Although negative attitudes toward science are common among women and men in undergraduate introductory science classes, women's attitudes toward science tend to be more negative than men's. The reasons for women's negative attitudes toward science include lack of self-confidence, fear of association with social outcasts, lack of women role models in science, and the fundamental differences between traditional scientific and feminist values. Attitudes are psychological constructs theorized to be composed of emotional, cognitive, and behavioral components. Attitudes serve functions, including social expressive, value expressive, utilitarian, and defensive functions, for the people who hold them. To change attitudes, the new attitudes must serve the same function as the old one, and all three components must be treated. Instructional designers can create instructional environments to effect attitude change. In designing instruction to improve women's attitudes toward science, instructional designers should (a) address the emotions that are associated with existing attitudes, (b) involve credible, attractive women role models, and (c) address the functions of the existing attitudes. Two experimental instructional modules were developed based on these recommendations, and two control modules were developed that were not based on these recommendations. The asynchronous, web-based modules were administered to 281 undergraduate geology and chemistry students at two universities. Attitude assessment revealed that attitudes toward scientists improved significantly more in the experimental group, although there was no significant difference in overall attitudes toward science. Women's attitudes improved significantly more than men's in both the experimental and control groups. Students whose attitudes changed wrote significantly more in journaling activities associated with the modules. Qualitative analysis of journals revealed that the guidelines worked exactly as predicted for some students. / Ph. D.

No description available.

No description available.

A government-funded scheme, the UK Climate Change Communications Initiative (UKCCCI), provided money for organisations to deliver projects that attempted to impact positively on people’s attitudes towards climate change and to increase knowledge and awareness of the issue. This devolution of communications is a relatively novel approach after previous centralised campaigns. This thesis adopts a mixed-method approach; a qualitative and a quantitative study have been conducted based on three case studies of individual projects funded under the UKCCCI. The quantitative study analyses pre- and post-project surveys to assess whether the communications produced the desired changes in attitude, knowledge and awareness; results are generally mixed in relation to all three case studies as some statistics are more positive after communications, whereas some are less positive. Data from a regional UKCCCI project are compared with a nationally representative dataset; this analysis shows that attitudes, knowledge and awareness differ at regional and national scales, supporting the policy of devolving communications. Regional data are also analysed to see if there are differences between socio-demographic groups within a single target audience for communications; this analysis suggests that interventions must strike a balance between personalisation of information and the higher cost of targeting smaller groups with more specific material. The quantitative study uses conceptual content cognitive mapping (3CM) to discover the climate change-related knowledge of twenty subjects who received communications from two of the case study projects. Results suggest that people have knowledge of a wide range of issues related to climate change, but they do not possess a detailed scientific understanding. However, there is a high knowledge of how to mitigate climate change and this is expressed largely through individual actions and lifestyle choices. A template analysis was also conducted to discover what interviewees thought specifically about the communications and a range of practical recommendations are made for future projects. Implications are discussed in relation to future practical climate change communications projects, wider policy and academic research.

This study explored social judgment theory’s utility in a political comedy context. As a model of attitude change, social judgment theory describes attitude changes that occur in receivers of persuasive messages. Given that the type of humor used in the political comedy context requires the audience to interpret the message, audience processing of the humor is thought to resemble the processing of persuasive messages. This study explored the assumptions of social judgment theory in both a political comedy and a traditional news context. In order to explore how satiric messages impact the attitude change process, clips of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart or CBS News programs were shown to participants.Participants reported their attitudes and ego involvement regarding taxes and the job market prior to and after viewing the clips, which allowed attitude change to be identified. In addition, measures of audience activity, including ego involvement and political participation, were collected to explore the interplay of audience activity in attitude change. This project offered some support of social judgment theory’s utility in a political comedy context and reinforced the active audience assumption. / Department of Communication Studies

Two studies were conducted to investigate how the use of different types of language affects attitudes. Participants scrutinized arguments supporting a hypothetical toothpaste that differed in terms of argument strength (strong versus weak) and linguistic abstractness (abstract versus concrete) and subsequently evaluated the toothpaste. In addition, half of the participants in the second study were subjected to a cognitive load manipulation (i.e., rehearsing a ten-digit number) in order to limit their level of cognitive elaboration. Results indicated that strong arguments and those containing concrete descriptions led to more positive attitudes about the toothpaste, whereas weak messages comprised of abstract terms gave rise to the least favorable evaluations. These findings represent the first demonstration of the effect of language type on attitudes and suggest that future research into the functions of differential linguistic abstractness in a persuasive context will broaden our understanding of attitude change.

Vänskapsrelationer mellan barn är viktiga för barns hälsa, utveckling och välmående och bör därför främjas. Något som kan utgöra ett hinder för att vänskap ska kunna bildas är barns attityder. Studiens syfte var därför att undersöka vad som anses främja bildandet av vänskapsrelationer mellan barn och hur det kan bidra till attitydförändring.Detta gjordes genom att sammanställa forskning bestående av 11 artiklar till en integrativ litteraturstudie. Fokus låg på påverkbara faktorer till barns vänskapsbildande samt verksamma interventioner. De faktorer och interventioner som framkom genom studiens resultat var utbildning och undervisning, att vuxna visar vägen, aktiviteter och engagemang samt ekonomiska förutsättningar. Resultatet analyserades utifrån teorin mellangruppskontakt vilken belyser kriterier för optimal mellangruppskontakt och processer för attitydförändring. Det fördes en diskussion gällande hälsofrämjande arbete, vuxnas möjligheter att påverka barns vänskapsrelationer samt betydelsen av aktivitetens utformning. / The aim of this review was to study what is considered to promote formation of peer friendships and how it can contribute to a change of attitudes and prejudices. 11 research articles were compiled into an integrative review. The review focused on factors for children's friendships that are possible to influence and effective interventions. The various factors and interventions that emerged were education and teaching, adults leading the way, activities and commitment as well as economic conditions. The result was analyzed on the basis of intergroup contact theory, which contain conditions for optimal intergroup contact and processes for attitude change.  A discussion was conducted regarding promotion of health, adult'spossibilities to affect children's peer friendshipsand the impact of the activity's set-up.

This is an exploration of process-oriented dialogue and how it is applied in group work and conflict facilitation. It encompasses a range of group-work applications, beginning with an investigation of useful approaches in bringing opposing parties together in dialogue situations. From there it unfolds the ways in which dialogue, in the midst of conflict, contributes to greater understanding of others' positions, and the creation of community spirit. A number of dynamics inherent in conflicting situations are explored, including the belief systems and dynamics present which deter parties from coming together to dialogue after conflict, whether interventions can help shift the attitudes of conflicting parties, whether discussion of the conflict can be useful, and the role of the facilitator. Models of conflict resolution, community building, and dialogue are introduced, and the Process Work model of group work is explored. Various case studies are described, along with surveys from two groups. The findings are analysed in the light of different paradigms and the application of process-oriented ideologies and methods and their effectiveness are critiqued / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Bibliography: leaves 160-178

Genetically modified foods have been at the center of debate in European consumer policy in the last two decades. Although the quasi-moratorium has been lifted in May 2004 and the road to the market is in principle reopened, strategies for product introduction are lacking. The aim of the research is to assess potential barriers in the area of consumer acceptance and suggest ways in which they can be overcome. After a short history of the genetically modified foods debate in Europe, the existing literature is reviewed. Although previous research converges in its central results, issues that are more fundamental have remained unresolved. <br><br> Based on classical approaches in attitude research and modern theories of social cognition, a general model of the structure, function and dynamics of whole systems of attitudes is developed. The predictions of the model are empirically tested based on an attitude survey (N = 2000) and two attitude change experiments (N = 1400 and N = 750). All three studies were conducted in parallel in four EU member states. The results show that consumer attitudes towards genetically modified foods are embedded into a structured system of general socio-political attitudes. The system operates as a schema through which consumers form global evaluations of the technology. Specific risk and benefit judgments are mere epiphenomena of this process. Risk-benefit trade-offs, as often presupposed in the literature, do not appear to enter the process. The attitudes have a value-expressive function; their purpose is not just a temporary reduction of complexity. These properties render the system utterly resistant to communicative interventions. At the same time, it exerts stong anchoring effects on the processing of new information. Communication of benefit arguments can trigger boomerang effects and backfire on the credibility of the communicator when the arguments contrast with preexisting attitudes held by the consumer. Only direct sensory experience with high-quality products can partially bypass the system and lead to the formation of alternative attitude structures. Therefore, the recommended market introduction strategy for genetically modified foods is the simultaneous and coordinated launch of many high-quality products. Point of sale promotions should be the central instrument. Information campaigns, on the other hand, are not likely to have an effect on the product and technology acceptance of European consumers. / Gentechnisch veränderte Lebensmittel haben sich im Lauf der letzten zwei Jahrzehnte zu einem Symbol verbraucherpolitischer Auseinandersetzungen in Europa entwickelt. Mit der Aufhebung des Quasi-Moratoriums im Mai 2004 ist der Weg zum Markt zwar prinzipiell freigeschaltet, Strategien der Produkteinführung fehlen jedoch. Ziel der Arbeit ist, potenzielle Hindernisse im Bereich der Verbraucherakzeptanz auszuloten und Wege aufzuzeigen, wie Vorurteile gegenüber diesen Produkten abgebaut werden könnten. Nach einem historischen Abriss der Gentechnikdebatte in Europa wird zunächst die existierende Literatur zur Verbraucherakzeptanz diskutiert. Obwohl die bisherige Forschung in ihren Ergebnissen konvergiert, sind grundsätzlichere Fragen weitgehend ungelöst geblieben. <br><br> Auf der Grundlage klassischer Ansätze der Einstellungsforschung und moderner Theorien sozialer Kognition wird daher ein allgemeines Modell der Struktur, Funktion und Dynamik ganzer Einstellungssysteme entworfen. Die Vorhersagen des Modells werden anhand einer Einstellungsbefragung (N = 2000) und zweier Einstellungsänderungsexperimente (N = 1400 und N = 750) empirisch überprüft. Alle drei Studien wurden parallel in vier EU-Mitgliedsstaaten durchgeführt. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Verbrauchereinstellungen zu gentechnisch veränderten Lebensmitteln in ein strukturiertes System allgemeiner soziopolitischer Einstellungen eingebettet sind. Das System fungiert als Schema, anhand dessen eine globale Bewertung der Gentechnik vorgenommen wird. Spezifische Nutzen- und Risikourteile sind lediglich Epiphänomene dieses Prozesses. Nutzen-Risiko-Abwägungen, wie sie in der Literatur oft unterstellt werden, finden dabei offenbar nicht statt. Die Einstellungen haben eine wertexpressive Funktion, dienen also nicht nur der vordergründigen Reduktion von Komplexität. Diese Eigenschaften machen das System ausgesprochen resistent gegenüber Versuchen der kommunikativen Beeinflussung. Gleichzeitig übt es eine starke Ankerwirkung auf die Verarbeitung neuer Informationen aus. Kommunikation von Nutzenargumenten zu gentechnisch veränderten Lebensmitteln kann zu Bumerangeffekten auf die Glaubwürdigkeit eines Kommunikators führen, wenn die Argumente den Voreinstellungen der Verbraucher widersprechen. Lediglich direkte sensorische Erfahrung mit qualitativ hochwertigen Produkten kann zu einer teilweisen Entkoppelung des Systems und damit zum Aufbau alternativer Einstellungsstrukturen führen. Als optimale Markteinführungsstrategie für gentechnisch veränderte Lebensmittel wird daher die gleichzeitige und koordinierte Einführung vieler hochwertiger Einzelprodukte empfohlen. Zentrales Instrument sollten Aktionen am Point of Sale sein. Vorbereitende Informationskampagnen werden dagegen voraussichtlich keine Wirkungen auf die Produkt- and Technikakzeptanz europäischer Verbraucher haben.