General Public Views Research Articles

Public and investor attitudes in relation to the stockmarket

Opposing predictions regarding stockmarket forecasting were tested in four correlational studies. Market indices were correlated with two types of survey data: The general public's views of their personal finances, and investors' plans. Stockmarket prices were examined before, during, and after the surveys for up to a seven-year span. The general public's attitudes about whether their financial situation is or would get better, when looked at from present and future perspectives, were predictive of stockmarket activity. In contrast, investors' intent to invest in stocks (and bonds) were not. The results were interpreted as favoring neither those who are pessimists nor optimists about stockmarket forecasting, but as partially supporting both.

Judgments of policies designed to elicit local cooperation on llrw disposal siting: Comparing the public and decision makers

The study reported here solicited the opinions of the general public of the State of Pennsylvania and of key decision makers in environmental, civic, industry, and health groups, on various policy issues connected with the establishment of low-level radioactive waste disposal sites. Specifically, the focus was on their judgment of options designed to elicit local cooperation and their trust in various officials and agencies. The data indicates that the general public views both compensation and power sharing options as important in promoting local cooperation. However, power sharing options are viewed as more important than incentives. The general public consistently demonstrates a preference for options which put control of the site in the hands of locals. On the other hand, influential decision-makers, with the exception of those representing environmental advocacy organizations, tend to view compensation as more important than local power sharing. Their preferences mirror those programs currently being pursued by federal and state officials. Preferences exhibited by leaders of environmental advocacy organizations parallel those of the general public. Furthermore, the general public demonstrates a relative lack of trust in local officials to represent their interests in siting decisions. This raises the issue of legitimacy in negotiations with local communities.

The economics of worldwide stagflation: A review essay

The last fifteen years have witnessed dramatic changes in economics, not only in the manner in which the economics profession views economics but also in the manner in which the general public views economics and economists. By the late 1960’s there had emerged more or less a consensus macroeconomic framework that is, an agreed upon structure to be used to study economic problems at the aggregate level. Robert Solow stated, as quoted in Leijonhufvud (1968):

Reply to "Risk Analysis of Alternative Energy Sources"

Daniel Kazmer's comment on my article Risks and Psychic Costs of Alternative Energy Sources for Generating Electricity discussed two key subjects treated in my article: (1) public perception of the relative risks associated with nuclear versus conventional power generation, and (2) criteria for evaluating the methodologies of risk analyses themselves. Regarding the former, he seeks to translate into language comprehensible to the experts the general public's inarticulate views on such issues as expansion of nuclear power. The focal concepts in this effort are expressed in two sets of graphs in which he postulates comparative functional relationships for accidents involving nuclear and conventional electricity-generating plants. The first set of relationships depicts risk of death or serious injury versus the number of people (plant personnel and public) affected, and the second, direct and indirect loss versus direct destruction. There are, of course, serious gaps between the perceptions of the public and technical experts concerning technological risks, and between their ways of making risk acceptance or rejection decisions. To close this gap, as a crucial step toward establishing socially acceptable safety goals (see Mattson [2]) and reducing conflict over safety-related decisions, bridges of understanding need to be

Professionalism and the Public*

To explore the factor of public opinion as a component of professionalism, the prestige ratings of rehabilitation occupations, as given by a representative national sample replicating the North‐Hatt technique, are analyzed. Visibility of an occupation does not necessarily increase prestige. Segmental visibility varies by exposure to the needs served by an occupation and by familiarity arising from work experiences. Stereotyping in terms of broad occupational categories, however, appears more likely to form lay opinion than specific job knowledge. Attitudes of particular segments, rather than general public views, are considered critical in professionalism.