Opinion Items Research Articles

Consensus and conformity

Group consensus was broken either by a partner agreeing exactly with the subject (Social Support) or by a dissenter giving a response even more incorrect than the group's (Extreme Dissent). Using the Crutchfield apparatus, 157 male and female subjects responded to visual, information, and opinion items. Results disclosed that Extreme Dissent, in comparison with a unanimous group, significantly decreased conformity on visual and information items but not on opinion items. Social Support, on the other hand, significantly reduced conformity on all three types of items. The results cast doubt on Asch's contention that breaking group consensus, per se, is responsible for the effectiveness of Social Support in reducing conformity.

Contrast effects between communicators

Sixty-five college males read two communications. After each, they rated the source on ten personality traits and responded to eight opinion items on the topic of the communication. The type of first communicator (two types of emotional communicator and one rational communicator) and extremity of the second communicator position (three levels) were manipulated in a 3 × 3 factorial design. The first communication was on one of three different topics, whereas the second always argued for lowering school-teacher's salaries to improve education. The three versions differed only in the extremity of the proposed solution: lower a bit, cut in half, eliminate. As predicted, strong contrast effects were found on evaluations of the second communicator. Evaluations were more favorable when preceded by an emotional (disliked) communicator as opposed to a rational (liked) communicator ( p < .01). A similar direction of effect ( p < .12) was found for agreement with the supporting arguments of the second communication—more agreement after an emotional first communicator. Extremity of the second communicator had no effect.

MATERNAL ATTITUDE TO PREGNANCY INSTRUMENT. A RESEARCH TEST FOR PSYCHOGENIC OBSTETRICAL COMPLICATIONS: A PRELIMINARY REPORT.

Much clinical conviction among obstetricians and psychiatrists exists concerning the influence of psychological factors upon pregnancy in terms of sterility, spontaneous abortion, premature terminations, and complications of delivery. However, designed research on these significant perinatal conditions has been limited. In this preliminary report, we offer for further research a self-rating attitude test (Maternal Attitude Toward Pregnancy Instrument, MAPI), developed from a retrospective psychiatric and psychologic study of mothers of premature infants. 1 Our findings seemed to support the hypothesis that the attitude toward the pregnancy influenced the course of the pregnancy. Subsequently, this test was constructed as a possible instrument to predict probable psychogenic premature interruptions and other complications of pregnancy. Material and Procedure Based on the clinical findings and ratings from our previous study of mothers of prematures and controls, self-rating opinion items were written. The items were focused on attitudes and

A Technique and a Model for Multi-Dimensional Attitude Scaling

HE MAJORITY of techniques for scaling attitudinal judgments or responses produce scales which are one-dimensional. The scale consists of a single continuum of opinion along which are located a succession of opinion items (or of people). This continuum generally ranges between proand antithe attitudinal object. Examples of such one-dimensional techniques are Thurstone scales1, Likert scales2, paired comparisons scales3, successive intervals scales4, and Guttman scales.5 It is apparent

Shifts in the Values of Opinion Items: Further Data

Shifts in the Values of Opinion Items: Further Data

Shifts in the Values of Opinion Items

Shifts in the Values of Opinion Items