Journal of Applied Social Psychology

Fishbein, Martin; Coombs, Fred S.

1974 Journal of Applied Social Psychology

doi: 10.1111/j.1559-1816.1974.tb00662.x

A psychological theory which suggests that a person's attitude toward any object is a function of his beliefs about the object and the evaluative aspects of those beliefs is presented. Thus, in the political arena, a person should like or dislike a given candidate because (a) he believes the candidate has certain personal characteristics, is affiliated with certain reference groups, or is for or against various issues; and (b) evaluated these characteristics, groups, and issues positively or negatively. Evidence from a local survey in the 1964 presidential election supports this theory and its application to voting behavior. In addition, the data clearly indicate that voters do take partisan stands on some issues, do clearly discriminate between the candidates vis‐a‐vis certain issues, and do change their beliefs during the course of a campaign. These data suggest that a new protrait of the American voter is overdue.

Glass, David C.; Snyder, Melvin L.; Hollis, Jack F.

1974 Journal of Applied Social Psychology

doi: 10.1111/j.1559-1816.1974.tb00663.x

Two experiments were conducted to examine behavioral consequences of a sense of time urgency, which presumably characterizes individuals classified as manifesting a so‐called “Type A” coronary‐prone behavior pattern. Experiment I indicated that time‐urgent Type A Ss were reliably less successful than noncoronary‐prone “Type Bs” in performing a task requiring a low rate of response for reinforcement (DRL). Type As were not only unable to delay their responses; they also showed greater evidence of tension and hyperactivity than Type Bs during DRL performance. Experiment II extended these results to the interpersonal domain. Time‐urgent Ss became more impatient and irritated than less urgent Ss when both types were systematically slowed down in their efforts to reach a solution on a joint decision‐making task. The results were discussed in terms of a conceptualization of the A‐B dimension as reflecting differential expectations of and needs for environmental control. Additional evidence was presented in support of this approach. Consideration was also given to possible physiologic mechanisms mediating the relationship between psychological variables such as the Type A pattern and actual occurrence of coronary heart disease.

Benton, Alan A.; Druckman, Daniel

1974 Journal of Applied Social Psychology

doi: 10.1111/j.1559-1816.1974.tb00664.x

The bargaining behavior of 80 pairs of female undergraduates on a competitive reward‐allocation task was examined. The participants either bargained for themselves or represented the interests of a constituent as well as themselves. Representatives were given information indicating that their constituent expected them to win or to behave cooperatively, or they were given no information concerning their constituent's bargaining orientation. Consistent with previous research, the present findings indicated that representational role obligations tend to increase competition between negotiators. However, the findings also revealed, that this tendency is reduced when pressure to cooperate is applied by constituents to at least one of the representatives. Procedures that aid in the resolution of intergroup conflict were discussed.

Eagly, Alice H.; Anderson, Pamela

1974 Journal of Applied Social Psychology

doi: 10.1111/j.1559-1816.1974.tb00665.x

A survey conducted in 1971 with college students as respondents tested the hypothesis that persons approving of a relatively equivalent pattern of sex roles desire to have smaller families than do persons approving of less equivalent sex roles. Though the hypothesis was confirmed for the number of children that Ss desired to procreate, approval of sex role equivalence appeared to be only one component of a more general pattern in which Ss who desired to procreate fewer children were nontraditional in their attitudes. Thus, to the extent that Ss approved of equivalent sex roles, favored Women's Liberation, opposed conservatism, favored liberalism, and considered themselves nonreligious, they tended to have smaller family size goals for biological parenthood. However, the role and attitudinal predictors related less strongly to the total number of children desired (i.e., the sum total of the number of children desired as a biological parent plus the number of adoptions desired).

Snyder, Mark; Grather, John; Keller, Kristine

1974 Journal of Applied Social Psychology

doi: 10.1111/j.1559-1816.1974.tb00666.x

A field experiment was conducted in which a single male, a single female, or a male‐female couple attempted to hitch rides at four different traffic locations, under conditions in which the hitchhikers either stared at or looked away from oncoming drivers. It was found that staring increased the probability of a driver stopping from .03 to .067 (z = 2.96, p = .003). The female was a more successful hitchhiker than either the male or the couple, (z = 2.215, p = .026; z = 1.861, p .063, respectively).

Sherrod, Drury R

1974 Journal of Applied Social Psychology

doi: 10.1111/j.1559-1816.1974.tb00667.x

A laboratory experiment was conducted in which groups of Ss performed simple and complex tasks for one hour in three conditions of crowding: (1) noncrowded, (2) crowded, (3) crowded‐with‐perceived‐control. Immediately afterward, all groups worked in a noncrowded situation on two additional tasks, one involving frustration tolerance and the other involving quality of proofreading performance. Conditions of crowding had no effect on simple or complex task performance. In the postcrowding situation, however, significant negative behavioral aftereffects were observed for the crowded groups on the frustration tolerance measure, though perceived control ameliorated these aftereffects. There were no significant aftereffects on the prooofreading measure.