Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin

Bryan, Angela D.; Aiken, Leona S.; West, Stephen G.

doi: 10.1177/0146167299025003001pmid: N/A

The authors investigated the impact of the introduction of a condom into an initial sexual encounter on the perception of the male condom proposer and the likely outcome of the sexual encounter. College students viewed a videotape depicting the development of an initial sexual encounter. Method of condom introduction (verbal, nonverbal, no condom control) was varied. Respondents evaluated the condom proposer on five characteristics (nice, mature, romantic, exciting, promiscuous). Condom proposers were perceived as nicer and more mature but less romantic and exciting than nonproposers. Women but not men perceived the proposer as nicer and more mature and less promiscuous when he introduced the condom verbally rather than nonverbally. Men but not women estimated that proposing condom use diminished the chance of sexual intercourse. Results are discussed from the perspectives of person perception, sex role stereotypes, the evolutionary perspective on mate selection, and the applied perspective of the implications for intervention.

Losier, Gaëtan F.; Koestner, Richard

doi: 10.1177/0146167299025003002pmid: N/A

Intrinsic and identified regulation were examined in the context of two Canadian political campaigns. It was anticipated that identification (but not intrinsic motivation) would lead to positive outcomes when one is involved in an activity that is not necessarily fun but self-relevant, such as following a personally valued political event. Questionnaires were completed by 216 college students 1 week before and 1 week after the 1995 New Brunswick election and Quebec referendum. As predicted, results revealed that identification (but not intrinsic motivation) was significantly positively associated with the personal relevance of the vote, pleasant emotions about the vote outcome, and reported voting. Surprisingly, in the highly emotional Quebec referendum, intrinsic motivation was significantly associated with experiencing less pleasant emotions about a favorable vote outcome. The personal relevance of the campaign also mediated the process by which identification predicted to positive outcomes.

Fehr, Beverley; Baldwin, Mark; Collins, Lois; Patterson, Suzanne; Benditt, Riva

doi: 10.1177/0146167299025003003pmid: N/A

The authors conducted an analysis of anger scripts in close relationships from a relational schema perspective focusing on the interpersonal experience of anger and on the sequencing of anger events. The amount of anger elicited by various instigating events was found to differ for women and men. More important, there was evidence of an interpersonal script for anger. Reactions of angry people were predicated on anticipated partner responses. Gender differences in interpersonal scripts were found only when the angered person chose to react in a negative way (e.g., aggression). Women and men held similar scripts for anger when the angered person reacted in a prosocial manner. Implications of these findings for script analyses of emotion and for close relationships are discussed.

Peterson, Randall S.

doi: 10.1177/0146167299025003004pmid: N/A

Research on procedural justice has consistently found that increases in voice are associated with enhanced ratings of procedural fairness, satisfaction with leaders, and acceptance of decisions made by authorities. This research extends those findings in two ways by (a) replicating the voice effect in small group decision making with a low status leader and (b) illustrating the limit of voice in improving support for leaders under conditions of persistent conflict. Results from Study 1 suggest that people care about their treatment by leaders because it provides them with information about their value within the group rather than because the leader controls important resources. Study 2 demonstrates that very high levels of voice can be associated with reduced leader support and lower levels of decision satisfaction under conditions of persistent conflict. These results suggest that extensive use of voice by leaders has limited advantages when people fundamentally disagree.

McCann, Stewart J. H.

doi: 10.1177/0146167299025003005pmid: N/A

Building on the work of S. M. Sales, who related contemporaneous economic threat to authoritarian behaviors, two studies tested the hypothesis that threat is associated with relatively more attraction to authoritarian churches and less attraction to nonauthoritarian churches. The hypothesis was supported in Study 1, when the annual percentage of changes in memberships (1928-1986) for two authoritarian and two nonauthoritarian denominations were examined in relation to several annual social, economic, and political threat indices, and in Study 2, when changes in the proportion of the population having membership in 25 representative denominations were examined over periods of relatively low threat (1955-1964), high threat (1965-1974), and low threat (1965-1979). Both studies suggest that social and political threat as well as economic threat may activate authoritarian behaviors.

Lavine, Howard; Burgess, Diana; Snyder, Mark; Transue, John; Sullivan, John L.; Haney, Beth; Wagner, Stephen H.

doi: 10.1177/0146167299025003006pmid: N/A

The authors examined whether the influence of persuasive messages emphasizing reward versus threat was moderated by authoritarianism. Five days before the 1996 presidential election, participants (N = 86) received either a reward-related message (emphasizing the positive benefits of voting) or a threatrelated message (emphasizing the negative consequences of failing to vote) recommending that they vote in the election. We found that high authoritarians perceived the threat message as stronger in argument quality than the reward message, and low authoritarians perceived the reward message as stronger in argument quality than the threat message. In turn, subjective perceptions of message quality exerted a direct influence on participants’ postmessage attitudes toward voting in the election. Finally, behavioral intentions mediated the influence of voting attitudes on actual voting behavior. Discussion focuses on the implications of the message frame and authoritarianism.

de Dreu, Carsten K. W.; Koole, Sander L.; Oldersma, Frans L.

doi: 10.1177/0146167299025003007pmid: N/A

The relationship between dispositional need for cognitive closure (NFC) and the use of heuristics in negotiation was investigated. In Study 1 (N = 147), negotiators with high NFC were more influenced by focal points when setting limits and making concessions than were negotiators with low NFC. In Study 2 (N = 74), negotiators with high NFC were more influenced by stereotypic information when making concessions than were negotiators with low NFC. Study 3 examined whether results could be attributed to a correlation between NFC and social value orientation—the dispositional tendency to approach the negotation in a prosocial or more selfish way. In three different samples, no such relationship was found. The use of heuristics in negotiation is moderated by need for cognitive closure, and this effect is most likely due to the fact that negotiators with low need for closure are less likely to seize and freeze on information.

Fabrigar, Leandre R.; Petty, Richard E.

doi: 10.1177/0146167299025003008pmid: N/A

Two experiments were conducted to examine whether attitudes based on affect or cognition were more susceptible to persuasive appeals that matched versus mismatched the basis of attitudes. Experiment 1 provided evidence for a relative affective/cognitive persuasion matching effect and suggested that this matching effect could not be accounted for by attribute matching rather than affective/cognitive matching. Regardless of whether the persuasive appeal matched or mismatched the attitude on the attribute dimension, an affective/cognitive persuasion matching effect occurred. Experiment 2 examined whether the affective/cognitive matching effect could be accounted for by direct/indirect experience persuasion matching. Holding the direct/indirect experience distinction constant, results again demonstrated a relative affective/cognitive persuasion matching effect. Analyses of both experiments using previously validated measures of affect and cognition confirmed that manipulations of the affective and cognitive bases of attitudes were successful.

Vonk, Roos

doi: 10.1177/0146167299025003009pmid: N/A

The literature on correspondence bias suggests that the bias is increased when perceivers depend on an actor because they are motivated to know the actor’s dispositions and predict future behavior. However, outcome dependency produces enhanced attention and accuracy motivation, which should facilitate situational correction and reduce the correspondence bias. An experiment was conducted in which both participants’ dependency on an actor and the actor’s behavioral freedom were manipulated. The correspondence bias was reduced among dependent participants but only in judgments that were highly relevant to predicting behavior that could affect their own outcomes. This reduction of the correspondence bias was associated with longer reading times. Furthermore, it was more pronounced in conditions in which the potential costs of an inaccurate dispositional inference were higher.

Henderson-King, Donna; Stewart, Abigail J.

doi: 10.1177/0146167299025003010pmid: N/A

This study takes a multifaceted approach to group consciousness. The authors assessed changes in women’s feminist consciousness due to their exposure to feminism through women’s studies. Feminist consciousness was measured at the beginning and end of a semester during which some research participants were enrolled in an introductory women’s studies course. Women’s studies students were compared with students who were interested, but not enrolled, in women’s studies. As expected, women’s studies students showed an increase on several aspects of feminist consciousness, whereas non-women’s studies students did not. Non-women’s studies students became less sensitive to sexism. It is also noteworthy that, although they became more feminist, women’s studies students did not become more negative toward men.