This study was conducted to compare changes in self-concept and dogmatism among high school subjects at three levels of manifest anxiety following group vocational counseling. The related literature includes studies of anxiety as it affects self-concept, dogmatism, and group activities. Studies of the relationship between self-concept and dogmatism are also reported.

The present study examined how environmental attitudes and behaviors can be affected using social norms. The study employed a 2 (participant position: pro-environmental or anti-environmental) × 2 (context condition: face-toace or computer mediated communication) × 2 (normative pressure: unanimous or non-unanimous) quasi-experimental design. Participant position was a nonrandomized group classification factor based on responses to a screening survey. Attitude extremity was controlled for in analyses. Participants initially anti-environmental reform and in the non-unanimous normative pressure condition had significantly less attitude change than that of those who were anti-environmental reform and in the unanimous normative pressure condition. Pro-environmental reform people were not affected by the variations in group pressure. Higher rates of conformity found in the computer mediated context did not translate into attitude change. No differences were found in political behavior. Findings suggest that advertising employing unanimous normative pressure in a face-toace interaction would persuade anti-environmentalists to become more pro-environmental.

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This study tested effectiveness of a film in forced compliance situations on neutral and negatively predisposed individuals. Subjects (N = 48) were administered an attitudinal questionnaire, subjected to a no (control), low, moderate, or high dissonance-producing situation, and retested for attitude change. Analysis of variance for repeated measures, Scheffe's F tests, and t tests were used for analysis. Results indicated attitude change was greatest under a low dissonance-producing situation for all subjects. The moderate-dissonance situation moved unfavorable subjects toward favorability while the high dissonance situation moved extremely unfavorable subjects toward favorability. No relationship was found between degrees of dissonance and attitude change for netural subjects.

In this study we explored some of the factors associated with biased processing of attitude-relevant information. We were particularly interested in the possibility that a self-affirmation, by reducing self-evaluative concerns, might increase participants' willingness to impartially evaluate information that conflicts with their current views. We examined students' reactions to arguments about increasing tuition as a function of four factors: attitude importance, argument strength, the congruence of arguments with existing attitudes, and our experimental manipulation of affirmation. We found that affirmation reduced biased evaluation only for participants who rated the issue as important. We also found that affirmation dramatically impacted the perception of argument strength. Stronger counterattitudinal arguments were rejected by non-affirmed participants, who did not distinguish them from weak arguments, presumably because of the esteem threat posed by a strong ideological challenge. Affirmed participants, though, evaluated strong counterattitudinal arguments more positively.

With a growing multilingual global population, it is becoming increasingly important to know how people of varying cultures respond to persuasive appeals. Cross-cultural studies on persuasion have found differences in American and Chinese advertisements that reflect individualistic and collectivist cultural values. However, these studies have ignored the possible effect of language, despite research showing that language can activate specific cultural ideas and behaviors in bilingual individuals. Additionally, differences have been found in thinking and emotionality in the native (L1) versus the non-native language (L2), that seem to parallel the central and peripheral routes of elaboration in persuasion. Therefore, the proposed study will explore relationship between culture, language and attitude change. In stage 1, participants will report their initial attitudes towards the topics of air travel and nuclear power and their L1 preference. In stage 2, participants will read 2 stories that contain a cultural prime (magpie/red light from a lantern) with contrasting cultural association in American and Chinese culture and fictional scenarios about air travel and nuclear power. Participants will report their attitudes after reading the stories and attitude change will be examined. Two possible outcomes for main effects and interactions between Linguistic/Cultural association and L1 preference on the dependent variable of attitude change will be explored with the intent of discovering which processes are dominant in the bilingual brain.

Conducted in Chinese organizational settings, the current study constructs a model in which leader value transmission strategies, leader identity (founder leader vs. professional manager), and follower power orientations interact to influence follower attitudes. Within the framework of leadership, the model is built on three streams of theories: value transmission theory, message learning approach, and power theory as well as research on influence strategies. / Hierarchical Multiple Regression analyses on responses of 451 employees from 28 companies reveal that (1) leaders' authoritarian strategy results in follower compliance, whereas policy-oriented and inspirational strategies lead to follower identification and internalization; (2) personalized strategies (authoritarian and inspirational) work better with founder leaders than professional managers in achieving follower identification and internalization; (3) traditional followers are more likely to comply with leaders' value transmission attempts than non-traditional followers; (4) follower traditionality attenuates the relationship between leader authoritarian behaviors and follower compliance; (5) when personalized strategies are used, followers with high traditionality/power-distance belief internalize with founder leaders but not with professional managers, whereas those with low traditionality/power-distance belief respond similarly to the two types of leaders; (6) compared to power-distance belief, traditionality appears to be more "compliance-oriented." Findings are discussed in terms of their theoretical and managerial implications as well as further research directions. / In addition to examining how leader behaviors influence follower attitudes, the study also investigates both main effects of CEO identity and follower power orientations (power-distance belief and traditionality) on follower attitudes and moderating effects of those factors on the relationships between leader behaviors and follower attitudes. CEO identity is proposed to exert impact through an attributional process, thus it interacts with personalized strategies. On the other hand, follower power-distance belief and traditionality are expected to exert an impact through the mechanism of followers' endorsement of leader-follower unequal power distribution. It is hypothesized that follower power orientations interact with position power-based strategies on corresponding outcome variables. Three-way interactions among leader behaviors, leader identity, and follower power orientations on follower attitudes are also examined in the study. / The study first identifies three strategies - authoritarian, policy-oriented, and inspirational - that Chinese CEOs may adopt to transmit their personal values in order to influence followers' values, attitudes and behaviors. Those strategies can be categorized according to two criteria: position power-based (authoritarian and policy-oriented) versus personal power-based (inspirational); and personalized (authoritarian and inspirational) versus depersonalized (policy-oriented). Corresponding measures regarding leader value transmission behaviors are developed to connect to the three types of follower attitude change: compliance, identification, and internalization (Kelman, 1958). / Liu Jun. / "July 2005." / Adviser: Pingping Fu. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-01, Section: A, page: 0258. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 129-146). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest dissertations and theses, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract in English and Chinese. / School code: 1307.

Recent polls suggest that less than half (46%) of Canadians are confident in the criminal justice system (CJS) as a whole (e.g., Roberts, 2004). Low levels of public confidence are problematic, as the criminal justice system relies on public support in order to function effectively (Casey, 2008). Previous research has found that attitudes toward the CJS are typically based on misperceptions and misinformation, with the public being unaware of the functioning of the CJS as well as crime trends (e.g., Doob, 2000). Therefore, it seems logical that providing the public with factual information about crime and criminal justice may lead to increased confidence. A handful of studies conducted in the United Kingdom have shown that, in general, public education does lead to increased confidence (e.g, Hough & Park, 2002). However, questions pertaining to the mode of delivery have been raised (Singer & Cooper, 2009). Therefore, three studies were conducted in order to further investigate this issue as well as to delve into the differences between active and passive learning. Whereas active learning refers to being actively engaged in the learning process through various means (e.g, discussion, problem-solving), passive learning refers to passively obtaining information, such as by listening or by reading (Prince, 2004). Before attempting to change public opinion of the CJS, it is crucial that we first have a comprehensive understanding of what these opinions and attitudes are. As such, Study 1, a quantitative survey of CJS knowledge and attitudes, and Study 2, qualitative focus groups, were conducted. Results from these two studies were used to develop materials for Study 3: Increasing confidence in the CJS through education. As has been found in past research, participants who received CJS information had a higher level of knowledge than controls, who received information about Canadas health care system. Interestingly, the type of learning (active vs. passive) did not have an effect on CJS knowledge. However, an effect was observed in regards to confidence and satisfaction: Participants who received CJS information through active learning were more confident in the CJS and had a higher level of satisfaction. These results have important implications for real-world interventions.

In this study we explored some of the factors associated with biased processing of attitude-relevant information. We were particularly interested in the possibility that a self-affirmation, by reducing self-evaluative concerns, might increase participants' willingness to impartially evaluate information that conflicts with their current views. We examined students' reactions to arguments about increasing tuition as a function of four factors: attitude importance, argument strength, the congruence of arguments with existing attitudes, and our experimental manipulation of affirmation. We found that affirmation reduced biased evaluation only for participants who rated the issue as important. We also found that affirmation dramatically impacted the perception of argument strength. Stronger counterattitudinal arguments were rejected by non-affirmed participants, who did not distinguish them from weak arguments, presumably because of the esteem threat posed by a strong ideological challenge. Affirmed participants, though, evaluated strong counterattitudinal arguments more positively.