Individual Differences In Attitudes Research Articles

Men's attitudes toward third party casual sex

AbstractThe reproductive self-interest model of morality (RSIMM) is a framework for understanding moral judgments associated with sexual behavior. This model posits that individual differences in sexual strategies, mediated by one's religiosity and political orientation, casually influence people's moral judgments toward social hot-button issues. Previous work on the RSIMM has explained individual differences in attitudes toward abortion, prostitution, and contraception. Individuals more interested in long-term mating judged these behaviors as morally wrong. In this preregistered study, we proposed the RSIMM would account for individual differences in rape myth acceptance (RMA). RMA is the phenomenon of endorsing beliefs or stereotypes about rape that diminish the severity of assaults or shift blame from perpetrators to victims. We examined the relationship between political orientation, attitudes toward third-party casual sex, and RMA in a convenience sample of 308 participants (137 women). We predicted that more negative attitudes toward third parties' casual sex would correlate with increased RMA. Our hypothesis was supported for men but not women: Men who condemned others' casual sex, had more unrestricted attitudes about their own casual sex, and desired more casual sex were statistically more likely to accept more rape myths. In the discussion, we speculate that sex differences in the relationship between attitudes towards casual sex and RMA may be due to the costs of rape incurred by women but not men.

Punishing Hate: Examining Individual Variation in Support for Hate Crime Laws

While first implemented in the 1980s, hate crime legislation remains divisive in America; yet, most research examining differences in support for hate crime laws was conducted decades ago. This research addresses this gap by examining individual differences in support for hate crime laws using information from 3,503 survey respondents across the U.S. The results indicate that most respondents (66%) support hate crime laws, and that only roughly 12% of respondents actively oppose them; 22% had no opinion. Results further suggest there are significant gender differences in support; however, these differences are no longer significant after controlling for differences in individual attitudes, including prejudice and Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA), which are strong predictors of opinions toward hate crime laws.

Victim Care or Defendant Rights? Assessing Public Attitudes towards Special Measures Designed to Support Vulnerable Witnesses at Trial

The introduction of ‘special measures’ within England and Wales (i.e., provisions for vulnerable and intimidated witnesses at court) marked a significant change in legal tradition and trial procedures such that victim and witness care was repositioned as a primary concern alongside the longstanding rights afforded to defendants. As public perceptions towards the legitimacy of criminal justice procedure remain a key concern among legal scholars and social scientists, this study aimed to examine individual differences in attitudes held towards the rights afforded to complainants and defendants within English courts. Adopting a cross-sectional study design, 114 UK adults were recruited to take part in an online survey. Questions centered around the importance of providing adequate witness care whilst protecting defendants’ rights to a fair trial. A new measurement tool was developed to allow these attitudes to be systematically assessed and understood, termed the Attitudes Towards Vulnerable Victims Scale (ATVVS). Results indicate that respondent age, gender, level of education, and belief in a just world are important determinants of public support for the use of special measures at trial as well as perceptions towards complainant and defendants’ rights. Taken together, findings indicate that misconceptions about vulnerable victims appear to underlie a lack of support for the use of special measures.

Affective neuroscience theory and attitudes towards artificial intelligence

AbstractArtificial intelligence represents a key technology being inbuilt into evermore products. Research investigating attitudes towards artificial intelligence surprisingly is still scarce, although it becomes apparent that artificial intelligence will shape societies around the globe. To better understand individual differences in attitudes towards artificial intelligence, the present study investigated in n = 351 participants associations between the Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales (ANPS) and the Attitudes towards Artificial Intelligence framework (ATAI). It could be observed that in particular higher levels of SADNESS were associated with higher negative attitudes towards AI (fearing AI). The findings are discussed in this work from an evolutionary perspective because primary emotional systems—according to Affective Neuroscience Theory—represent tools for survival, which have been homologously conserved across mammalian species including homo sapiens.

Comparison Is the Thief of Joy? Introducing the Attitudes Towards Social Comparison Inventory.

Social comparison has a significant impact on individuals' motivation, affect, and behavior. However, we lack a scale that captures individual differences in attitudes toward social comparison. To address this gap, we developed the Attitudes Toward Social Comparison Inventory (ASCI) drawing on existing scales that tap into metacognitive beliefs about worrying, self-motives, beliefs about emotions, and the general comparative-processing model. We examined the psychometric properties of the ASCI in a longitudinal study (N = 1,084), and a second (N = 550) and third cross-sectional study (N = 306). Through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, we identified a 12-item two-factor solution capturing positive and negative attitudes toward social comparison. The ASCI demonstrated measurement invariance across gender and time. The two factors were differentially and longitudinally associated with relevant constructs, including social comparison, metacognitive beliefs about worrying, depression, self-concept clarity, envy, and self-esteem. The ASCI facilitates comprehensive investigations of social comparison processes.

An empirical study on attitudes toward gambling when sportswashing is involved.

Sportswashing is defined as individuals, groups, companies, or countries/regimes' involvement in sports to improve their own reputation and/or to distract from or normalize wrongdoing. This cross-sectional survey is the first empirical study on sportswashing in relation to gambling. The sample consisted of United Kingdom residents who reported past 12-month gambling (N = 786, 50% women, mean age = 45.6, SD = 15.2). We investigated how many were familiar with sportswashing and their attitudes toward gambling when sportswashing is involved. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were conducted on the attitudes scale that was developed for the current study. Multiple regressions were used to examine if individual differences in terms of age, gender, personality, moral foundations, political trust and efficacy, and/or gambling risk were associated with such attitudes. Finally, we examined the percentage of people who avoid gambling on teams/events when sportswashing is involved, including group differences in avoidance and motivations for avoidance according to gambling risk. The results showed that only 32% had heard about sportswashing prior to the survey. CFA indicated that attitudes toward sportswashing and gambling as conceptualized in the scale used in the current study can broadly be categorized into two dimensions: How individuals relate to sportswashing when gambling ("self-factor") and how individuals think gambling companies and regulators should regulate sportswashing and gambling [an "external-factor," p < 0.001, CFI = 0.0.996, RMSEA = 0.090, 90% CI (0.077, 0.104)]. Multiple regressions indicated that measures of individual differences explained a significant amount of variance in self-oriented (F (17, 765) = 7.19, p < 0.001, adjusted R2 = 0.12) and external-oriented (F (17, 765) = 8.40, p < 0.001. adjusted R2 = 0.14) attitude toward gambling and sportswashing. Avoidance of betting when sportswashing is involved was reported by 43%. The proportion was lower among those with moderate gambling risk/problem gambling (35%) compared to those with no/low gambling risk (45%). It is concluded that further scale development could help elucidate individual differences in attitudes toward sportswashing and gambling. Sportswashing remains an important social issue, and the present study indicates that this has high relevance for the gambling field.

Relationship Between Sociosexuality and Condom Use Frequency Among Young French College Students.

Sociosexuality, conceptualized as individual differences in attitudes, behaviors, and desires for casual sex, is reflected in "hookup culture" where risky sexual behaviors should not be overlooked. The main objectives of this study were (a) to provide a first French adaptation of the SOI-R and to evaluate its psychometric properties, and (b) to examine the relationship between sociosexuality and condom use among young college students (N = 1037, mean age = 18.7 years, SD = 1 year). A path model hypothesizing links between dispositional optimism, boredom proneness, sexual orientation, age, gender (as correlated exogenous/independent variables), sociosexuality (as mediation variable), and condom use (as output variable), was specified and tested. Findings showed gender and sexual orientation differences in sociosexuality. As expected, males as well as non-heterosexual individuals endorsed more sociosexuality than the others. Optimism, but not boredom, predicted a higher level of sociosexuality. Sociosexuality positively predicted safer sex. Sociosexual orientation was not associated with condomless sex. It would seem that sexual freedom does not necessarily mean irresponsible sexual adventures for the young college students in our study.

Further examinations of attitudes toward discrete emotions, with a focus on attitudes toward anger.

The present research aimed to better understand individual differences in attitudes towards emotions with a focus on anger. We report findings of four studies conducted with American and Polish individuals. Results showed that individuals who have more positive attitudes toward anger are higher in trait anger (Studies 1-4), are more likely to think about getting revenge (Study 1), and expect that getting revenge will make them feel good (Studies 1-2). In addition, these individuals are lower in agreeableness and lower in the tendency to engage in avoidance when angered (Studies 1-4). They score lower in humility (Studies 3-4), lower in secure romantic attachment but higher in anxious and avoidance attachment (Study 3). Finally, they are more likely to believe a wide range of conspiracies (Studies 2-4). Discussion focuses on the implications of these results.

Attachment and intellectual humility as predictors of attitudes towards vaccination and vaccines in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

Health behavior, including attitudes towards vaccination, is affected by various personal, contextual and broader social factors. This paper focuses on attachment and intellectual humility as potential predictors of attitudes towards vaccination and predictors of vaccination status in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The starting hypothesis was that there is a significant correlation between attachment styles and intellectual humility and that attachment and intellectual humility can separately significantly contribute to explaining individual differences in attitudes towards vaccination and differences in vaccination status. The research was conducted in an online environment on a convenience sample of students (N = 247). Questionnaires and self-assessment scales were applied to collect general data, data on attachment styles, intellectual humility, attitudes towards vaccination and reasons for (non-)vaccination. The results showed that secure attachment and intellectual humility (especially openness to change of mind, i.e. independence of ego and intellect) can partially explain positive attitudes towards vaccination, while significant predictors of vaccination status were age, fearful attachment, independence of ego and intellect and attitudes towards vaccination. The results confirmed some previous insights about the motivation for (non-)vaccination and pointed to a small but significant role of attachment and intellectual humility in explaining both attitudes towards vaccination and health behavior in the context of the pandemic.

Nothing but a “g” Thing? Toward an Integrative Model of Frame-of-Reference Training Effectiveness

Rater training is important for improving the quality of human resource decisions. However, there is little research that has examined the influence of trainee individual differences on rater training effectiveness. Borrowing from self-regulation theory and executive function literature, we developed an individual differences model of rater training effectiveness across three studies. In Study 1, we found support for a partially mediated model in which learning goal orientation, internal locus of control, and promotion focus influenced rater training motivation through general self-efficacy. In Study 2, we extended the model to include cognitive ability. Study 3 further extended the model to include rater training criteria, and we found that rater training motivation did not predict declarative knowledge, rating validity, or rating accuracy, but cognitive ability predicted all three outcomes. Overall, the results suggest that although individual differences in attitudes are relevant to understanding rater training motivation, cognitive ability may be much more important for understanding rater training effectiveness. Implications for rater training theory and practice are discussed.

Assessing individual differences in attitudes towards touch in treatment settings: Introducing the touch &amp; health scale

Individuals commonly receive touch in treatment settings, but there is limited research on how they perceive it. The current project sought to address this gap by: 1) developing the Touch & Health Scale (THS) - a novel instrument to measure attitudes to touch in treatment settings 2) assessing inter-individual differences in THS scores, and 3) examining the association between individuals' THS scores and wellbeing. Data of a large U.K. adults sample (N > 12,000) were used. THS showed Cronbach's α between 0.636 and 0.816 and significant correlations (p < 0.001) with day-to-day attitudes to touch. THS scores differed as a function of extraversion and avoidant attachment style. Participants with more positive attitudes to touch in treatment settings showed greater wellbeing. Overall, the study highlights the importance of a personalised approach to touch in treatment settings and provides a new scale that may act as a screening tool for this purpose.

Attitudes toward ambiguous situations resemble the domain-specificity of attitudes toward risk

Individual differences in attitudes toward uncertainty have long been studied as a general propensity in how people respond to uncertain situations. However, there has been increasing evidence that people may react to certain kinds of uncertainty, such as risk, heterogeneously across different life domains. The present research examined people's attitudes toward uncertainty, especially ambiguity that is present in different everyday life situations. Two studies (N = 594) were carried out to examine people's responses to ambiguity across life domains and general trait attitudes toward uncertainty. Using network analysis, we found that affective attitudes toward ambiguous situations demonstrated a domain-specific pattern that corresponded to the domain-specific pattern of risk attitudes. Affective responses toward ambiguous situations also strongly correlated with risk taking tendency in each domain. Furthermore, the associations between general trait attitudes toward uncertainty and affective responses to ambiguous situations varied across domains, and such variation could not be explained by differences in perceived uncertainty across domains. Overall, the results suggest that attitudes toward ambiguity in everyday life situations are domain-specific and such domain-specificity is mainly driven by domain-specific attitudes toward risk.

Values and Risk Perception Shape Canadian Dairy Farmers’ Attitudes toward Prudent Use of Antimicrobials

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an important challenge in public health. Ensuring rational antimicrobial use (AMU) on farms is one of the key components of antimicrobial stewardship. We aimed to describe a sample of Canadian dairy farmers’ personal factors for AMUand their AMR risk perception, and to associate these factors with their attitude toward promotion of prudent AMU. We distributed an online survey among dairy farmers in Ontario and Atlantic Canada (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island). The questionnaire was designed to solicit information on dairy farmers’ AMU decision-making process, attitudes toward AMU reduction, awareness of AMR, and individual values. We performed a factor analysis on 15 statements related to AMR awareness and AMU reduction and used a logistic regression model to identify variables associated with the probability of disagreeing with the need to increase promotion of responsible AMU in the dairy industry. Respondents’ (n = 193) previous experience was the main reason to select an antimicrobial treatment for their cattle. We identified four groups of factors related to knowledge, risk perception, and emotional states among respondents. To the question “Should there be more initiatives to promote responsible use of antibiotics in the dairy industry?” 23% of respondents answered no, which was associated in a logistic regression model with being a farm owner, having a tie-stall barn, and considering their own experience as the most important factor in selecting antimicrobial treatments. The score for the conservation value dimension and score for a factor described as sense of responsibility when using antimicrobials were also retained in the final model. Our results indicate that tailored strategies to promote prudent AMU on dairy farms may be preferable to a generic strategy because there are individual differences in attitudes, values, and AMR awareness that shape AMR risk perception and willingness to modify current AMU practices.

Acceptance and Fear of Artificial Intelligence: associations with personality in a German and a Chinese sample

Understanding individual differences in attitudes towards Artificial Intelligence (AI) is of importance, among others in system development. Against this background, we sought to investigate associations between personality and attitudes towards AI. Relations were investigated in samples from two countries—Germany and China—to find potentially replicable, cross-culturally applicable associations. In German (N = 367, n = 137 men) and Chinese (N = 879; n = 220 men) online surveys, participants completed items on sociodemographic variables, the Attitudes Towards Artificial Intelligence (ATAI) scale, and the Big Five Inventory. Correlational analysis revealed among others significant positive associations between Neuroticism and fear of AI in both samples, with similar effect sizes. In addition to a significant association of acceptance of AI with gender, regression analyses revealed a small but significant positive association between Neuroticism and fear of AI in the German sample. In the Chinese sample, regression analyses showed positive associations of acceptance of AI with age, Openness, and Agreeableness. Fear of AI was only significantly negatively related to Agreeableness in the Chinese sample. The association of fear of AI with Neuroticism just failed to be significant in the regression model in the Chinese sample. These results reveal important insights into associations between certain personality traits and attitudes towards AI. However, given mostly small effect sizes of relations between personality and attitudes towards AI, other factors aside from personality traits seem to be of relevance to explain variance in individuals’ attitudes towards AI, as well.

Market segmentation for incentivising sustainable transport policies

• Market segmentation is useful for formulating adequate, sustainable mobility policies. • Segmentation should consider individual differences in attitudes and perceptions. • We identified three groups: Traditionalists, Green Conscious and All Matters. • We proposed sustainable strategies considering the heterogeneities of each group. This paper draws attention to the need for formulating tailored, sustainable transport policies considering heterogeneity in the population regarding their preferences and attitudes. In this regard, we propose a market segmentation for incentivising sustainable transport policies. Our analysis builds from the responses of 1,041 car owners towards environmentally friendly transport alternatives in a survey issued in the five largest Colombian metropolitan areas: Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, Barranquilla, and Bucaramanga. Using the collected data, we estimated a Multiple Indicators Multiple Causes (MIMIC) model to evaluate individual attitudes towards the environment, green transport policies, car use, and technology. A cluster analysis based on the MIMIC results identified three groups: Traditionalists, Green Conscious and All Matters . Results make the contradiction between car attachment and environmental concern evident. The lower the environmental concern, the higher the attachment to the car. However, the differences between Traditionalists and All Matters are less pronounced. Finally, we proposed sustainable strategies considering the heterogeneities of each group, analysed the implications of developing custom-made actions and marketing strategies for promoting sustainable transport policies, considering the interests and characteristics of each targeted group in the population.

Commentary on the Special Issue on Emotions in Reading, Learning, and Communication: A Big Step Forward, More Giant Leaps to Come

ABSTRACT The articles in this special issue take an important step in beginning to test the PET framework. Together, these articles illustrate the importance of considering individual differences in attitudes and prior knowledge as well as differences in task demands when investigating the role of emotions in shaping cognitive processing while reading texts. This commentary begins with a focus on the type of emotion being studied (e.g., preexisting emotions/mood, achievement emotions, epistemic emotions, topic emotions). Next, the function of emotions in cognitive processing and self-regulation is discussed, including a consideration of key findings from the articles in this special issue and additional considerations about the ways in which emotions may shape discourse processing. Finally, practical methodological matters relating to the investigation of emotions during discourse processing are considered. Throughout, contributions of the articles in this special issue are featured as well as suggestions for potential avenues for future research.

Eye cues increase cooperation in the dictator game under physical attendance of a recipient, but not for all

A growing body of research has demonstrated that images of watchful eyes can promote prosocial behavior in a variety of settings. However, studies on the impact of eye cues on prosocial behavior in economic games yield ambiguous findings and thus provide no clear answer to the question whether these nudges have the potential to cause significant behavioral change. Moreover, the underlying mechanisms of watchful eyes remain unclear. We investigate whether cues of being watched positively affect prosocial behavior in the dictator game when a recipient is physically present. In a post-experimental questionnaire, we gathered additional information on attitudes towards trust and voluntary cooperation and on emotional responses to eye images. The weak effect observed in our study suggests that images of human eyes may increase cooperative behavior in the dictator game, providing support for the idea that the ‘watchful eyes effect’ is caused by a concern for avoiding bad reputation. Individual differences in attitudes towards trust and voluntary cooperation did not account for this effect. Furthermore, data from our post-experimental questionnaire provided mixed support for the theory that the watchful eyes effect may ultimately stem from higher levels of negative emotions related to the feeling of being watched caused by the exposure to human eye images. While we found no difference in the positive or negative affect schedule (PANAS) related to eye images and flowers after a long exposure during the experiment, participants in the control group associated lower levels of pleasure and a more dominant feeling (SAM) with the eye images after a short exposure to both stimuli. Referring to a relatively large variability of cooperativeness among participants in the eyes condition, we need to interpret the weak watchful eyes effect cautiously and conclude that eye cues do not make people more cooperative and prosocial across the board.

When Even a Robot Tutor Zooms: A Study of Embodiment, Attitudes, and Impressions.

This study used an online second language (L2) vocabulary lesson to evaluate whether the physical body (i.e., embodiment) of a robot tutor has an impact on how the learner learns from the robot. In addition, we tested how individual differences in attitudes toward robots, first impressions of the robot, anxiety in learning L2, and personality traits may be related to L2 vocabulary learning. One hundred Turkish-speaking young adults were taught eight English words in a one-on-one Zoom session either with a NAO robot tutor (N = 50) or with a voice-only tutor (N = 50). The findings showed that participants learned the vocabulary equally well from the robot and voice tutors, indicating that the physical embodiment of the robot did not change learning gains in a short vocabulary lesson. Further, negative attitudes toward robots had negative effects on learning for participants in the robot tutor condition, but first impressions did not predict vocabulary learning in either of the two conditions. L2 anxiety, on the other hand, negatively predicted learning outcomes in both conditions. We also report that attitudes toward robots and the impressions of the robot tutor remained unchanged before and after the lesson. As one of the first to examine the effectiveness of robots as an online lecturer, this study presents an example of comparable learning outcomes regardless of physical embodiment.

What Should I Trust? Individual Differences in Attitudes to Conflicting Information and Misinformation on COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic constitutes a novel threat and traditional and new media provide people with an abundance of information and misinformation on the topic. In the current study, we investigated who tends to trust what type of mis/information. The data were collected in Norway from a sample of 405 participants during the first wave of COVID-19 in April 2020. We focused on three kinds of belief: the belief that the threat is overrated (COVID-threat skepticism), the belief that the threat is underrated (COVID-threat belief) and belief in misinformation about COVID-19. We studied sociodemographic factors associated with these beliefs and the interplay between attitudes to COVID-19, media consumption and prevention behavior. All three types of belief were associated with distrust in information about COVID-19 provided by traditional media and distrust in the authorities' approach to the pandemic. COVID-threat skepticism was associated with male gender, reduced news consumption since the start of the pandemic and lower levels of precautionary measures. Belief that the COVID-19 threat is underrated was associated with younger age, left-wing political orientation, increased news consumption during the pandemic and increased precautionary behavior. Consistent with the assumptions of the theory of planned behavior, individual beliefs about the seriousness of the COVID-19 threat predicted the extent to which individual participants adopted precautionary health measures. Both COVID-threat skepticism and COVID-threat belief were associated with endorsement of misinformation on COVID-19. Participants who endorsed misinformation tended to: have lower levels of education; be male; show decreased news consumption; have high Internet use and high trust in information provided by social media. Additionally, they tended to endorse multiple misinformation stories simultaneously, even when they were mutually contradictory. The strongest predictor for low compliance with precautionary measures was endorsement of a belief that the COVID-19 threat is overrated which at the time of the data collection was held also by some experts and featured in traditional media. The findings stress the importance of consistency of communication in situations of a public health threat.

We Mostly Think Alike: Individual Differences in Attitude Towards AI in Sweden and Japan

Attitudes towards artificial intelligence (AI) and social robots are often depicted as different in Japan, compared to other western countries, such as Sweden. Several different reasons for why there are general differences in attitudes have been suggested. In this study, five hypotheses based on previous literature were investigated. Rather than attempting to establish general differences between groups, subjects were sampled from the respective populations, and correlations between the hypothesized confounding factors and attitudes were investigated within the groups between individuals. The hypotheses in this exploratory study concerned: (H1) animistic beliefs in inanimate objects and phenomena, (H2) worry about unemployment due to AI deployment, (H3) perceived positive or negative portrayal of AI in popular culture, (H4) familiarity with AI, and (H5) relational closeness and privacy with AI. No clear correlations between attitudes and animistic belief (H1), or portrayal of AI in popular culture (H3) could be observed. When it comes to the other attributes, worry about unemployment (H2), familiarity with AI (H4), and relational closeness and privacy (H5), the correlations were similar for the individuals in both groups and in line with the hypotheses. Thus, the general picture following this exploratory study is that individuals in the two populations are more alike than different.