improving the organizational social context of mental health services may contribute to the success of evidence-based practice dissemination and implementation efforts by influencing clinician attitudes.

  20. A Social Role Theory Perspective on Gender Gaps in Political Attitudes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diekman, Amanda B.; Schneider, Monica C.

    2010-01-01

    Men and women tend to espouse different political attitudes, as widely noted by both journalists and social scientists. A deeper understanding of why and when gender gaps exist is necessary because at least some gender differences in the political realm are both pervasive and impactful. In this article, we apply a social role theory framework to…

  1. The Role of Social Identity Complexity in Inter-Group Attitudes among Young Adolescents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knifsend, Casey A.; Juvonen, Jaana

    2013-01-01

    To supplement research on adolescent social identities, the current study examined how social identity complexity relates to ethnic inter-group attitudes in a young adolescent sample (N = 97; "age range" = 12-14 years). Social identity complexity refers to the perceived overlap of groups with which youth align themselves. Descriptive…

  2. Social Identity Complexity, Cross-Ethnic Friendships, and Intergroup Attitudes in Urban Middle Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knifsend, Casey A.; Juvonen, Jaana

    2014-01-01

    This study investigated contextual antecedents (i.e., cross-ethnic peers and friends) and correlates (i.e., intergroup attitudes) of social identity complexity in seventh grade. Social identity complexity refers to the perceived overlap among social groups with which youth identify. Identifying mostly with out-of-school sports, religious…

  3. Social stigma and familial attitudes related to infertility

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rahime Nida Ergin

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To determine the perceived social stigma and familial attitides and perception of sexuality in infertile couples attending infertility clinics. Materials and Methods: Infertile couples attending infertility clinics between the years of 2014 and 2015 were requested to complete detailed evaluation forms including questions related to the social stigma on their infertility, their familial attitudes, and perception of sexuality. Any partner of the infertile couple accepting to enroll in the study was given the evaluation forms. Their scores related to answers and demographics, and parameters related to infertility were analyzed. Results: A total 598 partners of infertile couples enrolled in the study, 58% represented 177 couples. Their infertility was primary in 98.3% and the duration of marriage and infertility was 9.81±5.58 and 9.76±5.53 years, respectively. The perception of social exclusion was present in 38% (p<0.001 of infertile couple, which was more significantly pronounced in female partners (p=0.013. Fifteen percent of the infertile couples thought themselves as isolated in public and losing value in public (p<0.001. However, sixty percent of infertile couples thought that they would achieve a notable place in community after having a baby (p<0.001. Infertility was accepted as a reason of divorce in only 13% of infertile couples (p<0.001. The majority of perticipnats, irrespective of sex, rejected that infertile women or men lost sexual appeal (86%; p<0.001. Conclusions: There is significant effect of infertility on familial attitudes and perception of sexuality of infertile couples. Unfortunately, there is significant negative social stigma on infertile couples.

  4. Position and attitude tracking control for a quadrotor UAV.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiong, Jing-Jing; Zheng, En-Hui

    2014-05-01

    A synthesis control method is proposed to perform the position and attitude tracking control of the dynamical model of a small quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), where the dynamical model is underactuated, highly-coupled and nonlinear. Firstly, the dynamical model is divided into a fully actuated subsystem and an underactuated subsystem. Secondly, a controller of the fully actuated subsystem is designed through a novel robust terminal sliding mode control (TSMC) algorithm, which is utilized to guarantee all state variables converge to their desired values in short time, the convergence time is so small that the state variables are acted as time invariants in the underactuated subsystem, and, a controller of the underactuated subsystem is designed via sliding mode control (SMC), in addition, the stabilities of the subsystems are demonstrated by Lyapunov theory, respectively. Lastly, in order to demonstrate the robustness of the proposed control method, the aerodynamic forces and moments and air drag taken as external disturbances are taken into account, the obtained simulation results show that the synthesis control method has good performance in terms of position and attitude tracking when faced with external disturbances. Copyright © 2014 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Attitudes toward Lesbians and Gay Men among Hong Kong Chinese Social Work Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kwok, Diana K.; Wu, Joseph; Shardlow, Steven M.

    2013-01-01

    There is a dearth of research on social work students' attitudes toward lesbians and gays in East Asian countries where intolerance toward nonheterosexuality has been documented. This article presents findings from the first study in Hong Kong using a Chinese version of Herek's Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay Men Scale (ATLG) to measure…

  6. THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON TURKISH UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARD ONLINE ADVERTISING AND THEIR BEHAVIOURAL RESPONSE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ece Armagan

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available This academic study aims to show the impact of social media on Turkish students’attitudes toward online advertising and their behavioural response. Therefore thisstudy will reveal the influence of consumers’ attitudes toward social mediaadvertising and its impact on their advertising clicking and furthermore buyingintention.To create a statistically significant test pool, 400 university students of the AdnanMenderes university, Faculty of Economic and Administrative SciencesinAydın/Turkey were randomly chosen and the data wasanalysed with SPSSversion 18. A proposed model of belief, attitude and behavioural response, in thecontext of social media advertising, was tested along with the PCA (Principlecomponent analysis to support the model.The following four factors, ‘Belief about social media advertising’, ‘Attitudetoward social media advertising, ‘AdClicking’ and ‘OnlineBuying’ were tested.The aim of this study was to reveal that a positivebelief about social mediaadvertising leads to an affirmative attitude towardsocial media advertising whichsignificantly influences consumers’ advertising clicking behaviour which at the same time can have a favorable impact on their buying behaviour from theinternet.The results of this study should be considered important for Turkish companys’marketing strategies which aim to go online to selltheir products or services totheir target customers through social media channels (e.g. facebook, twitter etc..

  7. Psychotic Symptoms and Attitudes toward Medication Mediate the Effect of Insight on Personal-Social Functions in Patients with Schizophrenia: One-Year Randomized Controlled Trial and Follow-Up.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Yingjun; Ning, Yuping; She, Shenglin; Deng, Yongjie; Chen, Yuwei; Yi, Wenying; Lu, Xiaodan; Chen, Xinrui; Li, Juanhua; Li, Ruikeng; Zhang, Jie; Xiao, Di; Wu, Haibo; Wu, Chao

    2018-02-14

    This study aimed to investigate the mediating pathway of 3 factors (psychotic symptoms, attitude toward medication, and cognitive processing speed) on the effect of insight on personal-social functioning in patients with schizophrenia. Chinese inpatients with schizophrenia (n = 168; mean age 18 ± 50 years) diagnosed according to the DSM-IV were randomly assigned to treatment with antipsychotic medication alone or combined treatment. Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), Drug Attitude Inventory (DAI), Assessment of Insight (SAI), and Social-Personal Performance Scale (PSPS) scores were evaluated at baseline and at 3, 6, and 12 months. Cognitive function was assessed at baseline. Multiple mediation analyses were conducted with baseline data, end point data, and changes-in-scale scores between baseline and the end point, respectively. At baseline and at 12 months, only psychotic symptoms mediated the effect of insight on personal-social functioning. For changes-in-scale scores over the 12-month follow-up, in patients receiving treatment with medication alone, the effect of improved insight on improved personal-social function was mediated by psychotic symptoms only; in patients receiving a combined treatment, the effect of improved insight on improved personal-social functioning was mediated by both psychotic symptoms and attitudes toward medication, independently. The link between insight and personal-social functions is mainly mediated by psychotic symptoms. Psychosocial intervention improves the predicting effect of insight on personal-social function by improving both the attitude toward medication and psychotic symptoms independently. © 2018 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  8. Relationship of negative and positive core beliefs about the self with dysfunctional attitudes in three aspects of life

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Otani K

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Koichi Otani, Akihito Suzuki, Yoshihiko Matsumoto, Toshinori Shirata Department of Psychiatry, Yamagata University School of Medicine, Yamagata, Japan Objective: Cognitive theory assumes a pivotal role of negative core beliefs about the self in dysfunctional attitudes predisposing to depression. Meanwhile, the role of positive core beliefs about the self in cognitive vulnerability to depression is unknown. Therefore, we examined the relationship of negative and positive core beliefs about the self with dysfunctional attitudes in three aspects of life.Methods: The subjects were 311 Japanese volunteers. Core beliefs of negative-self and positive-self were evaluated by the corresponding subscales of the Brief Core Schema Scales. Dysfunctional attitudes in the areas of achievement, dependency and self-control were measured by the corresponding subscales of the 24-item Dysfunctional Attitude Scale.Results: The negative-self subscale was correlated with the achievement, dependency and self-control subscales. The positive-self subscale was correlated with the achievement and self-control subscales.Conclusion: The present study suggests that negative core beliefs about the self underlie all types of dysfunctional attitudes, while positive core beliefs about the self have some connections with dysfunctional attitudes related to achievement and self-control. Keywords: negative-self, achievement, dependency, self-control, depression

  9. Stigma, social reciprocity and exclusion of HIV/AIDS patients with illicit drug histories: A study of Thai nurses' attitudes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stoové Mark A

    2008-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Stigma is a key barrier for the delivery of care to patients living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA. In the Asia region, the HIV/AIDS epidemic has disproportionately affected socially marginalised groups, in particular, injecting drug users. The effect of the stigmatising attitudes towards injecting drug users on perceptions of PLWHA within the health care contexts has not been thoroughly explored, and typically neglected in terms of stigma intervention. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a group of twenty Thai trainee and qualified nurses. Drawing upon the idea of 'social reciprocity', this paper examines the constructions of injecting drug users and PLWHA by a group of Thai nurses. Narratives were explored with a focus on how participants' views concerning the high-risk behaviour of injecting drug use might influence their attitudes towards PLWHA. Results The analysis shows that active efforts were made by participants to separate their views of patients living with HIV/AIDS from injecting drug users. While the former were depicted as patients worthy of social support and inclusion, the latter were excluded on the basis that they were perceived as irresponsible 'social cheaters' who pose severe social and economic harm to the community. Absent in the narratives were references to wider socio-political and epidemiological factors related to drug use and needle sharing that expose injecting drug users to risk; these behaviours were constructed as individual choices, allowing HIV positive drug users to be blamed for their seropositive status. These attitudes could potentially have indirect negative implications on the nurses' opinions of patients living with HIV/AIDS more generally. Conclusion Decreasing the stigma associated with illicit drugs might play crucial role in improving attitudes towards patients living with HIV/AIDS. Providing health workers with a broader understanding of risk behaviours and redirecting

  10. Gender Differences in Positive Social-Emotional Functioning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Romer, Natalie; Ravitch, N. Kathryn; Tom, Karalyn; Merrell, Kenneth W.; Wesley, Katherine L.

    2011-01-01

    We investigated gender differences of children and adolescents on positive social and emotional competencies using a new strength-based measure of positive social-emotional attributes and resilience--the Social-Emotional Assets and Resilience Scales (SEARS) cross-informant system. Caregivers, teachers, and students in grades kindergarten through…

  11. The influence of female social models in corporate STEM initiatives on girls' math and science attitudes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Medeiros, Donald J.

    The United States' Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) workforce is growing slower than in the past, in comparison to demand, and in comparison to other countries. Competitive talent conditions require the United States to develop a strong pipeline of STEM talent within its own citizens. Given the number of female college graduates and their underrepresentation in the STEM workforce, women provide the greatest opportunity for fulfilling this need. The term social model represents the individuals and media that shape children's self-perceptions. Social models have been shown to positively influence girl's perceptions of the value of math and science as well as their expectations of success. This study examined differences in attitudes towards math and science among student participants in corporate STEM programs. Differences were measured based on participant gender and ethnicity, their mentor's gender and ethnicity, and program design differences. The research purpose was to inform the design of corporate STEM programs to improve female participants' attitudes towards math and science and eventually increase the number of women in the STEM workforce. Over three hundred students in differing corporate STEM programs completed math and science attitudinal scales at the start and end of their programs. Study results revealed, prior to program start, female participants had a better attitude towards math and science than male participants. Analysis of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study data showed similar results. Overall program results demonstrated higher post program math and science attitudes with no differences based on gender, age, or ethnicity of the participant or mentor. Participants with high program or mentor satisfaction were found to have higher attitudes towards math and science. These results may suggest improving female academic choice requires more focus on their expectations of success than perceived task

  12. Comparisons between the attitudes of student nurses and other health and social care students toward illicit drug use: An attitudinal survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harling, Martyn R

    2017-01-01

    In the context of a recent emphasis on compassion in the delivery of health care, the current study set out to measure the attitudes of different groups of health and social care students toward illicit drug users. Previous research has identified variations in the attitudes of different groups of health and social care professionals toward working with illicit drug users. Nurses, in particular, have been reported as holding moralistic or stereotypical views of illicit drug users. However, few studies have measured the attitudes of student nurses or compared their attitudes to other health and social care students. This article describes the use of a bespoke attitude scale to measure the attitudes of cohorts of student nurses, clinical psychology trainees, health and social care, social work and midwifery students at the start of their course (N=308). Results indicated that student nurses had the least tolerant attitudes, reinforcing the need for a specific educational focus on working with illicit drug users in nurse education. Variations between student groups indicate that Interprofessional Education can provide an opportunity to improve attitudes toward illicit drug users, particularly amongst student nurses. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Attitudes about Mental Illness and Professional Danger among New Social Work Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Theriot, Matthew T.; Lodato, Gayle A.

    2012-01-01

    This article describes the results of a study comparing attitudes toward mental illness and perceptions of professional danger among new social work students (n=64) and other university students (n=111). Such topics have implications for social work education and curriculum development but have not been studied adequately. Results from…

  14. Exploring abortion attitudes of US adolescents and young adults using social media.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Altshuler, Anna L; Gerns Storey, Helen L; Prager, Sarah W

    2015-03-01

    To explore the use of social media for recruitment of adolescents and young adults in the United States and to describe how they learn and feel about abortion. Americans 13-29years of age were recruited through web-based social media to complete an online survey about sex and pregnancy-related decision making, including abortion. Descriptive statistics were used to compare the study population's demographics and prevalence of sexual experience to national databases [US Census and National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG)] and to describe abortion attitudes and related topics. Survey completion rate was 78% and 996 participants' responses were analyzed. The study population appeared diverse with respect to gender, ethnicity, race and geographic distribution with some similarities to the US Census and was sexually active at an earlier age compared to the NSFG. While the majority of participants supported abortion (74%), acceptance of abortion for themselves or their partners varied based on circumstances. The media were the most popular sources of information for learning about sex and abortion (73% and 68%, respectively). Parents had the most influence on individuals' abortion stances compared to other sources. Social media recruitment, compared to traditional methods, has the potential to reach a geographically, ethnically and racially diverse group of young people to study sensitive topics in an economical and expedient fashion. Similar to the general population, the study population's abortion views fell on a spectrum with overall supportive attitudes toward abortion. The media served as common sources of information for learning about both sex and abortion. Web-based social media offer a novel recruiting strategy to study sensitive topics such as abortion attitudes among difficult-to-reach populations such as adolescents and young adults. The presented findings begin characterizing young people's abortion attitudes, offering a foundation for more in-depth research

  15. Social cognitive determinants of betel quid chewing among college students in southern Taiwan: a revised Attitudes-Social Influence-Efficacy Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Chih-Hung; Ko, Huei-Chen; Wu, Jo Yung-Wei; Cheng, Chung-Ping

    2007-10-01

    Through Structural Equation Modeling, this study aimed to revise and examine the Attitudes-Social Influence-Efficacy Model in explaining the psychosocial process of betel quid use among Southern Taiwan college students. A representative sample of 3,741 college students were recruited from 14 colleges through stratified and random cluster sampling, yielding 3,162 valid participants. Results showed that the revised ASE model accounted for 26.5% of the variance in betel quid use and had a better model-fit evaluation than the original model. Intention to chew affected the use of betel quid, while both social influence and refusal self-efficacy had a direct impact on intention and use as well as an indirect effect on use through intention. Additionally, both positive and negative outcome expectancies predicted intention and betel quid use via refusal self-efficacy. Our results supported the revised ASE model for explaining the psychosocial processes of betel quid use, suggesting that more attention should be given towards the development of school-based preventive programs on diminishing social influence and promoting refusal self-efficacy in betel quid use.

  16. Determinants of attitude to volunteering in psychiatry: results of a public opinion survey in Switzerland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lauber, Christoph; Nordt, Carlos; Falcato, Luis; Rössler, Wulf

    2002-09-01

    The United Nations proclaimed 2001 the "International Year of Volunteers". Little is known about factors influencing the attitude to volunteering in psychiatry. However, knowledge about these factors is important as target groups to be addressed by an awareness and promotion campaign could be identified. To determine the influence of demographic, psychological and sociological factors on the attitude to volunteering in psychiatry. Multiple logistic regression analysis of the results of an opinion survey conducted on a representative population sample in Switzerland (n = 1737). Public attitude is mostly positive. It depends, however, on the form of volunteering. Two explanatory models for volunteering in psychiatry were found: first, the "antipathetic person" having social distance to and negative stereotypes towards the mentally ill. Second, the "people with social responsibility and commitment" who have former experience in volunteering, a positive attitude to community psychiatry, interest in mass media, a social profession and perceive discrimination of mentally ill persons. Age and gender are significant predictors. An awareness and promotion campaign to use the vast potential of people willing to volunteer in psychiatry can be primarily focused on those with a basic interest in social issues. Volunteering must be limited in time and responsibility. Contacting people with a positive attitude by mass media is a promising way.

  17. Social Attitudes on Gender Equality and Firms' Discriminatory Pay-Setting

    OpenAIRE

    Janssen, Simon; Tuor Sartore, Simone N.; Backes-Gellner, Uschi

    2014-01-01

    We analyze the relationship between social attitudes on gender equality and firms' pay-setting behavior by combining information about regional votes relative to gender equality laws with a large data set of multi-branch firms and workers. The results show that multi-branch firms pay more discriminatory wages in branches located in regions with a higher social acceptance of gender inequality than in branches located in regions with a lower acceptance. The results are similar for different sub...

  18. Generation Y students’ attitudes towards facebook advertising: pilot study results

    OpenAIRE

    Hilda Bongazana Mahlangu; Ayesha Lian Bevan-Dye

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to report on the results of a pilot study conducted on the determinants and inhibitors of Generation Y students’ attitudes towards Facebook advertising. The findings suggest that Generation Y students have a positive attitude towards the information value, entertainment value, credibility, self-brand congruity of advertising on Facebook and attitude towards the social interaction value of Facebook. Their attitudes towards trust in the site and trust in the members...

  19. Social position, social ties and adult's oral health: 13 year cohort study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vettore, Mario Vianna; Faerstein, Eduardo; Baker, Sarah Ruth

    2016-01-01

    This study explored different pathways by which social position and social ties influence adult's oral health over a 13-year period. A cohort investigation (Pro-Saúde Study) was conducted of non-faculty civil servants at a university in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (N=1613). Baseline data collected in 1999 included age, social position, social ties, and access to dental care. Psychological factors and smoking were assessed in 2001, whereas tooth loss and self-rated oral health (SROH) were collected in 2012. A hypothesised model exploring different direct and indirect pathways was developed and tested using structural equation modelling. The model was a good fit to the data and accounted for 40% and 27% of the variance in tooth loss and SROH, respectively. A greater social position was linked to more social ties (β=0.31), health insurance (β=0.48), low psychological distress (β=0.07), less smoking (β=-0.21), more regular dental visiting (β=0.30), less tooth loss (β=-0.44) and better SROH (β=-0.25) over time. Social position (β=0.0005) and social ties (β=-0.0015) were linked indirectly with psychological distress, smoking and tooth loss. Social position was linked indirectly with social ties, psychological distress and SROH (β=-0.0071). Poor social position and weak social ties were important predictors for tooth loss and poor SROH in adults over the 13-year period. Direct and indirect pathways via psychological factors and smoking on the aforementioned relationships were identified, suggesting different areas of intervention to promote adults' oral health. Adult's oral health is influenced by social conditions through direct and indirect pathways, including via psychological factors and smoking. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  20. Undergraduates' Attitudes Toward Science and Their Epistemological Beliefs: Positive Effects of Certainty and Authority Beliefs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fulmer, Gavin W.

    2014-02-01

    Attitudes toward science are an important aspect of students' persistence in school science and interest in pursuing future science careers, but students' attitudes typically decline over the course of formal schooling. This study examines relationships of students' attitudes toward science with their perceptions of science as inclusive or non-religious, and their epistemological beliefs about epistemic authority and certainty. Data were collected using an online survey system among undergraduates at a large, public US university (n = 582). Data were prepared using a Rasch rating scale model and then analyzed using multiple-regression analysis. Gender and number of science and mathematics courses were included as control variables, followed by perceptions of science, then epistemological beliefs. Findings show that respondents have more positive attitudes when they perceive science to be inclusive of women and minorities, and when they perceive science to be incompatible with religion. Respondents also have more positive attitudes toward science when they believe scientific knowledge is uncertain, and when they believe knowledge derives from authority. Interpretations of these findings and implications for future research are discussed.

  1. Social stigma and familial attitudes related to infertility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ergin, Rahime Nida; Polat, Aslıhan; Kars, Bülent; Öztekin, Deniz; Sofuoğlu, Kenan; Çalışkan, Eray

    2018-03-01

    To determine the perceived social stigma and familial attitides and perception of sexuality in infertile couples attending infertility clinics. Infertile couples attending infertility clinics between the years of 2014 and 2015 were requested to complete detailed evaluation forms including questions related to the social stigma on their infertility, their familial attitudes, and perception of sexuality. Any partner of the infertile couple accepting to enroll in the study was given the evaluation forms. Their scores related to answers and demographics, and parameters related to infertility were analyzed. A total 598 partners of infertile couples enrolled in the study, 58% represented 177 couples. Their infertility was primary in 98.3% and the duration of marriage and infertility was 9.81±5.58 and 9.76±5.53 years, respectively. The perception of social exclusion was present in 38% (psocial stigma on infertile couples.

  2. Three Social Classroom Applications to Improve Student Attitudes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alf Inge Wang

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper presents results of a quasiexperiment where the three social classroom applications Post-It, WordCloud, and Categorizer were used in software architecture lectures. Post-It and WordCloud are applications that allow students to brainstorm or give comments related to a given topic. Categorizer is a puzzle game where the students are asked to place a number of terms in one of two correct categories. The three applications are multimodal HTML5 applications that enable students to interact in a classroom using their own digital devices, and the teacher’s laptop is used to display progress and results on the large screen. The focus of this study was to evaluate how the difference of these applications and how their integration into the lecture affected the students’ motivation, engagement, thinking, activity level, social interaction, creativity, enjoyment, attention, and learning. In addition, the study evaluated the usability and the technical quality of the applications. The results of the experiment show that the way such applications are integrated into a lecture highly affects the students’ attitude. The experiment also showed that the game-based application was on average better received among the students and that the students’ attitude was highly sensitive to the difficulty level of the game.

  3. Relationship between Social Media for Social Marketing in Family Planning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ardiansyah

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available This research aims to examine the influence of marketing mix carried out media performance social media portal on attitude towards a social marketing program,and its relationship with source credibility of the portal. This study was focused on "Generasi Berencana" Program (Generation with Plan Program, a program aimed at educating the youth on family planning The Research employed Structural Equations Modeling (SEM. Based on data from 150 respondents it can be concluded that in social marketing programs, source credibility, engagement, word of mouth have positive influence on the formation of behavior, but awareness of a program is not found to influence formation of behavior. This research also obtained findings that attitudes influence behavioral intention, but subjective norms is not positively influence the formation of behavioral intentions.

  4. Geriatrics education is associated with positive attitudes toward older people in internal medicine residents: a multicenter study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tufan, Fatih; Yuruyen, Mehmet; Kizilarslanoglu, Muhammet Cemal; Akpinar, Timur; Emiksiye, Sirhan; Yesil, Yusuf; Ozturk, Zeynel Abidin; Bozbulut, Utku Burak; Bolayir, Basak; Tasar, Pinar Tosun; Yavuzer, Hakan; Sahin, Sevnaz; Ulger, Zekeriya; Ozturk, Gulistan Bahat; Halil, Meltem; Akcicek, Fehmi; Doventas, Alper; Kepekci, Yalcin; Ince, Nurhan; Karan, Mehmet Akif

    2015-01-01

    The number of older people is growing fast in Turkey. In this context, internal medicine residents and specialists contact older people more frequently. Thus, healthcare providers' knowledge and attitudes toward older people is becoming more important. Studies that specifically investigate internal medicine residents' attitudes toward the elderly are scarce. We aimed to investigate the attitudes of internal medicine residents toward older people. This cross-sectional multicenter study was undertaken in the internal medicine clinics of six university state hospitals that provide education in geriatric care. All internal medicine residents working in these hospitals were invited to participate in this questionnaire study between March 2013 and December 2013. We recorded the participants' age, sex, duration of internal medicine residency, existence of relatives older than 65 years, history of geriatrics course in medical school, geriatrics rotation in internal medicine residency, and nursing home visits. A total of 274 (82.3%) of the residents participated in this study, and 83.6% of them had positive attitudes toward older people. A geriatrics rotation during internal medicine residency was the only independent factor associated with positive attitudes toward the elderly in this multivariate analysis. A geriatrics course during medical school was associated with positive attitudes in the univariate analysis, but only tended to be so in the multivariate analysis. Geriatrics rotation during internal medicine residency was independently associated with positive attitudes toward older people. Generalization of geriatrics education in developing countries may translate into a better understanding and improved care for older patients. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Ethnic Identity, Self-Efficacy, and Intercultural Attitudes in East African and U.S. Youth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Laura R.; Kim, Eun Ha; Johnson-Pynn, Julie S.; Schulenberg, Stefan E.; Balagaye, Herieth; Lugumya, Douglas

    2012-01-01

    Positive intercultural attitudes and civic action are increasingly important for youth around the world given the economic, social justice, and environmental challenges they face. Among U.S. youth and emerging adults, ethnic identity and self-efficacy are related to positive intercultural attitudes and may prompt civic engagement. Youth's efficacy…

  6. Promoting entrepreneurship - changing attitudes or behaviour

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dreisler, P.; Blenker, P.; Nielsen, K.

    2003-01-01

    social change, examining whether they are trying to create a change in attitudes or in behaviour or in both? This analysis has implications beyond the Danish case, as general reflections on entrepreneurship policy are induced from the analysis. It is argued that policy makers should reflect whether...... the target groups towards which policy initiatives are directed: 1) have a positive or negative attitude towards entrepreneurship, and 2) are engaged or not engaged in entrepreneurial action....

  7. Oncology Social Workers' Attitudes toward Hospice Care and Referral Behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Becker, Janet E.

    2004-01-01

    Members of the Association of Oncology Social Workers completed a survey, which included the Hospice Philosophy Scale (HPS) assessing the likelihood of the worker referring a terminally ill patient to hospice, background and experience, and demographics. The respondents held overwhelmingly favorable attitudes toward hospice philosophy and care,…

  8. An experimental study of the effect of green positioning on brand attitude

    OpenAIRE

    PATRIK HARTMANN; VANESSA APAOLAZA IBÁÑEZ; F. JAVIER FORCADA SAIZ

    2004-01-01

    Reducing the environmental impact of a product or its manufacturing process not necessarily limits the company’s activities. In the context of a green branding strategy, it might as well open new business opportunities. Ecological positioning provides a strategic tool for the active implementation of green brands. The empirical study shows that more positive attitudes are developed towards a brand positioned by environmental attributes and that these effects vary as a result of the implementa...

  9. A Social Identity Analysis of Climate Change and Environmental Attitudes and Behaviors: Insights and Opportunities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fielding, Kelly S; Hornsey, Matthew J

    2016-01-01

    Environmental challenges are often marked by an intergroup dimension. Political conservatives and progressives are divided on their beliefs about climate change, farmers come into conflict with scientists and environmentalists over water allocation or species protection, and communities oppose big business and mining companies that threaten their local environment. These intergroup tensions are reminders of the powerful influence social contexts and group memberships can have on attitudes, beliefs, and actions relating to climate change and the environment more broadly. In this paper, we use social identity theory to help describe and explain these processes. We review literature showing, how conceiving of oneself in terms of a particular social identity influences our environmental attitudes and behaviors, how relations between groups can impact on environmental outcomes, and how the content of social identities can direct group members to act in more or less pro-environmental ways. We discuss the similarities and differences between the social identity approach to these phenomena and related theories, such as cultural cognition theory, the theory of planned behavior, and value-belief-norm theory. Importantly, we also advance social-identity based strategies to foster more sustainable environmental attitudes and behaviors. Although this theoretical approach can provide important insights and potential solutions, more research is needed to build the empirical base, especially in relation to testing social identity solutions.

  10. A Social Identity Analysis of Climate Change and Environmental Attitudes and Behaviors: Insights and Opportunities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fielding, Kelly S.; Hornsey, Matthew J.

    2016-01-01

    Environmental challenges are often marked by an intergroup dimension. Political conservatives and progressives are divided on their beliefs about climate change, farmers come into conflict with scientists and environmentalists over water allocation or species protection, and communities oppose big business and mining companies that threaten their local environment. These intergroup tensions are reminders of the powerful influence social contexts and group memberships can have on attitudes, beliefs, and actions relating to climate change and the environment more broadly. In this paper, we use social identity theory to help describe and explain these processes. We review literature showing, how conceiving of oneself in terms of a particular social identity influences our environmental attitudes and behaviors, how relations between groups can impact on environmental outcomes, and how the content of social identities can direct group members to act in more or less pro-environmental ways. We discuss the similarities and differences between the social identity approach to these phenomena and related theories, such as cultural cognition theory, the theory of planned behavior, and value-belief-norm theory. Importantly, we also advance social-identity based strategies to foster more sustainable environmental attitudes and behaviors. Although this theoretical approach can provide important insights and potential solutions, more research is needed to build the empirical base, especially in relation to testing social identity solutions. PMID:26903924

  11. A social identity analysis of climate change and environmental attitudes and behaviors: Insights and opportunities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kelly Shanene Fielding

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Environmental challenges are often marked by an intergroup dimension. Political conservatives and progressives are divided on their beliefs about climate change, farmers come into conflict with scientists and environmentalists over water allocation or species protection, and communities oppose big business and mining companies that threaten their local environment. These intergroup tensions are reminders of the powerful influence social contexts and group memberships can have on attitudes, beliefs, and actions relating to climate change and the environment more broadly. In this paper we use social identity theory to help describe and explain these processes. We review literature showing how conceiving of oneself in terms of a particular social identity influences our environmental attitudes and behaviors, how relations between groups can impact on environmental outcomes, and how the content of social identities can direct group members to act in more or less pro-environmental ways. We discuss the similarities and differences between the social identity approach to these phenomena and related theories such as cultural cognition theory, the theory of planned behavior and value-belief-norm theory. Importantly, we also advance social-identity based strategies to foster more sustainable environmental attitudes and behaviors. Although this theoretical approach can provide important insights and potential solutions, more research is needed to build the empirical base, especially in relation to testing social identity solutions.

  12. Construction and Validation of a Measurement Instrument for Attitudes towards Teamwork

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mendo-Lázaro, Santiago; Polo-del-Río, María I.; Iglesias-Gallego, Damián; Felipe-Castaño, Elena; León-del-Barco, Benito

    2017-01-01

    Cooperative, collaborative learning and other forms of group learning methods are increasingly used in classrooms. Knowing students’ attitudes toward teamwork has great value since they influence the students’ learning results as well as their social development. So it is necessary to have robust instruments to provide a better understanding of these attitudes and preferences concerning teamwork. Such instruments also help to identify the factors that promote positive or negative attitudes within the context of group activities. Using a sample of 750 first and second year university students studying a degree in Kindergarten, Primary and Social Education, an instrument measuring attitudes toward team learning has been developed. Two distinct factors were obtained through various factorial analyses and structural equations: Academic attitudes and Social and emotional attitudes. Our study reveals that the instrument is both valid and reliable. Its application is both simple and fast and it has important implications for planning teaching and learning activities that contribute to an improvement in attitudes as well as the practice of teaching in the context of learning through teamwork. PMID:28676775

  13. Construction and Validation of a Measurement Instrument for Attitudes towards Teamwork

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Santiago Mendo-Lázaro

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Cooperative, collaborative learning and other forms of group learning methods are increasingly used in classrooms. Knowing students’ attitudes toward teamwork has great value since they influence the students’ learning results as well as their social development. So it is necessary to have robust instruments to provide a better understanding of these attitudes and preferences concerning teamwork. Such instruments also help to identify the factors that promote positive or negative attitudes within the context of group activities. Using a sample of 750 first and second year university students studying a degree in Kindergarten, Primary and Social Education, an instrument measuring attitudes toward team learning has been developed. Two distinct factors were obtained through various factorial analyses and structural equations: Academic attitudes and Social and emotional attitudes. Our study reveals that the instrument is both valid and reliable. Its application is both simple and fast and it has important implications for planning teaching and learning activities that contribute to an improvement in attitudes as well as the practice of teaching in the context of learning through teamwork.

  14. An Investigation of Social Capital and its Relationship with Religious Attitudes among the Students of Ardabil University of Medical Sciences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdollah Asadi

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Background & objectives: Social capital is defined as norms and networks which provide conditions for participation in social activities in order to profit mutually. This study was designed to evaluate the social capital status of students of Ardabil University of Medical Sciences and its relationship with religious attitudes. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 500 students from Ardabil University of Medical Sciences during second half of the academic year 2014. Data were collected using demographic, social capital and religious attitudes questionnaires and analyzed by SPSS 22 using T-Test, Pearson correlation and ONOVA tests. Results: Total means score for social capital was 80.0±16. There was significant correlation between all dimensions of social capital (except for dimension of family and friends connections and religious attitudes status (p<0.05. Conclusion: Due to the influence of social capital and its relationship with the religious attitude, it can be a guide for reduction of concerns about the educated classes and increasing their social capital

  15. A Social Information Processing Approach to Job Attitudes and Task Design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salancik, Gerald R.; Pfeffer, Jeffrey

    1978-01-01

    In comparison with need-satisfaction and expectancy models of job attitudes and motivation, the social information processing perspective emphasizes the effects of context and the consequences of past choices, rather than individual predispositions and rational decision-making processes. (Author)

  16. Attitudes towards poverty, organizations, ethics and morals: Israeli social workers' shared decision making.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levin, Lia; Schwartz-Tayri, Talia

    2017-06-01

    Partnerships between service users and social workers are complex in nature and can be driven by both personal and contextual circumstances. This study sought to explore the relationship between social workers' involvement in shared decision making with service users, their attitudes towards service users in poverty, moral standards and health and social care organizations' policies towards shared decision making. Based on the responses of 225 licensed social workers from health and social care agencies in the public, private and third sectors in Israel, path analysis was used to test a hypothesized model. Structural attributions for poverty contributed to attitudes towards people who live in poverty, which led to shared decision making. Also, organizational support in shared decision making, and professional moral identity, contributed to ethical behaviour which led to shared decision making. The results of this analysis revealed that shared decision making may be a scion of branched roots planted in the relationship between ethics, organizations and Stigma. © 2016 The Authors. Health Expectations Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  17. Ethnoreligious attitudes of contemporary Russian students toward labor migrants as a social group.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abakumova I. V.

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available This article focuses on the role of the media in shaping the worldview of today’s youth. In Part 1, social attitudes and social stereotypes are described in the context of ethnic relations. Part 2 describes the research into social distance and ethnic and religious stereotypes conducted by I.V. Abakumova and A.V. Grishina. The study was conducted in two stages. First we analyzed various TV and radio programs, articles in the press and on the Internet, about migrant workers, published from March 2009 to March 2012, to identify the image of migrant workers in the Russian media, for further study of the perceptions of migrant workers by students in different professional fields. In the second stage, we modified E. Bogardus’s “Social Distance Scale” in order to assess respondents’ attitudes toward media images of migrant workers and, more importantly, to determine the social distance at which the respondent tolerates the images and therefore the migrants themselves. The last part of the article reports the main findings and conclusions of the study.

  18. Public attitudes toward nuclear generating facilities: positive

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krannich, R.S.

    1977-01-01

    Public opposition and intervention in the siting and development of nuclear power plants has become more of a limiting factor than technological issues. Attitude surveys indicate that, while the majority of Americans support nuclear power, the utilities would do well to respond to the concerns and opinions of local residents when projects are in the planning stages. Recent polls are analyzed to identify the demographic and perceptive factors of opposition. Demographic studies indicate that the greatest opposition comes from women, young people, urban residents, farmers, low-income groups, and the unemployed. Perceptual opposition is associated with anticipated negative impacts in the form of hazards and social disruption. Since there appears to be a correlation between access to pertinent information and level of support, utility planners could develop educational programs to provide this information on the advantages of nuclear power. 10 references

  19. Measuring Cultural Socialization Attitudes and Behaviors of Mexican-Origin Mothers With Young Children: A Longitudinal Investigation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Derlan, Chelsea L; Umaña-Taylor, Adriana J; Toomey, Russell B; Jahromi, Laudan B; Updegraff, Kimberly A

    2016-07-01

    We describe the development and psychometric testing of the Cultural Socialization Behaviors Measure (CSBM) and the Cultural Socialization Attitudes Measure (CSAM). The CSBM assesses cultural socialization behaviors that parents use with young children, and the CSAM assesses the attitudes that parents have regarding the importance of socializing their young children about their culture. Both measures demonstrated strong reliability, validity, and cross-language equivalence (i.e., Spanish and English) among a sample of 204 Mexican-origin young mothers ( M age = 20.94 years, SD = 1.01) with 4-year-old children. In addition, the measures demonstrated longitudinal equivalence when children were 4 and 5 years of age.

  20. Attitudes towards income inequality : ‘Winners’ versus ‘losers’ of the perceived meritocracy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Roex, Karlijn; Huijts, T.; Sieben, I.J.P.

    2018-01-01

    Individuals with a higher social position are more tolerant of current income inequality than individuals with a lower social position. Besides this, attitudes towards income inequality are influenced by inequality-legitimising myths in a given society. Little is known about how these two factors

  1. Enhancing positive attitudes towards disability: evaluation of an integrated physiotherapy program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morgan, Prue Elizabeth; Lo, Kristin

    2013-02-01

    This study explored whether attitudes towards disability in second year undergraduate physiotherapy students could be enhanced by an on-campus integrated curriculum program. A pre-post design was used. Year 2 (pre-clinical) students participated in a 12-week program focused on optimising attitudes towards people with acquired or developmental neurological disability. The Discomfort subscale of the Interaction with Disabled Persons scale, rated on a six-point Likert scale, was applied prior to and at completion of the 12-week program, and compared to year 4 students, just prior to graduation. Qualitative data from year 2 reflective narratives was also gathered. Forty-seven second year and 45 fourth year physiotherapy students participated. The difference in Discomfort subscale scores between weeks 1 and 12 of year 2 was statistically significant (p = 0.0016). The difference in Discomfort subscale scores between year 2 week 1 and year 4 students was also statistically significant (p = 0.040). There was no significant difference in attitudes between students at the end of year 2 and the end of year 4 (p = 0.703). Qualitative data supported the development of more positive attitudes towards neurological disability across the 12 week year 2 pre-clinical program. Student attitudes towards people with acquired and/or developmental neurological disabilities can be enhanced through an on campus integrated curriculum program.

  2. IceBridge POS/AV L1B Corrected Position and Attitude Data

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The IceBridge POS/AV L1B Corrected Position and Attitude (IPAPP1B) data set contains georeferencing data from the Applanix 510 POS AV system flown with the Digital...

  3. Development of an Instrument to Measure Pharmacy Student Attitudes Toward Social Media Professionalism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chisholm-Burns, Marie A; Spivey, Christina A; Jaeger, Melanie C; Williams, Jennifer; George, Christa

    2017-05-01

    Objectives. To develop and validate a scale measuring pharmacy students' attitudes toward social media professionalism, and assess the impact of an educational presentation on social media professionalism. Methods. A social media professionalism scale was used in a pre- and post-survey to determine the effects of a social media professionalism presentation. The 26-item scale was administered to 197 first-year pharmacy (P1) students during orientation. Exploratory factor analysis was applied to determine the number of underlying factors responsible for covariation of the data. Principal components analysis was used as the extraction method. Varimax was selected as the rotation method. Cronbach's alpha was estimated. Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to compare pre- and post-scores of each item, subscale, and total scale. Results. There were 187 (95%) students who participated. The final scale had five subscales and 15 items. Subscales were named according to the professionalism tenet they best represented. Scores of items addressing reading/posting to social media during class, an employer's use of social media when making hiring decisions, and a college/university's use of social media as a measure of professional conduct significantly increased from pre-test to post-test. The "honesty and integrity" subscale score also significantly increased. Conclusion. The social media professionalism scale measures five tenets of professionalism and exhibits satisfactory reliability. The presentation improved P1 students' attitudes regarding social media professionalism.

  4. Attitudes of Omani Social Studies Student Teachers to Tourism for Sustainable Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Rabaani, Ahmed Hamed

    2013-01-01

    The aim of the study is to investigate the attitudes of student teachers of Social Studies to tourism for sustainable development. The study participants were the entire cohort of final year student teachers of Social Studies in the College of Education at Sultan Qaboos University in the Sultanate of Oman. There were 65 in total, 26 male and 39…

  5. Factors Related to Play Therapists' Social Justice Advocacy Attitudes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parikh, Sejal B.; Ceballos, Peggy; Post, Phyllis

    2013-01-01

    The authors used a correlational research design to examine how belief in a just world, political ideology, socioeconomic status of family of origin, and percentage of racial minority clients were related to social justice advocacy attitudes among play therapists. A multiple regression was used to analyze the data. Results indicated that belief in…

  6. Attitude and practice of physical activity and social problem-solving ability among university students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sone, Toshimasa; Kawachi, Yousuke; Abe, Chihiro; Otomo, Yuki; Sung, Yul-Wan; Ogawa, Seiji

    2017-04-04

    Effective social problem-solving abilities can contribute to decreased risk of poor mental health. In addition, physical activity has a favorable effect on mental health. These previous studies suggest that physical activity and social problem-solving ability can interact by helping to sustain mental health. The present study aimed to determine the association between attitude and practice of physical activity and social problem-solving ability among university students. Information on physical activity and social problem-solving was collected using a self-administered questionnaire. We analyzed data from 185 students who participated in the questionnaire surveys and psychological tests. Social problem-solving as measured by the Social Problem-Solving Inventory-Revised (SPSI-R) (median score 10.85) was the dependent variable. Multiple logistic regression analysis was employed to calculate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for higher SPSI-R according to physical activity categories. The multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that the ORs (95% CI) in reference to participants who said they never considered exercising were 2.08 (0.69-6.93), 1.62 (0.55-5.26), 2.78 (0.86-9.77), and 6.23 (1.81-23.97) for participants who did not exercise but intended to start, tried to exercise but did not, exercised but not regularly, and exercised regularly, respectively. This finding suggested that positive linear association between physical activity and social problem-solving ability (p value for linear trend social problem-solving ability.

  7. living with negative attitudes towards the study of l1 in ghanaian

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    CHARLES

    has also resulted in the Ghanaian populace developing positive attitudes towards its ... educational system in Ghana, teachers, lecturers and even professors teaching .... definition implies that attitude is learned through a socialization process. ... which speakers of different languages or language varieties have towards ...

  8. Development of self-report measures of social attitudes that act as environmental barriers and facilitators for people with disabilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garcia, Sofia F; Hahn, Elizabeth A; Magasi, Susan; Lai, Jin-Shei; Semik, Patrick; Hammel, Joy; Heinemann, Allen W

    2015-04-01

    To describe the development of new self-report measures of social attitudes that act as environmental facilitators or barriers to the participation of people with disabilities in society. A mixed-methods approach included a literature review; item classification, selection, and writing; cognitive interviews and field testing of participants with spinal cord injury (SCI), traumatic brain injury (TBI), or stroke; and rating scale analysis to evaluate initial psychometric properties. General community. Individuals with SCI, TBI, or stroke participated in cognitive interviews (n=9); community residents with those same conditions participated in field testing (n=305). None. Self-report item pool of social attitudes that act as facilitators or barriers to people with disabilities participating in society. An interdisciplinary team of experts classified 710 existing social environment items into content areas and wrote 32 new items. Additional qualitative item review included item refinement and winnowing of the pool prior to cognitive interviews and field testing of 82 items. Field test data indicated that the pool satisfies a 1-parameter item response theory measurement model and would be appropriate for development into a calibrated item bank. Our qualitative item review process supported a social environment conceptual framework that includes both social support and social attitudes. We developed a new social attitudes self-report item pool. Calibration testing of that pool is underway with a larger sample to develop a social attitudes item bank for persons with disabilities. Copyright © 2015 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. The persuasive power of emotions: Effects of emotional expressions on attitude formation and change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Kleef, Gerben A; van den Berg, Helma; Heerdink, Marc W

    2015-07-01

    Despite a long-standing interest in the intrapersonal role of affect in persuasion, the interpersonal effects of emotions on persuasion remain poorly understood-how do one person's emotional expressions shape others' attitudes? Drawing on emotions as social information (EASI) theory (Van Kleef, 2009), we hypothesized that people use the emotional expressions of others to inform their own attitudes, but only when they are sufficiently motivated and able to process those expressions. Five experiments support these ideas. Participants reported more positive attitudes about various topics after seeing a source's sad (rather than happy) expressions when topics were negatively framed (e.g., abandoning bobsleighing from the Olympics). Conversely, participants reported more positive attitudes after seeing happy (rather than sad) expressions when topics were positively framed (e.g., introducing kite surfing at the Olympics). This suggests that participants used the source's emotional expressions as information when forming their own attitudes. Supporting this interpretation, effects were mitigated when participants' information processing was undermined by cognitive load or was chronically low. Moreover, a source's anger expressions engendered negative attitude change when directed at the attitude object and positive change when directed at the recipient's attitude. Effects occurred regardless of whether emotional expressions were manipulated through written words, pictures of facial expressions, film clips containing both facial and vocal emotional expressions, or emoticons. The findings support EASI theory and indicate that emotional expressions are a powerful source of social influence. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  10. Learners' Attitudes toward Foreign Language Practice on Social Network Sites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Villafuerte, Jhonny; Romero, Asier

    2017-01-01

    This work aims to study learners' attitudes towards practicing English Language on Social Networks Sites (SNS). The sample involved 110 students from the University Laica Eloy Alfaro de Manabi in Ecuador, and the University of the Basque Country in Spain. The instrument applied was a Likert scale questionnaire designed Ad hoc by the researchers,…

  11. Changing Resistant Audience Attitudes Using Social Judgment Theory's "Anchor" Point Perspectives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramos Salazar, Leslie

    2017-01-01

    Courses: Public Speaking, Business and Professional Communication, Persuasion, or any other skill-based oral communication course. Objectives: Students will practice the development and demonstration of persuasive arguments in this single-class social judgment theory activity to improve their ability to change resistant audience attitudes.

  12. Attitudes of Iranian infertile couples toward surrogacy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kian, Ensiyeh Mohebbi; Riazi, Hedieh; Bashirian, Saeid

    2014-01-01

    Surrogacy arrangements are multifaceted in nature, involving multiple controversial aspects and engaging ethical, moral, psychological and social issues. Successful treatment in reproductive medicine is strongly based on the mutual agreement of both partners, especially in Iran where men often make the final decision for health-related problems of this nature. The aim of the following study is to assess the attitudes of Iranian infertile couples toward surrogacy. This descriptive study was conducted at the infertility clinic of Hamadan university of medical sciences, Iran. The study sample consisted of 150 infertile couples selected using a systematic randomized method. Data collection was based on responses to a questionnaire consisting of 22 questions. P surrogacy, the overall attitudes toward surrogacy were positive (53.3% of women and 54.6% of men surveyed). Although, there was not a significant difference between the overall positive attitudes of infertile women and men toward surrogacy, the general attitude toward using this method is not strongly positive. Therefore, further efforts are required to increase the acceptability of surrogacy among infertile couples.

  13. THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON TURKISH UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARD ONLINE ADVERTISING AND THEIR BEHAVIOURAL RESPONSE

    OpenAIRE

    Armagan, Ece; Biçer Oymak, Bihter

    2013-01-01

    This academic study aims to show the impact of social media on Turkish students’attitudes toward online advertising and their behavioural response. Therefore thisstudy will reveal the influence of consumers’ attitudes toward social mediaadvertising and its impact on their advertising clicking and furthermore buyingintention.To create a statistically significant test pool, 400 university students of the AdnanMenderes university, Faculty of Economic and Administr...

  14. The Relationships of Self-Esteem, Future Time Perspective, Positive Affect, Social Support, and Career Decision: A Longitudinal Multilevel Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, In-Jo; Kim, Minhee; Kwon, Seungwoo; Lee, Hae-Gyoung

    2018-01-01

    This study aimed, first, to determine whether the intra-individual variability in positive affect was related to the intra-individual variability in career decision-making self-efficacy, and career choice anxiety. The second objective was to examine whether social support moderates the relationship between affect and these outcome variables. The third objective was to find out how career decision-making self-efficacy and career choice anxiety change according to self-esteem and future time perspective. We conducted a study using the daily diary method in which participants were asked to rate their affect or attitudes for 21 consecutive days. In total, 128 university students participated in this study. The main results were as follows. First, positive affect was associated positively with career decision-making self-efficacy and negatively with career choice anxiety. Second, social support had a synergy effect with positive affect to influence career choice anxiety. Third, self-esteem was related positively to career decision-making self-efficacy and negatively to career choice anxiety. We discuss theoretical and practical implications. PMID:29755381

  15. The Relationships of Self-Esteem, Future Time Perspective, Positive Affect, Social Support, and Career Decision: A Longitudinal Multilevel Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, In-Jo; Kim, Minhee; Kwon, Seungwoo; Lee, Hae-Gyoung

    2018-01-01

    This study aimed, first, to determine whether the intra-individual variability in positive affect was related to the intra-individual variability in career decision-making self-efficacy, and career choice anxiety. The second objective was to examine whether social support moderates the relationship between affect and these outcome variables. The third objective was to find out how career decision-making self-efficacy and career choice anxiety change according to self-esteem and future time perspective. We conducted a study using the daily diary method in which participants were asked to rate their affect or attitudes for 21 consecutive days. In total, 128 university students participated in this study. The main results were as follows. First, positive affect was associated positively with career decision-making self-efficacy and negatively with career choice anxiety. Second, social support had a synergy effect with positive affect to influence career choice anxiety. Third, self-esteem was related positively to career decision-making self-efficacy and negatively to career choice anxiety. We discuss theoretical and practical implications.

  16. The Relationships of Self-Esteem, Future Time Perspective, Positive Affect, Social Support, and Career Decision: A Longitudinal Multilevel Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    In-Jo Park

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed, first, to determine whether the intra-individual variability in positive affect was related to the intra-individual variability in career decision-making self-efficacy, and career choice anxiety. The second objective was to examine whether social support moderates the relationship between affect and these outcome variables. The third objective was to find out how career decision-making self-efficacy and career choice anxiety change according to self-esteem and future time perspective. We conducted a study using the daily diary method in which participants were asked to rate their affect or attitudes for 21 consecutive days. In total, 128 university students participated in this study. The main results were as follows. First, positive affect was associated positively with career decision-making self-efficacy and negatively with career choice anxiety. Second, social support had a synergy effect with positive affect to influence career choice anxiety. Third, self-esteem was related positively to career decision-making self-efficacy and negatively to career choice anxiety. We discuss theoretical and practical implications.

  17. Money attitude of Ukrainian young people: socio-demographic aspect

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MARIANNA SIMKIV

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available The article presents the results of research on social and demographic factors of Ukr health literacy, health culture, young adults, concepts of health and healthy lifestyle, motivations, forms of communication, learning methods ainian youth money attitudes. The aim of the research is to identify dependency between money attitudes of the young people and such social and demographic characteristics as sex, age, education, place of residence, place of employment, employment position and level of income. The research required application of survey and questionnaire methods as well as statistical methods of results processing.

  18. Influence of Time to Change's social marketing interventions on stigma in England 2009-2011.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evans-Lacko, Sara; Malcolm, Estelle; West, Keon; Rose, Diana; London, Jillian; Rüsch, Nicolas; Little, Kirsty; Henderson, Claire; Thornicroft, Graham

    2013-04-01

    England's Time To Change (TTC) social marketing campaign emphasised social contact between people with and without mental health problems to reduce stigma and discrimination. We aimed to assess the effectiveness of the mass media component and also that of the mass social contact events. Online interviews were performed before and after each burst of mass media social marketing to evaluate changes in knowledge, attitudes and behaviour and associations between campaign awareness and outcomes. Participants at social contact events were asked about the occurrence and quality of contact, attitudes, readiness to discuss mental health and intended behaviour towards people with mental health problems. Prompted campaign awareness was 38-64%. A longitudinal improvement was noted for one intended behaviour item but not for knowledge or attitudes. Campaign awareness was positively associated with greater knowledge (β = 0.80, 95% CI 0.52-1.08) and more favourable attitudes (commonality OR 1.37, 95% CI 1.10-1.70; dangerousness OR 1.41, 95% CI 1.22-1.63) and intended behaviour (β = 0.75, 95% CI 0.53-0.96). Social contact at events demonstrated a positive impact (M = 2.68) v. no contact (M = 2.42) on perceived attitude change; t(211) = 3.30, P = 0.001. Contact quality predicted more positive attitude change (r = 0.33, Pmarketing campaign suggest that social contact can be used by anti-stigma programmes to reduce stigma.

  19. Segregation and Socialization: Academic Segregation and Citizenship Attitudes of Adolescents in Comparative Perspective?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dimokritos Kavadias

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: There is a tendency to assess educational systems in terms of their efficiency in gaining high scores on cognitive skills. Schools perform, however, also a socializing function. The whole policy debate tends to ignore the impact of educational systems on attitudes or democratic values. This contribution focuses on the impact of the organization of education in European societies on the civic attitudes of adolescents. Design/methodology/approach: We explore the impact of academic segregation – the practice of segregating children on the basis of their scholastic achievement – on attitudes of adolescents living in different educational systems. We use the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (2009 relying on multilevel models. Findings: Pupils differ in their outlook on fellow citizens, according to the ways in which educational systems select and differentiate throughout school careers. More specifically, there is a negative impact of academic segregation on the attitudes towards immigrants and ethnic minorities. Research limitations/implications: The experience of adolescents based on their educational achievement seems to affect how they perceive other people. We have not answered the question why this is the case. We hope to have provided a minimal indication of the impact of inequality on social outcomes.

  20. Development of an Instrument to Measure Pharmacy Student Attitudes Toward Social Media Professionalism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spivey, Christina A.; Jaeger, Melanie C.; Williams, Jennifer; George, Christa

    2017-01-01

    Objectives. To develop and validate a scale measuring pharmacy students’ attitudes toward social media professionalism, and assess the impact of an educational presentation on social media professionalism. Methods. A social media professionalism scale was used in a pre- and post-survey to determine the effects of a social media professionalism presentation. The 26-item scale was administered to 197 first-year pharmacy (P1) students during orientation. Exploratory factor analysis was applied to determine the number of underlying factors responsible for covariation of the data. Principal components analysis was used as the extraction method. Varimax was selected as the rotation method. Cronbach’s alpha was estimated. Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to compare pre- and post-scores of each item, subscale, and total scale. Results. There were 187 (95%) students who participated. The final scale had five subscales and 15 items. Subscales were named according to the professionalism tenet they best represented. Scores of items addressing reading/posting to social media during class, an employer’s use of social media when making hiring decisions, and a college/university’s use of social media as a measure of professional conduct significantly increased from pre-test to post-test. The “honesty and integrity” subscale score also significantly increased. Conclusion. The social media professionalism scale measures five tenets of professionalism and exhibits satisfactory reliability. The presentation improved P1 students’ attitudes regarding social media professionalism. PMID:28630506

  1. Instructional Integration of Disciplines for Promoting Children's Positive Attitudes towards Plants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Çìl, Emine

    2016-01-01

    Plants are an integral part of nature. Many plant species in almost any part of the world are under serious threats due to various reasons such as deforestation, pollution--of air, water and soil--caused by industrialisation, overgrazing and rapid population growth. It is likely that people have strong positive attitudes towards conservation of…

  2. Attitudes Towards the Mentally Ill: A Study with Health Workers at a University Hospital in Rio de Janeiro.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siqueira, Sylvia Rosa Gonçalves; Abelha, Lúcia; Lovisi, Giovanni Marcos; Sarução, Keli Rodrigues; Yang, Lawrence

    2017-03-01

    As there are few studies about evaluation of attitudes of health care workers to people with mental disorders in Brazil, a cross-sectional study was carried out to assess the health professionals' attitudes working in a university hospital in Rio de Janeiro and also examine the proportion of negative and positive attitudes endorsed by healthcare professionals in Brazil towards people with mental illness in comparison with other parts of the world. Data were collected using the Community Attitudes towards the Mentally Ill (CAMI) in a random sampling frame of health professionals (n = 246) working in a University Hospital in Rio de Janeiro between April 2013 and June 2013. The CAMI consists of four sub-scales: Authoritarianism, Benevolence, Social Restrictiveness and Community Mental Health Ideology. The results showed attitudes that range from neutral to positive, with the Benevolence and Social Restrictiveness sub-scales showing the least stigmatizing results. The following individual characteristics were associated with negative attitudes: lower levels of education and less clinical experience. In general, health workers attitudes towards service users are characterized as positive when compared with other international studies. However, educational programs for health workers should be reinforced to further promote pre-existing positive attitudes towards people with mental health and the implementation of Brazilian Mental Health Policies.

  3. Effects of stigma on Chinese women's attitudes towards seeking treatment for urinary incontinence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Cuili; Li, Jingjing; Wan, Xiaojuan; Wang, Xiaojuan; Kane, Robert L; Wang, Kefang

    2015-04-01

    To examine whether and how stigma influences attitudes towards seeking treatment for urinary incontinence, and whether its effect varies by symptom severity. Urinary incontinence is prevalent among women, but few seek treatment. Negative attitudes towards urinary incontinence treatment inhibit from seeking care. Urinary incontinence is a stigmatised attribute. However, the relationship between stigma and attitudes towards seeking treatment for urinary incontinence has not been well understood. This was a cross-sectional community-based study. We enrolled a sample of 305 women aged 40-65 years with stress urinary incontinence from three communities in a Chinese city between May-October in 2011. Data were collected on socio-demographic characteristics, urinary incontinence symptoms, stigma and attitudes towards seeking treatment for urinary incontinence using a self-reported questionnaire. Effects of stigma were analysed using path analysis. Attitudes towards seeking treatment for urinary incontinence were generally negative. For the total sample, all the stigma domains of social rejection, social isolation and internalised shame had direct negative effects on treatment-seeking attitudes. The public stigma domain of social rejection also indirectly affected treatment-seeking attitudes through increasing social isolation, as well as through increasing social isolation and then internalised shame. The final model accounted for 28% of the variance of treatment-seeking attitudes. Symptom severity influenced the strength of paths: the effect of internalised shame was higher in women with more severe urinary incontinence. Stigma enhances the formation of negative attitudes towards seeking treatment for urinary incontinence; public stigma affects treatment-seeking attitudes through internalisation of social messages. Stigma reduction may help incontinent women to form positive treatment-seeking attitudes and engage them in treatment. Interventions should specifically target

  4. Right-Wing Authoritarianism Predicts weakened Attitude Change in an Evaluative Counter-conditioning Paradigm

    OpenAIRE

    Beffara, Brice; Mermillod, Martial; Mierop, Adrien; Bret, Amélie; Corneille, Olivier

    2017-01-01

    RWA is associated with higher social prejudice. It is unclear, however, (i) whether RWA plays a role in attitude acquisition or attitude change (or both), and (ii) whether it influences attitudes unrelated to in/outgroup concerns. We relied on an evaluative conditioning-then-counter-conditioning paradigm simulating prejudice formation and change to examine this question. Neutral fictive group exemplars were first conditioned positively or negatively (attitude learning) and then counter-condit...

  5. Sexuality: measures of partnerships, practices, attitudes, and problems in the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waite, Linda J; Laumann, Edward O; Das, Aniruddha; Schumm, L Philip

    2009-11-01

    The National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP) was designed to examine the relationship between sexual behavior, sexual problems, and health among older women and men. We describe measures of sexual partnerships, sexual practices, sexual problems, attitudes toward sex, and nonsexual intimacy in the first wave of NSHAP. We compare measures of sexuality for those 57-85 years old, by age, separately for men and women. We construct scales of sexual mores, sexual interest, and relationship satisfaction and discuss properties of each scale. Sexuality among older adults tends to vary with age and gender. At all ages in this study, men are more likely than women to have a partner, more likely to be sexually active with that partner, and tend to have more positive and permissive attitudes toward sex. The proportions in a sexual partnership, behavior, problems, and attitudes all differ substantially by age. And these age patterns often differ for men and women. Data obtained in the NSHAP can be used to construct key measures of sexuality among older adults; to examine sexuality itself; and to explore the link between sexuality, health, well-being, and other dimensions of the lives of older adults.

  6. Knowledge and Perceived Social Norm Predict Parents' Attitudes towards Inclusive Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lui, Ming; Sin, Kuen-Fung; Yang, Lan; Forlin, Chris; Ho, Fuk-Chuen

    2015-01-01

    Parents are key stakeholders in education and their support is pivotal to policy implementation. Through a large-scale survey, the present study investigated the validity of a structural model describing the relationship between attitude, knowledge, and perceived social norm among parents of children with special needs. Results revealed that…

  7. Aperiodic dynamics in a deterministic adaptive network model of attitude formation in social groups

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ward, Jonathan A.; Grindrod, Peter

    2014-07-01

    Adaptive network models, in which node states and network topology coevolve, arise naturally in models of social dynamics that incorporate homophily and social influence. Homophily relates the similarity between pairs of nodes' states to their network coupling strength, whilst social influence causes coupled nodes' states to convergence. In this paper we propose a deterministic adaptive network model of attitude formation in social groups that includes these effects, and in which the attitudinal dynamics are represented by an activato-inhibitor process. We illustrate that consensus, corresponding to all nodes adopting the same attitudinal state and being fully connected, may destabilise via Turing instability, giving rise to aperiodic dynamics with sensitive dependence on initial conditions. These aperiodic dynamics correspond to the formation and dissolution of sub-groups that adopt contrasting attitudes. We discuss our findings in the context of cultural polarisation phenomena. Social influence. This reflects the fact that people tend to modify their behaviour and attitudes in response to the opinions of others [22-26]. We model social influence via diffusion: agents adjust their state according to a weighted sum (dictated by the evolving network) of the differences between their state and the states of their neighbours. Homophily. This relates the similarity of individuals' states to their frequency and strength of interaction [27]. Thus in our model, homophily drives the evolution of the weighted ‘social' network. A precise formulation of our model is given in Section 2. Social influence and homophily underpin models of social dynamics [21], which cover a wide range of sociological phenomena, including the diffusion of innovations [28-32], complex contagions [33-36], collective action [37-39], opinion dynamics [19,20,40,10,11,13,15,41,16], the emergence of social norms [42-44], group stability [45], social differentiation [46] and, of particular relevance

  8. Researchers' attitudes towards the use of social networking sites

    OpenAIRE

    Greifeneder, E.; Pontis, S.; Blandford, A. E.; Attalla, H.; Neal, D.; Schlebbe, K.

    2018-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to better understand why many researchers do not have a profile on social networking sites (SNS), and whether this is the result of conscious decisions. / Design/methodology/approach: Thematic analysis was conducted on a large qualitative data set from researchers across three levels of seniority, four countries and four disciplines to explore their attitudes toward and experiences with SNS. / Findings: The study found much greater scepticism toward adopt...

  9. A meta-analysis of studies on attitudes toward bears and wolves across Europe 1976-2012.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dressel, S; Sandström, C; Ericsson, G

    2015-04-01

    The ranges of wolves (Canis lupus) and bears (Ursus arctos) across Europe have expanded recently, and it is important to assess public attitudes toward this expansion because responses toward these species vary widely. General attitudes toward an object are good predictors of broad behavioral patterns; thus, attitudes toward wolves and bears can be used as indicators to assess the social foundation for future conservation efforts. However, most attitude surveys toward bears and wolves are limited in scope, both temporally and spatially, and provide only a snapshot of attitudes. To extend the results of individual surveys over a much larger temporal and geographical range so as to identify transnational patterns and changes in attitudes toward bears and wolves over time, we conducted a meta-analysis. Our analysis included 105 quantitative surveys conducted in 24 countries from 1976 to 2012. Across Europe, people's attitudes were more positive toward bears than wolves. Attitudes toward bears became more positive over time, but attitudes toward wolves seemed to become less favorable the longer people coexisted with them. Younger and more educated people had more positive attitudes toward wolves and bears than people who had experienced damage from these species, and farmers and hunters had less positive attitudes toward wolves than the general public. For bears attitudes among social groups did not differ. To inform conservation of large carnivores, we recommend that standardized longitudinal surveys be established to monitor changes in attitudes over time relative to carnivore population development. Our results emphasize the need for interdisciplinary research in this field and more advanced explanatory models capable of capturing individual and societal responses to changes in large carnivore policy and management. © 2014 Society for Conservation Biology.

  10. The Relationship of Social Problem-Solving Skills and Dysfunctional Attitudes with Risk of Drug Abuse among Dormitory Students at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nasrazadani, Ehteram; Maghsoudi, Jahangir; Mahrabi, Tayebeh

    2017-01-01

    Dormitory students encounter multiple social factors which cause pressure, such as new social relationships, fear of the future, and separation from family, which could cause serious problems such as tendency toward drug abuse. This research was conducted with the goal to determine social problem-solving skills, dysfunctional attitudes, and risk of drug abuse among dormitory students of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Iran. This was a descriptive-analytical, correlational, and cross-sectional research. The research sample consisted of 211 students living in dormitories. The participants were selected using randomized quota sampling method. The data collection tools included the Social Problem-Solving Inventory (SPSI), Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (DAS), and Identifying People at Risk of Addiction Questionnaire. The results indicated an inverse relationship between social problem-solving skills and risk of drug abuse ( P = 0.0002), a direct relationship between dysfunctional attitude and risk of drug abuse ( P = 0.030), and an inverse relationship between social problem-solving skills and dysfunctional attitude among students ( P = 0.0004). Social problem-solving skills have a correlation with dysfunctional attitudes. As a result, teaching these skills and the way to create efficient attitudes should be considered in dormitory students.

  11. The College Student Today: A Social Portrait and Attitudes toward Schooling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dolzhenko, L.

    1998-01-01

    Discusses the view of education in Russia and college students' attitudes about their futures. Addresses how well prepared high school graduates are to enroll in a higher education institution, the social composition of college students, and the practice of bribes in relation to assessing student preparedness for college. Explores nonstate…

  12. Workaholism as positive social deviance

    OpenAIRE

    Belousov, Konstantin

    2014-01-01

    The article justifies a potential research of workaholism as a social phenomenon within the positive deviance approach. In this paper, the authors provide definitions of positive deviance by foreign and Russian scholars as well as analyse how such behaviors depart from the norms of a referent group and adduce a number of studies positively assessing the concept. Finally, the authors conclude that workaholism can be regarded as a supraconformal behavior that can boost economic, cultural and sc...

  13. Social media use, attitudes, behaviours and perceptions of online professionalism amongst dental students

    OpenAIRE

    Kenny, Philip; Johnson, Ilona Gail

    2016-01-01

    Use of social media has increased amongst health professionals. This has benefits for patient care but also introduces risks for confidentiality and professional fitness to practise. This study aimed to examine dental student attitudes towards professional behaviour on social media. The secondary aim was to establish the extent and nature of social media use and exposure to potentially unprofessional behaviours.\\ud \\ud A cross-sectional study was carried out in one dental school. Data were co...

  14. Social justice and the university community: does campus involvement make a difference?

    Science.gov (United States)

    McAuliff, Kathleen E; Williams, Shannon M; Ferrari, Joseph R

    2013-01-01

    We examined perceptions on school sense of community and social justice attitudes among undergraduates (N = 427; 308 women, 115 men; M age = 19.72, SD = 1.91), and how year in school and club membership affected these constructs. Results demonstrated that involvement with a greater number of clubs was associated with having a stronger school sense of community and more positive social justice attitudes. Multiple regression analyses demonstrated that year in school did not significantly predict social justice attitudes. Results suggested that greater involvement and sense of school belonging might be linked to social justice attitudes.

  15. The Effects of Knowledge of Child Development and Social-Emotional Maturity on Adolescent Attitudes toward Parenting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larsen, John J.; Juhasz, Anne McCreary

    1985-01-01

    Investigated the relationship between the combined effect of knowledge of child development and level of social-emotional maturity, and the extent to which this relationship affects adolescent attitudes toward parenting. Negative attitudes toward parenting were associated with lack of knowledge of child development and low levels of…

  16. Social marketing to address attitudes and behaviours related to preventable injuries in British Columbia, Canada

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Jennifer; Zheng, Xin; Lafreniere, Kevin; Pike, Ian

    2018-01-01

    Background Social marketing is a tool used in the domain of public health for prevention and public education. Because injury prevention is a priority public health issue in British Columbia, Canada, a 3-year consultation was undertaken to understand public attitudes towards preventable injuries and mount a province-wide social marketing campaign aimed at adults aged 25–55 years. Methods Public response to the campaign was assessed through an online survey administered to a regionally representative sample of adults within the target age group between 1 and 4 times per year on an ongoing basis since campaign launch. A linear regression model was applied to a subset of this data (n=5186 respondents) to test the association between exposure to the Preventable campaign and scores on perceived preventability of injuries as well as conscious forethought applied to injury-related behaviours. Results Campaign exposure was significant in both models (preventability: β=0.27, 95% CI 0.20 to 0.35; conscious thought: β=0.24, 95% CI 0.13 to 0.35), as was parental status (preventability: β=0.12, 95% CI 0.03 to 0.21; conscious thought: β=0.18, 95% CI 0.06 to 0.30). Exposure to the more recent campaign slogan was predictive of 0.47 higher score on conscious thought (95% CI 0.27 to 0.66). Discussion This study provides some evidence that the Preventable approach is having positive effect on attitudes and behaviours related to preventable injuries in the target population. Future work will seek to compare these data to other jurisdictions as the Preventable social marketing campaign expands to other parts of Canada. PMID:29549106

  17. Analysis of the Factors Affecting Men's Attitudes Toward Cosmetic Surgery: Body Image, Media Exposure, Social Network Use, Masculine Gender Role Stress and Religious Attitudes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abbas, Ozan Luay; Karadavut, Ufuk

    2017-12-01

    Cosmetic surgery is no longer just for females. More men are opting for cosmetic procedures, with marked increases seen in both minimally invasive and surgical options over the last decade. Compared to females, relatively little work has specifically focused on factors predicting males' attitudes toward cosmetic surgery. Therefore, we evaluated a number of variables that may predict some facet of men's attitudes toward cosmetic surgery according to evidence reported in the literature METHODS: A total of 151 male patients who applied for a surgical or minimally invasive cosmetic surgery procedure (patient group) and 151 healthy male volunteers who do not desire any type of cosmetic procedure (control group) were asked to fill out questionnaires about measures of body image, media exposure (television and magazine), social network site use, masculine gender role stress and religious attitudes. Our findings showed that lower ratings of body image satisfaction, increased time spent watching television, more frequent social network site use and higher degrees of masculine gender role stress were all significant predictors of attitudes toward cosmetic surgery among males. The current study confirmed the importance of body image dissatisfaction as a predictor of the choice to undergo cosmetic procedure. More importantly, a new predictor of cosmetic procedure attitudes was identified, namely masculine gender role stress. Finally, we demonstrated the effects television exposure and social network site use in promoting acceptance of surgical and nonsurgical routes to appearance enhancement. This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

  18. Abuse of disabled parking: Reforming public's attitude through persuasive multimedia strategy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yahaya, W. A. J. W.; Zain, M. Z. M.

    2014-02-01

    Attitude is one of the factors that contribute to the abuse of disabled parking. The attitude's components are affective, cognitive and behavioral and may be formed in various ways including learning and persuasion. Using learning and persuasion approach, this study has produced a persuasive multimedia aiming to form a positive attitude toward disabled persons in order to minimize the rate of disabled parking abuse. The persuasive multimedia was developed using Principle of Social Learning draws from Persuasive Technology as learning strategy at macro persuasion level, and modality and redundancy principles draw from Multimedia Learning Principles as design strategy at micro persuasion level. In order to measure the effectiveness of the persuasive multimedia, 93 respondents were selected in a 2 × 2 quasi experimental research design for experiment. Attitude components of affective, cognitive and behavioral were measured using adapted instrument from the Multi Dimensional Attitudes Scale toward Persons With Disabilities (MAS). Result of the study shows that the persuasive multimedia which designed based on Social Learning Theory at macro persuasion level is capable of forming positive attitude toward disabled person. The cognitive component of the attitude found to be the most responsive component. In term of design strategy at the micro persuasion level, modality found to be the most significant strategy compare to redundancy. While males are more responsive to the persuasive multimedia compare to females.

  19. Attitudes toward Tobacco, Alcohol, and Non-Alcoholic Beverage Advertisement Themes among Adolescent Boys.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Friedman, Katherine L; Roberts, Megan E; Keller-Hamilton, Brittney; Yates, Katherine A; Paskett, Electra D; Berman, Micah L; Slater, Michael D; Lu, Bo; Ferketich, Amy K

    2018-02-13

    Previous studies have examined what adolescents find appealing in tobacco and alcohol advertisements and how different themes in advertisements are used to manipulate consumer behaviors. Yet, we know little about the relationship between the themes portrayed in advertisements and youth attitudes towards those themes. This study compared attitudes towards advertisements for different consumer products in a sample of urban and rural adolescent boys in order to examine how key marketing themes impact adolescent attitudes towards those advertisements. Participants were 11- to 16-year-old boys (N = 1220) residing in either urban or rural Ohio Appalachian counties. Each participant viewed five print advertisements (one each for cigarettes, electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), smokeless tobacco (SLT), non-alcoholic beverages, and alcohol), presented in a random order, for eight seconds each. All advertisements had appeared in magazines that adolescent males commonly read. Attitudes towards each of the five advertisements were assessed. The advertisements were then coded for the presence of various themes, including social acceptance and masculinity. Analyses were conducted to determine associations between advertisement type and the attitude measure, and between the presence of a theme and the attitude measure. Overall, participants preferred non-tobacco advertisements to tobacco advertisements, rural participants had less positive attitudes and participants who had peers who used tobacco had more positive attitudes. Social acceptance and entertainment themes increased the appeal of SLT advertisements, and sex appeal increased the appeal of e-cigarette advertisements. Conclusions/Importance: Findings suggest that advertisements that promote the social nature of use in SLT advertisements may be of particular concern for their influence on adolescent boys.

  20. Attitudes towards motherhood of women with physical versus psychiatric disabilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hasson-Ohayon, Ilanit; Hason-Shaked, Meiran; Silberg, Tamar; Shpigelman, Carmit-Noa; Roe, David

    2018-05-16

    Women with disabilities may face social negative attitudes with regard to their being mothers. In addition, attitudes toward different disabilities form a hierarchy, with more positive attitudes being displayed toward persons with physical disabilities than toward persons with psychiatric disabilities. Current observational study examined whether the relationship between a woman's type of disability (psychiatric vs. physical) and the social attitude towards her would be moderated by her being presented as a mother. University students (N = 100) filled out the Multidimensional Attitudes Scale Toward Persons With Disabilities and the Social Distance Scale, after reading one of six randomly assigned fictitious vignettes. The vignettes consisted of a woman with a physical disability/a woman with a psychiatric disability/a woman without a disability, who either was or was not a mother. Type of disability was found to have a main effect in some attitude domains, suggesting that attitudes toward women with physical disabilities were better than attitudes towards women with psychiatric disabilities. An interaction between type of disability and motherhood was found for the interpersonal distress subscale of the attitudes scale. It was found that when women had physical disabilities, there was no change in attitude towards them regardless of whether they were presented as mothers or not; However, when the target woman had a psychiatric disability, and she was presented as a mother, negative attitudes were generated towards her. The study demonstrates the existence of a hierarchy of stigmatization and the effect of being a mother on stigmatization. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Asymmetric Mutual Social Perception of Austrians and Germans: A Social Identity Approach Assessing Implicit and Explicit Attitudes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Walter Renner

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Whereas Austrians tend to perceive Germans as "competent but cold", Germans tend to see Austrians as "incompetent but nice" in the sense of Fiske's Stereotype Content Model. With respect to the unequal distribution of power between Austria and Germany, which outnumbers Austria by approximately the tenfold population, Social Identity Theory (SIT predicts that Austrians will tend to devalue Germans, attempting to preserve their self-esteem and cultural identity, whereas Germans will perceive Austrians more positively. We tested this expectation with N = 31 Austrian and N = 49 German students at an Austrian university. Our hypotheses of asymmetrical mutual attitudes and massive devaluation of Germans by Austrians were confirmed by the Implicit Association Test, whereas on adjective lists as an explicit measure, Austrians described Germans more favourably, obviously out of a desire not to appear prejudiced. The results support SIT and have important implications for the development of Austrian academic education.

  2. Can singular examples change implicit racial attitudes in the real-world?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leslie E. Roos

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Implicit attitudes about social groups persist independently of explicit beliefs and can influence not only social behavior, but also medical and legal practices. Although examples presented in the laboratory can alter such implicit attitudes, it is unclear whether the same influence is exerted by real-world exemplars. Following the 2008 US election, Plant et al. reported that the Implicit Association Test or IAT revealed a decrease in negative implicit attitudes towards African-Americans. However, a large-scale study also employing the IAT found little evidence for a change in implicit attitudes pre- and post-election. Here we present evidence that the 2008 US election may have facilitated at least a temporary change in implicit racial attitudes in the US. Our results rely on the Affective Lexical Priming Score or ALPS and pre- and post-election measurements for both US and non-US participants. US students who, pre-election, exhibited negative associations with black faces, post-election showed positive associations with black faces. Canadian students pre- and post-election did not show a similar shift. To account for these findings, we posit that the socio-cognitive processes underlying ALPS are different from those underlying the IAT. Acknowledging that we cannot form a causal link between an intervening real-world event and laboratory-measured implicit attitudes, we speculate that our findings may be driven by the fact that the 2008 election campaign included extremely positive media coverage of President Obama and prominently featured his face in association with positive words – similar to the structure of ALPS. Even so, our real-world finding adds to the literature demonstrating the malleability of implicit attitudes and has implications for how we understand the socio-cognitive mechanisms underlying stereotypes.

  3. IceBridge LVIS POS/AV L1B Corrected Position and Attitude Data

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The IceBridge LVIS POS/AV L1B Corrected Position and Attitude Data (IPPLV1B) data set contains georeferencing data from the Applanix 510 and 610 POS AV systems flown...

  4. Depressed adolescents' positive and negative use of social media.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Radovic, Ana; Gmelin, Theresa; Stein, Bradley D; Miller, Elizabeth

    2017-02-01

    This qualitative study examined descriptions of social media use among 23 adolescents (18 female, 5 male) who were diagnosed with depression to explore how social media use may influence and be influenced by psychological distress. Adolescents described both positive and negative use of social media. Positive use included searching for positive content (i.e. for entertainment, humor, content creation) or for social connection. Negative use included sharing risky behaviors, cyberbullying, and for making self-denigrating comparisons with others. Adolescents described three types of use in further detail including "oversharing" (sharing updates at a high frequency or too much personal information), "stressed posting" (sharing negative updates with a social network), and encountering "triggering posts." In the context of treatment, these adolescents shifted their social media use patterns from what they perceived as negative to more positive use. Implications for clinicians counseling depressed adolescents on social media use are discussed. Copyright © 2016 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Mental Health Stigma about Serious Mental Illness among MSW Students: Social Contact and Attitude

    Science.gov (United States)

    Covarrubias, Irene; Han, Meekyung

    2011-01-01

    In this study, the attitudes toward and beliefs about serious mental illness (SMI) held by a group of graduate social work students in the northwestern United States were examined. Mental health stigma was examined with relation to the following factors: participants' level of social contact with SMI populations, adherence to stereotypes about SMI…

  6. Individualism-Collectivism, Social-Network Orientation, and Acculturation as Predictors of Attitudes toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help among Chinese Americans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tata, Shiraz Piroshaw; Leong, Frederick T. L.

    1994-01-01

    Used several culturally based variables (individualism-collectivism, social support attitudes, acculturation) and gender to predict patterns of help-seeking attitudes among Chinese American college students (n=219). Each of the independent variables was found to be a significant predictor of attitudes toward seeking professional psychological…

  7. Attitudes of Iranian infertile couples toward surrogacy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kian, Ensiyeh Mohebbi; Riazi, Hedieh; Bashirian, Saeid

    2014-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Surrogacy arrangements are multifaceted in nature, involving multiple controversial aspects and engaging ethical, moral, psychological and social issues. Successful treatment in reproductive medicine is strongly based on the mutual agreement of both partners, especially in Iran where men often make the final decision for health-related problems of this nature. AIM: The aim of the following study is to assess the attitudes of Iranian infertile couples toward surrogacy. SETTING AND DESIGN: This descriptive study was conducted at the infertility clinic of Hamadan university of medical sciences, Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study sample consisted of 150 infertile couples selected using a systematic randomized method. Data collection was based on responses to a questionnaire consisting of 22 questions. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: P surrogacy, the overall attitudes toward surrogacy were positive (53.3% of women and 54.6% of men surveyed). CONCLUSION: Although, there was not a significant difference between the overall positive attitudes of infertile women and men toward surrogacy, the general attitude toward using this method is not strongly positive. Therefore, further efforts are required to increase the acceptability of surrogacy among infertile couples. PMID:24829531

  8. The relationships among nurses' job characteristics and attitudes toward web-based continuing learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chiu, Yen-Lin; Tsai, Chin-Chung; Fan Chiang, Chih-Yun

    2013-04-01

    The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between job characteristics (job demands, job control and social support) and nurses' attitudes toward web-based continuing learning. A total of 221 in-service nurses from hospitals in Taiwan were surveyed. The Attitudes toward Web-based Continuing Learning Survey (AWCL) was employed as the outcome variables, and the Chinese version Job Characteristic Questionnaire (C-JCQ) was administered to assess the predictors for explaining the nurses' attitudes toward web-based continuing learning. To examine the relationships among these variables, hierarchical regression was conducted. The results of the regression analysis revealed that job control and social support positively associated with nurses' attitudes toward web-based continuing learning. However, the relationship of job demands to such learning was not significant. Moreover, a significant demands×job control interaction was found, but the job demands×social support interaction had no significant relationships with attitudes toward web-based continuing learning. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Attitudes Towards Managing the Work-Family Interface: The Role of Gender and Social Background

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Melrona Kirrane

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available The effective management of the work-life interface is an issue increasingly recognised as of strategic importance to organisations and of significance to employees (Forsyth & Polzer-Dedruyne, 2007; Nord et al., 2002; Russell & Bowman, 2000. A pan-European investigation (Brannen et al., 2002 concluded that young Irish people characterize the two domains of work and family as operating in conflict with each other. Given the high rate of workforce participation in the Irish labour market, and the corporate imperative of effective retention strategies (Messersmith, 2007; Cappelli, 2000, understanding how this perspective may influence behavioural intentions with respect to managing the work-family interface will be a valuable insight for organizations. Although gender and social background have long been identified as having a significant impact on the development of a number of work-related attitudes (Barling & Kelloway, 1999, neither dimension has been investigated with respect to their impact on attitudes towards managing the work-family interface. This study aims to establish the relationship between a number of demographic factors and such attitudes. Identifying behavioural intentions among students now ready to enter the labour market, will facilitate the development of more appropriate and robust organizational policies and procedures in relation to managing the work-family interface. Attitudes towards managing the work-family interface were measured using the Career Family Attitudes Measure (Sanders et al., 1998. The results of this study confirm that gender continues to have a strong role in the development of attitudes towards managing the work-family interface. The results also suggest that a number of social background factors, in particular school experience, parental education and parental occupation are strong factors in the development of these attitudes.

  10. Life at Both Ends of the Ladder: Education-Based Identification and Its Association With Well-Being and Social Attitudes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuppens, Toon; Easterbrook, Matthew J; Spears, Russell; Manstead, Antony S R

    2015-09-01

    Level of formal education is an important divide in contemporary societies; it is positively related to health, well-being, and social attitudes such as tolerance for minorities and interest in politics. We investigated whether education-based identification is a common underlying factor of these education effects. Indeed, education-based identification was stronger among the higher educated, especially for identification aspects that encompass education-based group esteem (i.e., the belief that one's educational group is worthy and that others think so, too). Furthermore, while group esteem had beneficial effects across educational levels, aspects of identification that were unrelated to group esteem had positive effects for the higher educated but not for the less educated. Thus, the less educated do not benefit from the psychologically nourishing effect of identification that exists for other groups. The stigma and responsibility related to low education could be a common explanation for a wide range of outcomes. © 2015 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

  11. THE ENVIRONMENTAL ATTITUDES IN STUDENTS OF THE TECHNICAL AND PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION. A SOCIAL PROBLEM OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY / LAS ACTITUDES MEDIOAMBIENTALES EN ESTUDIANTES DE LA EDUCACIÓN TÉCNICA Y PROFESIONAL. UN PROBLEMA SOCIAL DE LA CIENCIA Y LA TECNOLOGÍA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Omar Gutiérrez Hidalgo

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Our Earth Planet confronts the global crisis including the environmental area and its common cause, the unconscious acting of the human being and the convergent effect to the extermination of the world and the human sort. At present environmental insufficiencies are persisted related to the environmental knowledge of the Construction technician in Oscar Alberto Ortega Lara Polytechnic Institute as well as in the development of a favourable environmental attitudes establishing a contradiction in the social practice between a model wanted in the Technical and Professional Education (TPE - to graduate technicians of the Construction Family with good environmental behaviour. That’s why in this paper it is argued that the environmental attitudes of the TPE students constitute a social problem of the Science and the Technology, getting as a result that the application of the epistemology bases given, emits positive changes in their cognitive, affective and participative attitudes to the environmental situations.

  12. Stigma, social support, and treatment adherence among HIV-positive patients in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Michael Jonathan; Murray, Jordan Keith; Suwanteerangkul, Jiraporn; Wiwatanadate, Phongtape

    2014-10-01

    Our study assessed the influence of HIV-related stigma on treatment adherence among people living with HIV in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and whether social support had a moderating effect on this relationship. We recruited 128 patients living with HIV from Sansai Hospital, a community hospital in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and collected data through structured interviews. All forms of HIV-related stigma considered in this study (personalized experience, disclosure, negative self-image, and public attitudes) were negatively correlated with adherence to anti-retroviral regimens. Multiple linear regression indicated that total HIV-related stigma was more predictive of treatment adherence than any individual stigma type, after adjusting for socio-demographic and health characteristics. Tests of interaction showed that social support did not appear to moderate the association between HIV stigma and treatment adherence. Our findings suggest that community and government efforts to improve public perceptions about people living with HIV might promote treatment adherence behaviors among HIV-positive patients.

  13. Attitudes toward teen mothers among nursing students and psychometric evaluation of Positivity Toward Teen Mothers scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Son Chae; Burke, Leanne; Sloan, Chris; Barnett, Shannon

    2013-09-01

    To prepare future nurses who can deliver high quality nursing care to teen mothers, a better understanding of the nursing students' perception of teen mothers is needed. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 228 nursing students to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Positivity Toward Teen Mothers (PTTM) scale, to explore nursing students' general empathy and attitudes toward teen mothers, and to investigate the predictors of nursing students' attitudes toward teen mothers. Principal component factor analysis with varimax rotation resulted in a 19-item PTTM-Revised scale with Non-judgmental and Supportive subscales. Cronbach's alphas for the subscales were 0.84 and 0.69, respectively, and 0.87 for the total scale. Simultaneous multiple regression models showed that general empathy and having a teen mother in the family or as an acquaintance were significant predictors of positive attitudes toward teen mothers, whereas age was a significant negative predictor. The PTTM-Revised scale is a promising instrument for assessing attitudes toward teen mothers. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Attitudes of Jordanian Adolescent Students Toward Overweight and Obesity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abu Baker, Nesrin N.; Al-Ali, Nahla; Al-Ajlouni, Ranyah

    2018-01-01

    Background: Obesity is a serious public health problem especially among adolescents. Understanding adolescents’ attitudes toward obesity and healthy lifestyle is a crucial step to develop effective health programs to treat and prevent obesity. Objectives: To examine the attitudes toward overweight and obesity among Jordanian adolescent students and to identify the components of obesity prevention program that the students perceive as important. Methods: A sample of 1000 students in 8th to 10th grades was randomly selected from 16 schools in Irbid, Jordan. A self-reported questionnaire including attitude related questions was used in a descriptive, cross-sectional study. Results: Generally, the students expressed positive attitudes toward obesity; which means that their attitudes were consistent with societal norms in terms of health and social functioning (mean= 3.5, SD=0.39). Furthermore, the students expressed positive attitudes toward lifestyle; which means that their attitudes were consistent with healthy behaviors (mean=3.7, SD=0.58). However, boys had significantly more positive attitudes than girls (p=0.04). The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 23.8%, while obese and non-obese students had similar attitudes toward lifestyle and obesity. Finally, around 20% to 30% of students desired a prevention program out of school time shared with their families and friends and involves eating healthy food and getting more exercise. Conclusion: More efforts are needed to build effective obesity prevention programs that focus on eating healthy diet and getting more exercise considering gender differences. PMID:29456780

  15. Attitudes of Jordanian Adolescent Students Toward Overweight and Obesity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abu Baker, Nesrin N; Al-Ali, Nahla; Al-Ajlouni, Ranyah

    2018-01-01

    Obesity is a serious public health problem especially among adolescents. Understanding adolescents' attitudes toward obesity and healthy lifestyle is a crucial step to develop effective health programs to treat and prevent obesity. To examine the attitudes toward overweight and obesity among Jordanian adolescent students and to identify the components of obesity prevention program that the students perceive as important. A sample of 1000 students in 8 th to 10 th grades was randomly selected from 16 schools in Irbid, Jordan. A self-reported questionnaire including attitude related questions was used in a descriptive, cross-sectional study. Generally, the students expressed positive attitudes toward obesity; which means that their attitudes were consistent with societal norms in terms of health and social functioning (mean= 3.5, SD=0.39). Furthermore, the students expressed positive attitudes toward lifestyle; which means that their attitudes were consistent with healthy behaviors (mean=3.7, SD=0.58). However, boys had significantly more positive attitudes than girls (p =0.04). The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 23.8%, while obese and non-obese students had similar attitudes toward lifestyle and obesity. Finally, around 20% to 30% of students desired a prevention program out of school time shared with their families and friends and involves eating healthy food and getting more exercise. More efforts are needed to build effective obesity prevention programs that focus on eating healthy diet and getting more exercise considering gender differences.

  16. Attitudes towards a final repository for the spent nuclear fuel. Structure and causes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sjoeberg, Lennart

    2008-09-01

    This report presents the results of a questionnaire survey of attitudes towards a final repository for the spent nuclear fuel. The questionnaire was mailed to 3,000 persons. Participants were young and older people in Oskarshamn municipality and Oesthammar municipality as well as in the rest of the country. Fifty-one percent responded. The questionnaire included a large number of questions of possible relevance for understanding the structure of and reasons for the person's attitude towards a final repository. Questions concerning nuclear power were dealt with in a special section. Men were more positively disposed towards a repository than women, older people more than young. The gender differences are mainly attributable to the variation in attitude towards nuclear power and concern about nuclear accidents. In the case of older people, interest was also a factor. Young people were not as interested in the issue. The most important factor in determining the attitude towards a final repository was the benefit it was expected to bring to the municipality. Moral and emotional aspects were also important. Risk played a relatively subordinate role. Social aspects were very important: those who frequently spoke with people who were positively disposed tended to be positive themselves, and vice versa for those who were negative. This factor could explain some of the gender differences in attitude. Attitudes in Oskarshamn were slightly more positive than in Oesthammar, probably due to the fact that the residents in Oskarshamn had a greater sense of participation in the municipality's decision in the matter. Information from SKB was also found to be an important factor for the differences in attitude between the municipalities. Eight percentage points more people had received information in Oskarshamn than in Oesthammar. The difference may be small, but it exists and does appear to be of some importance. Attitudes in Oskarshamn and Oesthammar continued to be much more

  17. Tourism in Laguna (SC: Impacts and attitude.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Susana de Araujo Gastal

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available The places by the sea, as spaces of tourism and second homes, suffer the impacts from the activity. The local population attitude, seeing these places as bonuses or otherwise, as a burden, contributes to the viability of tourism in the locality. This article aims to present a research, methodologically related to attitude construct of social psychology, conducted in Laguna, Santa Catarina, Brazil to evaluate the relationship between the community and the different impacts caused by tourism,. Data collection, using an instrument originally proposed and validated by Molero and Cuadrado (2006, allowed the analysis to forward the position of residents on the effects of tourism in the place, evaluating eight impacts factors: environmental; delinquency; everyday life; perceived importance of tourism; public services and infrastructure; intercultural; employment; and values. The results indicate that most impacts are positive on younger residents, and in the environmental, crime and social values the impact is indifferent.

  18. Growing Plants and Scientists: Fostering Positive Attitudes toward Science among All Participants in an Afterschool Hydroponics Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patchen, Amie K.; Zhang, Lin; Barnett, Michael

    2017-06-01

    This study examines an out-of-school time program targeting elementary-aged youth from populations that are typically underrepresented in science fields (primarily African-American, Hispanic, and/or English Language Learner participants). The program aimed to foster positive attitudes toward science among youth by engaging them in growing plants hydroponically (in water without soil). Participants' attitudes toward science, including anxiety, desire, and self-concept, were examined through pre-post survey data ( n = 234) over the course of an afterschool program at three separate sites. Data showed that participants' anxiety decreased and desire increased for both male and female participants over the program. Self-concept increased for female participants at all three sites but did not change significantly for male participants. Participants' first language (English or Spanish) was not a factor in attitude outcomes. The primarily positive outcomes suggest that hydroponics can be a useful educational platform for engaging participants in garden-based programming year round, particularly for settings that do not have the physical space or climate to conduct outdoor gardening. Similarities in positive attitude outcomes at the three sites despite differences in format, implementation, and instructor background experience suggest that the program is resilient to variation in context. Understanding which aspects of the program facilitated positive outcomes in the varied contexts could be useful for the design of future programs.

  19. Stereotypes and welfare attitudes: a panel survey of how ‘poor Carina’ and ‘lazy Robert’ affected attitudes towards social assistance in Denmark

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Troels Fage Hedegaard

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available What is the impact of a predominantly negative debate about social assistance on public and individual support for the social benefit? Over the course of a year the public debate about social assistance flared up twice in Denmark. The debates drew on classic stereotypes of the social assistance recipients lacking both the financial incentives and the will to work. According to theories of the impact of media on welfare attitudes, this had the potential to undermine public support. A two-wave panel survey, however, showed only a small drop in public support for spending on social assistance, in a comparison of attitudes before and after the debates. The small overall impact on public opinion, however, hid a polarization of attitudes on the individual level. This shows that there was not a uniform reaction to welfare debates, but that people tend to seek out a version of reality that is consistent with their values and self-interest. The article thus shows that people when faced with public debates on welfare policies will seek to confirm their personal biases and this limits the possibility for overall changes in public support. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";}

  20. IMPACT OF PERSONAL ORIENTATIONS ON ATTITUDES TO DIVERSITY AND CIVIC SOCIAL-POLITICAL ACTIVENESS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yolanda Zografova

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The dynamically ongoing processes of integration are among the crucial premises for the development of contemporary interpersonal, intergroup and cross-cultural relations, attitudes, conflicts and more. The research problem here directs to an analysis, based on ESS data collected in 8 countries, rounds 2006 and 2008, on the extent to which Europeans' personal orientations significantly influence the attitudes towards ethno-national diversity, in this case, towards two social groups: immigrants coming from poorer countries outside Europe and people with different sexual orientation. Furthermore, the influence of the same factors on the civic activeness and involvement in the social-political processes has been followed. Through regressive analysis the important effect of the co-otherness orientation (a concept developed by Sicakkan, 2003, the orientation to success and traditionalism on all included dependent variables has been proved. The expectations for predicting effects of the three personal orientations have been confirmed regarding the civic involvement and tolerance to diversity. Simultaneously the necessity of working EU politics to deal with the risks of emerging negative attitudes has been pointed out in relation to the broad immigrant and refugee wave to European countries.

  1. Gender Differences in Students’ Attitude towards Science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sofiani, D.; Maulida, A. S.; Fadhillah, N.; Sihite, D. Y.

    2017-09-01

    This study investigated the students’ attitude towards science and the effect of gender on students’ attitude. A total of 77 secondary school students participated in this study that were selected randomly in cluster, from various schools of Bandung, Indonesia. The attitude questionnaire consisted of 23 items related to four dimensions: enjoyment, self-confidence, value and motivation. Data collected by questionnaire were converted into interval scale using Method of Successive Interval (MSI) and further analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). The use of MSI for analyzing the questionnaire data is still fairly new. Results showed that students’ positive attitude towards science was at medium level and there was no significant difference in attitude towards science between the female and male students. The study is of great significance to science teachers in order not to be gender biased when teaching science learning.

  2. Persuasion et Influence : changer les attitudes, changer les comportements. Regards de la psychologie sociale

    OpenAIRE

    Fointiat , Valérie; Barbier , Laura

    2015-01-01

    International audience; The study of the socio-psychological processes involved in persuasion is onethe pivotal topics in social psychology. Eight decades ago, researchers from Yaleuniversity were the first in studying the mechanism of persuasion in the specificcontext of World War ll. Persuasion is obtained when the receptor of communicationmakes a change in his mind that is when a change in attitude occurs. Logically, such achange in attitude should imply a change in behavior. The research ...

  3. Social anxiety and the ironic effects of positive interviewer feedback.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Budnick, Christopher J; Kowal, Marta; Santuzzi, Alecia M

    2015-01-01

    Positive interviewer feedback should encourage positive experiences and outcomes for interviewees. Yet, positive feedback is inconsistent with socially anxious interviewees' negative self-views. Socially anxious interviewees might experience increased self-focus while attempting to reconcile the inconsistency between their self-perceptions and that feedback. This could interfere with successful interview performance. This study used a 3 (feedback: positive, negative, no) × 2 (social anxiety: high, low) between-subjects design. Undergraduate students (N = 88) completed a measure of dispositional social anxiety. They then engaged in a simulated interview with a White confederate trained to adhere to a standardized script. Interviewees received positive, negative, or no interviewer feedback. Each interview was video recorded to code anxiety displays, impression management tactics, and interview success. Following positive feedback, socially anxious interviewees displayed more anxiety, less assertiveness, and received lower success ratings. Among anxious interviewees, increased self-focus provided an indirect path between positive feedback and lower success. Consistent with self-verification theory, anxious interviewees had poorer interview performance following positive feedback that contradicted their negative self-views. Thus, socially anxious interviewees might be at a disadvantage when interviewing, especially following positive feedback. Implications for interviewees and interviewers are discussed.

  4. Interprofessional collaboration and turf wars how prevalent are hidden attitudes?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chung, Chadwick L R; Manga, Jasmin; McGregor, Marion; Michailidis, Christos; Stavros, Demetrios; Woodhouse, Linda J

    2012-01-01

    Interprofessional collaboration in health care is believed to enhance patient outcomes. However, where professions have overlapping scopes of practice (eg, chiropractors and physical therapists), "turf wars" can hinder effective collaboration. Deep-rooted beliefs, identified as implicit attitudes, provide a potential explanation. Even with positive explicit attitudes toward a social group, negative stereotypes may be influential. Previous studies on interprofessional attitudes have mostly used qualitative research methodologies. This study used quantitative methods to evaluate explicit and implicit attitudes of physical therapy students toward chiropractic. A paper-and-pencil instrument was developed and administered to 49 individuals (students and faculty) associated with a Canadian University master's entry-level physical therapy program after approval by the Research Ethics Board. The instrument evaluated explicit and implicit attitudes toward the chiropractic profession. Implicit attitudes were determined by comparing response times of chiropractic paired with positive versus negative descriptors. Mean time to complete a word association task was significantly longer (t = 4.75, p =.00) when chiropractic was associated with positive rather than negative words. Explicit and implicit attitudes were not correlated (r = 0.13, p =.38). While little explicit bias existed, individuals associated with a master's entry-level physical therapy program appeared to have a significant negative implicit bias toward chiropractic.

  5. Interprofessional Collaboration and Turf Wars How Prevalent Are Hidden Attitudes?*

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chung, Chadwick L. R.; Manga, Jasmin; McGregor, Marion; Michailidis, Christos; Stavros, Demetrios; Woodhouse, Linda J.

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: Interprofessional collaboration in health care is believed to enhance patient outcomes. However, where professions have overlapping scopes of practice (eg, chiropractors and physical therapists), "turf wars" can hinder effective collaboration. Deep-rooted beliefs, identified as implicit attitudes, provide a potential explanation. Even with positive explicit attitudes toward a social group, negative stereotypes may be influential. Previous studies on interprofessional attitudes have mostly used qualitative research methodologies. This study used quantitative methods to evaluate explicit and implicit attitudes of physical therapy students toward chiropractic. Methods: A paper-and-pencil instrument was developed and administered to 49 individuals (students and faculty) associated with a Canadian University master's entry-level physical therapy program after approval by the Research Ethics Board. The instrument evaluated explicit and implicit attitudes toward the chiropractic profession. Implicit attitudes were determined by comparing response times of chiropractic paired with positive versus negative descriptors. Results: Mean time to complete a word association task was significantly longer (t = 4.75, p =.00) when chiropractic was associated with positive rather than negative words. Explicit and implicit attitudes were not correlated (r = 0.13, p =.38). Conclusions: While little explicit bias existed, individuals associated with a master's entry-level physical therapy program appeared to have a significant negative implicit bias toward chiropractic PMID:22778528

  6. Anti-homosexual prejudice . . . as opposed to what? Queer theory and the social psychology of anti-homosexual attitudes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hegarty, Peter; Massey, Sean

    2006-01-01

    This article uses Sedgwick's distinction between minoritizing and universalizing theories of sexuality to analyze variability in social psychologists' studies of anti-homosexual prejudice, focusing on studies of attitudes. Anti-homosexual prejudice was initially defined in conversation with gay liberationists and presumed, among other things, that fear of homoerotic potential was present in all persons. Later social psychologists theorized anti-homosexual prejudice in strict minoritizing terms: as prejudice towards a distinct out-group. In the first section of this paper we discuss corresponding shifts in the conceptualization of anti-homosexual attitudes. Next, using a universalizing framework, we re-interpret experiments on behavioral aspects of anti-homosexual attitudes which were originally conceptualized using a minoritizing framework, and suggest avenues for future research. Finally, we examine how queer theory might enrich this area of social psychological inquiry by challenging assumptions about the politics of doing scientific work and the utility of identity-based sexual politics.

  7. A Deeper Look into the Complex Relationship between Social Media Use and Academic Outcomes and Attitudes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hassell, Martin D.; Sukalich, Mary F.

    2016-01-01

    Introduction: The use of social media is prevalent among college students, and it is important to understand how social media use may impact students' attitudes and behaviour. Prior studies have shown negative outcomes of social media use, but researchers have not fully discovered or fully understand the processes and implications of these…

  8. Education and Contact Strategies to Reduce Stigmatising Attitudes towards Anorexia Nervosa among University Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sebastian, Joel; Richards, Deborah; Bilgin, Ayse

    2017-01-01

    Objective: As a strategy for the identification and treatment of individuals with anorexia nervosa (AN), we sought to reduce stigmatising attitudes concerning AN among members of their potential social network. Design: Three forms of stigma were focused upon: traditional, positive volitional and negative volitional. Stigmatising attitudes were…

  9. Position and Attitude Alternate of Path Tracking Heading Control

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Baocheng Tan

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available The path tracking control algorithm is one of the key problems in the control system design of autonomous vehicle. In this paper, we have conducted dynamic modeling for autonomous vehicle, the relationship between course deviation and yaw rate and centroid deflection angle. From the angle of the dynamics and geometrical, this paper have described the path tracking problem, analyzed the emergence of the eight autonomous vehicles pose binding - position and attitude alternate control methods to identify the relationship between posture and the controlling variables, and design a controller, the experimental results verify the feasibility and effectiveness of this control method.

  10. Understanding consumer health information-seeking behavior from the perspective of the risk perception attitude framework and social support in mobile social media websites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deng, Zhaohua; Liu, Shan

    2017-09-01

    This study integrates the risk perception attitude framework and social support to examine factors influencing consumers' intentions to seek health information in mobile social media websites. We develop a research model consisting of four social support dimensions, perceived health risk, health self-efficacy, and health information-seeking intention. A survey is conducted among patients with non-serious conditions. A two-step approach of structural equation modeling is used to test the research model. Among the four dimensions of social support, tangible support and appraisal support significantly influence perceived risk, whereas emotional support and esteem support significantly influence health self-efficacy. Perceived health risk and health self-efficacy significantly influence the health information-seeking behavior intention of consumers. Specifically, health self-efficacy significantly moderates the relationship between perceived risk and behavior intention. This study highlights the integrated effects of social capital and risk perception attitude framework on health information-seeking intention. It examines relationships among perceived health risk, health self-efficacy, and behavior intention in the mobile social media context. The findings help understand effects of social capital factors on perceived health risk and health self-efficacy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Freedom and Safety of an Individual in the Attitude of Liberalism and Christian Social S

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Valdas Pruskus

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available The article deals with the freedom and safety of an individual under market conditions and ethical limits of market expression in the attitude of liberalism and Christian social science.Liberalism and Christian social teaching admits that market and its mechanism gives an individual and society an opportunity to fulfil their needs better, but differently estimates ethical limits of market expression. It is shown that in the attitude of Christian social teaching the goal of economic action is not only to create welfare for society and the individual but also to secure its safety. In its turn, creation of safety is associated with the necessity to overcome the single-acting dominance of economic values in the market society: ethic values by which economic action of the individual and society should be measured have to penetrate into economic space. 

  12. The Attitudes of Social Programs Students in Vocational High Schools Towards the Use of Information Technologies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emel BAHAR

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Adaptation and internalization of innovations in science and technology, business processes and education system in an easy way depend on the attitudes of individuals. In the study, it is intended to determine whether there is a relationship between the arguments such as the subject, college, department, gender, computer usage, internet access facilities of the students' enrolled in social programs of vocational high school and their attitudes towards information technology, or not. The data were obtained by applying questionnaires to 884 students studying in business administration, logistics, marketing, tourism, accounting, Office management and executive assistance programs at Çukurova, Mersin, Kırıkkale and Abant İzzet Baysal Universities. As a result of the research, statistically significant relationships were determined between the attitudes of the students of social sciences toward information technology and their subject, college, department and gender.

  13. Risk factors influencing dentists' hepatitis B-related knowledge and attitudes and their willingness to treat hepatitis B positive patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khosravanifard, B; Rakhshan, V; Sherafat, S; Najafi-Salehi, L

    2015-02-25

    This study assessed factors that could predict dentists' knowledge, attitudes and behaviour towards hepatitis B virus (HBV). A total of 300 dentists in Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran were surveyed and their demographic, educational and office characteristics were analysed in relation to their scores on knowledge about HBV, self-reported attitudes towards treating people infected with HBV and actual behaviour towards treating simulated HBV-positive patients. Having a Master's degree, faculty membership, taking ≥ 3 continuing education courses, wearing eye-shields, spending more time on preparing dental units and higher self-confidence about knowledge predicted better knowledge. A positive attitude was associated with having attended more courses and working in group practice. The number of courses and a shorter dental unit preparation time positively affected dentists' behaviour.

  14. Incongruent Teen Pregnancy Attitudes, Coparenting Conflict, and Support Among Mexican-Origin Adolescent Mothers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Denny, T; Jahromi, Laudan B; Zeiders, Katharine H

    2016-04-01

    The current longitudinal study examined whether differences between Mexican-origin adolescent mothers and their mother figures ( N = 204 dyads) in attitudes on the status attained through teen pregnancy were associated with conflict in their coparenting relationship and whether coparenting conflict was associated with adolescent mothers' perceptions of social support. Findings revealed that when adolescents held more positive attitudes than their mother figures about the status gained through teen pregnancy, they tended to report greater coparenting conflict with their mother figures. Furthermore, greater coparenting conflict was significantly associated with decreases in adolescents' perceptions of social support (i.e., emotional, instrumental, companion support) 1 year later. Findings underscore the importance of incongruent attitudes and the quality of coparenting relationships between adolescent mothers and their mother figures in relation to support processes. Findings are discussed with respect to understanding Mexican-origin adolescent mothers' social support in the context of family subsystem attitudes and interactions.

  15. Lesbians' experiences and attitudes towards parenthood in Greece.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Voultsos, Polychronis; Zymvragou, Christina-Erato; Raikos, Nikolaos; Spiliopoulou, Chaido Chara

    2018-03-28

    Same-sex parenthood is controversial subject. In this paper, we provide insights into the attitudes and experiences of self-reported lesbians regarding parenthood or the prospect of becoming a parent in the current Greek social and cultural context. In Greece, lesbians are not allowed access to in vitro fertilisation (IVF), while a solitary ('single') woman is allowed access for medical reasons. Fifty-nine (59) semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with women. What emerged from our data was a clear trend for participants to wish to have their own biological children based mostly on the belief that pregnancy would lead to a sense of self-completeness and/or fulfilment. Women also reported the negative impact of prejudice and social oppression on their reproductive autonomy. Interviewees reported that their reproductive choices were negatively influenced by their family and the wider socio-cultural environment. Even within a semi-permissive legal framework, impaired social acceptance of lesbian parenthood prohibits lesbians from becoming mothers. A major reason responsible for the positive attitude of most participants to shared biological motherhood was an altruistic attitude towards their partners.

  16. Social marketing to address attitudes and behaviours related to preventable injuries in British Columbia, Canada.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Jennifer; Zheng, Xin; Lafreniere, Kevin; Pike, Ian

    2018-06-01

    Social marketing is a tool used in the domain of public health for prevention and public education. Because injury prevention is a priority public health issue in British Columbia, Canada, a 3-year consultation was undertaken to understand public attitudes towards preventable injuries and mount a province-wide social marketing campaign aimed at adults aged 25-55 years. Public response to the campaign was assessed through an online survey administered to a regionally representative sample of adults within the target age group between 1 and 4 times per year on an ongoing basis since campaign launch. A linear regression model was applied to a subset of this data (n=5186 respondents) to test the association between exposure to the Preventable campaign and scores on perceived preventability of injuries as well as conscious forethought applied to injury-related behaviours. Campaign exposure was significant in both models (preventability: β=0.27, 95% CI 0.20 to 0.35; conscious thought: β=0.24, 95% CI 0.13 to 0.35), as was parental status (preventability: β=0.12, 95% CI 0.03 to 0.21; conscious thought: β=0.18, 95% CI 0.06 to 0.30). Exposure to the more recent campaign slogan was predictive of 0.47 higher score on conscious thought (95% CI 0.27 to 0.66). This study provides some evidence that the Preventable approach is having positive effect on attitudes and behaviours related to preventable injuries in the target population. Future work will seek to compare these data to other jurisdictions as the Preventable social marketing campaign expands to other parts of Canada. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  17. Using Social Network Analysis to Investigate Positive EOL Communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Jiayun; Yang, Rumei; Wilson, Andrew; Reblin, Maija; Clayton, Margaret F; Ellington, Lee

    2018-04-30

    End of life (EOL) communication is a complex process involving the whole family and multiple care providers. Applications of analysis techniques that account for communication beyond the patient and patient/provider, will improve clinical understanding of EOL communication. To introduce the use of social network analysis to EOL communication data, and to provide an example of applying social network analysis to home hospice interactions. We provide a description of social network analysis using social network analysis to model communication patterns during home hospice nursing visits. We describe three social network attributes (i.e. magnitude, directionality, and reciprocity) in the expression of positive emotion among hospice nurses, family caregivers, and hospice cancer patients. Differences in communication structure by primary family caregiver gender and across time were also examined. Magnitude (frequency) in the expression of positive emotion occurred most often between nurses and caregivers or nurses and patients. Female caregivers directed more positive emotion to nurses, and nurses directed more positive emotion to other family caregivers when the primary family caregiver was male. Reciprocity (mutuality) in positive emotion declined towards day of death, but increased on day of actual patient death. There was variation in reciprocity by the type of positive emotion expressed. Our example demonstrates that social network analysis can be used to better understand the process of EOL communication. Social network analysis can be expanded to other areas of EOL research, such as EOL decision-making and health care teamwork. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  18. Income, egalitarianism and attitudes towards healthcare policy: a study on public attitudes in 29 countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Azar, A; Maldonado, L; Castillo, J C; Atria, J

    2018-01-01

    To evaluate the relationship between income and egalitarian values and attitudes towards healthcare policy. Cross-sectional and cross-national study. Data for 29 countries from the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) 2011 were used. The dependent variables are a general attitude towards government involvement in healthcare provision and two attitudes regarding specific policies (taxes and public funding). Income and egalitarianism were also measured by using ISSP. Data were analysed using regression models that account for individual and country-level characteristics, and country-fixed effects. The effect of income is small and non-significant for attitudes towards government involvement and public funding. For willingness to pay (WTP) taxes to improve healthcare services, we find a positive association with income. Results for egalitarianism suggest a positive association with government involvement in healthcare provision and significant interactions with WTP taxes. The distinction of dimensions and mechanisms underlying policy attitudes appears as relevant. Citizens across socioeconomic groups are motivated to support state-funded healthcare, favouring the design of non-selfish policies. These findings suggest that there is space for policymakers who seek to increase healthcare spending encouraging either policies for specific groups or broader institutional changes. Copyright © 2017 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Positive versus Negative. A cognitive perspective on wording effects for contrastive questions in attitude surveys

    OpenAIRE

    Kamoen, N.

    2012-01-01

    Standardized surveys are used in many contexts to measure people’s opinions and attitudes. Although it is widely assumed that survey answers represent the ‘true values’ of the concepts measured, a large body of research has shown that seemingly irrelevant question characteristics influence how respondents report their attitudes. The research presented in this dissertation revolved around on one of these characteristics: whether the question is worded positively (This is an interesting book. Y...

  20. Developing positive attitudes toward geriatric nursing among Millennials and Generation Xers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heise, Barbara A; Johnsen, Vickie; Himes, Deborah; Wing, Debra

    2012-01-01

    Despite the increase of the older adult population, there exists a shortage of health care professionals trained to help this population remain independent as long as possible. Ageism, common among younger adults, affects the capacity building of health care for older adults. Research has indicated that increased knowledge about older adults, as well as exposure to the elderly, may alter nursing students' attitudes regarding careers in gerontological nursing. However, questions remain as to what are the most effective ways to provide gerontological content in nursing programs and enhance attitudes toward older adults.With the understanding that younger adults see a need to balance work and play, a baccalaureate nursing program provides examples of ways to accomplish this through integration of courses, simulations, positive images of aging, and learning activities that enhance empathy for both frail and healthy older adults.

  1. Is ethnic prejudice declining in Britain? Change in social distance attitudes among ethnic majority and minority Britons.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Storm, Ingrid; Sobolewska, Maria; Ford, Robert

    2017-09-01

    Most literature on racial prejudice deals with the racial attitudes of the ethnic majority and ethnic minorities separately. This paper breaks this tradition. We examine the social distance attitudes of white and non-white British residents to test if these attitudes follow the same trends over time, whether they are driven by the same social processes and whether they are inter-related. We have three main findings. Firstly, social distance from other ethnic groups has declined over time for both white and ethnic minority Britons. For the white majority there are both period and cohort elements to this decline. Secondly, we see some evidence that social distance between the majority and minority groups is reciprocal. Specifically, minorities who experience rejection by the white British feel a greater sense of distance from them. Thirdly, we find that all groups share the perception of the same ethnic hierarchy. We see evidence of particularly widespread hostility towards Muslim Britons from all ethnic groups suggesting that Muslims are singled out for negative attention from many British residents of all other backgrounds, including a large number who do not express hostility to other groups. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2017.

  2. Peer Instruction in introductory physics: A method to bring about positive changes in students’ attitudes and beliefs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ping Zhang

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper analyzes pre-post matched gains in the epistemological views of science students taking the introductory physics course at Beijing Normal University (BNU in China. In this study we examined the attitudes and beliefs of science majors (n=441 in four classes, one taught using traditional (lecture teaching methods, and the other three taught with Peer Instruction (PI. In two of the PI classes, student peer groups were constantly changing throughout the semester, while in the other PI class student groups remained fixed for the duration of the semester. The results of the pre- and post-test using the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey showed that students in traditional lecture settings became significantly more novicelike in their beliefs about physics and learning physics over the course of a semester, a result consistent with what was reported in the literature. However, all three of the classes taught using the PI method improved student attitudes and beliefs about physics and learning physics. In the PI class with fixed peer groups, students exhibited a greater positive shift in attitudes and beliefs than in the other PI class with changing peer groups. The study also looked at gender differences in student learning attitudes. Gender results revealed that female science majors in the PI classes achieved a greater positive shift in attitudes and beliefs after instruction than did male students.

  3. Bachelor of Social Work Students and Mental Health Stigma: Understanding Student Attitudes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zellmann, Karen T.; Madden, Elissa E.; Aguiniga, Donna M.

    2014-01-01

    Bachelor-level social work students (n = 198) at a midsized Midwestern public university were surveyed to evaluate their attitudes toward those with mental health concerns. Additionally, students were surveyed regarding their willingness to seek treatment for their own mental health needs. Results of the analyses suggest that the majority of…

  4. The impact of incidental fear and anger on in- and outgroup attitudes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bukowski Marcin

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this research was to examine the impact of two specific negative emotions of anger and fear on intergroup attitudes. In Study 1 we measured emotions of anger and fear and in Study 2 we evoked these emotions incidentally, that is independently of any intergroup context. In both studies we measured attitudes towards the ingroup (Polish and the outgroup (Gypsies.We expected that fear would lead to more positive ingroup attitudes and anger to more negative outgroup attitudes. The results of the correlational study (Study 1 confirmed the predictions regarding anger and decreased outgroup evaluations, and the experimental study (Study 2 revealed that fear enhanced positivity towards the ingroup, but anger increased negativity towards the outgroup. The impact of fear and anger on social attitudes in the specific context of a negatively self-stereotyped ingroup is discussed.

  5. The role of cross-group friendship and emotions in adolescents' attitudes towards inclusion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grütter, Jeanine; Gasser, Luciano; Malti, Tina

    2017-03-01

    Most countries have started to educate students with special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream schools, but it remains unclear how inclusive attitudes towards students with SEN can be promoted. This study investigated the role of adolescents' friendships and socio-moral competencies for their attitudes towards the inclusion of students with SEN. Specifically, we studied whether adolescents without SEN would develop more inclusive attitudes if they had close friendships with SEN students and if they expressed negative emotions about social exclusion. Adolescents' inclusive attitudes and their emotions were gathered from survey data of 1225 Swiss students aged 11-13. Social network data were collected to assess adolescents' friendship relationships. The results indicated that adolescents' friendship closeness with SEN students positively related to their inclusive attitudes. However, this was only true for adolescents who anticipated more negative than positive emotions if a student with SEN was excluded. These findings highlight the role of friendship relationships between adolescents with and without SEN and adolescents' socio-moral experiences for their attitudes towards the inclusion of peers with SEN. Thus, inclusive education may benefit from promoting friendships among students with and without SEN as well as adolescents' socio-moral competencies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. High-precision relative position and attitude measurement for on-orbit maintenance of spacecraft

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Bing; Chen, Feng; Li, Dongdong; Wang, Ying

    2018-02-01

    In order to realize long-term on-orbit running of satellites, space stations, etc spacecrafts, in addition to the long life design of devices, The life of the spacecraft can also be extended by the on-orbit servicing and maintenance. Therefore, it is necessary to keep precise and detailed maintenance of key components. In this paper, a high-precision relative position and attitude measurement method used in the maintenance of key components is given. This method mainly considers the design of the passive cooperative marker, light-emitting device and high resolution camera in the presence of spatial stray light and noise. By using a series of algorithms, such as background elimination, feature extraction, position and attitude calculation, and so on, the high precision relative pose parameters as the input to the control system between key operation parts and maintenance equipment are obtained. The simulation results show that the algorithm is accurate and effective, satisfying the requirements of the precision operation technique.

  7. Micro and Small Entrepreneur Social Ads: The Influence of Risk Perception as Measured by Self-Monitoring and Social Expectation on Poverty Reduction Social Ads in Indonesia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adi Zakaria Afiff

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Regardless of the growing usage of social ads in Indonesia, the effectiveness of these social ads has not really been assessed. One theme of the social ads that is related to the poverty problem in this country is the micro and small entrepreneur social ads, namely a number of related social ads issued by the government that persuades its audience to release themselves from poverty by becoming micro and small entrepreneurs that is supported by low cost loans from the government.As becoming a micro or small entrepreneur has both an individual and a social risk perception, a 2x2x2 experiment was conducted using self-monitoring to represent the individual risk perception, social expectation to represent the social risk perception and message framing; to see how these 3 factors affect the target audience attitude toward the message of becoming a micro and small entrepreneur. The result of the study shows that self-monitoring, the individual risk perception, has the strongest influence over the audience’s attitude, in which the higher the self-monitoring characteristic of the audience the more positive the attitude formed toward the message. Social expectation and message framing does not show any direct significant influence, however the interaction of the 2 factors show significant influence toward the attitude the message.

  8. The Significance of Social Welfare Attitudes in Young People’s Entrepreneurial Intentions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Teemu Rantanen

    2015-05-01

    According to main recommendation, influencing young people’s confidence in their abilities and skills is more important than trying to influence general attitudes about entrepreneurship. Thus, entrepreneurship education has a key role in supporting young people’s entrepreneurship. National differences in intentions and in appreciation of entrepreneurship can be explained by societal and historical factors. Entrepreneurial intention is typically explained by psychological, economic, and cultural factors, and by social capital. Study results show that social political factors are also important in explaining entrepreneurial intentions.

  9. Counselor Attitudes toward and Use of Evidence-based Practices in Private Substance Use Disorder Treatment Centers: A Comparison of Social Workers and Non–Social Workers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bride, Brian E.; Kintzle, Sara; Abraham, Amanda J.; Roman, Paul M.

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine factors that may be associated with variation in social workers' perceptions of effectiveness, perceptions of acceptability, and use of psychosocial evidence-based practices (EBPs) for the treatment of substance use disorders (SUD) in comparison to other SUD counselors who are non–social workers. A national sample of 1,140 counselors in private SUD treatment settings completed a mailed survey. Overall, counselors perceive both motivational interviewing (MI) and contingency management (CM) to be effective and acceptable interventions, with MI perceived to be both more effective and more acceptable than CM. The results of this study also shed light on the factors associated with perceptions of effectiveness and acceptability of MI and CM. The results of this study underscore the importance of exposure to EBPs in the development of positive attitudes toward and use of EBPs. In particular, professional networks are an important route to introduce social workers to EBPs, as is professional training on specific EBPs. Efforts to increase the uptake of evidence-based SUD interventions should not be limited to dissemination of information regarding effectiveness; rather, efforts should also be expended to expose social workers to EBPs. PMID:23193729

  10. Motivation, engagement, attitudes and buying intent of female Facebook users

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Irene le Roux

    2016-05-01

    Research purpose: The primary purpose was to investigate the interrelationship between motives, engagement, brand attitudes and buying intent of female Facebook brand apparel community members in South Africa. Motivation for the study: Social media created a new tool for marketers to break through advertising clutter. Scholars assert that the influence of social media brand communities on consumers’ attitudes, behaviour and intentions need to be studied, and such research should be applied to a specific industry. Research design, approach and method: A total of 333 female apparel brand community members on Facebook completed a quantitative, structured online survey. Structural equation modelling (SEM was used to investigate the interrelationship between the constructs. Main findings: The results indicated significant relationships between some of the hypothesised constructs, namely hedonic motives and brand attitude, as well as brand attitude and buyingintention. Practical/managerial implications: The findings suggested marketers should create entertaining and useful brand community experiences, as that lead to favourable attitudes, and positively influence buying intention. Suggestions for marketers to use this platform effectively to engage community members were provided. Contribution: The research contributed to the limited knowledge on brand community behaviour on Facebook in an emerging market context. This research examined female consumers, an influential segment of social media users. It provided empirical support for the theoretical relationship between brand attitude and buying intention.

  11. Young children's attitudes toward peers with intellectual disabilities: effect of the type of school.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Georgiadi, Maria; Kalyva, Efrosini; Kourkoutas, Elias; Tsakiris, Vlastaris

    2012-11-01

    This study explored typically developing children's attitudes towards peers with intellectual disabilities, with special reference to the type of school they attended. Two hundred and fifty-six Greek children aged 9-10 (135 in inclusive settings) completed a questionnaire and an adjective list by Gash (European Journal of Special Needs Education 1993; 8, 106) and drew a child with intellectual disabilities, commenting also on their drawings. Typically developing children expressed overall neutral attitudes towards peers with intellectual disabilities. Type of school differentiated their attitudes, with children from inclusive settings being more positive towards peers with intellectual disabilities and choosing less negative adjectives to describe them than children from non-inclusive settings. Girls and students who expressed more positive social, emotional and overall attitudes towards students with intellectual disabilities chose more positive adjectives to describe a child with intellectual disabilities. It was also found that children from inclusive settings drew children with intellectual disabilities as more similar to a child with Down syndrome in comparison with children from non-inclusive settings. Effective inclusive practices should be promoted to foster social acceptance of students with intellectual disabilities. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  12. No praise, please: Depressive symptoms, reactivity to positive social interaction, and fear of positive evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reichenberger, Julia; Wiggert, Nicole; Agroskin, Dmitrij; Wilhelm, Frank H; Blechert, Jens

    2017-03-01

    Depression is characterized by depressed mood and loss of interest or pleasure. Resulting alterations in emotional reactivity have been explained by three different accounts: 'positive attenuation', 'negative potentiation', and 'emotion context insensitivity'. Despite the importance of depression-related emotional alteration in social interactions, research with naturalistic interpersonal stimuli is scarce and underlying mechanisms largely unknown. Hence, the present study examined subjective emotional reactivity to brief negative, positive, and neutral social-evaluative videos as a function of depressive symptoms in an adult sample (N = 84). Fear of positive evaluation (FPE) and fear of negative evaluation (FNE), often conceptualized as cognitive components of social anxiety, were examined as possible mediators. Results revealed that more depression symptoms were related to diminished pleasantness responses to both positive and neutral videos. When considering all three video conditions simultaneously, only responses to positive videos remained significantly related to depression scores, supporting the 'positive attenuation' account. Moreover, FPE was found to uniquely mediate the relationship between depressive symptoms and pleasantness responses to positive videos. Results indicate that emotional reactivity to positive interpersonal stimuli is relevant for theoretical and clinical considerations of depression. This research underlines the importance of FPE not only for understanding social anxiety but also depression. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Attitudes of Iranian infertile couples toward surrogacy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ensiyeh Mohebbi Kian

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Surrogacy arrangements are multifaceted in nature, involving multiple controversial aspects and engaging ethical, moral, psychological and social issues. Successful treatment in reproductive medicine is strongly based on the mutual agreement of both partners, especially in Iran where men often make the final decision for health-related problems of this nature. AIM: The aim of the following study is to assess the attitudes of Iranian infertile couples toward surrogacy. Setting and Design: This descriptive study was conducted at the infertility clinic of Hamadan university of medical sciences, Iran. Materials and Methods: The study sample consisted of 150 infertile couples selected using a systematic randomized method. Data collection was based on responses to a questionnaire consisting of 22 questions. Statistical Analysis: P <0.05 were considered to be statistically significant. Results: While 33.3% of men and 43.3% of women surveyed insisted on not using surrogacy, the overall attitudes toward surrogacy were positive (53.3% of women and 54.6% of men surveyed. Conclusion: Although, there was not a significant difference between the overall positive attitudes of infertile women and men toward surrogacy, the general attitude toward using this method is not strongly positive. Therefore, further efforts are required to increase the acceptability of surrogacy among infertile couples.

  14. Abuse of disabled parking: Reforming public's attitude through persuasive multimedia strategy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yahaya, W A J W; Zain, M Z M

    2014-01-01

    Attitude is one of the factors that contribute to the abuse of disabled parking. The attitude's components are affective, cognitive and behavioral and may be formed in various ways including learning and persuasion. Using learning and persuasion approach, this study has produced a persuasive multimedia aiming to form a positive attitude toward disabled persons in order to minimize the rate of disabled parking abuse. The persuasive multimedia was developed using Principle of Social Learning draws from Persuasive Technology as learning strategy at macro persuasion level, and modality and redundancy principles draw from Multimedia Learning Principles as design strategy at micro persuasion level. In order to measure the effectiveness of the persuasive multimedia, 93 respondents were selected in a 2 × 2 quasi experimental research design for experiment. Attitude components of affective, cognitive and behavioral were measured using adapted instrument from the Multi Dimensional Attitudes Scale toward Persons With Disabilities (MAS). Result of the study shows that the persuasive multimedia which designed based on Social Learning Theory at macro persuasion level is capable of forming positive attitude toward disabled person. The cognitive component of the attitude found to be the most responsive component. In term of design strategy at the micro persuasion level, modality found to be the most significant strategy compare to redundancy. While males are more responsive to the persuasive multimedia compare to females

  15. Remembering gay/lesbian media characters: can Ellen and Will improve attitudes toward homosexuals?.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonds-Raacke, Jennifer M; Cady, Elizabeth T; Schlegel, Rebecca; Harris, Richard J; Firebaugh, Lindsey

    2007-01-01

    The purpose of the current research was twofold. First, a pilot study was conducted in which participants were asked to recall any memorable gay or lesbian television or film character and complete a survey about their perceptions of the character. Results indicated that over two-thirds of heterosexual participants recalled either Ellen or Will, and evaluative ratings for these characters were generally positive. The second purpose of this research was to examine the priming effects of remembering portrayals of homosexual characters in the media. Therefore, an experiment was conducted to directly assess the effects of thinking about either a positive or negative homosexual character on general heterosexuals' attitudes toward gay men and lesbians. Results indicated that those recalling a positive portrayal later showed a more positive attitude toward gay men than those recalling a negative portrayal, and women had a more positive attitude overall than men toward gay men and lesbians. Such findings illustrate the importance of positive role models in entertainment media as potential primes of social attitudes.

  16. Salient value similarity, social trust, and attitudes toward wildland fire management strategies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jerry J. Vaske; James D. Absher; Alan D. Bright

    2007-01-01

    Using the salient value similarity (SVS) model, we predicted that social trust mediated the relationship between SVS and attitudes toward prescribed burns and mechanical thinning. Data were obtained from a mail survey (n = 532) of Colorado residents living in the wildland-urban interface. Results indicated that respondents shared the same values as U...

  17. Navigating between two cultures: Immigrants' gender attitudes toward working women

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Léa Pessin

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Background: Gender attitudes toward women's employment are of particular importance because they positively influence gender-equal outcomes in the labor market. Our understanding of the mechanisms that promote egalitarian gender attitudes among immigrants, however, remains limited. Objective: By studying first- and second-generation immigrants from multiple origins and living in different countries, this article seeks to explain under what conditions the prevalent cultural attitudes toward gender roles at the origin and destination influence immigrants' gender attitudes. We address three main research questions. First, does the country-of-origin gender ideology influence immigrants' views toward working women? Second, does the country-of-destination gender ideology influence immigrants' views toward working women? And third, are these relationships moderated by (1 the immigrant generation; (2 the age at arrival in the country of destination; (3 the length of residence at the destination? Methods: Using data from the European Social Survey, we model immigrants' gender attitudes toward working women by using linear cross-classified models to account for clustering into the country of origin and destination. Results: The results highlight the importance of the context of early socialization in shaping immigrants' gender attitudes. First-generation immigrants, and more specifically adult migrants, hold gender attitudes that reflect more strongly the country of origin's gender culture. In contrast, the positive association between gender ideology at destination and immigrants' gender attitudes is stronger among second-generation immigrants and child migrants. Contribution: We add to the literature on gender ideology formation by analyzing the influence of gender ideology at the origin and destination levels on the gender attitudes of immigrants from 96 countries of origin and residing across 32 countries of destination.

  18. Individual, Country and Societal Cluster Differences on Measures of Personality, Attitudes, Values, and Social Norms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stankov, Lazar

    2011-01-01

    This study investigated cross-cultural differences on 38 subscales from 4 major domains--personality, social attitudes, values, and social norms. These scales were administered to participants who took the Test of English as a Foreign Language[TM] (TOEFL[R], N = 1,600) and U.S. college students (N = 429). Total variability of each subscale was…

  19. Americans' attitudes toward premarital sex and pornography consumption: a national panel analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wright, Paul J

    2015-01-01

    National panel data gathered in 2008 (T1) and 2010 (T2) from 420 Black and White US adults aged 18-89 years (M = 45.37, SD = 15.85) were employed to assess prospective associations between pornography consumption and premarital sex attitudes. Premarital sex attitudes were indexed via a composite measure of perceptions of the appropriateness of adults and teenagers having premarital sex. Wright's (2011) sexual script acquisition, activation, application model (3AM) of media sexual socialization was used as the guiding theoretical framework. The 3AM maintains that sexual media may be used by consumers to inform their sexual scripts but that attitude change from exposure to sexual media is less likely when media scripts are incongruent with consumers' preexisting scripts. Consistent with these postulates, the association between pornography consumption at T1 and more positive attitudes toward premarital sex at T2 was strongest for younger adults, who are less oppositional to premarital sex than older adults. Contrary to the position that associations between pornography consumption and premarital sex attitudes are due to individuals who already have positive attitudes toward premarital sex selecting content congruent with their attitudes, premarital sex attitudes at T1 did not predict pornography consumption at T2.

  20. Early adopters or laggards? Attitudes toward and use of social media among urologists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fuoco, Michael; Leveridge, Michael J

    2015-03-01

    To understand the attitudes and practices of urologists regarding social media use. Social media services have become ubiquitous, but their role in the context of medical practice is underappreciated. A survey was sent to all active members of the Canadian Urological Association by e-mail and surface mail. Likert scales were used to assess engagement in social media, as well as attitudes toward physician responsibilities, privacy concerns and patient interaction online. Of 504 surveys delivered, 229 were completed (45.4%). Urologists reported frequent or daily personal and professional social media use in 26% and 8% of cases, respectively. There were no differences between paper (n = 103) or online (n = 126; P > 0.05) submissions. Among frequent social media users, YouTube (86%), Facebook (76%), and Twitter (41%) were most commonly used; 12% post content or links frequently to these sites. The most common perceived roles of social media in health care were for inter-professional communication (67%) or as a simple information repository (59%); online patient interaction was endorsed by 14% of urologists. Fewer than 19% had read published guidelines for online patient interaction, and ≤64% were unaware of their existence. In all, 94.6% agreed that physicians need to exercise caution personal social media posting, although 57% felt that medical regulatory bodies should 'stay out of [their] personal social media activities', especially those in practice social media integration in medical practice will be 'impossible' due to privacy and boundary issues; 73% felt that online interaction with patients would become unavoidable in the future, especially those in practice >20 years (P = 0.02). Practicing urologists engage infrequently in social media activities, and are almost universal in avoiding social media for professional use. Most feel that social media is best kept to exchanges between colleagues. Emerging data suggest an increasing involvement is likely in the

  1. Ethical Investigation of Social Responsibility Activities towards the Environment

    OpenAIRE

    ELCİL, Şifa

    2018-01-01

    Inaddition to the quality product and service provision, strategic management andstrategic communication approach, it has become a necessity for theinstitutions to form social reputation of the institutions with socialresponsibility approach and to maintain them in accordance with a certainunderstanding. The purpose of social responsibility activities in relation tothe public is to create a responsibility awareness and positive attitude in thesociety and to direct attitude and behavior change...

  2. Positive Social Support, Negative Social Exchanges, and Suicidal Behavior in College Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hirsch, Jameson K.; Barton, Alison L.

    2011-01-01

    Objective: Risk for suicide is often higher among college students, compared to same-age noncollegiate peers, and may be exacerbated by quality of social support and interactions. The authors examined the independent contributions of positive social support and negative social exchanges to suicide ideation and attempts in college students.…

  3. Students' Involvement in Social Networking and Attitudes towards Its Integration into Teaching

    Science.gov (United States)

    Umoh, Ukeme Ekpedeme; Etuk, Etuk Nssien

    2016-01-01

    The study examined Students' Involvement in Social Networking and attitudes towards its Integration into Teaching. The study was carried out in the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. The population of the study consisted of 17,618 undergraduate students enrolled into full time degree programmes in the University of Uyo for 2014/2015…

  4. Religion insulates ingroup evaluations: the development of intergroup attitudes in India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dunham, Yarrow; Srinivasan, Mahesh; Dotsch, Ron; Barner, David

    2014-03-01

    Research on the development of implicit intergroup attitudes has placed heavy emphasis on race, leaving open how social categories that are prominent in other cultures might operate. We investigate two of India's primary means of social distinction, caste and religion, and explore the development of implicit and explicit attitudes towards these groups in minority-status Muslim children and majority-status Hindu children, the latter drawn from various positions in the Hindu caste system. Results from two tests of implicit attitudes find that caste attitudes parallel previous findings for race: higher-caste children as well as lower-caste children have robust high-caste preferences. However, results for religion were strikingly different: both lower-status Muslim children and higher-status Hindu children show strong implicit ingroup preferences. We suggest that religion may play a protective role in insulating children from the internalization of stigma. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  5. The structure and strength of public attitudes towards wind farm development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bidwell, David Charles

    A growing social science literature seeks to understand why, despite broad public support for wind energy, proposals for specific projects are often met with strong local opposition. This gap between general and specific attitudes is viewed as a significant obstacle to the deployment of wind energy technologies. This dissertation applies theoretical perspectives and methodological tools from social psychology to provide insights on the structure and strength of attitudes towards the potential development of commercial wind farm in three coastal areas of Michigan. A survey of attitudes was completed by 375 residents in these communities and structural equation modeling was used to explore the relationship among variables. The analysis found that attitudes towards wind farm development are shaped by anticipated economic benefits to the community, but expectations of economic benefit are driven by personal values. Social psychology has long recognized that all attitudes are not created equal. Weak attitudes are fleeting and prone to change, while strong attitudes are stable over time and resistant to change. There are two fundamental paths to strong attitudes: repeated experience with an attitude object or the application of deeply held principles or values to that object. Structural equation models were also used to understand the strength of attitudes among the survey respondents. Both the anticipated effects of wind farm development and personal values were found to influence the strength of attitudes towards wind farms. However, while expectations that wind farm development will have positive effects on the economy bolster two measures of attitude strength (collective identity and importance), these expectations are associated with a decline in a third measure (confidence). A follow-up survey asking identical questions was completed by completed by 187 respondents to the initial survey. Linear regressions models were used to determine the effects of attitude

  6. Attitudes and attitude change

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Scholderer, Joachim

    2010-01-01

    An attitude can be defined as the evaluation of an object as positive or negative. The term "object" in this definition should be understood in a broad sense; an attitude object may be any concrete or abstract entity that is in some way represented in our thoughts and memory. In other words......, attitude objects are simply the things we like or dislike. Consumer researchers are mainly interested in attitude objects of two classes, products and services, including the attributes, issues, persons, communications, situations, and behaviours related to them. Research on consumer attitudes takes two...... perspectives: Understanding attitude structure: how is an attitude cognitively represented in a consumer's mind, including its components (intra-attitudinal structure) and its associations with other psychological variables (inter-attitudinal structure)? Understanding information processing: what...

  7. A survey comparing the attitudes toward perinatal bereavement care of nurses from three Asian cities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chan, Moon Fai; Lou, Feng-lan; Arthur, David Gordon

    2010-12-01

    Caring for parents whose infant has died is extremely demanding, difficult, and stressful. In some situations, nurses may experience personal failure, feel helpless, and need to distance themselves from bereaved parents because they are unable to deal with the enormity of the parental feelings of loss. The aim of the study was to describe and compare attitudes toward perinatal bereavement care across a sample of nurses working in five obstetrics and gynecology settings from three Asian cities, as well as the factors associated with these attitudes. A survey was conducted, and 573 nurses were recruited from 2006 to 2007. The data were collected using the perinatal bereavement attitudes scale, which involves an 11-item self-report questionnaire. Nurses' attitudes were mainly positive, but differed across cities, with the attitude of Jinan nurses being significantly more positive than nurses from the other two cities, and the attitude of Hong Kong nurses being significantly the lowest. Positive attitudes were associated with position, and nurses who were well informed of hospital policy and received training for bereavement care were statistically significantly more likely to have a positive attitude toward perinatal bereavement care. Although nurses' attitudes to prenatal bereavement care differ significantly across the three Asian cities, they are generally similar. The differences observed could be related to the wider social, cultural, and organizational circumstances of nursing practice.

  8. Menstrual socialization, beliefs, and attitudes concerning menstruation in rural and urban Mexican women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marvan, Maria Luisa; Trujillo, Paulina

    2010-01-01

    Women living in rural and urban areas of Mexico answered a questionnaire about what they were told at home about menstruation before their menarche (first menstruation), and answered the Beliefs About and Attitudes Toward Menstruation Questionnaire. Around half of both urban and rural women were told that they were going to experience negative perimenstrual changes. There were fewer urban than rural women who were advised to do or not to do certain activities while menstruating. Menstrual socialization affected the beliefs and attitudes concerning menstruation held by women as adults. These findings are discussed in light of the sociocultural background of the participants.

  9. Integrating social networks and human social motives to achieve social influence at scale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Contractor, Noshir S.; DeChurch, Leslie A.

    2014-01-01

    The innovations of science often point to ideas and behaviors that must spread and take root in communities to have impact. Ideas, practices, and behaviors need to go from accepted truths on the part of a few scientists to commonplace beliefs and norms in the minds of the many. Moving from scientific discoveries to public good requires social influence. We introduce a structured influence process (SIP) framework to explain how social networks (i.e., the structure of social influence) and human social motives (i.e., the process of social influence wherein one person’s attitudes and behaviors affect another’s) are used collectively to enact social influence within a community. The SIP framework advances the science of scientific communication by positing social influence events that consider both the “who” and the “how” of social influence. This framework synthesizes core ideas from two bodies of research on social influence. The first is network research on social influence structures, which identifies who are the opinion leaders and who among their network of peers shapes their attitudes and behaviors. The second is research on social influence processes in psychology, which explores how human social motives such as the need for accuracy or the need for affiliation stimulate behavior change. We illustrate the practical implications of the SIP framework by applying it to the case of reducing neonatal mortality in India. PMID:25225373

  10. Integrating social networks and human social motives to achieve social influence at scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Contractor, Noshir S; DeChurch, Leslie A

    2014-09-16

    The innovations of science often point to ideas and behaviors that must spread and take root in communities to have impact. Ideas, practices, and behaviors need to go from accepted truths on the part of a few scientists to commonplace beliefs and norms in the minds of the many. Moving from scientific discoveries to public good requires social influence. We introduce a structured influence process (SIP) framework to explain how social networks (i.e., the structure of social influence) and human social motives (i.e., the process of social influence wherein one person's attitudes and behaviors affect another's) are used collectively to enact social influence within a community. The SIP framework advances the science of scientific communication by positing social influence events that consider both the "who" and the "how" of social influence. This framework synthesizes core ideas from two bodies of research on social influence. The first is network research on social influence structures, which identifies who are the opinion leaders and who among their network of peers shapes their attitudes and behaviors. The second is research on social influence processes in psychology, which explores how human social motives such as the need for accuracy or the need for affiliation stimulate behavior change. We illustrate the practical implications of the SIP framework by applying it to the case of reducing neonatal mortality in India.

  11. An Assessment of Contagion on Social Networking Sites

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tussyadiah, Iis

    2012-01-01

    . The relationship between social interactions and social influence is moderated by opinion leadership and attitude towards status consumption, which are conceptualized to represent consumers’ competitiveness. Consumers’ status consumption contributes negatively to recommendation-based consumption, but positively...

  12. A Comparison of Symbolic Racism Theory and Social Dominance Theory as Explanations for Racial Policy Attitudes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sidanius, Jim; And Others

    1992-01-01

    Defines symbolic racism theory and social dominance theory. Compares the two theories and how they affect racial policy attitudes such as busing, affirmative action, and welfare. Explains that the study reanalyses data previously collected. Discusses symbolic racism as a legitimizing myth. Reports that social dominance theory was more consistent…

  13. Ethnicity, gender socialization, and children’s attitudes toward gay men and lesbian women

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bos, H.M.W.; Picavet, C.; Sandfort, T.G.M.

    2012-01-01

    The aim of the present study was to assess whether children’s attitudes toward gay men and lesbian women differ in relation to their ethnic backgrounds and whether ethnic differences are a result of perceived differential gender socialization practices. Data were collected from children in eight

  14. Stereotype Threat Vulnerability: A Psychometric Investigation of the Social Identities and Attitudes Scale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Leann V.; Cokley, Kevin

    2016-01-01

    The authors investigated the psychometric properties of the Social Identities and Attitudes Scale developed by Picho and Brown, which captures an individual's vulnerability to Stereotype Threat effects. Confirmatory factor analyses and group invariance tests conducted on a diverse sample of 516 college students revealed adequate reliability and…

  15. The Paradox of Middle-Class Attitudes in China: Democracy, Social Stability, and Reform

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ying Miao

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available This article explores the seemingly paradoxical attitudes of the Chinese middle class towards democracy, social stability, and reform. Using fieldwork data from Ningbo, this article shows that a group of objective, middle-class individuals can concurrently display high levels of support for democratic principles and low levels of participation in real-life socio-political events. Being generally confident in China’s social stability, these individuals have little to no desire for significant democratic reform, or indeed any reform that occurs outside the purview of the state, as it is considered destabilising. By highlighting the distinction between how these members of the middle class respond to generic democratic concepts, real-life socio-political affairs, and the idea of democratic reform, this article argues that the Chinese middle class are aware of what “should be,” what “could be,” and what “is,” which lends their socio-political attitudes a paradoxical appearance.

  16. Is subjective social status a summary of life-course socioeconomic position?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferreira, Wasney de Almeida; Camelo, Lidyane; Viana, Maria Carmen; Giatti, Luana; Barreto, Sandhi Maria

    2018-01-01

    Very little is known about the association between objective indicators of socioeconomic position in childhood and adolescence and low subjective social status in adult life, after adjusting for adult socioeconomic position. We used baseline data (2008-2010) from the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil), a multicenter cohort study of 15,105 civil servants from six Brazilian states. Subjective social status was measured using the The MacArthur Scale of Subjective Social Status, which represents social hierarchy in the form of a 10-rung ladder with the top rung representing the highest subjective social status. Participants who chose the bottom four rungs in the ladder were assigned to the low subjective social status category. The following socioeconomic position indicators were investigated: childhood (maternal education), adolescence (occupational social class of the household head; participant's occupational social class of first job; nature of occupation of household head; participant's nature of occupation of first job), and adulthood (participant's occupational social class, nature of occupation and education). The associations between low subjective social status and socioeconomic position were determined using multiple logistic regression, after adjusting for sociodemographic factors and socioeconomic position indicators from other stages of life. After adjustments, low socioeconomic position in childhood, adolescence and adulthood remained significantly associated with low subjective social status in adulthood with dose-response gradients. The magnitude of these associations was stronger for intra-individual than for intergenerational socioeconomic positions. Results suggest that subjective social status in adulthood is the result of a complex developmental process of acquiring socioeconomic self-perception, which is intrinsic to subjective social status and includes current and past, individual and family household experiences.

  17. Social embeddedness and economic opportunism: a game situation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sakalaki, Maria; Fousiani, Kyriaki

    2012-06-01

    According to Evolutionary Game Theory, multiple exchanges with partners are necessary to foster cooperation. Multiple exchanges with partners tend to enhance the good experience of the partners and the predictability of their behaviour and should therefore increase cooperativeness. This study explored whether social embeddedness, or the preference for close and stable social relationships, a variable which tends to increase multiple exchanges, is associated with more cooperative attitudes; and whether social embeddedness increases cooperative behavior towards unknown partners in a game situation. The first study, with 169 undergraduates, indicated that social embeddedness (preference for close and durable social relations) was negatively associated with opportunistic attitudes. The second study had a sample of 60 undergraduates playing a Trust Game with unknown partners and showed that self-reported social embeddedness was positively correlated with scores for cooperative economic behavior towards the partners. These results highlight the relationships of social embeddedness with cooperative attitudes and behaviour.

  18. Values, inter-attitudinal structure, and attitude change: value accessibility can increase a related attitude's resistance to change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blankenship, Kevin L; Wegener, Duane T; Murray, Renee A

    2015-12-01

    Accessibility is one of the most basic structural properties of an attitude and an important factor to consider in attitude strength. Despite its importance, relatively little work has examined the role of attitude accessibility in an inter-attitudinal context, particularly as it relates to the strength of related attitudes in the network. The present research examines accessibility as a property of one attitude (toward an abstract goal or end-state, that is, a value) that might influence the strength of a different but related attitude (toward a social policy conceptually related to the value). In Study 1, a highly accessible evaluative component of a value increased resistance to change of attitudes and behavioral intentions toward a social policy related to that value. Similarly, a manipulation of value accessibility (Studies 2 and 3) led to increased resistance of attitudes and behavioral intentions toward a social policy related to that value. Implications for the role of accessibility in inter-attitudinal strength are discussed. © 2015 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

  19. Responsive Social Positioning Behaviors for Semi-Autonomous Telepresence Robots

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vroon, Jered Hendrik

    2017-01-01

    Social interaction with a mobile robot requires the establishment of appropriate social positioning behaviors. Previous work has focused mostly on general and static rules that can be applied to robotics, such as proxemics. How can we deal effectively and efficiently with the dynamic positioning

  20. Fostering students’ thinking skill and social attitude through STAD cooperative learning technique on tenth grade students of chemistry class

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kriswintari, D.; Yuanita, L.; Widodo, W.

    2018-04-01

    The aim of this study was to develop chemistry learning package using Student Teams Achievement Division (STAD) cooperative learning technique to foster students’ thinking skills and social attitudes. The chemistry learning package consisting of lesson plan, handout, students’ worksheet, thinking skill test, and observation sheet of social attitude was developed using the Dick and Carey model. Research subject of this study was chemistry learning package using STAD which was tried out on tenth grade students of SMA Trimurti Surabaya. The tryout was conducted using the one-group pre-test post-test design. Data was collected through observation, test, and questionnaire. The obtained data were analyzed using descriptive qualitative analysis. The findings of this study revealed that the developed chemistry learning package using STAD cooperative learning technique was categorized valid, practice and effective to be implemented in the classroom to foster students’ thinking skill and social attitude.

  1. Corporate Social and Environmental Responsibility in an Emerging Economy: Through the Lens of Legitimacy Theory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Asit Bhattacharyya

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Efforts to promote Corporate Social and Environmental Responsibility (CSER require an understanding of stakeholder attitudes toward enhanced responsibility. However, little is known about current attitudes on this subject, or the determinants of these attitudes. This study presents a survey of the attitudes of Indian managers, toward 18 social and 16 key contemporary environmental management issues. The findings indicate that respondents are concerned about a range of issues surrounding social responsibility. With respect to environmental responsibilities, Indian respondents were also strong in their support, and identified a select few issues to be more important over other environmental factors. Results indicated a positive attitude of Indian managers towards CSER. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA confirmed three distinct social and environmental factors for the respondents and provided a model of managerial attitudes towards CSER.

  2. The stigmatizing effect of visual media portrayals of obese persons on public attitudes: does race or gender matter?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Puhl, Rebecca M; Luedicke, Joerg; Heuer, Chelsea A

    2013-01-01

    Overweight and obese persons are frequently stigmatized in news media. The present study is the first to systematically compare public reactions to positive and negative images of obese persons accompanying news reports on obesity (while manipulating gender and race of the target)and their effects on generalized attitudes and social distance toward obese persons. The authors conducted 3 randomized experimental studies using online surveys to assess public perceptions of positive versus stereotypical images of obese adults (who varied by gender and race) accompanying a neutral news report about obesity. The sample included 1,251 adults, who were recruited through a national survey panel during May of 2010. Participants who viewed negative, stereotypical images of obese targets increased social distance, antifat attitudes, and ratings of laziness and dislike toward obese persons, whereas positive, nonstereotypical images induced more positive attitudes. These findings remained consistent when accounting for sociodemographic variables. African American female obese targets portrayed in images evoked higher ratings of dislike and social distance compared with Caucasian targets, but ratings were similar for male and female targets. This study provides evidence that images of obese person accompanying written media influence public attitudes toward obese people, and may reinforce weight stigmatization if images contain stereotypical portrayals of obese persons. Implications for efforts to report about obesity in the news media are discussed.

  3. Social Influence on Positive Youth Development: A Developmental Neuroscience Perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Telzer, Eva H; van Hoorn, Jorien; Rogers, Christina R; Do, Kathy T

    2018-01-01

    Susceptibility to social influence is associated with a host of negative outcomes during adolescence. However, emerging evidence implicates the role of peers and parents in adolescents' positive and adaptive adjustment. Hence, in this chapter we highlight social influence as an opportunity for promoting social adjustment, which can redirect negative trajectories and help adolescents thrive. We discuss influential models about the processes underlying social influence, with a particular emphasis on internalizing social norms, embedded in social learning and social identity theory. We link this behavioral work to developmental social neuroscience research, rooted in neurobiological models of decision making and social cognition. Work from this perspective suggests that the adolescent brain is highly malleable and particularly oriented toward the social world, which may account for heightened susceptibility to social influences during this developmental period. This chapter underscores the need to leverage social influences during adolescence, even beyond the family and peer context, to promote positive developmental outcomes. By further probing the underlying neural mechanisms as an additional layer to examining social influence on positive youth development, we will be able to gain traction on our understanding of this complex phenomenon. © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. The Effectiveness of the Training of Problem-Solving and Decision-Making Skills on the Reduction of Addicts’ Positive Attitudes to Narcotics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Farxaneh Bahrami

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available Aim: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the training of problem-solving and decision-making skills on the reduction of addicts’ positive attitudes to narcotics. Method: The design of this study was experimental design namely: pre and post test with control group. The population included all addicts referring to Sanandaj self-report centers (500 addicts. By random sampling, 60 addicts were selected and completed the attitude questionnaire to narcotics use. Each of experimental groups was under problem-solving and decision-making skills training for ten 90 minute sessions. No training given to control group. Results: After training, two experimental groups significantly had lower levels of positive attitude to narcotics use. No difference was observed between two experimental groups. Conclusion: The results of this study indicated that the training of problem-solving and decision-making skills can reduce the addicts’ positive attitudes to narcotics.

  5. Smoking-related knowledge, attitude, social pressure, and environmental constraints among new undergraduates in Chongqing, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Xianglong; Leung, Doris Yin Ping; Li, Bing; Wang, Pengfei; Zhao, Yong

    2015-01-19

    Smoking has resulted in numerous deaths in China. Data indicate that 21% of college students in China are smokers. This study aimed to examine the smoking-related behaviors of undergraduates, as influenced by knowledge, attitude, social pressure, and environmental constraints. A convenience sampling of 412 fresh undergraduates from two universities in the University Town in Chongqing, China was recruited. Chi-square tests were used to compare the smoking-related variables between smokers and non-smokers. Moreover, logistic regression was used to examine the factors that associated with smoking status in undergraduates. Smokers and non-smokers differ in terms of knowledge, attitudes toward smoking, participation in tobacco promotional activities, and sources of social pressure. Logistic regression model identified that sex, living cost, five smoking-related attitudes of "Smoking is pleasurable, Smoking relaxes me, Smoking makes me look strong, Smoking is a waste of money, Smoking can help me study better", the social pressure "Smoking brings comfort during celebration", and the environmental constraints "How did you get your cigarettes in the past 30 days?" are significantly associated with smoking. The findings provide a better understanding of the epidemic of smoking among fresh undergraduates in Chongqing, China. This study provides more detailed consideration of the implications for the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) policies, especially on restriction of retail sales outlets and tobacco promotion activities near universities in China.

  6. The More the Merrier? The Effects of Type of Cultural Diversity on Exclusionary Immigration Attitudes in Switzerland

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eva G. T. Green

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available

    We investigate how different types of cultural diversity influence anti-immigration attitudes across Swiss municipalities. While from a threat theory perspective,
    a high number of immigrants within a region increases (perceived threat which fosters negative immigration attitudes, intergroup contact theory contends that culturally diverse societal contexts increase opportunities for contacts with immigrants, which give rise to more positive immigration attitudes. Prior research on ethnic hierarchies and host society acculturation attitudes led us to hypothesize that the presence of valued, “culturally similar” immigrants from wealthier countries increases contact and decreases threat, thereby reducing anti-immigrant prejudice. The presence of devalued, “culturally distant” immigrants from poorer countries should increase threat perceptions and dissuade contact thus heightening prejudice. A multilevel study
    was conducted using the 2002 European Social Survey (N = 1472 Swiss citizens, N = 185 municipalities. Replicating previous research, contact reduced exclusionary immigration attitudes through reduced threat. On the municipality level, higher proportion of North and West European immigrants increased contact, thus reducing threat. A larger proportion of Muslims was related to an increase in threat, leading to more pronounced exclusionary attitudes, but also to increased contact. Finally, we discuss how the impact of diversity depends on the social construction of immigrant categories, respondents’ social position and ideological stances, and the prevailing local ideological climate.

  7. Towards the ASEAN Community: Assessing the Knowledge, Attitudes, and Aspirations of Thai University Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pinn Siraprapasiri

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available This article assesses the knowledge of, attitudes towards, and aspirations for ASEAN among Thai university students, who are set to enter the ASEAN Community labour market and are among those most in touch with ASEAN issues. It uses data obtained from a countrywide survey and focus group discussions to identify variables that affect knowledge, attitudes, and aspirations and to explore the relationships between knowledge, attitudes, and aspirations. The quantitative analysis conducted here uses students’ fields of study, academic performance, and exposure to both ASEAN-related courses and also information and discussions about ASEAN in the mass media and public forums as predictors of their level of knowledge about ASEAN. The paper’s results confirm that positive attitudes towards ASEAN lead to positive aspirations for ASEAN. They also reveal that significant knowledge about ASEAN cannot, in isolation, adequately explain students’ attitudes towards ASEAN and does not always lead to positive attitudes. These findings and those obtained from the focus group discussions suggest that a high level of knowledge and understanding of fellow ASEAN member countries and their people – whether attained through formal or informal education or social interaction – is needed for students to develop positive attitudes and become aspiring members of the ASEAN Community.

  8. Features of Social Attitudes and Value Orientations of Youths and Adolescents Prone to Auto-Aggressive Behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salakhova, Valentina B.; Oschepkov, Aleksey A.; Lipatova, Nadezda V.; Popov, Pavel V.; Mkrtumova, Irina V.

    2016-01-01

    The relevance of the study is due to the growth of social symptoms of aggression directed forwards the Self, which is especially visible in environment of young people. The presented article is aimed at research relations between value orientations and social attitudes among youths and adolescents prone to auto-aggressive behavior. The…

  9. The Spreading of Social Energy: How Exposure to Positive and Negative Social News Affects Behavior.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ziqing Yao

    Full Text Available Social news, unlike video games or TV programs, conveys real-life interactions. Theoretically, social news in which people help or harm each other and violate rules should influence both prosocial and violation behaviors. In two experiments, we demonstrated the spreading effects of social news in a social interaction context emphasizing social conventions and a nonsocial interaction context emphasizing moral norms. Across the two studies, the results showed that positive social news increased cooperation (decreased defection but had no effect on cheating, whereas negative social news increased cheating but with no change in cooperation (or defection. We conclude that there is a spreading impact of positive social news in the conventional norm domain and of negative social news in the moral norm domain.

  10. The Spreading of Social Energy: How Exposure to Positive and Negative Social News Affects Behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yao, Ziqing; Yu, Rongjun

    2016-01-01

    Social news, unlike video games or TV programs, conveys real-life interactions. Theoretically, social news in which people help or harm each other and violate rules should influence both prosocial and violation behaviors. In two experiments, we demonstrated the spreading effects of social news in a social interaction context emphasizing social conventions and a nonsocial interaction context emphasizing moral norms. Across the two studies, the results showed that positive social news increased cooperation (decreased defection) but had no effect on cheating, whereas negative social news increased cheating but with no change in cooperation (or defection). We conclude that there is a spreading impact of positive social news in the conventional norm domain and of negative social news in the moral norm domain.

  11. Effects of stress and social support on mothers and premature and full-term infants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crnic, K A; Greenberg, M T; Ragozin, A S; Robinson, N M; Basham, R B

    1983-02-01

    This study examined the relationships of stress and social support to maternal attitudes and early mother-infant interactive behavior. 52 mother-premature infant pairs and 53 mother-full-term infant pairs were seen for structured home interviews at 1 month, and behavioral interactions at 4 months. Maternal life stress, social support, life satisfaction, and satisfaction with parenting were assessed at the 1-month home visit. Although no group differences were found, both stress and support significantly predicted maternal attitudes at 1 month and interactive behavior at 4 months when data were pooled. Mothers with greater stress were less positive in their attitudes and behavior, while mothers with greater support were significantly more positive. Intimate support proved to have the most general positive effects. Additionally, social support moderated the adverse effects of stress on mother's life satisfaction and on several behavioral variables. Maternal social support was further found to have several significant effects on infant interactive behavior. Results are discussed in terms of the ecological significance of social support to parenting and infants' early development.

  12. Investigating attitudes to hydrogen refuelling facilities and the social cost to local residents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    O'Garra, Tanya; Mourato, Susana; Pearson, Peter

    2008-01-01

    Vehicles fuelled by hydrogen (H 2 ) have attracted increasing attention because of their potentially enhanced environmental profiles. Their penetration into the vehicle stock will be influenced by the spread of refuelling facilities. This study investigates local attitudes towards the proposed installation of H 2 storage facilities at existing refuelling stations throughout London. Using multinomial logit analysis, we identify the determinants of attitudes. Results suggest that residents living very close to a proposed H 2 facility are less likely to be opposed than residents living 200-500 m away. Opposition appears to be determined by a lack of trust in safety regulations, non-environmental attitudes, and concerns about the existing local refuelling station. The social cost to local residents of a local H 2 storage facility was estimated using a method developed by Atkinson et al. [2004. 'Amenity' or 'eyesore'? Negative willingness to pay for options to replace electricity transmission towers. Applied Economics Letters 11(4), 203-208], which elicits the amount of time respondents are willing to commit to oppose a new facility development. Using the leisure rate of time, the social cost is estimated at just under Pounds 14 per local opposed resident. Add to this the WTP to support opposition efforts by a local group, and the value comes to just under Pounds 25 per opposed resident

  13. Body odour disgust sensitivity predicts authoritarian attitudes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liuzza, Marco Tullio; Lindholm, Torun; Hawley, Caitlin B; Gustafsson Sendén, Marie; Ekström, Ingrid; Olsson, Mats J; Olofsson, Jonas K

    2018-02-01

    Authoritarianism has resurfaced as a research topic in political psychology, as it appears relevant to explain current political trends. Authoritarian attitudes have been consistently linked to feelings of disgust, an emotion that is thought to have evolved to protect the organism from contamination. We hypothesized that body odour disgust sensitivity (BODS) might be associated with authoritarianism, as chemo-signalling is a primitive system for regulating interpersonal contact and disease avoidance, which are key features also in authoritarianism. We used well-validated scales for measuring BODS, authoritarianism and related constructs. Across two studies, we found that BODS is positively related to authoritarianism. In a third study, we showed a positive association between BODS scores and support for Donald Trump, who, at the time of data collection, was a presidential candidate with an agenda described as resonating with authoritarian attitudes. Authoritarianism fully explained the positive association between BODS and support for Donald Trump. Our findings highlight body odour disgust as a new and promising domain in political psychology research. Authoritarianism and BODS might be part of the same disease avoidance framework, and our results contribute to the growing evidence that contemporary social attitudes might be rooted in basic sensory functions.

  14. Individual attitudes and perceived social norms: Reports on HIV/AIDS-related stigma among service providers in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Li; Liang, Li-Jung; Wu, Zunyou; Lin, Chunqing; Wen, Yi

    2009-01-01

    This study examined HIV/AIDS-related stigma among Chinese service providers by comparing their personal attitudes toward people living with HIV/AIDS with their perception of social norms related to people living with HIV/AIDS. We randomly selected three provincial hospitals, four city/prefecture hospitals, 10 county hospitals, 18 township health clinics, and 54 village clinics from Yunnan, China. Doctors and nurses were randomly sampled proportionally to the doctor-nurse ratio of each hospital or clinic. Lab technicians were over-sampled in order to include an adequate representation in the analysis. A total of 1,101 service providers participated in a voluntary, anonymous survey where demographic characteristics, individual attitude and perceived social norms toward people living with HIV/AIDS, discrimination intent at work, general prejudicial attitude and knowledge on HIV/AIDS were measured. A majority of the sample demonstrated a similarity between their personal views and what they thought most people in society believe. Multiple logistic regressions revealed that participants who were younger or reported personal contact with people living with HIV/AIDS were significantly more likely to report personal attitudes toward the population that were more liberal than their perceived social norms. Holding a more liberal personal attitude toward people living with HIV/AIDS than perceived social norms was significantly and negatively related to the level of discrimination intent at work, perceived discrimination at interpersonal level and the level of general prejudicial attitude toward people living with HIV/AIDS. Results underscored the importance of understanding social norms and personal attitudes in studying HIV-related stigma and called for the incorporation of existing human capital into future HIV stigma reduction programs. Cette étude a examiné le VIH/SIDA lié à stigmatisation parmi les agences chinoises fournissant des soins en comparant leurs attitudes

  15. Changes in Nursing Students’ Attitudes Towards Nursing During Undergraduate Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Čukljek, Snježana; Jureša, Vesna; Grgas Bile, Cecilija; Režek, Biserka

    2017-03-01

    The aim of this study was to determine the attitudes of nursing students towards nursing, and changes in their attitudes during the study. A quantitative study with pre-post survey was conducted among nursing students enrolled in first study year in the academic year 2012/2013 (N=115) and third study year in the academic year 2014/2015 (N=106). Students voluntarily and anonymously completed a questionnaire consisting of demographic information and the Nursing Image Questionnaire, which includes 30 items that assess how an individual looks at the roles and tasks, values, social stereotypes of nursing, professionalism and performance of nurses. The results indicated that students had positive attitude towards nursing at the beginning and during the study. During the study, there was a positive change in attitudes in the majority of items of the questionnaire, whereas at the end of the study lower attitude was expressed in only four items. The study conducted among nursing students indicated that students’ attitudes changed during the study, influenced by the acquisition of knowledge and skills. During the study, students acquire a more realistic perception of nursing, and adoption of professional values emerges.

  16. [Greek students' attitudes towards mental disorders].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Antoniadis, D; Gouti, A; Kaloudi, E; Τourlende, N; Douzenis, A; Christodoulou, C; Lykouras, L; Livaditis, M; Samakouri, M

    2016-01-01

    Attitudes and beliefs of the population regarding the mentally ill have been universally subject of many researches. Research of different groups' opinion for mental disorders has given remarkable findings that assist in the right design of psychiatric services. Objective of this thesis is to study the attitude of students towards mental illness. In particular, it intends to study the differences derived from the age, gender, place of birth, kind of studies, year of study, duration of stay at the place of studies and the existence of mental disorders in the student's family. Data were collected from 536 students randomly selected from Universities and Technological Institutions both in Athens and Thessaloniki. In general, the participants are being divided based on the subject of their studies in undergraduates of human sciences, exact sciences, social and health sciences. The short version of the scale "Community Attitudes Toward the Mentality III" (CAMI) was used, which consists of 26 questions sorted to four subscales (domination scale, humanism scale, social exclusion scale and the scale measuring the community beliefs regarding the care of mentally ill), along with a special questionnaire in order to collect social and demographic data. Students' attitudes towards mental illness are influenced by demographic factors, the department they are studying at and the year of study. Female gender (p=0.000), personal contact with mentally ill (p=0.012), studying in Universities (p=0.031) and especially social sciences (p=0.009) are associated with positive attitudes. On the contrary, less years of studying are associated with negative attitudes whereas older students appear to score less in the Domination Scale (p=0.000). It is significant that the place of birth (p=0,335) and the duration of stay at the place of studies (r=0.735) did not show any association with the variables studied in this research. However these results cannot be compared with older researches

  17. Social participation and mortality: does social position in civic groups matter?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yoshiki Ishikawa

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Social participation is known to predict longevity. However, little is known about the effect of social participation according to an individual’s position in civic groups. We evaluated the influence of social position on mortality, using data from a large cohort of Japanese older adults (the AGES cohort. Methods Of 14,804 individuals aged 65 years and older enrolled in the AGES, 14,286 individuals were followed up for approximately 5 years from 2003 to 2008. We performed inverse probability of treatment weighted (IPTW Cox proportional hazards regression with multiple imputation of missing values to compute hazard ratios (HR for all-cause mortality according to the individual’s position in the community organization(s to which they belonged. We examined participation in the following civic groups: neighborhood association/senior citizen club/fire-fighting team, religious group, political organization or group, industrial or trade association, volunteer group, citizen or consumer group, hobby group, and sports group or club. The values for IPTW were computed based on demographic variables, socioeconomic status, and self-reported medical condition. Results During 22,718 person-years of follow-up for regular members of community groups and 14,014 person-years of follow-up for participants in leadership positions, 479 deaths and 214 deaths were observed, respectively. Relative to regular members, crude HR for all-cause mortality for occupying leadership positions (e.g. president, manager, or having administrative roles was 0.72 (95 % CI:0.62–0.85. The IPTW-HR was 0.88 (95 % CI: 0.79–0.99 for participants occupying leadership positions. Conclusions Holding leadership positions in community organization(s may be more beneficial to health than being regular members.

  18. Inquiry-based leadership : The influence of affective attitude, experienced social pressure and self-efficacy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Uiterwijk-Luijk, L.; Krüger, M.; Zijlstra, B.; Volman, M.

    2017-01-01

    Purpose The purpose of this paper is to improve the understanding of psychological factors that influence inquiry-based leadership. This study investigates how affective attitude, experienced social pressure, and self-efficacy relate to aspects of inquiry-based school leadership. A school leader’s

  19. IDRC-supported research highlights importance of positive social ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    2016-07-27

    Jul 27, 2016 ... ... reducing levels of youth delinquency and violence is not well understood. ... Nicaragua, and Canada—seek to enhance community-based social capital ... illustrating the positive effect of investing in social capital formation ...

  20. Peer Positive Social Control and Men's Health-Promoting Behaviors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Houle, Janie; Meunier, Sophie; Coulombe, Simon; Mercerat, Coralie; Gaboury, Isabelle; Tremblay, Gilles; de Montigny, Francine; Cloutier, Lyne; Roy, Bernard; Auger, Nathalie; Lavoie, Brigitte

    2017-09-01

    Men are generally thought to be less inclined to take care of their health. To date, most studies about men's health have focused on deficits in self-care and difficulties in dealing with this sphere of their life. The present study reframes this perspective, using a salutogenic strengths-based approach and seeking to identify variables that influence men to take care of their health, rather than neglect it. This study focuses on the association between peer positive social control and men's health behaviors, while controlling for other important individual and social determinants (sociodemographic characteristics, health self-efficacy, home neighborhood, spousal positive social control, and the restrictive emotionality norm). In a mixed-method study, 669 men answered a self-reported questionnaire, and interviews were conducted with a maximum variation sample of 31 men. Quantitative results indicated that, even after controlling for sociodemographic variables and other important factors, peer positive social control was significantly associated with the six health behaviors measured in the study (health responsibility, nutrition, physical activity, interpersonal relations, stress management, and spirituality). Interview results revealed that peer positive social control influenced men's health behaviors through three different mechanisms: shared activity, being inspired, and serving as a positive role model for others. In summary, friends and coworkers could play a significant role in promoting various health behaviors among adult men in their daily life. Encouraging men to socialize and discuss health, and capitalizing on healthy men as role models appear to be effective ways to influence health behavior adoption among this specific population.

  1. Time-course of attentional bias for positive social words in individuals with high and low social anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Hongyu; Li, Songwei; Qian, Mingyi; Yang, Peng; Wang, Xiaoling; Lin, Muyu; Yao, Nisha

    2014-07-01

    Although accumulating research demonstrates the association between attentional bias and social anxiety, the bias for positive stimuli has so far not been adequately studied. The aim is to investigate the time-course of attentional bias for positive social words in participants with high and low social anxiety. In a modified dot-probe task, word-pairs of neutral and positive social words were randomly presented for 100, 500, and 1250 milliseconds in a nonclinical sample of students to test their attentional bias. Non-significant interaction of Group × Exposure Duration was found. However, there was a significant main effect of group, with significantly different response latencies between the high social anxiety (HSA) and low social anxiety (LSA) groups in the 100 ms condition, without for 500 or 1250 ms. With respect to attentional bias, the LSA group showed enhanced preferential attention for positive social words to which the HSA group showed avoidance in the 100 ms condition. In the 500 ms condition, preferential attention to positive social words was at trend in the LSA group, relative to the HSA group. Neither group showed attentional bias in the 1250 ms condition. These findings extend recent research about the attention training program and add to the empirical literature suggesting that the initial avoidance of positive stimuli may contribute to maintaining social anxiety.

  2. Positive Reading Attitudes of Low-Income Bilingual Latinos

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bussert-webb, Kathy M.; Zhang, Zhidong

    2018-01-01

    Many assume low-income, emergent bilingual Latinos have poor reading attitudes. To investigate this issue, we surveyed 1,503 Texas public high school students through stratified cluster sampling to determine their reading attitudes. Most represented Latinos and mixed-race Latinos/Whites who heard Spanish at home and whose mother tongue was…

  3. Implicit attitudes toward violence and their relation to psychopathy, aggression, and socially adaptive behaviors in forensic psychiatric inpatients

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zwets, Almar J.; Hornsveld, Ruud H J; Muris, Peter; Huijding, Jorg; Kanters, Thijs; Snowden, Robert J.; van Marle, Hjalmar

    2015-01-01

    In order to investigate the relation between implicit attitudes toward violence and different aspects of violent and social behavior in Dutch forensic psychiatric inpatients, an implicit association test was related to measures of psychopathy, aggression, and socially adaptive behaviors. Results

  4. Real Time Assessment of Young Adults' Attitudes toward Tobacco Messages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hébert, Emily T; Vandewater, Elizabeth A; Businelle, Michael S; Harrell, Melissa B; Kelder, Steven H; Perry, Cheryl L

    2018-01-01

    We used ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to examine young adults' attitudes towards pro-tobacco messages encountered in real time and their association with intentions to use tobacco. Young adults (N = 92, ages 18-29) recorded sightings of marketing or social media related to tobacco in real time via mobile app for 28 days. Participants reported message characteristics, their attitudes towards the message, and intentions to use the depicted product for each submission. We used generalized linear mixed models to examine factors related to attitude towards message and intentions to use tobacco. Messages depicting e-cigarettes (p < .001) or hookah (p < .05) were associated with significantly more favorable attitudes compared with traditional cigarettes. Positive attitude towards the message was significantly associated with intention to use the depicted product (p < .001). Messages depicting e-cigarettes and hookah were significantly associated with higher intention to use. Message source was not significantly related to attitudes towards the message or product use intentions. Marketing featuring e-cigarettes and hookah is an important target for future regulation. Given that pro-tobacco and e-cigarette messages are prevalent online, future research should consider the Internet and social media as important venues for counter-marketing and intervention efforts.

  5. Public attitudes toward mental illness in Africa and North America ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Result: In Canada (and in the USA), attitudes were generally more positive and less socially stigmatizing toward mental illness than in Cameroon. Differences between countries were much larger than differences between language groups. Conclusion: Consistent with other research, beliefs and reactions of the public ...

  6. Context shapes social judgments of positive emotion suppression and expression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalokerinos, Elise K; Greenaway, Katharine H; Casey, James P

    2017-02-01

    It is generally considered socially undesirable to suppress the expression of positive emotion. However, previous research has not considered the role that social context plays in governing appropriate emotion regulation. We investigated a context in which it may be more appropriate to suppress than express positive emotion, hypothesizing that positive emotion expressions would be considered inappropriate when the valence of the expressed emotion (i.e., positive) did not match the valence of the context (i.e., negative). Six experiments (N = 1,621) supported this hypothesis: when there was a positive emotion-context mismatch, participants rated targets who suppressed positive emotion as more appropriate, and evaluated them more positively than targets who expressed positive emotion. This effect occurred even when participants were explicitly made aware that suppressing targets were experiencing mismatched emotion for the context (e.g., feeling positive in a negative context), suggesting that appropriate emotional expression is key to these effects. These studies are among the first to provide empirical evidence that social costs to suppression are not inevitable, but instead are dependent on context. Expressive suppression can be a socially useful emotion regulation strategy in situations that call for it. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  7. From attitude to action: What shapes attitude toward walking to/from school and how does it influence actual behaviors?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Chia-Yuan; Zhu, Xuemei

    2016-09-01

    Walking to/from school could promote children's physical activity and help combat childhood obesity. Parental attitudes have been identified as one of the important predictors. But it is unclear what factors shape parental attitudes, and how those in turn influence children's school travel. This study addresses this gap of knowledge by examining the mediating effect of parental attitudes for the relationships between personal, social, and built environmental factors and children's walking-to/from-school behaviors. Survey data (N=2597) were collected from 20 public elementary schools in Austin, Texas, measuring students' typical school travel mode; personal, social, and built environmental factors related to walking-to/from-school; and relevant parental attitudes. The analysis was conducted in M-plus 6.11 to test the proposed conceptual framework using a structural equation model (SEM). Parental attitudes showed significant mediating effects on walking-to/from-school behaviors. Older child, positive peer influence, walkable home-to-school distance, and favorable walking environments were associated with more enjoyment and lower attitudinal barriers, and in turn increased likelihood of walking to/from school. Being Hispanic, increased car ownership, and stronger traffic safety concerns reduced enjoyment and increased attitudinal barriers, and thus decreased likelihood of walking to/from school. This study highlighted the importance of using multilevel interventions to reduce attitudinal barriers and increase enjoyment of walking to/from school. Collaborations among different stakeholders are needed to address environmental issues (e.g., safety concerns) and social factors (e.g., peer influence), while being sensitive to personal factors (e.g., age, ethnicity, and car ownership). Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Positive Politeness & Social Harmony in Literary Discourse

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nawal F. Abbas

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available The strategies of politeness are not arbitrarily chosen by speakers in interaction. Instead, the choice of a strategy is constrained by a number of contextual features (socio-cultural variables, such as the relative power of the speakers, the social distance of the speakers and what the speakers happen to be negotiating at the time of speaking. This study focuses on the linguistic strategies of politeness, and more specifically on the positive politeness, as represented in fiction. The novel chosen is that of Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables- a novel in which the main character Anne Shirley tries her best to establish common grounds with others until she achieves friendly and social harmonious relationships with nearly everybody. To show the above point, Brown and Levinson’s (1987 theory of politeness is adopted to account for the linguistic strategies, in addition to some subsequent contribution provided by Spencer-Oatey (2002 to account for sociality rights and obligations. This model is chosen to explore the relation between language use and the social relationship of the speakers. A point of departure, and according to O’Driscoll (1996, Brown and Levinson’s hierarchy of politeness strategies allows attention to positive to cover more ground than that subsumed under positive politeness (super-strategy 2. That is why baldly on-record (super-strategy 1 is used to pay positive face. The analysis shows that most of Anne’s directives in this speech event, which are linguistic realizations of both super-strategy 1 and 2, are meant to establish common grounds to achieve friendly and harmonious relationships with others.

  9. Awareness, Knowledge and Attitudes Towards Cervical Cancer Amongst HIV-Positive Women Receiving Care in a Tertiary Hospital in Nigeria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adibe, Maxwell O; Aluh, Deborah O

    2017-05-05

    The incidence of cervical cancer (CC) in the sub-Saharan Africa region, where Nigeria is located, is amongst the highest in the world; it is estimated that 70,722 new cases of invasive cervical cancer occur annually in sub-Saharan Africa. Immunosuppression, especially due to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, is a predisposing factor for persistent infection with high-risk human papilloma virus (HR-HPV) and the development of squamous intraepithelial lesions. Four hundred and fifty women who attended the HIV clinic at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, and who consented to participate in the study were randomly selected. They were given self-administered questionnaires which sought to determine their awareness and knowledge of cervical cancer and attitudes towards cervical cancer screening and prevention. The media 23% (n = 103) was the most common source of information amongst respondents who had heard about cervical cancer. For all the women surveyed, the average percentage knowledge was 9.95%. Having attitude scores greater than or equal to the mean attitude score of 55.16% was regarded as having a positive attitude while a score lower than that was regarded as negative attitude. About 43.5% (n = 195) respondents had a positive attitude towards cervical cancer screening and prevention. Cervical cancer awareness and knowledge amongst women attending the HIV clinic in the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, were very poor. Their attitude towards cervical cancer screening practices and prevention was also very poor.

  10. Do Inquiring Minds Have Positive Attitudes? The Science Education of Preservice Elementary Teachers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riegle-Crumb, Catherine; Morton, Karisma; Moore, Chelsea; Chimonidou, Antonia; Labrake, Cynthia; Kopp, Sacha

    2016-01-01

    Due to their potential impact on students' cognitive and non-cognitive outcomes, the negative attitudes towards science held by many elementary teachers are a critical issue that needs to be addressed. This study focuses on the science education of pre-service elementary teachers with the goal of improving their attitudes before they begin their professional lives as classroom teachers. Specifically, this study builds on a small body of research to examine whether exposure to inquiry-based science content courses that actively involve students in the collaborative process of learning and discovery can promote a positive change in attitudes towards science across several different dimensions. To examine this issue, surveys and administrative data were collected from over 200 students enrolled in the Hands on Science (HoS) program for pre-service teachers at the University of Texas at Austin, as well as more than 200 students in a comparison group enrolled in traditional lecture-style classes. Quantitative analyses reveal that after participating in HoS courses, pre-service teachers significantly increased their scores on scales measuring confidence, enjoyment, anxiety, and perceptions of relevance, while those in the comparison group experienced a decline in favorable attitudes to science. These patterns offer empirical support for the attitudinal benefits of inquiry-based instruction and have implications for the future learning opportunities available to students at all education levels. PMID:27667862

  11. Attitudes towards Immigrant Workers and Asylum Seekers in Eastern Croatia: Dimensions, Determinants and Differences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Margareta Gregurović

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Croatia’s accession to the EU has brought new challenges and issues in researching and analysing migration flows and trends as well as attitudes and perceptions of real and potential newcomers. The aim of this paper is to explore attitudes of the residents of the two most easterly Croatian counties towards two distinct categories of newcomers: immigrant workers and asylum seekers. The research was conducted shortly after Croatia’s entry into the EU, in September 2013, and the presented data are a part of a larger survey that included various migration and ethnicity issues. The survey was applied on a convenience sample of 1 110 adult respondents in two counties: Osijek-Baranja and Vukovar-Srijem. Data were analysed in a series of multivariate procedures. Results indicated significant perceptions of immigrant workers within the dimension of cultural threat, along with the expression of a considerable degree of social distance towards them. Asylum seekers were further perceived as a security and economic threat. Within two analysed regression models, the effects on attitudes towards immigrant workers and asylum seekers were similar. Among the spectrum of socio-demographic variables, a statistically significant effect on both dependent variables came from age and political orientation, indicating that older and politically right-oriented respondents expressed more negative attitudes towards both groups. Among other socio-demographic variables, education was significant in predicting attitudes towards immigrant workers, while ethnicity was significant in predicting the attitudes towards asylum seekers. The second model analysed the effect of selected political attitudes and value orientations resulting in significant prediction of negative attitudes towards both groups by pronounced conservativism, support of aggression and submission, social-dominance, dominant submissive authoritarianism and social alienation, rejecting socially oriented

  12. Smoking-Related Knowledge, Attitude, Social Pressure, and Environmental Constraints among New Undergraduates in Chongqing, China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xianglong Xu

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Smoking has resulted in numerous deaths in China. Data indicate that 21% of college students in China are smokers. Objective: This study aimed to examine the smoking-related behaviors of undergraduates, as influenced by knowledge, attitude, social pressure, and environmental constraints. Method: A convenience sampling of 412 fresh undergraduates from two universities in the University Town in Chongqing, China was recruited. Chi-square tests were used to compare the smoking-related variables between smokers and non-smokers. Moreover, logistic regression was used to examine the factors that associated with smoking status in undergraduates. Results: Smokers and non-smokers differ in terms of knowledge, attitudes toward smoking, participation in tobacco promotional activities, and sources of social pressure. Logistic regression model identified that sex, living cost, five smoking-related attitudes of “Smoking is pleasurable, Smoking relaxes me, Smoking makes me look strong, Smoking is a waste of money, Smoking can help me study better”, the social pressure “Smoking brings comfort during celebration”, and the environmental constraints “How did you get your cigarettes in the past 30 days?” are significantly associated with smoking. Conclusions: The findings provide a better understanding of the epidemic of smoking among fresh undergraduates in Chongqing, China. This study provides more detailed consideration of the implications for the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC policies, especially on restriction of retail sales outlets and tobacco promotion activities near universities in China.

  13. The Attitudes toward Prostitutes and Prostitution Scale: A New Tool for Measuring Public Attitudes toward Prostitutes and Prostitution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levin, Lia; Peled, Einat

    2011-01-01

    Contemporary developments in social attitudes toward prostitution and prostitutes influence both social policies and the social work profession. Understanding individuals' attitudes toward these issues is necessary for the development of social interventions and policies aimed at reducing stigmata attached to them. This article describes a new…

  14. Connecting With Your Dentist on Facebook: Patients' and Dentists' Attitudes Towards Social Media Usage in Dentistry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parmar, Nilesh; Dong, Lin; Eisingerich, Andreas Benedikt

    2018-06-29

    Social media has begun to proliferate across medical areas and transformed how medical professionals serve and interact with their patients. It offers a new communication avenue that has the potential to engage patients and, hence, may be used to create value for both medical professionals and patients. In dentistry, even though patients and dentists frequently use social media in their personal lives, little is known about their attitudes and expectations toward using social media for professional interactions. In this paper, we focus on the role of social media in dentistry. Specifically, we explore patients' and dentists' attitudes toward social media usage and their current online behaviors in this context. Furthermore, we examine potential challenges and opportunities regarding dentists' adoption of social media practices. This research employed a large-scale online survey of 588 patients and 532 dental professionals. We assessed the attitudes, expectations, and social media behaviors from both patients' and dentists' perspectives. We found that more than 55% (290/532) of dentists in our sample have accounts for their dental practice on various social media platforms. Interestingly, while 73% (374/511) of patients did not expect their dental practice to have a social media presence, and 44% (207/468) thought that establishing a friendship with their dentists is not appropriate, the findings show that 36% (164/460) of patients had searched for their dentists, and 44% (207/470) of them were happy to establish contacts with dentists on social media. Furthermore, the findings highlight that patients were interested in exploring additional information such as online reviews and the qualifications of their dentists on Facebook pages. For dentists, more than half (375/432, 83%) of them in our sample thought that social media marketing is more efficient compared to traditional marketing. Our findings revealed some key challenges and opportunities to utilize social

  15. Exploring Personal Attitudes towards Parent Involvement as It Relates to Relational Aggression Acted out through Social Media

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holland, Karla M.

    2015-01-01

    Relational aggression acted out through social media or cyber bullying is an ever-growing limitedly researched issue that is impacting students and parents alike. A mixed-method study was conducted using existing older and aspiring younger social workers and counselors to investigate attitudes (focus groups and text box comments) and relationships…

  16. Attentional control mediates the effect of social anxiety on positive affect☆

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morrison, Amanda S.; Heimberg, Richard G.

    2015-01-01

    The goal of the present studies was to examine whether attentional control, a self-regulatory attentional mechanism, mediates the effect of social anxiety on positive affect. We tested this mediation in two studies using undergraduate students selected to represent a broad range of severity of social anxiety. Self-report assessments of social anxiety, attentional control, and positive affect were collected in a cross-sectional design (Study 1) and in a longitudinal design with three assessment points (Study 2). Results of both studies supported the hypothesized mediational model. Specifically, social anxiety was inversely related to attentional control, which itself positively predicted positive affect. This mediation remained significant even when statistically controlling for the effects of depression. Additionally, the hypothesized model provided superior model fit to theoretically-grounded equivalent models in both studies. Implications of these findings for understanding diminished positive affect in social anxiety are discussed. PMID:23254261

  17. Language Learning Attitudes: Ingrained Or Shaped In Time?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gökçe DİŞLEN DAĞGÖL

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Language learning has become an essential need in today’s world. From academic to social settings, humans need to communicate in a different language to survive in their community. However, despite this increasing importance of language, it is difficult to say we have attained successful language learning on a large scale since there are a lot of factors in language learning process. Language attitudes, one of these factors, influence this process both positively and negatively, depending on how we view learning a foreign language. Therefore, this study deals with the issue of language attitudes to uncover learners’ language conceptions and probable effects on their learning. Moreover, this study aims to reveal the potential role of past learning experiences on the development of language beliefs positively or negatively. Thus, 35 university students in their 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th years constitute the participants of the study. Based on mixed research design, the study is comprised of both quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative data were gathered through Attitude Scale towards English Course, and the analyses were performed with Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS 17.0 version for Windows. The qualitative data were collected from students’ reports of their own autobiographies regarding their previous language learning experiences in elementary, secondary, high school and university years, and were subjected to the content analysis. The study showed language attitudes from behavioural, cognitive and affective perspectives and found out different factors in shaping their learning conceptions.

  18. Prediction of elders′ general health based on positive and negative perfectionism and type-D personality

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Reza Karaminia

    2013-01-01

    Conclusions: Positive perfectionism decreases mental disorder of the elders by creating optimistic attitudes and enhancing social functions. On the other hand, type-D personality, unlike positive perfectionism, makes elders susceptible to physical illness and mental disorder.

  19. Stigma, public awareness about intellectual disability and attitudes to inclusion among different ethnic groups.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scior, K; Addai-Davis, J; Kenyon, M; Sheridan, J C

    2013-11-01

    Attitudes to the inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities (IDs) have been studied extensively, yet evidence on public awareness about ID and stigma is limited. The relationship between attitudes, knowledge and stigma associated with ID is poorly understood. The present study examined these factors and the relationships between them in the context of a multicultural society. UK residents of working age (n = 1002) were presented with a diagnostically unlabelled vignette of someone with a mild ID. They were asked to label the difficulties presented and to complete measures of social distance and attitudes to the inclusion of people with IDs. While attitudes to the inclusion of people with IDs were relatively positive overall, social contact was viewed with ambivalence. Inclusion attitudes and social distance were only moderately correlated. Across the whole sample 28% recognised typical symptoms of mild ID. Recognition of ID was associated with lower stigma and more positive attitudes than attribution of the difficulties presented to other causes. White Westerners showed increased knowledge, lower stigma and favoured inclusion more than participants from ethnic minorities. Among the latter group, Asians showed lower stigma and attitudes more in line with inclusion policies than participants of Black African/Caribbean backgrounds. Once a host of contextual factors were considered jointly, only contact was consistently associated with the variables measured. Stigma associated with ID is of concern across all ethnic groups, although it appears to be increased among the public from ethnic minorities. Given that contact and awareness are associated with reduced stigma, they should be considered as prime foci for efforts to tackle ID stigma. The current findings serve as baseline for attempts to increase public awareness and tackle stigma. © 2012 The Authors. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research © 2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd, MENCAP & IASSID.

  20. A PRECISE POSITION AND ATTITUDE DETERMINATION SYSTEM FOR LIGHTWEIGHT UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. Eling

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available In many unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV applications a direct georeferencing is required. The reason can be that the UAV flies autonomous and must be navigated precisely, or that the UAV performs a remote sensing operation, where the position of the camera has to be known at the moment of the recording. In our application, a project called Mapping on Demand, we are motivated by both of these reasons. The goal of this project is to develop a lightweight autonomously flying UAV that is able to identify and measure inaccessible three-dimensional objects by use of visual information. Due to payload and space limitations, precise position and attitude determination of micro- and mini-sized UAVs is very challenging. The limitations do not only affect the onboard computing capacity, but they are also noticeable when choosing the georeferencing sensors. In this article, we will present a new developed onboard direct georeferencing system which is real-time capable, applicable for lightweight UAVs and provides very precise results (position accuracy σ σ < 0.5 deg. In this system GPS, inertial sensors, magnetic field sensors, a barometer as well as stereo video cameras are used as georeferencing sensors. We will describe the hardware development and will go into details of the implemented software. In this context especially the RTK-GPS software and the concept of the attitude determination by use of inertial sensors, magnetic field sensors as well as an onboard GPS baseline will be highlighted. Finally, results of first field tests as well as an outlook on further developments will conclude this contribution.

  1. Can positive social exchanges buffer the detrimental effects of negative social exchanges? Age and gender differences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fiori, Katherine L; Windsor, Tim D; Pearson, Elissa L; Crisp, Dimity A

    2013-01-01

    Findings from existing research exploring whether positive social exchanges can help to offset (or 'buffer' against) the harmful effects of negative social exchanges on mental health have been inconsistent. This could be because the existing research is characterized by different approaches to studying various contexts of 'cross-domain' and 'within-domain' buffering, and/or because the nature of buffering effects varies according to sociodemographic characteristics that underlie different aspects of social network structure and function. The purpose of this study was to examine whether the buffering effects of global perceptions of positive exchanges on the link between global negative exchanges and mental health varied as a function of age and gender. We used a series of regressions in a sample of 556 Australian older adults (ages 55-94) to test for three-way interactions among gender, positive social exchanges, and negative social exchanges, as well as age and positive and negative social exchanges, in predicting mental health, controlling for years of education, partner status, and physical functioning. We found that positive exchanges buffered against negative exchanges for younger old adults, but not for older old adults, and for women, but not for men. Our findings are interpreted in light of research on individual differences in coping responses and interpersonal goals among late middle-aged and older adults. Our findings are in line with gerontological theories (e.g., socioemotional selectivity theory), and imply that an intervention aimed at using positive social exchanges as a means of coping with negative social exchanges might be more successful among particular populations (i.e., women, 'younger' old adults). Copyright © 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  2. Relationship between menopause status, attitude toward menopause, and quality of life in Chinese midlife women in Hong Kong.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Sixuan; Ho, Suzanne C; Sham, Aprille

    2016-01-01

    This cross-sectional study aimed to explore the relationship between menopause status and attitude toward menopause, and also its relationship with quality of life (QoL) of Chinese midlife women in Hong Kong. Hong Kong Chinese women aged 40 to 59 years were recruited through computer-generated random telephone dialing. Information was obtained through telephone interviews based on a structured questionnaire. Women were classified into 3 groups: premenopausal, perimenopausal, and postmenopausal. Menopause Belief Scale and Utian Quality of Life Scale (QoL) were used to measure respondents' attitude toward menopause and their QoL. Information on social, health, and lifestyle factors was also collected. The mean age of the participants was 49.4 ± 5.2 years. Respondents generally had a positive attitude toward menopause. Compared with premenopausal women, postmenopausal women were noted to have significantly higher attitude score toward menopause. No significant differences in QoL score were noted among women of the 3 menopause statuses. Stepwise regression analysis showed that women with more positive attitude toward menopause tended to have higher QoL score. Furthermore, better self-reported health status, doing physical activities, higher education level, being married, and non-smoking status were associated with better QoL. Postmenopausal women tended to have more positive attitude toward menopause. Although menopause status did not seem to be associated with QoL, attitude toward menopause, self-reported health status, as well as social and lifestyle factors were associated with QoL in Chinese midlife women.

  3. Attitudes towards immigration

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Malchow-Møller, Nikolaj; Munch, Jakob Roland; Skaksen, Jan Rose

    2008-01-01

    Using the European Social Survey 2002/3, we develop a new test of whether economic self-interest influences people's attitudes towards immigration, exploiting that people have widely different perceptions of the consequences of immigration......Using the European Social Survey 2002/3, we develop a new test of whether economic self-interest influences people's attitudes towards immigration, exploiting that people have widely different perceptions of the consequences of immigration...

  4. Do Attitudes About Spoiling Children Affect Attitudes Regarding What Infants Need for Early Social-Emotional Development

    OpenAIRE

    Westover, Kathleen

    2012-01-01

    Secure infant attachment is important for the positive social-emotional development of children. Many parents have limited understanding of social-emotional development and the influence of appropriate responsive parenting behaviors to their infants’ cues. For example, many parents believe you can spoil an infant if you pick them up every time they cry. Researchers study the impact of positive responses to infants’ cues. Infants form a more secure attachment and learn to interpret the world a...

  5. ATTITUDE-CHANGE FOLLOWING PERSUASIVE COMMUNICATION - INTEGRATING SOCIAL JUDGMENT THEORY AND THE ELABORATION LIKELIHOOD MODEL

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    SIERO, FW; DOOSJE, BJ

    1993-01-01

    An experiment was conducted to examine the influence of the perceived extremity of a message and motivation to elaborate upon the process of persuasion. The first goal was to test a model of attitude change relating Social Judgment Theory to the Elaboration Likelihood Model. The second objective was

  6. Multidimensional Attitudes of Emergency Medicine Residents Toward Older Adults

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Teresita M. Hogan

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: The demands of our rapidly expanding older population strain many emergency departments (EDs, and older patients experience disproportionately high adverse health outcomes. Trainee attitude is key in improving care for older adults. There is negligible knowledge of baseline emergency medicine (EM resident attitudes regarding elder patients. Awareness of baseline attitudes can serve to better structure training for improved care of older adults. The objective of the study is to identify baseline EM resident attitudes toward older adults using a validated attitude scale and multidimensional analysis. Methods: Six EM residencies participated in a voluntary anonymous survey delivered in summer and fall 2009. We used factor analysis using the principal components method and Varimax rotation, to analyze attitude interdependence, translating the 21 survey questions into 6 independent dimensions. We adapted this survey from a validated instrument by the addition of 7 EM-specific questions to measures attitudes relevant to emergency care of elders and the training of EM residents in the geriatric competencies. Scoring was performed on a 5-point Likert scale. We compared factor scores using student t and ANOVA. Results: 173 EM residents participated showing an overall positive attitude toward older adults, with a factor score of 3.79 (3.0 being a neutral score. Attitudes trended to more negative in successive post-graduate year (PGY levels. Conclusion: EM residents demonstrate an overall positive attitude towards the care of older adults. We noted a longitudinal hardening of attitude in social values, which are more negative in successive PGY-year levels. [West J Emerg Med. 2014;15(4:511–517.

  7. Attitudes without objects: evidence for a dispositional attitude, its measurement, and its consequences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hepler, Justin; Albarracín, Dolores

    2013-06-01

    We hypothesized that individuals may differ in the dispositional tendency to have positive vs. negative attitudes, a trait termed the dispositional attitude. Across 4 studies, we developed a 16-item Dispositional Attitude Measure (DAM) and investigated its internal consistency, test-retest reliability, factor structure, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and predictive validity. DAM scores were (a) positively correlated with positive affect traits, curiosity-related traits, and individual preexisting attitudes; (b) negatively correlated with negative affect traits; and (c) uncorrelated with theoretically unrelated traits. Dispositional attitudes also significantly predicted the valence of novel attitudes while controlling for theoretically relevant traits (such as the Big 5 and optimism). The dispositional attitude construct represents a new perspective in which attitudes are not simply a function of the properties of the stimuli under consideration, but are also a function of the properties of the evaluator. We discuss the intriguing implications of dispositional attitudes for many areas of research, including attitude formation, persuasion, and behavior prediction. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

  8. Stigma among Singaporean youth: a cross-sectional study on adolescent attitudes towards serious mental illness and social tolerance in a multiethnic population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pang, Shirlene; Liu, Jianlin; Mahesh, Mithila; Chua, Boon Yiang; Shahwan, Shazana; Lee, Siau Pheng; Vaingankar, Janhavi Ajit; Abdin, Edimansyah; Fung, Daniel Shuen Sheng; Chong, Siow Ann; Subramaniam, Mythily

    2017-10-16

    Stigma against mental illnesses is one of the significant obstacles faced by mental health service users and providers. It can develop at a young age and is also influenced by culture. Youths in Southeast Asian countries are under-represented in mental health research, thus this study aims to explore the dimensions of stigma and social tolerance and examine its correlates in the younger, multiethnic population of Singapore. An online survey collected data with sociodemographic questions, the Attitudes Towards Serious Mental Illness (Adolescent version) Scale, Social Tolerance Scale and an open-text question on words or phrases participants associated with the term 'mental illness'. Principal component analysis and multiple regression models were conducted to investigate the factor structure of the attitudes and social tolerance scales and their sociodemographic correlates. Participants included 940 youths aged 14-18 years old who were residing in Singapore at the time of the survey and were recruited through local schools. About a quarter of the students (22.6%) reported participating in mental health awareness campaigns while nearly half (44.5%) associated pejorative words and phrases with the term mental illness. The Attitudes Towards Serious Mental Illness (Adolescent version) Scale yielded five factors while the Social Tolerance Scale yielded two. Ethnicity, gender and nationality were significantly correlated with factors of both scales. Chinese youths showed higher sense of 'physical threat' and lower 'social tolerance' than those of other ethnicities. Females showed more 'wishful thinking', 'social concern' and 'social responsibility' towards the mentally ill than males. The dimensions of stigma and social tolerance are different in Asian cultures compared with Western cultures. Sociodemographic differences in attitudes towards the mentally ill were found among youths living in Singapore. Misconceptions and negative attitudes towards mental illness are

  9. Knowledge, attitudes and practices of HIV-positive patients regarding disclosure of HIV results at Betesda Clinic in Namibia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Penelope Tom

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available Background: This study examined the practices, knowledge, attitudes, and the reasons for disclosure and non-disclosure of HIV-positive patients with regard to the disclosure of HIV results at Betesda Clinic in Windhoek, Namibia.Objectives: The objectives of the study were to determine knowledge, attitudes, and practices of HIV-positive patients regarding the disclosure of HIV status at Betesda Clinic in Namibia, and to determine the reasons for disclosure and non-disclosure.Methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study and 263 HIV-positive patients were enrolled in the study.Results: Analyses revealed that knowledge on disclosure was good, with 68% who thought it was important. The majority (73% have disclosed and 60% disclosed within 1 week of receiving their results. The most common reasons for disclosure were that 32% needed help, 25% wanted his or her partner to go for testing, and 20% wanted to let relatives know. Reasons for non-disclosure were mainly the fear of gossip (79%. Seventy-three per cent had disclosed to their partners, and 23% had disclosed to more than one person. People’s reactions were supportive in 43%, whereas 29% understood, 9% accepted and 6% were angry. Upon disclosure 40% received help, 24% of partners were tested, 23% received psychological support and 5% were stigmatised. Disclosure was higher amongst the married and cohabitating.Conclusion: The attitude was positive with regard to knowledge of disclosure, with most participants thinking that disclosure was important and good. The attitudes and actual practices of disclosure were encouraging; however, people are disclosing only to trustedindividuals in the society and the fear of stigma is still present although the actual stigma was very low.

  10. Social position and health in old age: the relevance of different indicators of social position

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Avlund, Kirsten; Holstein, Bjørn E; Osler, Merete

    2003-01-01

    for men and women. In men the odds ratios of housing tenure on four health variables were strong and unaffected by education and occupation while in women the odds ratios of income on three health variables were strong and unaffected by education and occupation. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates strong......AIMS: An analysis was undertaken to investigate social inequalities in health among old men and women in relation to five indicators of social position. METHODS: The study is based on a population-based cross-sectional survey among 748 75-year-old men and women, which was performed as clinical......, consistent associations between variables of material wealth indicators and various measures of health among 75-year-old men and women....

  11. Mental health help-seeking attitudes, utilization, and intentions among older Chinese immigrants in Canada.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tieu, Yvonne; Konnert, Candace A

    2014-03-01

    This study had three objectives. First, to determine the extent to which demographic factors, perceived social support, and Chinese cultural beliefs predict attitudes toward mental health help seeking; second, to assess mental health utilization; and third, to assess intentions to utilize mental health services among older Chinese immigrants in Canada aged 55 and above. A total of 149 older Chinese adults (M = 73.92 years, SD = 9.99, range = 55-95 years) completed a semi-structured interview protocol in Cantonese or Mandarin. Demographic and health information were collected, and questionnaires assessing perceived social support, mental health help-seeking attitudes, and belief in Chinese culture and values were administered. Demographic and health information, perceived social support, Chinese cultural beliefs and values accounted for 21.8% of the variance in help-seeking attitudes. Descriptive data related to mental health utilization and intentions are provided. Older Chinese participants exhibited less positive attitudes that were significantly associated with Chinese cultural beliefs and values. Implications for practice with older Chinese adults are also discussed.

  12. Neural predictors of evaluative attitudes toward celebrities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Izuma, Keise; Shibata, Kazuhisa; Matsumoto, Kenji; Adolphs, Ralph

    2017-03-01

    Our attitudes toward others influence a wide range of everyday behaviors and have been the most extensively studied concept in the history of social psychology. Yet they remain difficult to measure reliably and objectively, since both explicit and implicit measures are typically confounded by other psychological processes. We here address the feasibility of decoding incidental attitudes based on brain activations. Participants were presented with pictures of members of a Japanese idol group inside an functional magnetic resonance imaging scanner while performing an unrelated detection task, and subsequently (outside the scanner) performed an incentive-compatible choice task that revealed their attitude toward each celebrity. We used a real-world election scheme that exists for this idol group, which confirmed both strongly negative and strongly positive attitudes toward specific individuals. Whole-brain multivariate analyses (searchlight-based support vector regression) showed that activation patterns in the anterior striatum predicted each participant's revealed attitudes (choice behavior) using leave-one-out (as well as 4-fold) cross-validation across participants. In contrast, attitude extremity (unsigned magnitude) could be decoded from a distinct region in the posterior striatum. The findings demonstrate dissociable striatal representations of valenced attitude and attitude extremity and constitute a first step toward an objective and process-pure neural measure of attitudes. © The Author (2016). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  13. ROMANIAN CONSUMERS’ ATTITUDE TOWARDS TV COMMERCIALS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raluca BĂBUŢ (COMIATI

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available As advertisements are broadcast on a daily basis, Romanian consumers are subject to an intensive media bombardment designed to influence them, trigger certain emotions, and make them develop an attitude to a particular brand or product. When designing the advertisement, great care must be taken so that it conveys positive feelings and emotions and fosters favourable attitudes to a brand. The object of the current research is to determine how consumers are able to assess the advertisement phenomenon in general and the TV commercials in particular. Based on a representative sample of 550 Romanian consumers from the urban population, the study highlights the Romanian consumers’ attitude to various types of advertisements, endorsers and creative strategies used to design and execute the advertisements. The managerial as well as the scientific implications are considered by means of the correlations made according to the respondents’ social and demographic characteristics.

  14. Does perceived social support and parental attitude relate to alexithymia? A study in Finnish late adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karukivi, Max; Joukamaa, Matti; Hautala, Lea; Kaleva, Olli; Haapasalo-Pesu, Kirsi-Maria; Liuksila, Pirjo-Riitta; Saarijärvi, Simo

    2011-05-15

    The aim of the present study was to explore the associations of perceived social support and parental attitude with alexithymia in a Finnish adolescent population sample. Of the initial sample of 935 adolescents, 729 (78%) answered the questionnaire and formed the final sample. The mean age of the subjects was 19 years (range 17-21 years). The 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) was used for assessment of alexithymia. Perceived social support from family, friends, and significant other people was measured using the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). Perceived parental care and overprotection were assessed using the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI), and separately for mother and father. After controlling for the sociodemographic factors, alexithymia was significantly associated with a lower degree of experienced social support and higher parental overprotection both in females and males. Maternal overprotection was associated (poverprotective parental attitudes as a possible risk factor for development of alexithymia. However, to assess causality, we need longitudinal studies. The results also emphasize the need for further studies to establish the significance of peer relationships in the development of alexithymia. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. The Attitudes of the Holy Land Institute for the Deaf-Salt, Jordan towards Deaf Socially and Educationally

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ziadat, Ayed H.; Atiyat, Fatima A.

    2018-01-01

    The study aimed to recognize the attitudes of the Holy Land Institute for the Deaf-Salt, Jordan towards Deaf Socially and Educationally in the academic year 2016-2017, which consists of instructional and vocational staff towards deaf socially and educationally according to some variables (gender, age, the level of education). The sample of the…

  16. Adolescents' attitudes towards e-cigarette ingredients, safety, addictive properties, social norms, and regulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gorukanti, Anuradha; Delucchi, Kevin; Ling, Pamela; Fisher-Travis, Raymond; Halpern-Felsher, Bonnie

    2017-01-01

    E-cigarette use has dramatically increased. While studies have examined adolescents' attitudes towards smoking, few have extended this research to adolescents' attitudes towards e-cigarettes. The goal of this study was to examine adolescents' attitudes regarding e-cigarette ingredients, safety, addictive properties, social norms, accessibility, price, and regulation; and determine whether attitudes differ by past cigarette/e-cigarette use. Participants were 786 9th and 12th graders from California (63.21% females; mean age=16.10years [SD=1.6]; 26.61% White, 21.98% Asian/Pacific Islander, 29.82% Hispanic, and 21.59% other). Results indicated that 19.05% of participants believed smoke from e-cigarettes is water; 23.03% believed e-cigarettes aren't a tobacco product; 40.36% considered e-cigarettes to be for cessation, and 43.13% felt they were safer than cigarettes. Participants felt it was more acceptable to use e-cigarettes indoors and outdoors compared to cigarettes (pe-cigarette taxes is a bad idea, 63.95% thought e-cigarettes were easier to get than cigarettes, 54.42% felt e-cigarettes cost too much, 64.33% felt the age for buying e-cigarettes should be raised, and 64.37% favored e-cigarette regulation. Adolescents who used e-cigarettes and/or cigarettes had significantly more favorable e-cigarette attitudes than non-users. This study indicates that adolescents are aware of some of the risks of e-cigarettes, although many harbor misperceptions and hold more favorable attitudes towards e-cigarettes than cigarettes. Of concern is the relationship between favorable e-cigarette attitudes and use. Findings suggest the need to provide adolescents with correct information about e-cigarette ingredients, risks, and the insufficient evidence of their role in cigarette cessation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Individual Attitudes and Social Influences on College Students' Intent to Participate in Study Abroad Programs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Liz C.; Gault, John; Christ, Paul; Diggin, Patricia A.

    2016-01-01

    Participation in study abroad programs (SAPs) is widely viewed as offering important professional and personal benefits for college students. This study applies the "Theory of Reasoned Action" [Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (1980) and "Understanding attitudes and predicting social behavior," Englewood Cliffs, NJ:…

  18. Inquiry-Based Leadership: The Influence of Affective Attitude, Experienced Social Pressure and Self-Efficacy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uiterwijk-Luijk, Lisette; Krüger, Meta; Zijlstra, Bonne; Volman, Monique

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to improve the understanding of psychological factors that influence inquiry-based leadership. This study investigates how affective attitude, experienced social pressure, and self-efficacy relate to aspects of inquiry-based school leadership. A school leader's inquiry habit of mind, data literacy, and the…

  19. Under the influence of Facebook? Excess use of social networking sites and drinking motives, consequences, and attitudes in college students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hormes, Julia M

    2016-03-01

    Background and aims Excessive use of social networking sites (SNS) has recently been conceptualized as a behavioral addiction (i.e., "disordered SNS use") using key criteria for the diagnosis of substance dependence and shown to be associated with a variety of impairments in psychosocial functioning, including an increased risk of problem drinking. This study sought to characterize associations between "disordered SNS use" and attitudes towards alcohol, drinking motives, and adverse consequences resulting from alcohol use in young adults. Methods Undergraduate students (n = 537, 64.0% female, mean age = 19.63 years, SD = 4.24) reported on their use of SNSs and completed the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, Temptation and Restraint Inventory, Approach and Avoidance of Alcohol and Drinking Motives Questionnaires, and Drinker Inventory of Consequences. Results Respondents meeting previously established criteria for "disordered SNS use" were significantly more likely to use alcohol to cope with negative affect and to conform to perceived social norms, reported significantly more conflicting (i.e., simultaneous positive and negative) attitudes towards alcohol, and had experienced significantly more, and more frequent adverse consequences from drinking in their inter- and intrapersonal, physical, and social functioning, compared to individuals without problems related to SNS use. Discussion and conclusions Findings add to an emerging body of literature suggesting a link between excess or maladaptive SNS use and problems related to alcohol in young adults and point to emotion dysregulation and coping motives as potential shared risk factors for substance and behavioral addictions in this demographic.

  20. Under the influence of Facebook? Excess use of social networking sites and drinking motives, consequences, and attitudes in college students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hormes, Julia M.

    2016-01-01

    Background and aims Excessive use of social networking sites (SNS) has recently been conceptualized as a behavioral addiction (i.e., “disordered SNS use”) using key criteria for the diagnosis of substance dependence and shown to be associated with a variety of impairments in psychosocial functioning, including an increased risk of problem drinking. This study sought to characterize associations between “disordered SNS use” and attitudes towards alcohol, drinking motives, and adverse consequences resulting from alcohol use in young adults. Methods Undergraduate students (n = 537, 64.0% female, mean age = 19.63 years, SD = 4.24) reported on their use of SNSs and completed the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, Temptation and Restraint Inventory, Approach and Avoidance of Alcohol and Drinking Motives Questionnaires, and Drinker Inventory of Consequences. Results Respondents meeting previously established criteria for “disordered SNS use” were significantly more likely to use alcohol to cope with negative affect and to conform to perceived social norms, reported significantly more conflicting (i.e., simultaneous positive and negative) attitudes towards alcohol, and had experienced significantly more, and more frequent adverse consequences from drinking in their inter- and intrapersonal, physical, and social functioning, compared to individuals without problems related to SNS use. Discussion and conclusions Findings add to an emerging body of literature suggesting a link between excess or maladaptive SNS use and problems related to alcohol in young adults and point to emotion dysregulation and coping motives as potential shared risk factors for substance and behavioral addictions in this demographic. PMID:28092186

  1. Body odour disgust sensitivity predicts authoritarian attitudes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindholm, Torun; Hawley, Caitlin B.; Gustafsson Sendén, Marie; Ekström, Ingrid; Olsson, Mats J.; Olofsson, Jonas K.

    2018-01-01

    Authoritarianism has resurfaced as a research topic in political psychology, as it appears relevant to explain current political trends. Authoritarian attitudes have been consistently linked to feelings of disgust, an emotion that is thought to have evolved to protect the organism from contamination. We hypothesized that body odour disgust sensitivity (BODS) might be associated with authoritarianism, as chemo-signalling is a primitive system for regulating interpersonal contact and disease avoidance, which are key features also in authoritarianism. We used well-validated scales for measuring BODS, authoritarianism and related constructs. Across two studies, we found that BODS is positively related to authoritarianism. In a third study, we showed a positive association between BODS scores and support for Donald Trump, who, at the time of data collection, was a presidential candidate with an agenda described as resonating with authoritarian attitudes. Authoritarianism fully explained the positive association between BODS and support for Donald Trump. Our findings highlight body odour disgust as a new and promising domain in political psychology research. Authoritarianism and BODS might be part of the same disease avoidance framework, and our results contribute to the growing evidence that contemporary social attitudes might be rooted in basic sensory functions. PMID:29515834

  2. Positive Relationship Between Individuality and Social Identity in Virtual Communities: Self-Categorization and Social Identification as Distinct Forms of Social Identity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Tian-Chao; Li, Xuemei

    2016-11-01

    Previous studies have reported conflicting results regarding the relationship between individuality and social identity, indicating this area requires further examination. This study constructed a research model to help understand the positive role of individualized behavior and social identity in virtual communities. The results of an online survey conducted to assess our theoretical research model indicated that social identity can be expressed in two ways: self-categorization and social identification. Furthermore, we found individualized behavior was positively related to social identification, while self-categorization was directly derived from social identification.

  3. Measures of gender role attitudes under revision: The example of the German General Social Survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walter, Jessica Gabriele

    2018-05-01

    Using the example of the German General Social Survey, this study describes how measures of gender role attitudes can be revised. To date measures have focused on the traditional male breadwinner model. However, social developments in female labor force participation, education, and family structure suggest that a revision and adjustment of existing measures are required. First, these measures need to be supplemented with items that represent more egalitarian models of division of labor and the role of the father in the family. Second, the phrasing of existing items needs to be revised. The results of this study indicate that especially regarding the amount of working hours and the age of children, a specification is needed. This study presents a revised measure, to facilitate analyses over time. This revised measure represents two factors: one referring to traditional and one to modern gender role attitudes. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Sex-Role Egalitarian Attitudes and Gender Role Socialization Experiences of African American Men and Women: A Mixed Methods Paradigm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heard, Courtney Christian Charisse

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to assess the sex-role egalitarian attitudes and gender role socialization experiences of African American men and women. A sequential mixed-methods design was employed to research this phenomenon. The Sex-Role Egalitarianism Scale-Short Form BB (SRES-BB) was utilized to assess sex-role egalitarian attitudes (King…

  5. Survey shows that Swedish healthcare professionals have a positive attitude towards surrogacy but the health of the child is a concern.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Armuand, G; Lampic, C; Skoog-Svanberg, A; Wånggren, K; Sydsjö, G

    2018-01-01

    In February 2016, Sweden upheld its ban on surrogacy following a Government enquiry. This survey investigated attitudes towards surrogacy among primary health professionals working with children and their experiences of working with families following surrogacy abroad. From April to November 2016, nurses, physicians and psychologist working in primary child health care in four counties in Sweden were invited to participate in a cross-sectional online survey about surrogacy. The mean age of the 208 participants was 49.2 years (range 27-68) and nearly 91% were women. Approximately 60% supported legalised surrogacy. Wanting a conscience clause to be introduced in Sweden was associated with not supporting surrogacy for any groups, while personal experiences of infertility and clinical experiences with families following surrogacy were associated with positive attitudes towards surrogacy for heterosexual couples. The majority (64%) disagreed that surrogate children were as healthy as other children, and many believed that they risked worse mental health (21%) and social stigmatisation (21%). We found that 60% supported legalised surrogacy, but many expressed concerns about the children's health and greater knowledge about the medical and psychosocial consequences of surrogacy is needed. ©2017 Foundation Acta Paediatrica. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  6. An Examination of Attitudes towards Women in Leadership Positions in Public Universities in Saudi Arabia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alfawzan, Norah Saad

    2017-01-01

    Despite opportunities for female leadership in the field of higher education made available through gender-segregation policies, women leaders are underrepresented in Saudi Arabia (Jamjoom & Kelly, 2013). There are obstacles that Saudi women face when seeking leadership positions in higher education, including societal attitudes on gender. Due…

  7. Psychometric properties of the attitudes toward gay men scale in Argentinian context: The influence of sex, authoritarianism, and social dominance orientation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edgardo Etchezahar

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Even though prejudice toward male homosexuality is one of the main reasons for discrimination in Argentina, there is no valid measure to assess it. The aim of this study was to analyze the psychometric properties of the Attitudes Toward Gay Men Scale (ATG and to examine the influence of sex, right wing authoritarianism, and social dominance orientation on anti-gay attitudes. Data were collected with a convenience sample of 436 undergraduate students from University of Buenos Aires. Analysis of the data showed adequate psychometric properties for the ATG Scale and the moderating effect of sex, right wing uthoritarianism and social dominance orientation on anti-gay attitudes. Implications of these findings were discussed.

  8. Implicit and Explicit Racial Attitudes Changed During Black Lives Matter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sawyer, Jeremy; Gampa, Anup

    2018-07-01

    Lab-based interventions have been ineffective in changing individuals' implicit racial attitudes for more than brief durations, and exposure to high-status Black exemplars like Obama has proven ineffective in shifting societal-level racial attitudes. Antiracist social movements, however, offer a potential societal-level alternative for reducing racial bias. Racial attitudes were examined before and during Black Lives Matter (BLM) and its high points of struggle with 1,369,204 participants from 2009 to 2016. After controlling for changes in participant demographics, overall implicit attitudes were less pro-White during BLM than pre-BLM, became increasingly less pro-White across BLM, and were less pro-White during most periods of high BLM struggle. Considering changes in implicit attitudes by participant race, Whites became less implicitly pro-White during BLM, whereas Blacks showed little change. Regarding explicit attitudes, Whites became less pro-White and Blacks became less pro-Black during BLM, each moving toward an egalitarian "no preference" position.

  9. Can Caring Create Prejudice? An Investigation of Positive and Negative Intergenerational Contact in Care Settings and the Generalisation of Blatant and Subtle Age Prejudice to Other Older People.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drury, Lisbeth; Abrams, Dominic; Swift, Hannah J; Lamont, Ruth A; Gerocova, Katarina

    2017-01-01

    Caring is a positive social act, but can it result in negative attitudes towards those cared for, and towards others from their wider social group? Based on intergroup contact theory, we tested whether care workers' (CWs) positive and negative contact with old-age care home residents (CHRs) predicts prejudiced attitudes towards that group, and whether this generalises to other older people. Fifty-six CWs were surveyed about their positive and negative contact with CHRs and their blatant and subtle attitudes (humanness attributions) towards CHRs and older adults. We tested indirect paths from contact with CHRs to attitudes towards older adults via attitudes towards CHRs. Results showed that neither positive nor negative contact generalised blatant ageism. However, the effect of negative, but not positive, contact on the denial of humanness to CHRs generalised to subtle ageism towards older adults. This evidence has practical implications for management of CWs' work experiences and theoretical implications, suggesting that negative contact with a subgroup generalises the attribution of humanness to superordinate groups. Because it is difficult to identify and challenge subtle prejudices such as dehumanisation, it may be especially important to reduce negative contact. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  10. Effects of Creative Drama Method on Students' Attitude towards Social Studies, Academic Achievement and Retention in Turkey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaf, Ozlem; Yilmaz, Ozge Uygungul

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of creative drama as a teaching method on academic achievement and retention in social studies, students' attitude towards social studies of 4th grade. The research is designed according to quasiexperimental model. The research was conducted with 4th year students in a public school in Adana…

  11. Finnish attitudes towards immigrants in 1987-1999

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Magdalena Jaakkola

    2000-01-01

    Full Text Available The attitudes of Finns towards foreigners were more negative during the time of widespread unemployment in 1993 than before (1987 or afterwards (1998-1999. Interviews with about 1000 person representing the entire population showed that the most educated and those who were personally acquainted with migrants were more positive - in accordance with the contact theory - than the others in their attitudes toward refugees and foreign job seekers and all the ethnic groups mentioned. Those with little education, pensioners, the unemployed, men supporters of the Central Party and those living in rural areas had more negative attitudes and believed - in accordance with the conflict theory - that they would take jobs and social benefits away from the Finns. In 1998 over one-third of the young men living in the rural areas supported the actions of skinheads against immigrants.

  12. High Hopes: Organizational Position, Employment Experiences, and Women's and Men's Promotion Aspirations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cassirer, Naomi; Reskin, Barbara

    2000-01-01

    Analysis of General Social Survey data (n=733) indicated that men attached greater importance to promotion than women because they were more likely in positions with promotion potential. Results support Kanter's thesis that men's and women's positions in the workplace opportunity structure, not gender, shape career attitudes. (Contains 66…

  13. Are attitudes toward peace and war the two sides of the same coin? Evidence to the contrary from a French validation of the Attitudes Toward Peace and War Scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van der Linden, Nicolas; Leys, Christophe; Klein, Olivier; Bouchat, Pierre

    2017-01-01

    Bizumic et al. (2013) have recently shown that attitudes towards peace and war reflect two distinct constructs rather than two poles of a single dimension. We present an attempt at validating the French version of their 16-item Attitudes toward Peace and War Scale (APWS) on five distinct (mainly Belgian) French-speaking samples (total N = 808). Confirmatory factor and criterion validity analyses confirmed that attitudes toward peace and war, although negatively related, are distinct in terms of their antecedents and consequences. On the one hand, antecedents of attitudes toward peace included egalitarian ideological beliefs and empathic concern for others, and consequences included intentions to engage in pro-peace behaviors. On the other hand, antecedents of attitudes toward war included national identification and authoritarian ideological beliefs, and consequences included intentions to engage in pro-war behaviors. Furthermore, both attitudes toward peace and war were, respectively, negatively and positively related to (a right-wing) political orientation. Unexpectedly however, attitudes toward war were positively related to nonegalitarian ideological beliefs and were not related to personal distress. Scores on the translated scale were unrelated to socially desirable responding. In terms of known-groups validity, men had, respectively, more and less positive attitudes toward war and peace than women. Finally, based on exploratory factor analyses, the inclusion of some items for the factorial structure of the measure is questioned and a shortened form of the measure is validated. Overall, these findings are in line with Bizumic et al. and suggest that attitudes toward peace and war also reflect two distinct constructs in a French-speaking population.

  14. Nonlinear control of marine vehicles using only position and attitude measurements

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Paulsen, Marit Johanne

    1996-12-31

    This thesis presents new results on the design and analysis of nonlinear output feedback controllers for auto pilots and dynamic positioning systems for ships and underwater vehicles. Only position and attitude measurements of the vehicle are used in the control design. The underlying idea of the work is to use certain structural properties of the equations of motion in the controller design and analysis. New controllers for regulation and tracking have been developed and the stability of the resulting closed-loop systems has been rigorously established. The results are supported by simulations. The following problems have been investigated covering design of passive controller for regulation, comparison of two auto pilots, nonlinear damping compensation for tracking, tracking control for nonlinear ships, and output tracking control with wave filtering for multivariable models of possibly unstable vehicles. 97 refs., 32 figs.

  15. Belief in Life After Death and Attitudes Toward Voluntary Euthanasia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharp, Shane

    2017-01-01

    Research has documented associations among religious affiliation, religious practice, and attitudes toward voluntary euthanasia, yet very few studies have investigated how particular religious beliefs influence these attitudes. I use data from the General Social Survey (GSS; N = 19,967) to evaluate the association between the belief in life after death and attitudes toward voluntary euthanasia. I find that those who believe in life after death are significantly less likely than those who do not believe in life after death or those who doubt the existence of life after death to have positive attitudes toward voluntary euthanasia. These associations hold even after controlling for religious affiliation, religious attendance, views of the Bible, and sociodemographic factors. The findings indicate that to understand individuals' views about voluntary euthanasia, one must pay attention to individuals' particular religious beliefs.

  16. Attitudes to and behaviour of the population with regard to various types of energy production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matthoefer, H.

    1977-01-01

    Discussions on energy in the FRG has spread to wide sections of the population. The present investigation takes this into account. The title points out the changed situation: Nuclear power and nuclear power stations still have a special position, but can no longer be regarded separately from economic requirements and other types of energy production. A momentary attitude held by people can easily lead one astray in problems of this difficulty. The attitudes of the population can change greatly in a short period of time, as is shown in this investigation. In order to understand such changes and their causes, one must investigate deeper causes of action. This has been attempted here, by examining attitudes and behaviour regarding various types of energy production not only at one point, but over a whole year, and relating it to larger economic and social conditions. The three power station sites, where the investigation was carried out by fourfold questioning, show very different attitudes. We may have found a guide to understanding energy-political differences here: History, social and economic situation, have a much greater influence on attitudes than general statistical population characteristics such as social group or age group. (orig.) [de

  17. Attitude Strength.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howe, Lauren C; Krosnick, Jon A

    2017-01-03

    Attitude strength has been the focus of a huge volume of research in psychology and related sciences for decades. The insights offered by this literature have tremendous value for understanding attitude functioning and structure and for the effective application of the attitude concept in applied settings. This is the first Annual Review of Psychology article on the topic, and it offers a review of theory and evidence regarding one of the most researched strength-related attitude features: attitude importance. Personal importance is attached to an attitude when the attitude is perceived to be relevant to self-interest, social identification with reference groups or reference individuals, and values. Attaching personal importance to an attitude causes crystallizing of attitudes (via enhanced resistance to change), effortful gathering and processing of relevant information, accumulation of a large store of well-organized relevant information in long-term memory, enhanced attitude extremity and accessibility, enhanced attitude impact on the regulation of interpersonal attraction, energizing of emotional reactions, and enhanced impact of attitudes on behavioral intentions and action. Thus, important attitudes are real and consequential psychological forces, and their study offers opportunities for addressing behavioral change.

  18. On the Dominance of Attitude Emotionality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rocklage, Matthew D; Fazio, Russell H

    2016-02-01

    Many situations in our lives require us to make relatively quick decisions as whether to approach or avoid a person or object, buy or pass on a product, or accept or reject an offer. These decisions are particularly difficult when there are both positive and negative aspects to the object. How do people go about navigating this conflict to come to a summary judgment? Using the Evaluative Lexicon (EL), we demonstrate across three studies, 7,700 attitude expressions, and nearly 50 different attitude objects that when positivity and negativity conflict, the valence that is based more on emotion is more likely to dominate. Furthermore, individuals are also more consistent in the expression of their univalent summary judgments when they involve greater emotionality. In sum, valence that is based on emotion tends to dominate when resolving ambivalence and also helps individuals to remain consistent when offering quick judgments. © 2015 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

  19. Attitudes toward epilepsy among the primary and secondary school teachers in Malaysia, using the public attitudes toward epilepsy (PATE) scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lim, Kheng Seang; Hills, Michael D; Choo, Wan Yuen; Wong, Mee Hoo; Wu, Cathie; Tan, Chong Tin

    2013-10-01

    There is a lack of study comparing the attitudes toward epilepsy between the teachers and general population, teachers and students, using a similar quantitative scale. This study was performed in one primary and one secondary school in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, using the Public Attitudes Toward Epilepsy (PATE) scale. A total of 186 teachers aged 39.6±10.4 years completed the questionnaire. The mean scores in both personal and general domains of PATE scale were significantly better in the teachers, comparing to the scores in the secondary and college students reported in previous study (Lim et al., 2013; pjob, rather than tertiary education generally. Subanalysis showed that the attitudes of teachers were significantly better than the general population and the students related to employment and social life, but were equally negative on issues directly related to education, such as placing children with epilepsy in regular classes. Teachers had more positive attitudes toward epilepsy as compared with the general population with tertiary education. Attitude to epilepsy may differ specific to types of work. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Catholic attitudes toward abortion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, T W

    1984-01-01

    In the US attitudes toward abortion in the 1980s seem to have reached a more liberal plateau, much more favored than in the 1960s or earlier, but not longer moving in a liberal direction. Catholic attitudes basically have followed the same trend. Traditionally Catholic support has been slightly lower than Protestant, and both are less inclined to support abortion than Jews or the nonreligious. During the 1970s support among non-black Catholics averaged about 10 percentage points below non-black Protestants. Blacks tend to be anti-abortion and thereby lower support among Protestants as a whole. A comparison of Protestants and Catholics of both races shows fewer religious differences -- about 7 percentage points. There are some indications that this gap may be closing. In 1982, for the 1st time, support for abortions for social reasons, such as poverty, not wanting to marry, or not wanting more children, was as high among Catholics as among Protestants. 1 of the factors contributing to this narrowing gap has been the higher level of support for abortion among younger Catholics. Protestants show little variation on abortion attitudes, with those over age 65 being slightly less supportive. Among Catholics, support drops rapidly with age. This moderate and possibly vanishing difference between Catholics and Protestants contrasts sharply with the official positions of their respective churches. The Catholic Church takes an absolute moral position against abortion, while most Protestant churches take no doctrinaire position on abortion. Several, such as the Unitarians and Episcopalians, lean toward a pro-choice position as a matter of social policy, though fundamentalist sects take strong anti-abortion stances. Few Catholics agree with their church's absolutist anti-abortion position. The big split on abortion comes between what are sometimes termed the "hard" abortion reasons -- mother's health endangered, serious defect in fetus, rape, or incest. Support among Catholics

  1. On the deep structure of social affect: Attitudes, emotions, sentiments, and the case of "contempt".

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gervais, Matthew M; Fessler, Daniel M T

    2017-01-01

    Contempt is typically studied as a uniquely human moral emotion. However, this approach has yielded inconclusive results. We argue this is because the folk affect concept "contempt" has been inaccurately mapped onto basic affect systems. "Contempt" has features that are inconsistent with a basic emotion, especially its protracted duration and frequently cold phenomenology. Yet other features are inconsistent with a basic attitude. Nonetheless, the features of "contempt" functionally cohere. To account for this, we revive and reconfigure the sentiment construct using the notion of evolved functional specialization. We develop the Attitude-Scenario-Emotion (ASE) model of sentiments, in which enduring attitudes represent others' social-relational value and moderate discrete emotions across scenarios. Sentiments are functional networks of attitudes and emotions. Distinct sentiments, including love, respect, like, hate, and fear, track distinct relational affordances, and each is emotionally pluripotent, thereby serving both bookkeeping and commitment functions within relationships. The sentiment contempt is an absence of respect; from cues to others' low efficacy, it represents them as worthless and small, muting compassion, guilt, and shame and potentiating anger, disgust, and mirth. This sentiment is ancient yet implicated in the ratcheting evolution of human ultrasocialty. The manifolds of the contempt network, differentially engaged across individuals and populations, explain the features of "contempt," its translatability, and its variable experience as "hot" or "cold," occurrent or enduring, and anger-like or disgust-like. This rapprochement between psychological anthropology and evolutionary psychology contributes both methodological and empirical insights, with broad implications for understanding the functional and cultural organization of social affect.

  2. Social Class, Economic Inequality, and the Convergence of Policy Preferences: Evidence from 24 Modern Democracies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andersen, Robert; Curtis, Josh

    2015-08-01

    Using data from the World Values Survey and national-level indicators for 24 modern democracies, we assess the influence of social class and economic inequality on preferences for government responsibility. We improve on previous research by using multilevel models that account for differences in attitudes both within (i.e., over time) and across countries. Our findings are consistent with the economic self-interest hypothesis. Specifically, working class individuals, who tend to gain the most from government intervention because of their low and often more precarious economic position, are more likely than others to support government intervention. We also find a positive relationship between national-level income inequality and support for government intervention. As income inequality rises, its social ills tend to be more pervasive, resulting in public opinion becoming more supportive of governments taking responsibility for their citizens. We further demonstrate that inequality moderates the relationship between social class and attitudes. Although the effect of income inequality is positive for all social classes, attitudes across social classes become more similar as inequality rises. © 2015 Canadian Sociological Association/La Société canadienne de sociologie.

  3. Attitude toward the out-patient cardiac rehabilitation program and facilitators for maintenance of exercise behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, Eliza M L; Zhong, Xue Bing; Sit, Janet W H; Chair, Sek Ying; Leung, Doris Y P; Leung, Carmen; Leung, K C

    2016-09-01

    This study examined the attitudes of Chinese patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) toward the outpatient cardiac rehabilitation program (OCRP), as well as their exercise behavior, intention, maintenance and related factors. A qualitative descriptive study design was used, and 22 CHD patients were recruited in Hong Kong in 2014. In-depth interviews and content analyses were conducted. The tripartite model of attitudes was adopted as research framework. Two themes were identified: (1) informant attitude (perception, affection, and practice) toward the OCRP and (2) Exercise Behavior - intention, maintenance and its related factors. Most informants showed positive perception and affection regarding the outpatient rehabilitation program, leading to regular practice of exercise in the program and at home. Peer, group dynamic, social support and Chinese culture influences on exercise behavior may serve as major facilitators to maintain exercise behavior. Positive attitude toward the OCRP enhanced the participation rate, whereas peer and social support from the family and workplace were useful to improve the maintenance of exercise behavior. Overall, this study provides insights into strategic planning for the OCRP and continual support for CHD patients in the community.

  4. An Analysis of Social Studies Education Faculty Positions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bennett, Linda; Scholes, Roberta; Barrow, Lloyd H.

    2007-01-01

    The purpose of the study was to determine the responsibilities and qualifications of social studies education faculty positions as listed in The Chronicle of Higher Education during the 2004-2005 academic year. Many of the listings conveyed expectations for social studies educators to teach undergraduate courses, supervise interns, write grants…

  5. Public health or social impacts? A qualitative analysis of attitudes toward the smoke-free legislation in Scotland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heim, Derek; Ross, Alastair; Eadie, Douglas; MacAskill, Susan; Davies, John B; Hastings, Gerard; Haw, Sally

    2009-12-01

    Introduction of smoke-free legislation presents a unique opportunity to study how population-level interventions can challenge existing smoking norms. Our study examined support and opposition to the Scottish legislation and ascertained the relative importance of social and health factors in shaping attitudes among bar customers. Repeat (pre-/post-legislation) recorded and transcribed semistructured interviews with customers (n = 67/62) of eight community bars in contrasting settings were conducted, and data were analyzed thematically. While the legislation was marketed primarily in terms of gains to public and individual health, supportive and opposing responses to the legislation tended to be framed around libertarian and practical factors. Attitudes tended to be stable across both waves of data collection. It is concluded that reasons for smoking were not challenged by promotion of the legislation. In addition to a focus on health gains, social marketing of smoke-free legislation and initiatives may therefore benefit from a stronger focus on social and contextual effects of such policies.

  6. COMPETITIVE SOCIAL POSITION OF THE COUNTRY: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I. Chornodid

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The article reveals the essence of the country's competitive position, a comparative analysis according to international indexes and indicators is provided. Also the competitive social benefits of the country are described. The real situation of the competitive social benefits is considered on international standards and assessments. The estimation of the position of Ukraine is given in terms of freedom, network readiness index, the index of competitiveness of travel and tourism.

  7. Health promotion interventions in social economy companies in Flanders (Belgium).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hublet, Anne; Maes, Lea; Mommen, Jasmine; Deforche, Benedicte; De Bourdeaudhuij, Ilse

    2016-01-05

    Disadvantaged groups are often not reached by mainstream health promotion interventions. Implementing health promotion (HP) interventions in social economy companies, can be an opportunity to reach those people. The implementation of these interventions in social economy companies was studied. Factors that could be related to the implementation of HP and being supportive towards implementation in the future, were investigated. An online, quantitative survey was sent to all 148 sheltered and social workshops in Flanders. In the questionnaire, the status of HP interventions and characteristics of the workshop were explored. Personal factors (such as attitudes towards HP, behavioural control, social norms and moral responsibility) were asked to the person responsible for implementation of HP interventions. Univariate and multivariate logistic regressions were performed. Respondents of 88 workshops completed the questionnaire. Almost 60% of the workshops implemented environmental or policy interventions. Having a positive attitude towards HP, being more morally responsible, and having the subjective norm that employees are positive towards health promotion at work, were related to being more supportive towards the implementation of HP in the univariate analyses. Only attitude stayed significantly related to being more supportive towards the implementation of HP in the multivariate analyses. Sheltered and social workshops are open to HP interventions, but more can be done to optimize the implementation. To persuade persons responsible for the implementation of HP to invest more in HP, changing attitudes concerning the benefits of health promotion for the employee and the company, is an important strategy.

  8. Ethnic Socialization in Neighborhood Contexts: Implications for Ethnic Attitude and Identity Development Among Mexican-Origin Adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    White, Rebecca M B; Knight, George P; Jensen, Michaeline; Gonzales, Nancy A

    2018-05-01

    Neighborhood Latino ethnic concentration, above and beyond or in combination with mothers' and fathers' ethnic socialization, may have beneficial implications for minority adolescents' ethnic attitude and identity development. These hypotheses, along with two competing hypotheses, were tested prospectively (from x¯age = 12.79-15.83 years) in a sample of 733 Mexican-origin adolescents. Neighborhood ethnic concentration had beneficial implications for ethnic identity processes (i.e., ethnic exploration and perceived peer discrimination) but not for ethnic attitudes. For Mexico-born adolescents, high maternal ethnic socialization compensated for living in neighborhoods low on ethnic concentration. Findings are discussed vis-à-vis the ways in which they address major gaps in the neighborhood effects literature and the ethnic and racial identity development literature. © 2017 The Authors. Child Development © 2017 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

  9. Reading, Demographic, Social and Psychological Factors Related to Pre-adolescent Smoking and Non-smoking Behaviors and Attitudes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sunseri, Albert J.; And Others

    1983-01-01

    A study examined reading, demographic, social, and psychological factors related to preadolescent smoking and nonsmoking behaviors and attitudes. Variables studied included reading achievement, family involvement, and racial and sex differences. (Authors/CJ)

  10. Female science teacher beliefs and attitudes: implications in relation to gender and pedagogical practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zapata, Mara; Gallard, Alejandro J.

    2007-10-01

    Beliefs and attitudes resulting from the unique life experiences of teachers frame interactions with learners promoting gender equity or inequity and the reproduction of social views about knowledge and power as related to gender. This study examines the enactment of a female science teacher's pedagogy (Laura), seeking to understand the implications of her beliefs and attitudes, as framed by her interpretations and daily manifestations, as she interacts with students. Distinct influences inform the conceptual framework of this study: (a) the social organization of society at large, governed by understood and unspoken patriarchy, present both academically and socially; (b) the devaluing of women as "knowers" of scientific knowledge as defined by a western and male view of science; (c) the marginalization or "feminization" of education and pedagogical knowledge. The findings reflect tensions between attitudes and beliefs and actual teacher practice suggesting the need for awareness within existing or new teachers about their positions as social agents and the sociological implications related to issues of gender within which we live and work, inclusive of science teaching and learning.

  11. Examining College Students' Social Environment, Normative Beliefs, and Attitudes in Subsequent Initiation of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agarwal, Deepti; Loukas, Alexandra; Perry, Cheryl L

    2017-11-01

    Although use of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) is increasingly prevalent among young adults, little is known about predictors of ENDS initiation among this population. We examined the roles of the social environment (i.e., peer ENDS use and household ENDS use), normative beliefs (i.e., social acceptability of ENDS use), and attitudes (i.e., inclination to date someone who uses ENDS) in prospectively predicting initiation of ENDS over a 1-year period among 18- to 29-year-old college students. Participants were 2,110 (18- to 29-year-old) students ( M = 20.27, SD = 2.17) from 24 colleges in Texas who participated in a three-wave online survey, with 6 months between each wave. All participants reported never using ENDS at baseline. A multivariable, multilevel logistic regression model, accounting for clustering of students within colleges, was used to assess if students' social environment, normative beliefs, and attitudes predicted subsequent initiation of ENDS up to 1 year later, adjusting for various sociodemographic factors and number of other tobacco products used. In all, 329 college students (16%) initiated ENDS within 1 year. Results from the logistic regression indicated that college students who were younger (18-24 years old), ever used other tobacco products, indicated a more dense peer network of ENDS users, and had a higher inclination to date someone who uses ENDS had higher odds of initiating ENDS than their peers. Preventing ENDS initiation should be included in college health promotion programs, which should highlight the roles of students' social environment and attitudes regarding ENDS use.

  12. Social dominance, values and ideological positioning in college students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena Zubieta

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Social Dominance Theory (Sidanius & Pratto, 1999 stress that systematic inter group discrimination is related to social ideologies that contribute to coordinate institutions and individuals behaviors. The acceptance of inequity legitimating ideologies is partially determined for individuals general desire of group based domination. This desire is captured by Social Orientation Domination construct -SDO. Pursuing the objective of exploring SDO levels and its relationship with variables such ideological positioning and values, a descriptive correlation study, with a non experimental design, was carried out based on a convenience sample composed by 254 college students from Buenos Aires city surroundings . Results show that SDO is positively associated with Power and Achievement values and negatively with Benevolence and Universalism. SDO is stronger in participants right side ideologically positioned. Participants show a low SDO, emphasize self- trascendence and openness to change values and tend to a left side ideological positioning. Age, participant’s quality of “students” and prevailed career orientation can be seen as factors conditioning a more hierarchies attenuating believes and behaviors. 

  13. Use of French, Attitudes and Motivations of French Immersion Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van der Keilen, Marguerite

    1995-01-01

    Compares the degree to which pupils in the French immersion and regular English school programs speak French and initiate contact with French people. Attitudes and motivations were significantly more positive, and social tolerance and self-rated competency in French were much higher in the immersion than in English program subjects. (29…

  14. On the generalization of attitude accessibility after repeated attitude expression

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spruyt, Adriaan; Fazio, Russell H.; Hermans, Dirk

    2016-01-01

    Abstract The more accessible an attitude is, the stronger is its influence on information processing and behavior. Accessibility can be increased through attitude rehearsal, but it remains unknown whether attitude rehearsal also affects the accessibility of related attitudes. To investigate this hypothesis, participants in an experimental condition repeatedly expressed their attitudes towards exemplars of several semantic categories during an evaluative categorization task. Participants in a control condition performed a non‐evaluative task with the same exemplars and evaluated unrelated attitude objects. After a 30‐minute interval, participants in the experimental condition were faster than controls to evaluate not only the original exemplars but also novel exemplars of the same categories. This finding suggests that the effect of attitude rehearsal on accessibility generalizes to attitudes towards untrained but semantically related attitude objects. © 2016 The Authors. European Journal of Social Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. PMID:28701803

  15. Pairing images of unhealthy and healthy foods with images of negative and positive health consequences: Impact on attitudes and food choice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hollands, Gareth J; Marteau, Theresa M

    2016-08-01

    To examine the impact of presenting images of foods paired with images of positive and negative health consequences of their consumption on food choice and attitudes. Participants (N = 711) were randomly allocated in a 2 × 3 factorial design (Food Type × Affective Valence) to 1 of 6 conditioning procedures that paired images of either energy-dense snack foods or fruit, with (a) images of negative health outcomes, (b) images of positive health outcomes, or (c) a no image control. The primary outcome was food choice assessed postintervention with a behavioral choice task. Secondary outcomes were implicit attitudes (assessed pre- and postintervention) and explicit attitudes (assessed postintervention). Presenting images of negative health outcomes led to more healthy food choices relative to control and positive image conditions, irrespective of whether they were paired with images of energy-dense snack foods or fruit. This relationship was partially mediated by changes in implicit and explicit attitudes. Images of positive health outcomes did not alter food choices. This study replicates and extends previous research showing that presenting images of negative health consequences increases healthy food choices. Because effects were elicited by manipulating affective valence irrespective of paired food type, these results appear more consistent with an explanation based on priming than on evaluative conditioning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  16. An exploratory study of consumers' attitude towards unethical corporate\\ud practices and the concept of consumer social responsibility

    OpenAIRE

    Ajayi, Festus Adeolu

    2014-01-01

    2014 dissertation for MSc in International Business Management. Selected by academic staff as a good example of a masters level dissertation. This study is an exploration of consumers’ attitudes towards unethical\\ud corporate practices and the concept of consumer social responsibility. The\\ud study among other things evaluated the concepts of corporate social responsibility (CSR), consumers’ social responsibility (CNSR) and sought to\\ud understand the relationship between both concepts. Havin...

  17. Social interaction anxiety and the discounting of positive interpersonal events.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vassilopoulos, Stephanos P; Banerjee, Robin

    2010-10-01

    Recent research has indicated that individuals with social interaction anxiety make biased interpretations of positive social interactions, with greater general apprehension in response to such events and more negative predictions about the future. There has also been some preliminary evidence for a second facet of interpretation bias, namely a failure to accept others' positive reactions at face value, but this has so far not been adequately studied. The present study developed a new measure of this "discounting" dimension and utilized a nonclinical sample of undergraduate students to provide an initial analysis of the scale. Results provide early support for the psychometric properties of our scale, and indicate that discounting mediates the relationship between social interaction anxiety and low positive affect, over and above the previously studied aspect of positive event interpretation bias. The implications for treatment interventions and further research are discussed.

  18. Social Aggression and Social Position in Middle Childhood and Early Adolescence: Burning Bridges or Building Them?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neal, Jennifer Watling

    2010-01-01

    Because the mechanism of harm used in social aggression generally involves the manipulation of peer relationships, it is important to consider its social correlates. The current article uses social dominance theory as a frame to review developmental research on social aggression perpetration and three indicators of social position: sociometric…

  19. Teachers' Attitudes towards Behaviour Patterns in Social Conflicts in Primorsko-Goranska County in Croatia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vlah, Nataša; Jancec, Lucija; Cepic, Renata

    2015-01-01

    The aim of the empirical research is to determine primary school teachers' attitudes towards behaviour patterns in social conflict. A primary school teacher is the role model for his/her pupils, so in the context of the theory of hidden curriculum, the purpose of the study is determining a better understanding of teacher's needs for further…

  20. MDMA alters emotional processing and facilitates positive social interaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wardle, Margaret C; de Wit, Harriet

    2014-10-01

    ±3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, "ecstasy") produces "prosocial" effects, such as feelings of empathy and closeness, thought to be important to its abuse and its value in psychotherapy. However, it is not fully understood how MDMA alters basic emotional processes to produce these effects, or whether it produces corresponding changes in actual social behavior. Here, we examined how MDMA affects perceptions of and responses to emotional expressions, and tested its effects on behavior during a social interaction. We also examined whether MDMA's prosocial effects related to a measure of abuse liability. Over three sessions, 36 healthy volunteers with previous ecstasy use received MDMA (0.75, 1.5 mg/kg) and placebo under double-blind conditions. We measured (i) mood and cardiovascular effects, (ii) perception of and psychophysiological responses to emotional expressions, (iii) use of positive and negative words in a social interaction, and (iv) perceptions of an interaction partner. We then tested whether these effects predicted desire to take the drug again. MDMA slowed perception of angry expressions, increased psychophysiological responses to happy expressions, and increased positive word use and perceptions of partner empathy and regard in a social interaction. These effects were not strongly related to desire to take the drug again. MDMA alters basic emotional processes by slowing identification of negative emotions and increasing responses to positive emotions in others. Further, it positively affects behavior and perceptions during actual social interaction. These effects may contribute to the efficacy of MDMA in psychotherapy, but appear less closely related to its abuse potential.

  1. Sex-role patterns, paternal rearing attitudes and child development in different social classes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nettelbladt, P; Uddenberg, N; Englesson, I

    1981-07-01

    Sex-role patterns, the father's rearing attitude and the child's intellectual and emotional development in different social classes were studied in a randomly selected sample of 58 Swedish unbroken families of a small child. Working class men and women married younger and the women were more often house-wives. Working class men had more often been reared in an "authoritarian" way and more often reared their children in the same way. Upper middle class men had taken a more active part in the care of the child. Working class children scored lower on the intelligence tests, especially the verbal ones and were more often estimated as socially immature.

  2. Developing Training Programs to Enhance Positive Attitude toward the ASEAN Community and Self-responsibility For Students in the 6th Grade Naku Distric Kalasin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Siriporn Chooarerom

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The purposes of this study were to ; 1 Study the status and problem of an through attitude the ASEAN community for grade 6 students. 2 Develop training programs to enhance their positive attitude towards the ASEAN community and self-responsibility for grade 6 students. 3 Experiment training program to enhance their positive attitude towards the ASEAN community and self-responsibility for grade 6 students. The samples of this study were 21 students. They were selected though cluster random sampling method. The research instruments used in the study were the Training programs to enhance their positive attitude towards the ASEAN community and self-responsibility. Surveys of problems from the event ASEAN week. Lenarning ASEAN. Measuring a positive attitude towards the ASEAN community scale with discriminating power ranging 0.375 – 0.793 and Measuring self-responsibility scale with discriminating power ranging 0.411 – 0.893 and a reliability of 0.973. The statistics used for analyzing the collected data were mean, standard deviation, and One-way repeated measure MANOVA The study showed that 1 Study of the attitude of the ASEAN community condition survey found that teachers have trouble understanding, Interested to attend the event and have admired and awareness in preparation the ASEAN community, the levels are minimal. The students realized in preparation, understanding about . Attention to participation and appreciation the ASEAN community, the levels are minimal 2 Training programs to enhance their positive attitude toward the ASEAN community and self-responsibility for grade 6 students was created by. Activities focus on the students involved and take action. Remove group activities used in the event. Stage one consists of two steps leading to the involvement step 3 step 4 step by step analysis and application of the five-stage process and evaluation. By 5 experts have evaluated the overall level more appropriate. 3 Students attend their

  3. Social networks of HIV-positive women and their association with social support and depression symptoms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cederbaum, Julie A; Rice, Eric; Craddock, Jaih; Pimentel, Veronica; Beaver, Patty

    2017-02-01

    Social support is important to the mental health and well-being of HIV-positive women. Limited information exists about the specific structure and composition of HIV-positive women's support networks or associations of these network properties with mental health outcomes. In this pilot study, the authors examine whether support network characteristics were associated with depressive symptoms. Survey and network data were collected from HIV-positive women (N = 46) via a web-based survey and an iPad application in August 2012. Data were analyzed using multivariate linear regression models in SAS. Depressive symptoms were positively associated with a greater number of doctors in a woman's network; having more HIV-positive network members was associated with less symptom reporting. Women who reported more individuals who could care for them had more family support. Those who reported feeling loved were less likely to report disclosure stigma. This work highlighted that detailed social network data can increase our understanding of social support so as to identify interventions to support the mental health of HIV-positive women. Most significant is the ongoing need for support from peers.

  4. Attributing Responsibility, Sexist Attitudes, Perceived Social Support, and Self-Esteem in Aggressors Convicted for Gender-Based Violence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guerrero-Molina, Mónica; Moreno-Manso, Juan Manuel; Guerrero-Barona, Eloísa; Cruz-Márquez, Beatriz

    2017-06-01

    This work analyzes how the assumption of responsibility by aggressors convicted for gender-based violence is related to sexist attitudes, self-esteem and perceived functional social support. Similarly, the predictive capacity of these variables is studied with respect to the aggressors' minimization of the harm done and a lack of attributing responsibility to themselves. The participants in the research were males condemned to prison sentences for crimes related with gender-based violence in Spain. The instruments applied were the Attribution of Responsibility and Minimization of Harm Scale, the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE), the Functional Social Support Questionnaire (FSSQ), and the Social Desirability Scale (SDS). The study concludes that sexist attitudes are related with a greater lack of attribution of responsibility, as well as with a greater tendency to minimize the harm done by the aggression. In addition, the aggressors with low self-esteem use self-defense as a strategy to justify the violence. Similarly, the presence of an adequate social support network for the aggressor increases the attribution of responsibility on the part of those convicted for gender-based violence.

  5. A Joint Positioning and Attitude Solving Method for Shearer and Scraper Conveyor under Complex Conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiacheng Xie

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available In a fully mechanized coal-mining face, the positioning and attitude of the shearer and scraper conveyor are inaccurate. To overcome this problem, a joint positioning and attitude solving method that considers the effect of an uneven floor is proposed. In addition, the real-time connection and coupling relationship between the two devices is analyzed. Two types of sensors, namely, the tilt sensor and strapdown inertial navigation system (SINS, are used to measure the shearer body pitch angle and the scraper conveyor shape, respectively. To improve the accuracy, two pieces of information are fused using the adaptive information fusion algorithm. It is observed that, using a marking strategy, the shearer body pitch angle can be reversely mapped to the real-time shape of the scraper conveyor. Then, a virtual-reality (VR software that can visually simulate this entire operation process under different conditions is developed. Finally, experiments are conducted on a prototype experimental platform. The positioning error is found to be less than 0.38 times the middle trough length; moreover, no accumulated error is detected. This method can monitor the operation of the shearer and scraper conveyor in a highly dynamic and precise manner and provide strong technical support for safe and efficient operation of a fully mechanized coal-mining face.

  6. Promoting Social Nurturance and Positive Social Environments to Reduce Obesity in High-Risk Youth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, Dawn K; Sweeney, Allison M; Kitzman-Ulrich, Heather; Gause, Haylee; St George, Sara M

    2017-03-01

    Nurturing environments within the context of families, schools, and communities all play an important role in enhancing youth's behavioral choices and health outcomes. The increasing prevalence rates of obesity among youth, especially among low income and ethnic minorities, highlight the need to develop effective and innovative intervention approaches that promote positive supportive environments across different contexts for at-risk youth. We propose that the integration of Social Cognitive Theory, Family Systems Theory, and Self-Determination Theory offers a useful framework for understanding how individual, family, and social-environmental-level factors contribute to the development of nurturing environments. In this paper, we summarize evidence-based randomized controlled trials that integrate positive parenting, motivational, and behavioral skills strategies in different contexts, including primary care, home, community, and school-based settings. Taken together, these studies suggest that youth and parents are most likely to benefit when youth receive individual-level behavioral skills, family-level support and communication, and autonomous motivational support from the broader social environment. Future investigators and healthcare providers should consider integrating these evidence-based approaches that support the effects of positive social climate-based interventions on promoting healthy eating, physical activity, and weight management in youth.

  7. Non-donors' attitudes towards sperm donation and their willingness to donate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Provoost, Veerle; Van Rompuy, Florence; Pennings, Guido

    2018-01-01

    The aim of this article is to study attitudes about sperm donation and willingness to donate sperm in students who have never shown an interest in sperm donation. The method used in this study is an electronic survey of 1012 male students. Only one third of the respondents (34.3%) would consider donating sperm. Overall, 85.7% indicated a positive attitude towards sperm donation while 14.3% indicated a neutral or negative attitude. The highest scored barriers to donating were the lack of practical information and the fear that the partner would not agree. Almost 40% of the respondents feared that the donation might have a negative impact on their current or future relationship. The majority (83.6%) of those who considered donating thought donors should receive a financial compensation. Money was also one of the main motivators. About 85% of the students thought positively about sperm donation but several factors such as perceived negative views by the social environment, especially the partner, may deter students from donating. This study indicates that the effect of strong incentives, for instance in monetary terms, on a donor pool consisting of students could be limited and that relational factors and donor's perceptions of the views of the wider social network should be taken into account when recruiting donors.

  8. The role of social identity and attitudes toward sustainability brands in buying behavior for organic products

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bartels, J.; Hoogendam, K.

    2011-01-01

    Green consumerism and the role of eco-marketing have become increasingly important for increasing the market share of sustainable (non-) food products. The current study examines the effect of social identification with certain green consumer groups on brand knowledge, brand attitude and buying

  9. Measuring the attitudes of dental students towards social accountability following dental education - Qualitative findings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Vivian; Foster Page, Lyndie; McMillan, John; Lyons, Karl; Gibson, Barry

    2016-06-01

    The term social accountability has gained increased interest in medical education, but is relatively unexplored in dentistry. The aim of this study is to explore dental students' attitudes towards social accountability. A qualitative study utilizing focus groups with University of Otago final year (5th year) Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) students was carried out. A questionnaire designed to measure medical students' attitudes towards social responsibility was used as a guide. Following data collection, framework analysis was used to analyze each of the three focus groups, and repeating themes were noted. Analysis of the focus groups discovered recurring themes, such that participants believed that dentists should be accountable to society in a professional context and that they are responsible for patients who present at their clinic but that there is no professional obligation to help reduce oral health inequalities by working with populations facing inequalities. There was strong agreement that there needs to be change to the dental health care system from a structural and political level to address oral health inequalities, rather than individual dentists assuming greater responsibility. Our findings show that dental education may not be accountable to society in the sense that it is not producing graduates who believe that they have an obligation to address the priority oral health concerns of society.

  10. Current state of knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes toward organ transplantation among academic students in Poland and the potential means for altering them.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nowak, E; Pfitzner, R; Koźlik, P; Kozynacka, A; Durajski, L; Przybyłowski, P

    2014-10-01

    Students manifest a high level of social commitment. Improving their knowledge and developing more positive attitudes toward organ transplantation may increase the number of organ donations. This study was an assessment of the knowledge and attitudes toward organ transplantation among young people in Poland, with an overview of current beliefs and potential methods for improving transplantology awareness. The study included 400 medical students and 400 nonmedical students from public universities in Kraków, Poland. Data were collected by using an anonymous questionnaire examining demographic factors and transplantology issues. Despite the overall positive attitude toward transplantology among academic students in Poland, the state of knowledge of the nonmedical population remains relatively low. The most important issues for social education to focus on are the role of presumed consent and brain death diagnosis, actual hazards of living donations, recipient qualification criteria, and the attitudes of religious authorities. The overall level of knowledge and the number of positive attitudes were significantly higher among medical students than among nonmedical students, proving that formal educational programs are more efficient than the more accessible but less reliable sources of knowledge. Introduction of transplantology issues in schools and churches, promoting the positive outcomes of organ transplantation rather than negating false beliefs, and eliminating misleading information from the media may significantly increase young people's knowledge and result in more positive attitudes toward transplantology in a society-wide fashion. This outcome could create a favorable background for introducing an opt-in system of consent for organ donation.

  11. Self-in-love versus self-in-stigma: implications of relationship quality and love attitudes on self-stigma and mental health among HIV-positive men having sex with men.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Xue; Mak, Winnie W S; Ho, Connie Y Y; Chidgey, Andrew

    2017-01-01

    The present study examines the mediating effect of love attitude on the associations between relationship quality with self-stigma and mental health among HIV-positive men having sex with men (MSM). Participants included 211 HIV-positive MSM (M age  = 41.77 years, SD = 11.10) and they were assessed on their relationship quality, love attitudes, HIV-positive self-stigma, and mental health. Structural equation modeling showed that the model fit the data well, χ 2 (50) = 152.80, p love attitude. The indirect effect of love attitude on mental health was significant through reduced self-stigma. The outcomes differed by the number of partners, partner's knowledge of HIV-positive status, relationship nature, and marital status. Implications for developing a positive self-in-love to diminish self-stigma were discussed.

  12. Attutude-action consistency and social policy related to nuclear technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lindell, M.K.; Perry, R.W.; Greene, M.

    1980-06-01

    This study reports the results of a further analysis of questionnaire data--parts of which have been previously reported by Lindell, Earle, Hebert and Perry (1978)--that are related to the issue of consistency of attitudes and behavior toward nuclear power and nuclear waste management. Three factors are considered that might be expected to have a significant bearing on attitude-action consistency: social support, attitude object importance and past activism. Analysis of the data indicated that pronuclear respondents were more likely to show consistency of attitudes and actions (66%) than were antinuclear respondents (51%) although the difference in proportions is not statistically significant. Further analyses showed a strong positive relation between attitude-action consistency and perceived social support, measured by the degree to which the respondent believed that close friends and work associated agreed with his attitude. This relationship held up even when controls for attitude object importance and past activism were introduced. Attitude object importance--the salience of the issue of energy shortage--had a statistically significant effect only when perceived social support was low. Past activism had no significant relation to attitude-action consistency. These data suggest that the level of active support for or opposition to nuclear technology will be affected by the distribution of favorable and unfavorable attitudes among residents of an area. Situations in which pro- and antinuclear attitudes are concentrated among members of interacting groups, rather than distributed randomly, are more likely to produce high levels of polarization

  13. Mental health professionals' attitudes towards mental illness: professional and cultural factors in the INTER NOS study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Del Olmo-Romero, Francisco; González-Blanco, María; Sarró, Salvador; Grácio, Jaime; Martín-Carrasco, Manuel; Martinez-Cabezón, Ana C; Perna, Giampaolo; Pomarol-Clotet, Edith; Varandas, Pedro; Ballesteros-Rodríguez, Javier; Rebolleda-Gil, Carlos; Vanni, Giovanna; González-Fraile, Eduardo

    2018-01-20

    Research shows that personnel working in mental health facilities may share some of the societal prejudices towards mental illness. This might result in stigmatizing behaviours towards people suffering from mental disorders, undermining the quality of their care. To describe and compare attitudes towards mental illness across a sample of professionals working in a wide range of mental health facilities in Spain, Portugal and Italy. We administered a survey to personnel including two questionnaires related to stigmatizing attitudes: The Community Attitudes toward the Mentally Ill (CAMI) and the Attribution Questionnaire (AQ-27). Data were compared according to professional category, work setting and country. 34.06% (1525) professionals of the surveyed population responded adequately. Psychologists and social therapists had the most positive attitudes, and nursing assistants the most negative, on most factors of CAMI and AQ-27. Community staff had more positive attitudes than hospital-based professionals in most factors on CAMI and in discriminatory responses on AQ-27. Globally, mental health professionals showed a positive attitude towards mental illness, but also a relative support to coercive treatments. There are differences in attitudes modulated by professional category and setting. Results can guide preventive strategies, particularly for the hospital-based and nursing staff.

  14. The Assessment of Positivity and Negativity in Social Networks: The Reliability and Validity of the Social Relationships Index

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campo, Rebecca A.; Uchino, Bert N.; Holt-Lunstad, Julianne; Vaughn, Allison; Reblin, Maija; Smith, Timothy W.

    2009-01-01

    The Social Relationships Index (SRI) was designed to examine positivity and negativity in social relationships. Unique features of this scale include its brevity and the ability to examine relationship positivity and negativity at the level of the specific individual and social network. The SRI's psychometric properties were examined in three…

  15. Like father, like son? Intergenerational transmission of values, attitudes, and behaviours in the environmental domain

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Grønhøj, Alice; Thøgersen, John

    2009-01-01

    : purchasing environmentally friendly products, curtailing electricity use, and handling waste responsibly in a sample of 601 Danish families. Significant and positive, but weak correlations between parents' and children's values are found across all of Schwartz's ten value domains. The parent......-child correlations are stronger for specific pro-environmental attitudes and behaviours. The positive correlations suggest that family socialization exert a significant influence on young consumers' pro-environmental orientation. Still, the young generation is, on average, significantly less environmentally......How is young people's pro-environmental orientation related to their parents' pro-environmental values, attitudes, and behaviours? To answer this question, we examine parent-child similarities of general values as well as specific attitudes and behaviours related to three common household practices...

  16. An Autonomous Ultra-Wide Band-Based Attitude and Position Determination Technique for Indoor Mobile Laser Scanning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lawrence Lau

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Mobile laser scanning (MLS has been widely used in three-dimensional (3D city modelling data collection, such as Google cars for Google Map/Earth. Building Information Modelling (BIM has recently emerged and become prominent. 3D models of buildings are essential for BIM. Static laser scanning is usually used to generate 3D models for BIM, but this method is inefficient if a building is very large, or it has many turns and narrow corridors. This paper proposes using MLS for BIM 3D data collection. The positions and attitudes of the mobile laser scanner are important for the correct georeferencing of the 3D models. This paper proposes using three high-precision ultra-wide band (UWB tags to determine the positions and attitudes of the mobile laser scanner. The accuracy of UWB-based MLS 3D models is assessed by comparing the coordinates of target points, as measured by static laser scanning and a total station survey.

  17. Influence of Life Cycle Stage on Family Social Climate and Attitudes Toward the Residential Environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Inman, Marjorie

    The existing physical forms of housing are not always compatible with prevalent social patterns. To investigate the relationship between family system characteristics and attitudes about residential space, 64 Indiana families in 4 stages of the family life cycle (early years with no children, crowded years with at least one preschool child, peak…

  18. Attitudes toward Mental Illness: The Construction of the Libertarian Mental Health Ideology Scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nevid, Jeffrey S.; Morrison, James

    1980-01-01

    The study was an attempt to construct an attitude scale to measure the radical psychosocial or libertarian position about "mental illness" and mental health practices. The factor analysis defined four scale factors: mental illness mythology, antimedical model, social deviance control, and anti-coercive treatment. (Author)

  19. Unconscious motivation. Part II: Implicit attitudes and L2 achievement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ali H. Al-Hoorie

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper investigates the attitudinal/motivational predictors of second language (L2 academic achievement. Young adult learners of English as a foreign language (N = 311 completed several self-report measures and the Single-Target Implicit Association Test. Examination of the motivational profiles of high and low achievers revealed that attachment to the L1 community and the ought-to L2 self were negatively associated with achievement, while explicit attitudes toward the L2 course and implicit attitudes toward L2 speakers were positively associated with it. The relationship between implicit attitudes and achievement could not be explained either by social desirability or by other cognitive confounds, and remained significant after controlling for explicit self-report measures. Explicit–implicit congruence also revealed a similar pattern, in that congruent learners were more open to the L2 community and obtained higher achievement. The results also showed that neither the ideal L2 self nor intended effort had any association with actual L2 achievement, and that intended effort was particularly prone to social desirability biases. Implications of these findings are discussed.

  20. Mediating Effects of Positive Thinking and Social Support on Suicide Resilience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matel-Anderson, Denise M; Bekhet, Abir K; Garnier-Villarreal, Mauricio

    2018-02-01

    Suicide has been the second leading cause of death for 18- to 24-year-olds in the United States since 2011. The stress experienced by undergraduate college students has the potential to increase one's risk for suicide. Resilience theory was used as a theoretical framework to examine the interplay between risk and protective factors. A cross-sectional and correlational design was used to assess the mediating effects of positive thinking and/or social support on suicide resilience in 131 college students 18 to 24 years old who completed an online survey. The study found an indirect effect of self-esteem on suicide resilience through positive thinking and social support indicating that as self-esteem increases, positive thinking and social support also increase, which leads to an increase in resilience. The study also found a direct effect of self-esteem, positive thinking, and social support on suicide resilience. The findings inform the development of tailored interventions to build suicide resilience in college students.

  1. Lateral Attitude Change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glaser, Tina; Dickel, Nina; Liersch, Benjamin; Rees, Jonas; Süssenbach, Philipp; Bohner, Gerd

    2015-08-01

    The authors propose a framework distinguishing two types of lateral attitude change (LAC): (a) generalization effects, where attitude change toward a focal object transfers to related objects, and (b) displacement effects, where only related attitudes change but the focal attitude does not change. They bring together examples of LAC from various domains of research, outline the conditions and underlying processes of each type of LAC, and develop a theoretical framework that enables researchers to study LAC more systematically in the future. Compared with established theories of attitude change, the LAC framework focuses on lateral instead of focal attitude change and encompasses both generalization and displacement. Novel predictions and designs for studying LAC are presented. © 2014 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

  2. Prediction of Drug Attitude in Adolescents Based on Family Training Risk Factors for Mental Health in Society: Designing a Model for Prevention of Addiction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M Parsian

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Background & objectives: Substance abuse is one of the worst humanitarian issues in recent years which undermines the base and foundations of human society. Its prevention requires the application of multiple theories in various disciplines together with diverse methods and techniques. Several studies have been emphasized on the role of personal and familial variables as risk factors for substance use . However, this study was done in order to predict drug addiction attitude in adolescents according to the family training risk factors to prevent substance abuse and to design a model for the prevention of addiction .   Methods: This study is a descriptive and survey research performed on a sample of 373 male and female students selected randomly among the five high school students in Ghaemshahr city. Then a questionnaire including parenting styles, attitude to addiction and social problem solving skill as well as a socioeconomic questionnaire distributed among the students. For data analysis, the statistical method of descriptive statistics and path analysis has been used.   Results: Results of this study have shown that the component of parenting styles has a direct and positive impact on attitudes to drug addiction. In addition, there was a direct and positive non-significant relationship between the adaptive social problem solving skills and attitude to drug addiction and also direct and negative significant relationship between the non-adaptive social problem solving skills on this attitudes. A direct and negative significant relationship was also seen between parenting styles and attitude to drug addiction.   Conclusions: Based on the results of present study, the components of parenting styles have a direct and negative impact on attitudes to drug addiction. Also there is a direct and significant relationship between the components of non-adaptive social problem solving skills and the variable of social attitude in adolescents . But the

  3. Migrants' and natives' attitudes to formal childcare in the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Seibel, Verena; Hedegaard, Troels Fage

    2017-01-01

    in the labor market and to include children from disadvantaged backgrounds. The strategy has received a lot of positive public response, but the success of it hinges on support from the groups it targets, which includes migrants. We therefore tested whether migrants themselves share this positive view......This study is one of the first to look at migrants’ attitudes towards formal childcare, and the first one to do so by means of international comparison. The social investment strategy of the EU have, among other things, focused on expanding formal childcare to improve female participation...... of the strategy. Using unique data from the survey “Migrants’ Welfare State Attitudes” (MIFARE), we compared the attitudes of nine migrant groups in three countries (The Netherlands, Denmark and Germany) with those of the native populations. We analyzed data in three different dimensions of attitudes towards...

  4. Ethnic Self-Esteem and Intergroup Attitudes Among the Estonian Majority and the non-Estonian Minority

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maaris Raudsepp

    2009-11-01

    Full Text Available The study was focussed on the relationships between ethnic self-esteem and various indicators of intergroup attitudes in a representative sample of adult population of Estonia (N=1142. Attitudinal variables that discriminated most between persons with high and low ethnic self-esteem were identified. Among Estonians ethnic self-esteem was related to positive ingroup bias, readiness for outgroup contact, perceived threat from the outgroup, attitudes to non-Estonian minority, and attitudes toward minority integration. Among non-Estonians ethnic self-esteem was related to readiness for outgroup contact, ethnic sterotypes, and various attitudes towards minority integration. An attempt was made to reconstruct the system of intergroup attidues of prototypical persons with high and low ethnic selfesteem and to describe psychological implications of high and low ethnic self-esteem for members of majority and minority groups. Various theoretical models (social identity theory, integrated threat theory, social dominane theory were used for interpretation of the results.

  5. Parental socialization styles, parents' educational level, and sexist attitudes in adolescence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garaigordobil, Maite; Aliri, Jone

    2012-07-01

    The aims of this study were to analyze the differences in the mothers' and fathers' socialization styles depending on their children's sex; whether there are differences in hostile, benevolent, and ambivalent sexism, and neosexism as a function of both parents' socialization styles; and whether the parents' educational level affects their level of sexism and their children's sexism. The sample included 1,455 adolescents and their parents (764 mothers and 648 fathers). The results showed no differences in the socialization style of the father with his children's sexism, but the mother used a more authoritarian style with her daughters. The parents' socialization style had little influence on their children's sexism, although it had a higher impact on the sons' sexism. The father's style had less influence than the mother's on their sons' sexism, and it had no influence on their daughters' sexism. The indulgent style of both parents had the highest relation with a low level of sexism. Moreover, a negative correlation was found between the parents' educational level and their level of sexism, as well as between the mother's educational level and her daughters' sexism. To conclude, the indulgent style and the mother's high educational level promote fewer sexist attitudes.

  6. ATTITUDES TOWARD ONLINE COMMUNICATIONS IN OPEN AND DISTANCE LEARNING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Irem ERDEM AYDIN

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available This article intended to reveal the results of a survey study in which the students’ attitudes toward online communication in open and distance learning were investigated. In the study, affects of the students’ gender and computer experience on their attitudes were also examined. A total of 626 subjects participated in the study and ‘Online Communication Attitude Scale’, developed by Ledbetter, was adapted as the data collection instrument. Mean, standard deviation, independent t-test, one-way analysis of variance and Tukey HSD tests were used to analyze the data gathered. The results of the study indicated that students have in general positive attitudes toward online communication in ODL. Also, it showed that there is a significant difference in ‘miscommunication’, ‘social connection’ and ‘ease’ dimensions of online communication between the males and the female students. The female students see online environments as open to communication errors. On the other hand, the study supported the literature about the affect of the students’ computer experience and their attitudes toward online communication in ODL.

  7. Attitudes and intentions to smoke: a study of young Brazilian children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pires, P P; Ribas, R C; Borzekowski, D L G

    2015-11-01

    Children at earlier stages tend to be more susceptible towards different types of tobacco messages. These are able to influence attitudes and behaviours around smoking. This study examined how these messages are able to influence 5- and 6-year olds' attitudes about smokers and their smoking intentions. Researchers worked one-on-one with 5- and 6-year olds (n = 398) in Brazil. Children could attribute positive and negative characteristics to two different persons in photos as smoker/non-smoker. Children could indicate the attribute as of a smoker, a non-smoker, both or none. Children were asked also about their smoking intentions. Analysis considered parental smoking, sex, age, cigarette and alcohol brand logos, children's location and media characters from cartoons. We conducted a path analysis for a multivariate model of children's attitudes and intentions about smoking. Overall, children had negative attitudes about smokers (M = -4.58, SD = 4.08) and a total of 32 (8.0%) of them reported intentions to smoke. The resulting multivariate model indicates that parental smoking is a source for a positive image of smokers, while being 6 years old, living in rural areas, being aware of alcohol brands and recognizing educational cartoons tended to be negatively correlated to children's attitudes. Further, 6 year olds were found to be less likely to have smoking intentions, while attitude about smokers was positively related with intentions. One's attitudes served as a mediator for all of the variables in the model towards smoking intentions. The path models differed for each sex. Shaped by social and environmental influences, very young children have opinions about smokers. In turn, these attitudes significantly predict children's smoking intentions. To corroborate this research, we recommend that longitudinal designs be employed to help model why Brazilian children become smokers. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  8. Promoting Social Nurturance and Positive Social Environments to Reduce Obesity in High Risk Youth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, Dawn K.; Sweeney, Allison M.; Kitzman-Ulrich, Heather; Gause, Haylee; St. George, Sara M.

    2017-01-01

    Nurturing environments within the context of families, schools, and communities all play an important role in enhancing youth’s behavioral choices and health outcomes. The increasing prevalence rates of obesity among youth, especially among low income and ethnic minorities, highlight the need to develop effective and innovative intervention approaches that promote positive supportive environments across different contexts for at risk youth. We propose that the integration of Social Cognitive Theory, Family Systems Theory, and Self-Determination Theory offers a useful framework for understanding how individual, family and social-environmental level factors contribute to the development of nurturing environments. In this paper, we summarize evidence-based randomized controlled trials that integrate positive parenting, motivational, and behavioral skills strategies in different contexts, including primary care, home, community, and school-based settings. Taken together, these studies suggest that youth and parents are most likely to benefit when youth receive individual-level behavioral skills, family-level support and communication, and autonomous motivational support from the broader social environment. Future investigators and health care providers should consider integrating these evidence-based approaches that support the effects of positive social climate-based interventions on promoting healthy eating, physical activity, and weight management in youth. PMID:28229248

  9. "It's not smoke. It's not tar. It's not 4000 chemicals. Case closed": Exploring attitudes, beliefs, and perceived social norms of e-cigarette use among adult users.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coleman, Blair N; Johnson, Sarah E; Tessman, Greta K; Tworek, Cindy; Alexander, Jennifer; Dickinson, Denise M; Rath, Jessica; Green, Kerry M

    2016-02-01

    Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use is rapidly increasing among adults in the U.S. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore consumer perceptions about e-cigarettes, including knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and perceived social norms. A total of 14 focus groups (N=116) were conducted with current adult e-cigarette users in five U.S. cities from March through May, 2014. Focus groups were segmented by age (young adults aged 18-29 and older adults aged 30 and older) as well as by e-cigarette use status (exclusive e-cigarette users and non-exclusive e-cigarette users). Focus group discussions lasted approximately 60-min and were audio-recorded and transcribed; data were analyzed using a phenomenological approach. Participants expressed many positive attitudes towards e-cigarettes and simultaneously reported a lack of information and knowledge about the products. Focus group participants overwhelmingly felt as though the ingredients of e-cigarettes were likely less harmful than conventional cigarettes. Additionally, many described positive reactions from family and friends, especially when e-cigarettes were used in place of conventional cigarettes. Findings from this qualitative study provide insight into consumer knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about e-cigarettes increasing our understanding of why and how they are being used. Such information will help provide insight into the potential public health impact of these emerging products. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

  10. Attitudes towards a final repository for the spent nuclear fuel. Structure and causes; Attityd till slutfoervar av anvaent kaernbraensle. Struktur och orsaker

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sjoeberg, Lennart (Stockholm School of Economics (Sweden). Center for Risk Research)

    2008-09-15

    This report presents the results of a questionnaire survey of attitudes towards a final repository for the spent nuclear fuel. The questionnaire was mailed to 3,000 persons. Participants were young and older people in Oskarshamn municipality and Oesthammar municipality as well as in the rest of the country. Fifty-one percent responded. The questionnaire included a large number of questions of possible relevance for understanding the structure of and reasons for the person's attitude towards a final repository. Questions concerning nuclear power were dealt with in a special section. Men were more positively disposed towards a repository than women, older people more than young. The gender differences are mainly attributable to the variation in attitude towards nuclear power and concern about nuclear accidents. In the case of older people, interest was also a factor. Young people were not as interested in the issue. The most important factor in determining the attitude towards a final repository was the benefit it was expected to bring to the municipality. Moral and emotional aspects were also important. Risk played a relatively subordinate role. Social aspects were very important: those who frequently spoke with people who were positively disposed tended to be positive themselves, and vice versa for those who were negative. This factor could explain some of the gender differences in attitude. Attitudes in Oskarshamn were slightly more positive than in Oesthammar, probably due to the fact that the residents in Oskarshamn had a greater sense of participation in the municipality's decision in the matter. Information from SKB was also found to be an important factor for the differences in attitude between the municipalities. Eight percentage points more people had received information in Oskarshamn than in Oesthammar. The difference may be small, but it exists and does appear to be of some importance. Attitudes in Oskarshamn and Oesthammar continued to be much

  11. Social mobilization and social marketing to promote NaFeEDTA-fortified soya sauce in an iron-deficient population through a public-private partnership.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Bo; Zhan, Siyan; Sun, Jing; Lee, Liming

    2009-10-01

    The present pilot project aimed to assess the effectiveness of social mobilization and social marketing in improving knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) and Fe status in an Fe-deficient population. In an uncontrolled, before-after, community-based study, social mobilization and social marketing strategies were applied. The main outcomes included KAP and Hb level and were measured at baseline, 1 year later and 2 years later. One urban county and two rural counties in Shijiazhuang Municipality, Hebei Province, China. Adult women older than 20 years of age and young children aged from 3 to 7 years were selected from three counties to attend the evaluation protocol. After 1 year, most knowledge and attitudes had changed positively towards the prevention and control of anaemia. The percentage of women who had adopted NaFeEDTA-fortified soya sauce increased from 8.9% to 36.6% (P children. Social mobilization and social marketing activities had a positive impact on the KAP of adult women, and resulted in marked improvements in Hb levels in both adult women and young children. This should be recommended as a national preventive strategy to prevent and control Fe deficiency and Fe-deficiency anaemia.

  12. Smiling on the Inside: The Social Benefits of Suppressing Positive Emotions in Outperformance Situations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schall, Marina; Martiny, Sarah E; Goetz, Thomas; Hall, Nathan C

    2016-05-01

    Although expressing positive emotions is typically socially rewarded, in the present work, we predicted that people suppress positive emotions and thereby experience social benefits when outperformed others are present. We tested our predictions in three experimental studies with high school students. In Studies 1 and 2, we manipulated the type of social situation (outperformance vs. non-outperformance) and assessed suppression of positive emotions. In both studies, individuals reported suppressing positive emotions more in outperformance situations than in non-outperformance situations. In Study 3, we manipulated the social situation (outperformance vs. non-outperformance) as well as the videotaped person's expression of positive emotions (suppression vs. expression). The findings showed that when outperforming others, individuals were indeed evaluated more positively when they suppressed rather than expressed their positive emotions, and demonstrate the importance of the specific social situation with respect to the effects of suppression. © 2016 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

  13. Influencing attitudes toward carbon capture and sequestration: a social marketing approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong-Parodi, Gabrielle; Dowlatabadi, Hadi; McDaniels, Tim; Ray, Isha

    2011-08-15

    Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), while controversial, is seen as promising because it will allow the United States to continue using its vast fossil fuel resources in a carbon-constrained world. The public is an important stakeholder in the national debate about whether or not the U.S. should include CCS as a significant part of its climate change strategy. Understanding how to effectively engage with the public about CCS has become important in recent years, as interest in the technology has intensified. We argue that engagement efforts should be focused on places where CCS will first be deployed, i.e., places with many "energy veteran" (EV) citizens. We also argue that, in addition to information on CCS, messages with emotional appeal may be necessary in order to engage the public. In this paper we take a citizen-guided social marketing approach toward understanding how to (positively or negatively) influence EV citizens' attitudes toward CCS. We develop open-ended interview protocols, and a "CCS campaign activity", for Wyoming residents from Gillette and Rock Springs. We conclude that our participants believed expert-informed CCS messages, embedded within an emotionally self-referent (ESR) framework that was relevant to Wyoming, to be more persuasive than the expert messages alone. The appeal to core values of Wyomingites played a significant role in the citizen-guided CCS messages.

  14. Attitudes Toward Older Workers and Human Resource Practices

    OpenAIRE

    Kluge, Annette; Krings, Franciska

    2008-01-01

    This study investigated attitudes towards older employees, perceived age discrimination, and HR practices (personnel development and reward) in 240 employees. Attitudes toward older employees were largely positive, thus supporting the notion that attitudes toward older employees are becoming increasingly positive. Older employees' attitudes towards older employees were more positive, but younger employees' attitudes were still favorable. Moreover, older and younger employees reported benefiti...

  15. Sharing Rare Attitudes Attracts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alves, Hans

    2018-04-01

    People like others who share their attitudes. Online dating platforms as well as other social media platforms regularly rely on the social bonding power of their users' shared attitudes. However, little is known about moderating variables. In the present work, I argue that sharing rare compared with sharing common attitudes should evoke stronger interpersonal attraction among people. In five studies, I tested this prediction for the case of shared interests from different domains. I found converging evidence that people's rare compared with their common interests are especially potent to elicit interpersonal attraction. I discuss the current framework's theoretical implications for impression formation and impression management as well as its practical implications for improving online dating services.

  16. Comparison of attitude determination approaches using multiple Global Positioning System (GPS antennas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wang Bing

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available GPS-based attitude system is an important research field, since it is a valuable technique for the attitude determination of platforms. There exist two classes approaches for attitude determination using the GPS. The one determines attitude via baseline estimates in two frames, the other one solves for attitude by incorporating the attitude parameters directly into the GPS measurements. However, comparisons between these two classes approaches have been unexplored. First of all, two algorithms are introduced in detail which on behalf of these two kinds of approaches. Then we present numerical simulations demonstrating the performance of our algorithms and provide a comparison evaluating.

  17. Predictors of a positive attitude of medical students towards general practice - a survey of three Bavarian medical faculties.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, Antonius; Karsch-Völk, Marlies; Rupp, Alica; Fischer, Martin R; Drexler, Hans; Schelling, Jörg; Berberat, Pascal

    2013-01-01

    Germany is witnessing an increasing shortage of general practitioners (GPs). The aim was to determine predictors of the job-related motivation of medical students of three medical faculties with different institutionalisation of general practice as an academic discipline. Medical students were surveyed with a standardised questionnaire about their attitudes towards general practice and their motivation to work as a GP in different working conditions. Predictors for positive attitudes and motivation were calculated using logistic regression models. 940 (15.2%) out of 6182 medical students from three Bavarian medical faculties participated in an online survey. 585 (62.7%) were female, and the average age was 25.0 (standard deviation 3.7). The average grade of a university-entrance diploma was 1.6 (standard deviation 0.5). 718 (76.4%) could imagine working as a GP. However, they favoured being employed within another organisation and not having their own private practice (65.5% vs. 35.1%). "Presence of a professorship of general practice" was associated with a positive attitude towards general practice (OR 1.57; 95%CI 1.13-2.417). Motivation for working as a GP was associated with "being female" (OR 2.56; 95%CI 1.80-3.56) and "presence of a professorship of general practice" (OR 1.68; 95%CI 1.14-2.46). Having a lower grade for one's university-entrance diploma was associated with a higher preference to work in one's own practice (OR 1.39; 95%CI 1.02-1.90). A high amount of medical students were open-minded towards general practice. However, they favoured employment within an organization over working in their own practice. Institutionalisation of general practice as an academic discipline might be of importance to gain positive attitudes towards general practice and motivate medical students to work as a GP.

  18. Public beliefs about and attitudes towards bipolar disorder: testing theory based models of stigma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ellison, Nell; Mason, Oliver; Scior, Katrina

    2015-04-01

    Given the vast literature into public beliefs and attitudes towards schizophrenia and depression, there is paucity of research on attitudes towards bipolar disorder despite its similar prevalence to schizophrenia. This study explored public beliefs and attitudes towards bipolar disorder and examined the relationship between these different components of stigma. Using an online questionnaire distributed via email, social networking sites and public institutions, 753 members of the UK population were presented with a vignette depicting someone who met DSM-IV criteria for bipolar disorder. Causal beliefs, beliefs about prognosis, emotional reactions, stereotypes, and social distance were assessed in response to the vignette. Preacher and Hayes procedure for estimating direct and indirect effects of multiple mediators was used to examine the relationship between these components of stigma. Bipolar disorder was primarily associated with positive beliefs and attitudes and elicited a relatively low desire for social distance. Fear partially mediated the relationship between stereotypes and social distance. Biomedical causal beliefs reduced desire for social distance by increasing compassion, whereas fate causal beliefs increased it through eliciting fear. Psychosocial causal beliefs had mixed effects. The measurement of stigma using vignettes and self-report questionnaires has implications for ecological validity and participants may have been reluctant to reveal the true extent of their negative attitudes. Dissemination of these findings to people with bipolar disorder has implications for the reduction of internalised stigma in this population. Anti-stigma campaigns should attend to causal beliefs, stereotypes and emotional reactions as these all play a vital role in discriminatory behaviour towards people with bipolar disorder. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Professional Socialization in Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs: Attitudes and Beliefs of Faculty Members and Recent Graduates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buettner, Kevin Charles

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to better understand professional socialization in nurse anesthesia educational programs through an exploration of the attitudes and beliefs of faculty members and recent graduates. Participants for this cross-sectional, quasi-experimental online study included a convenience sample of 178 nurse anesthesia faculty…

  20. Relationship between a Belief in a Just World and Social Justice Advocacy Attitudes of School Counselors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parikh, Sejal B.; Post, Phyllis; Flowers, Claudia

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine how belief in a just world (BJW), political ideology, religious ideology, socioeconomic status of origin, and race relate to social justice advocacy attitudes among school counseling professionals. A sequential multiple regression indicated that political ideology and BJW were statistically significant…